Nagata Shrine

Introduction

Nagata Shrine is one of Kobe's three great shrines alongside Ikuta and Minatogawa. The Nihon Shoki records that in 201, the regent Empress Jingu received an oracle on her return from Silla and had Nagahime enshrine Kotoshironushi here, so the site has been worshipped for more than eighteen centuries. Listed as a myojin taisha in the Engishiki, it was served by forty-one households of 'kanbe', and that word is where the city name Kobe comes from. Kotoshironushi is widely honoured as Ebisu, the god of good fortune, protector of commerce, industry and every trade, giver of luck and remover of misfortune; locals call the shrine Nagata-san, and over a million people come in the first three days of January. Sacred roam freely in the grounds after an oracle named the place where cocks crow as the god's own, which led foreign visitors to call it the Chicken Temple. A great camphor tree some five metres around stands by the Kusunomiya Inari sub-shrine, where the healing cult belongs rather than to the main deity. The ancient Setsubun oni rite, handed down from the Muromachi period, has demon dancers swinging torches and visitors taking ash for purification, and says more about the shrine's age than any festival crowd. Entry is free, opening at 05:00 from April to September and 06:00 in winter, five minutes through the shopping street from Nagata subway station. It drew a new wave of younger visitors after appearing in the third season of Alice in Borderland in 2025.

✨ Highlights

🛈 Practical Info