住吉大社

Sumiyoshi Grand Shrine. These pictures are from my visit at the Sumiyoshi Shrine on August 9. This shrine is dedicated to Shinto deities associated with the sea and sea travel, and although most buildings were rebuilt several times since the founding of the shrine in the 3rd century, their architecture predates the influence of buddhist temple architecture. This is most significant in the roof construction, which you can see on some pictures (Note the difference to the roofs on the 8th and last picture).

The Sumiyoshi Taisha is probably most famous for its collection of huge stone lanterns, two of them can be seen on this picture.

This is a typical sight in Shinto shrines. People coming to the temple write their hopes and wishes on small wooden tablets and hang them on this board, hoping for the shrines deities to see to their fulfilling. It is quite common for students to do this prior to examinations.

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