Nozatosumiyoshi Shrine

The shrine is said to have been founded by Ashikaga Yoshimitsu in 1382. Nozato is a long-established village laid out along the right bank of the old Nakatsu River, in what is now Nishiyodogawa, at the time of the cutting of the New Yodo River in the late Meiji period. The shrine is known for an unusual rite called Ichiya Kannyo, the one-night shrine maiden, an intangible cultural property of the prefecture. Nozato suffered storms, floods and epidemics one after another, so the villagers came to hold a rite on the twentieth day of the first lunar month each year in which a daughter was offered to the god. In the seventh year a samurai passing through the village offered to destroy the creature and took the girl's place, pretending to be the sacrifice. The next morning the samurai was gone, but a trail of blood led to a large baboon lying dead: this is the story of Iwami Jutaro and the baboon, often retold in kodan storytelling. At the festival today, on 20 February, seven girls chosen from the parishioners go before the deity with seven beautifully decorated tubs of offerings. Some of the implements used bear ink inscriptions from 1702, which confirms that the rite is an old one. On the east side of the precincts are the remains of an embankment from the late Meiji period.

Translated from the Osaka Prefecture and Osaka City tourist listings (観光施設一覧, CC BY 4.0).

Osaka Prefecture's list of designated cultural properties names this place as the owner of 1. Objects are not necessarily on view.

大阪府 文化財一覧 (CC BY 4.0), current at 2024-05-01. Joined by owner name; long names are shortened to the buildings or the object.