Samuhara Shrine

Samuhara Shrine is a Shinto shrine in Itachibori, Nishi Ward, Osaka City, enshrining the three deities Amenominakanushi-no-Kami, Takamimusubi-no-Kami, and Kamimusubi-no-Kami. These are known as the “Zōka Sanshin” (the Three Deities of Creation). According to the Kojiki, Amenominakanushi-no-Kami was the first deity to appear in Takamagahara and is considered extremely ancient, while Takamimusubi-no-Kami and Kamimusubi-no-Kami represent creation. Collectively, these three are referred to as “Samuhara.” Because shrines dedicated to these gods are extremely rare nationwide, Samuhara Shrine is widely regarded as one of Osaka’s leading power spots, attracting many worshippers. The shrine stands next to a building of the Osaka Prefectural Police Mobile Patrol Unit, and its origins are said to date to 1935, when Tomisaburō Tanaka, a pioneer in the fountain pen industry, revived a small roadside shrine in his hometown of Kamo, Tsuyama City, Okayama Prefecture. After the war, he built a shrine at his own expense near Toyokuni Shrine in Nakanoshima, Osaka, and in 1961 it was relocated and re-enshrined at the present site. The characters “Samuhara” are believed to possess mysterious protective power, and a ring-shaped amulet sold at the shrine, called the “Goshinwa,” is considered a special talisman.