Ikasuri Jinja (Zama Shrine)
Riverside Shinto shrine famed as the birthplace of Japan's Watanabe surname, marked by a rare triple torii gate.
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About this audio guide
This guide to Ikasuri Jinja, also known as Zama Shrine, in Osaka traces how nearly one in two hundred Japanese people came to share the surname Watanabe. Legend holds that Empress Jingu enshrined five protective spirits on this Yodo riverbank some 1,400 years ago, at a site called Watanabe. When Toyotomi Hideyoshi wanted the ground for Osaka Castle in 1583, the shrine relocated west to where it stands today, carrying its old name with it into the families who lived nearby. Look for the gate ahead of you as you approach the shrine.
This audio guide was created using AI.
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