早春の茨住吉神社 Ibara Sumiyoshi Shrine in early spring

 早春の茨住吉神社

 

Torii gate

茨住吉神社（大阪市西区九条1-1-17）は地下鉄九条駅から徒歩約5分の場所です。

ご祭神は住吉三神と神功皇后の四柱です。

神社の公式HPによれば（以下引用）～

淀川や大和川の河口付近に形成された砂州は、大小の島々となって難波八十島と呼ばれていましたが、わが九条島もその中の一つでありました。

それらの島々は自然と人為が作用し合って次第に陸地化し、江戸時代になるとその周辺部は急速に新田の開発が進められるようになりました。

九条島では寛永元年（西暦1624年）ごろから新田の干拓工事が始められ、その完成とともに東西二十五間（45メートル余）南北七十五間（136メートル余）の境域が区画され、社殿が造営されて、産土神として新田・河川の守護神として住吉大神が祀られました。

やがて時代の推移と共に九条新田の田畑は人家となり、大正時代から昭和時代初期にかけて、西大阪の中心街・歓楽街として最も繁栄し、神社境内には常時映画館や出店があって昼夜参拝者で賑わい、氏子も四区にまたがって4萬戸を超え当神社として最盛期を迎えましたが、昭和20年（西暦1945年）三月十三日第二次世界大戦中の空襲によって神輿庫一棟を残してことごとく焼失しました。

Main shrine

その後、神職・氏子崇敬者が共々に復興に専念して、昭和40年に現在の鉄筋コンクリート造二階建の社殿を竣工、つづいて参集殿・渡廊・鳥居門・手水舎・石玉垣などの付属建造物を昭和46年にそれぞれ完成し、神社としての規模をようやく整えました。

なお当神社の故事については、江戸末期以降の地誌・名所図会などに種々の記載はあるものの傍証のできる記録文書に乏しく、茨住吉神社の「茨」についても菟原群住吉郷の住吉神社（現在の元住吉神社）から分祀したのでとも云い、また新田開発当時「いばら」が生い茂った荒地に祀られていたからとも伝えられますが、特定できる資料はありません。～とあります。

 

One Hundred Views of Naniwa

江戸時代末期の浮世絵「浪速百景」では鳥居の向こうに水面がみえます。古地図から推理すると木津川と考えられます（現在、鳥居から木津川までは280ｍ以上離れています）。

Sumiyoshi Odori Dance of Ibara Sumiyoshi Shrine

私はこの神社に参拝するのは初めてでしたが、過去にこちらの神社の住吉踊の皆さんが住吉大社へ来て奉納されていたことがありとても気になっていました。

参拝した際に社務所の方がとても親切に対応してくださり、多くの資料もみせてくださいました。神社の境内は第二次世界大戦の空襲で焼失しているとのことで、現在の本殿は水害を考慮して2階建てとなっており、とても特徴のある様子になっています。

新型コロナウイルス感染症の蔓延防止等重点措置が発令している平日の午前中でしたが、熱心な信者の方々が絶えず訪れているとても地域で崇敬されていることが実感できました。

感染状況が落ち着いて、お祭りが再開したら是非伺いたいです。茨住吉神社に感謝申し上げます。

  

使用機材

CANON EOS 5D Mark III + EF 16-35mm F4.0L IS USM

市川ソフトラボラトリー Silkypix Developer Studio Pro 11

 

*この記事をお読みになって、協賛金をお支払いくださる方は下記ボタンからお願いします。

取材や作品制作に使わせていただきます。

掲載記事の更新日2022年02月12日

 

Ibara Sumiyoshi Shrine in early spring

 

View of Main Shine

Ibara Sumiyoshi Shrine is placed 1-1-17 Kujo, Nishi-Ward, Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture, and is about a 5-minute walk from Kujo Subway Station. Its enshrined deity is Sumiyoshi Sanjin (Sumiyoshi three Shinto Gods) and Empress Jingu.

This is from Shrine's Official HP: The sandbars formed near an estuary of Yodo and Yamato River became several islands and were called "Naniwa Yasojima", and our Kujo Island was one of them.

These islands gradually became land due to the interaction of natural and artificial, and in the Edo era, the development of the new rice fields began to progress rapidly in the surrounding area.

Inner view of Main shrine

On Kujo Island, the reclamation work of the new rice fields began around the 1st year of Kan-ei (1624), and with the completion of the reclamation work, the boundary area of 45m east-west and 136m north-south was divided. The shrine was built, and Sumiyoshi Sanjin was enshrined as a guardian deity of the new rice fields and rivers, as a local Shinto god.

With the passage of time, the fields of Kujo new rice fields became a private house, and from the Taisho era to the early Showa era, it prospered most as a central entertainment district in western Osaka. There are always movie theaters and stores in the shrine precincts, and it had been crowded with worshipers’ day and night. At the time reached its peak as our shrine, the number of reverent ujiko (shrine parishioners) surpassing 40,000 houses across the 4 wards. But March 13, 1945 An air raid during WWII burned down all, left behind the garage of one portable shrine.

After that, the Shinto priesthoods and worshipers of the shrine parishioners devoted themselves to the reconstruction, and in 1965 the current reinforced concrete two-story shrine was completed. The attached buildings were completed in 1971, and the scale of the shrine was finally adjusted.

The historical allusion of this shrine, although there are various descriptions in the geographical books and the Famous place illustrated map since the end of the Edo era, there are few documentary documents that can be determined. It is said that the reason origin name of "Ibara" of this Shrine was separation of worship from Sumiyoshi Shrine (currently Moto Sumiyoshi Shrine) in "Ubara-gun", and it was also said that it was enshrined in a wasteland where "Briar" was overgrown at the time of Nitta development. However, there is no document that can be identified.

One Hundred Views of Naniwa

In the Ukiyo-e "One Hundred Views of Naniwa" at the end of the Edo era, the water surface can be seen beyond the torii gate of this shrine. I think from the old map of this area that is maybe the Kizu River (currently, the torii is more than 280m away from the Kizu River).

Sumiyoshi Odori Dance of Ibara Sumiyoshi Shrine

It was my first time to visit this shrine, but I have been wanted to visit someday because Sumiyoshi Odori dancers of this shrine had come to Sumiyoshi Taisha and dedicated it in the past time.

When I visited the shrine, the office person was very kind to me and showed me a lot of documents. It is said that the precincts of the shrine were burnt down in the air raids of WWII, and the current main shrine is a two-story building in consideration of flood damage, and it seems very characteristic.

View of precincts

When I visited in the weekday morning, there were revered in the very area where enthusiastic believers are constantly visiting.

If COVID-19 will be end, I come to photo the festival of this shrine.

I thank you for all people of this shrine.

 

Equipment

 

CANON EOS 5D Mark III + EF 16-35mm F4.0L IS USM

Ichikawa Soft Laboratory Silkypix Developer Studio Pro 11

*If you would like to pay a monetary contribution after reading this article, please click the button below.

I will use it for expense for covering news and making artworks.

This page was last modified: February 27, 2022.