Sumiyoshi Shrine

This guide to Sumiyoshi Shrine in Fukuoka reads the hundreds of stone lanterns lining its path as a merchant's ledger, each one donated by a Hakata trader giving thanks to the sea gods for a cargo run to China or Korea that came home safe. It traces the shrine's roots to a chronicle from 737 and its main hall's rebuilding by the regional lord Kuroda Nagamasa in 1623. Look for the squat stone sumo wrestler with gilded eyes near the grounds, still rubbed by visitors hoping for strength.