Hirota Shrine

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Hirota Shrine (廣田神社, Hirota-jinja^?) is a Shinto shrine in the town of Nishinomiya, in Japan's Hyogo Prefecture. Nishinomiya literally means "shrine of the west," and the town is in fact named after Hirota. It is one of three shrines which, according to Nihon Shoki, a historical epic chronicle, was established by the Empress Consort Jingū in the 3rd century, just after the Yamato (Japanese) people first came to Japan from Korea. In the legend, Amaterasu, Goddess of the Sun, and arguably the most important kami in Shinto, speaks and declares that she and the other gods of Japan must be enshrined in Hirota, Nagata, Ikuta, and Sumiyoshi. The Empress Consort Jingū does as commanded, and then finds herself successful in her political ambitions (ambushing and killing her rivals for the throne). Ever since then, Hirota Shrine has held some importance for the Emperor of Japan.

Today, the shrine is the only "Grand Shrine" in Hyogo Prefecture, and is famous for its kobanomitsuba tsutsuji, azaleas with three small leaves.

Most of this article's contents are derived from the Hirota Jinja article on the Japanese Wikipedia.