Hirota Shinto Shrine

Hirota Shrine is an ancient shrine in Nishinomiya City, Hyogo Prefecture, said to have been founded in the 1st year of Empress Jingu’s regency (AD 201), and it enshrines the Aramitama (fierce spirit) of Amaterasu Omikami as its principal deity. In the medieval period, it was regarded as a special shrine located to the west of Heian-kyo (Kyoto), and the fact that aristocrats referred to visiting Hirota Shrine as “Nishinomiya pilgrimage” or “Nishinomiya descent” is said to be the origin of the place name “Nishinomiya.” It is also famous as the shrine where all Hanshin Tigers players visit together in January, before the start of spring training, to pray for victory. It is convenient to reach by bus from Hankyu Nishinomiya-Kitaguchi Station, JR Kobe Line Nishinomiya Station, or Hanshin Railway Nishinomiya Station. The shrine is said to grant a wide range of blessings, including victory and success in exams, good fortune and prosperity, fertility and safe childbirth, literary and musical arts, warding off misfortune, traffic safety, advancement in life, purification of sins and obstacles, and guidance in pioneering new paths. Within the grounds is a colony of Kobano-mitsuba-tsutsuji azaleas estimated at around 20,000 shrubs, designated a Hyogo Prefectural Natural Monument. Typically on the first Sunday of April, the Azalea Festival is held, and many visitors come for the rituals, bugaku court dance, children’s procession, and flea market.