Sumiyoshi Taisha

Sumiyoshi Taisha is one of the oldest and most important shrines in the Osaka area, and the head shrine of the many Sumiyoshi shrines found across Japan. Tradition holds that it was founded in the early third century by Tamomi no Sukune at the direction of Empress Jingu. It enshrines the three Sumiyoshi deities together with the empress herself. Before the modern era it was the leading shrine, or ichinomiya, of the old Settsu Province, and from 1871 to 1946 it held the top rank among government-supported shrines. It stands at the western edge of the Uemachi upland, facing towards Osaka Bay.

The four main sanctuaries are the reason specialists travel here. Each is built in the Sumiyoshi-zukuri style, which takes its name from the shrine, and the halls here are regarded as the oldest examples of that style. All four are designated National Treasures. Three stand in a line from west to east, and the fourth, dedicated to Empress Jingu, sits beside them to the south, an arrangement unusual among Japanese shrines.

Most visitors enter across the Sorihashi, also called the Taiko-bashi or drum bridge, which rises steeply over the pond in front of the main approach. It stands 4.4 metres high, and while the wooden structure dates from 1981, its stone piers and beams go back to the Keicho era, around four hundred years ago; tradition credits Toyotomi Hideyori or his mother Yodo-dono with the gift. Crossing it is a small rite in itself, and the slope is steep enough that care is needed in wet weather.

The grounds open at 6:00 from April to September and at 6:30 from October to March, and the inner precinct closes at 17:00, so this is a good early-morning visit. There is no entry charge. The shrine is extremely busy over the first days of January, when huge numbers come for the New Year visit, and on 14 June it holds the Otaue rice-planting ritual, a nationally recognised folk event. Allow an hour, or longer if you want to look at the smaller sub-shrines around the main compound.

Sumiyoshitaisha Station on the Nankai Main Line is about three minutes' walk away, and has a lift for those with wheelchairs or pushchairs; Sumiyoshi-toriimae on the Hankai Tramway is a short walk away, and Sumiyoshi-Higashi on the Nankai Koya Line is about five minutes on foot. The shrine is reached directly from Namba on the Nankai line, so it combines easily with an afternoon in Minami.