[Osaka] Sakai City, Aguchi Shrine

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Aguchi Shrine, located in Sakai City, Osaka Prefecture, is affectionately known as "Otera-san."
It is said to have been built by order of Empress Jingu to guard the entrance to Osaka Bay.
It is the only shrine in the old city designated as a sacred place in the Shikinai (Engi-in) system, and enshrines Shiotsuchino-no-Okami, Susanoo-no-Kami, and Ikutama-no-Kami.
In 746 (Tenpyo 18), Gyoki built Nenbutsu-ji Temple on the grounds, and in 806 (Daido 1), Kukai erected a pagoda, hence the shrine's nickname "Otera."
Yakushi Shrine - The Yakushi Nyorai statue, the principal image of Nenbutsu-ji Temple, is said to have been created by Gyoki and is one of the oldest in the city.

The shrine's crest, a three-egg carving, is unusual.
Originally, the name was a comma-shaped symbol associated with the enshrined deity. However, during the Hakuho era, a parishioner saw three eggplants growing on a single calyx. This was considered auspicious and was dedicated, leading to the comma-shaped symbol being changed to eggplant.

Sakai is also the birthplace of Yosano Akiko, who played here as a child, and there is a monument inscribed with her poem.

There are many other things to see at this shrine. ✨

Akaguchi Shrine
📍Address: 2-1-29 Kaimachi Higashi, Sakai-ku, Sakai City
Get off at Shukuin Station on the Hankai Line

#SakaiSightseeing

Post by こりのとりっぷ | Jul 29, 2025