Sukunahikona Shrine

Sukunahikona Shrine is affectionately known locally as “Shinnō-san.” Doshomachi, where the shrine stands, has been known since Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s time as an area where pharmaceutical merchants gathered, and in the Edo period a guild of drug traders was formed. In 1780, guild members invited Sukunahikona-no-Mikoto—Japan’s ancestral deity of medicine—from Gojō Tenjin in Kyoto and enshrined him together with Shennong (Shinnō), the Chinese ancestral god of medicine; this marks the beginning of the shrine. During the “Shinnō Festival” held every year on November 22 and 23, visitors receive “hariko no tora” (papier-mâché tigers), which are believed to bring protection from illness. Because the festival is seen as the event that closes out the year in Osaka, it is also called the “Tome no Matsuri” (the year’s closing festival). During the festival, food stalls line the narrow approach between buildings, and the shrine becomes crowded with worshippers. On the left side of the approach entrance, there is also the “Kusuri no Doshomachi Shiryokan” museum where you can learn about the shrine’s history—worth stopping by on your way out. Along Doshomachi Street, other facilities such as the Tanabe Mitsubishi Pharma Historical Archives, the Shionogi headquarters exhibition corner, and Kyōu Shooku are also open to the public for free, so if you’re interested in medicine, consider visiting them as well.