Nishinomiya Shrine

Nishinomiya Jinja (西宮神社, nishinomiyajinja) is a Shinto shrine in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo, Japan. It is the head shrine of the Ebisu sect of Shinto, and it is said that there are about 3,500 shrines under it. Locals call the shrine "Ebessan". It is famous for the Tōka-Ebisu festival, which is held on January 10 every year. Particular to this festival is the "Lucky Men" race. Begun during the Edo Period, participants gather in front of the shrine's main gate before 6am on the 10th of January. At 6am, the shrine's drum sounds, the gates are opened, and the assembled crowd sprints perilously 230 meters to the main hall. The top three finishers are given the title of "Lucky Men," and of those three the champion is known as the "Luckiest Man." The race has been known to attract more than 6,000 runners.^[1]

Objects of worship

Nishinomiya Shrine has three small inner shrines and each shrine enshrines one or two kami. The first shrine enshrines Nishinomiya-Ōkami, or Ebisu-no-mikoto, namely Ebisu. The kami of the second shrine are Amaterasu-Ōmikami and Ōkuninushino-Mikoto. The third shrine is for Susanoono-Mikoto.

History

It is not clear when this shrine was established. However, it is recorded that it was already at this site, under the name Ebisu-sha, and attracting many worshipers during the Heian Period. For many centuries it was known as Nangu-sha, the "Southern Shrine", in reference to its status as a branch shrine of Hirota Shrine, which is located to its north in Nishinomiya. Nishinomiya Shrine itself had a similar relationship with Koshikiiwa Shrine, which was sometimes called Kita no Ebisu, meaning the Northern Ebisu.

Access

References

↑ Track runner wins 'lucky man' race, The Japan Times, retrieved 10 January 2010 .

External links

Nishinomiya Shrine Homepage (in Japanese)
Nishinomiya Shrine's biggest festival "Tokaebisu" Homepage (in Japanese,one of lecturer of Kitakyushu College of Technology wrote)

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Nishinomiya Jinja.

Coordinates: 34°44′8.62″N 135°20′4.48″E / 34.7357278°N 135.3345778°E / 34.7357278; 135.3345778

Shinto shrines

Shinto architecture

Buildings	chōzuya or temizuya haiden heiden hokora honden / shinden / shōden kagura-den massha sessha

Architectonic elements	Chinjusha chigi hidden roof kaerumata: see nakazonae kairō karahafu karamon katōmado katsuogi ken kentozuka: see nakazonae kitsune (fox) komainu mon nakazonae sandō shōrō sōrin tamagaki tokyō torii tōrō

Styles	hirairi-zukuri tsumairi-zukuri gongen-zukuri hachiman-zukuri hiyoshi-zukuri irimoya-zukuri ishi-no-ma-zukuri kasuga-zukuri kibitsu-zukuri misedana-zukuri nagare-zukuri ōtori-zukuri owari-zukuri ryōnagare-zukuri shinmei-zukuri sumiyoshi-zukuri taisha-zukuri

Others

Implements	An ema gohei hakama jōe kamidana mikoshi ofuda omamori ōnusa saisen shaku shide shimenawa shintai tamagushi tamaya

Main kami	Amaterasu Hachiman Inari Ōkami Tenjin

Staff	kannushi miko

Head shrines¹	Fushimi Inari Taisha Usa Hachiman-gū Ise Grand Shrine Dazaifu Tenman-gū Munakata Taisha Suwa Taisha Hiyoshi Taisha Kumano Nachi Taisha Tsushima Shrine Yasaka Shrine

Miscellaneous	A-un Glossary of Shinto jingū-ji Jinja Honchō miyadera

¹ (in order of the size of the shrine network they head)

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