Ataka Sumiyoshi-jinja Shrine 安宅住吉神社

Official explanation

Ataka Sumiyoshi-jinja is the only Shinto shrine in Japan dedicated to the guardian deity of overcoming obstacles. The shrine draws visitors seeking to prevail over challenges in business, studies, and daily life.

The shrine was first established in 782. It became linked to overcoming obstacles through a tale of the warrior monk Benkei (1155–1189) and his master, Minamoto no Yoshitsune (1159–1189). According to the story, immortalized in the Kabuki play Kanijincho, the pair were stopped by a guard at a nearby blockade but managed to pass through with clever deception. The shrine contains woodblock prints and embroidery depicting scenes from this story.

出典: 地域観光資源の多言語解説文データベース（観光庁） — www.mlit.go.jp/tagengo-db. この英語解説文は観光庁の地域観光資源の多言語解説整備支援事業で作成しました。
Source: Japan Tourism Agency, Multilingual Explanation Database. This English text was produced by the Japan Tourism Agency's multilingual explanation project and is shown unedited. Opening hours and services may have changed since it was written.