Horikawa Ebisu Shrine

Horikawa Ebisu Shrine is a Shinto shrine in Kita Ward, Osaka City. Along with Imamiya Ebisu Shrine in southern Osaka and Nishinomiya Ebisu Shrine in Hyogo Prefecture, it is dedicated to Ebisu Ōkami (Hiruko no Ōkami), a deity of prosperous business, and also enshrines Sukuna-hikona-no-Mikoto and Amefutotama-no-Mikoto as associated deities. According to shrine records, it was founded around the year 550, when Tomi no Muraji Yoshio—following an oracle from Ebisu Ōkami—used a jewel he found by the reeds of Naniwa Horie as a substitute for the divine spirit and enshrined it at Namba Tomishima. It is also said that during the Bunna era (1352–1355), the shrine was relocated and revived at its current site. All buildings were destroyed in wartime fires in 1945, but the main sanctuary was rebuilt in 1963. Known affectionately as “Kita no Ebessan,” it is counted among the “Three Great Ebisu Shrines” alongside Imamiya Ebisu and Nishinomiya Ebisu. The Toka Ebisu festival is held every year from January 9 to 11, drawing huge crowds, with the lively call echoing through the grounds: “Shōbai hanjō de, sasa motte koi!” (“For prosperous business—bring your bamboo branches!”).