Ōtori taisha

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Ōtori taisha 大鳥神社
Inside Ōtori taisha Wikimedia | © OpenStreetMap
Religion
Affiliation	Shinto
Deity	Prince Yamato Takeru
Location
Location	Osaka-fu, Sakai-shi, Nishi-ku, 1-1-2
Shown within Japan
Geographic coordinates	34°32′13″N 135°27′39″E / 34.53694°N 135.46083°E / 34.53694; 135.46083Coordinates: 34°32′13″N 135°27′39″E / 34.53694°N 135.46083°E / 34.53694; 135.46083
Website
www.city.sakai.lg.jp/foreigner_en/spot/spot2.html
Glossary of Shinto

Ōtori taisha (大鳥神社), also known as Ōtori Grand Shrine, is a Shinto shrine in Nishi-ku ward in the city of Sakai, Osaka, Japan.

History[]

The legend of the origin of the shrine states that the hero Yamatotakeru-no-Mikoto, who turned into a white swan upon his death, last stopped at the future site of the Otori Taisha. It is said that the people nearby built the shrine in order to worship white swans.^[1]

The prince Yamato Takeru (originally prince Ousu), son of Emperor Keiko of the Yamato Dynasty, is enshrined here. The prince was praised for his bravery in battle and was given the name Yamato Takeru, or The Brave of Yamato, by his enemy as he died.^[2]

Ōtori Taisha is believed to be in the service of the gods of literature and martial arts, and it was said that warriors often visited in ancient times.

Ōtori was designated as the chief Shinto shrine (ichinomiya) for the former Izumi province.^[3] From 1871 through 1946, Ōtori was officially designated one of the Kanpei-taisha (官幣大社), meaning that it stood in the first rank among government supported shrines.

Grounds[]

The shrine's grounds, which extend over 50,000 square meters, contain a quiet forest known as Chigusa-no-mori because of the seemingly endless variety of tree species which can be found there. The shrine is also known for its iris garden, which features over 100,000 flowers. There is a monument in the shrine on which a tanka poem was inscribed by Tomioka Tessai.

Notable Architecture[]

The main building, Ōtori zukuri, is built in one of the oldest architectural styles used for Japanese shrines.^[4] This building burned down in 1905, but was rebuilt in 1909.

Festival[]

A traditional festival is held every year on the weekend of the first week of October at around this shrine.The festival is called ”Danjiri Matsuri".

• Danjiri Matsuri at Ōtori taisha
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  At grounds of Ōtori taisha.

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  At grounds of Ōtori taisha.

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  A priest of Ōtori taisha prays for the safety of the festival.

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  Torii gate of the main entrance to Ōtori taisha

• Play media

  Danjiri Matsuri

Visiting[]

There are no set hours and admission is free. To reach Ōtori taisha, take the JR Hanwa Line and get off at Otori Station.

Gallery[]

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  Entrance to Ōtori taisha.

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  Inside Ōtori taisha.

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  Inside Ōtori taisha.

See also[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ōtori-taisha.

• List of Shinto shrines
• Modern system of ranked Shinto Shrines

Notes[]

External links[]

• Sakai City Site
• 238183992 Ōtori taisha on OpenStreetMap