A Hankai (阪堺電気軌道株式会社) tram passes the Sumiyoshi Taisha (住吉大社) Shrine in Osaka (大阪), Japan (日本) during our trip on Thursday, April 6, 2017.
© 2018 Sanjib Dutta
The Hankai Tramway operates two tramlines from southern Osaka to Sakai City (堺市). This tramline service dates back to the early 1900s. A variety of sleek and modern as well as vintage models dating back to 1928 run on the Hankai tramlines.
Sumiyoshi taisha (also known as Sumiyoshi Grand Shrine) is a Shinto (神道) shrine in Sumiyoshi ward in Osaka. It is the main shrine of all the Sumiyoshi shrines in Japan. However, the oldest shrine that enshrines the Sumiyoshi sanjin (住吉三神), the three Sumiyoshi kami (神), is the Sumiyoshi shrine in Hakata (博多区).
It is called Sumiyoshi-san or Sumiyossan by the locals, and is famous for the large crowds that come to the shrine on Japanese New Year’s Day for hatsumōde (初詣).
Sumiyoshi taisha enshrines the Sumiyoshi tanjin—Sokotsutsu no Onomikoto, Nakatsutsu no Onomikoto, and Uwatsutsu no Onomikoto—and Okinagatarashihime no Mikoto (Empress Jingū/神功皇后), and they are collectively known as the “Sumiyoshi Ōkami”, the great gods of Sumiyoshi. Another term is “Sumiyoshi no Ōgami no Miya”. It gives its name to a style of shrine architecture known as Sumiyoshi-zukuri.
Address:
２丁目-9-89 住吉 Sumiyoshi Ward
Osaka, Osaka Prefecture 558-0045, Japan
Hankai Tramway:
Osaka Transportation Guide:
AloJapan.com