Sannomiya Shrine

Sannomiya Shrine is a venerable Shinto shrine in Chuo Ward, Kobe City, Hyogo Prefecture, enshrining Tagitsuhime-no-Mikoto, a deity said to be a child of Amaterasu Omikami, and it is also associated with the origin of the surrounding place name. Access is about a 3-minute walk from JR Kobe Line / Hanshin Railway Motomachi Station, or about a 5-minute walk from JR Kobe Line Sannomiya Station. It is the third of the Ikuta-derived Eight Shrines (Ikuta E-shin Hassha) scattered around Ikuta Shrine, and has long been deeply worshiped as a guardian deity of safe navigation and the prosperity of commerce and industry. Many people also make the “Kobe Hassha Pilgrimage,” visiting the shrines in order while collecting goshuin stamps. While the precincts and buildings feel compact, the shrine is also known as the site of the “Kobe Incident,” where Bizen Domain troops and French soldiers clashed during the turbulent Bakumatsu–Meiji transition; a cannon placed within the grounds evokes a sense of historical romance. Located amid Kobe’s signature commercial areas—such as the former foreign settlement, Motomachi Shopping Street, and Nankinmachi (Chinatown)—it is a nice place to visit alongside sightseeing and shopping.