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The main shrine
The main shrine of all the Sumiyoshi shrines
Sumiyoshi-taisha, also known as Sumiyoshi Grand Shrine, is the main shrine of all the Sumiyoshi shrines. It gives its name to a style of shrine architecture, Sumiyoshi-zukuri, and was the chief Shinto shrine for the former Settsu Province.
Founding
An empress told Tamomi no Sukune to enshrine the Sumiyoshi kami
The shrine was founded by Tamomi no Sukune in the 11th year of Empress Jingū's reign. She told him to enshrine the Sumiyoshi sanjin after an oracle from Amaterasu and three Sumiyoshi kami. Later the empress herself was also enshrined.
211year of the founding, by the shrine's account
The port
Embassies to China sailed from a port south of the shrine
The shrine protected the Imperial embassies to China, and its head priests, the Tsumori clan, boarded the ships. The embassies left from Suminoe no Tsu, on a river south of the shrine, the oldest international port in Japan and the Silk Road's entrance into Japan.
The sea
The shrine is landlocked now, but once faced the sea
Sumiyoshi-taisha is now completely landlocked, but until the Edo period the grounds faced the sea. Its scenery of white sand and green pines gave its name to the Sumiyoshi design. In The Tale of Genji it is an important stage in chapters about the Akashi Lady.
The hall
The main hall is the oldest example of its style
The honden is built in the Sumiyoshi-zukuri style and is a national treasure. There are no corridors around the sanctuary, and the round pillars stand on stone foundations. The stone Kakutorii is unusual: its middle bar does not extend outside the posts.
Day 3, morning
Next is Shitennoji.
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The words are a retelling of the Wikipedia article Sumiyoshi-taisha, and are shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. They are checked against those articles, and a fact that is not in them is left out.