Watatsumi Shrine (Kai Jinja) — Attraction in Kobe

While this shrine’s formal name is Watatsumi Jinja it is much better colloquially known as Umi Jinja. It was also known as Kai Jinja ("Umi" and "Kai" are both common readings for the character "海“ in the shrine's name). The name can also be written as 綿津見神社. Historically it was also known as Ama Jinja and Tarumi Jinja. From the early Edo Period the shrine had been known as Himukai Daijin-gu, but in 1871 it was given Kokuheisha ranking and its name changed to Watatsumi Jinja. This reading was based on the arguments of Motoori Nobunaga. In i1897 it was upgraded to Kanpeisha rank. Along with Iwa Jinja in Shiso-shi and Ibonimasu-Amaterasu Jinja in Tatsuno-shi it is one of the Three Major Shrines of Harima Province. It is one of the nine shrines listed in the Akashi District of Harima Province in the Eng-Shiki. Its origins share a commonality with those of Ikuta Jinja and Ikasura Jinja, that of Empress Jingū returning from the Three Han (三韓, Korea) campaign. Off the coast of Kobe the ship she was travelling in was beset by a heavy storm and was unable to make any headway. She prayed to Watatsumi-Kami for help: divine aim was forthcoming, the storm died down, and the ship was able to proceed. A shrine was subsequently built to honour Watatsumi-Kami, who was worshipped as the Kami of maritime safety and a flourishing fishing industry. The first written historical mention of the shrine was in 806 in the Shinshō kakaku chōfūshō which tells us that the shrine was granted half of the taxes paid by ten households. After the middle ages the shrine was badly affected by warfare but in 1587 Toyotomi Hideyoshi presented it with a forest in Tarumi district. In the Edo Period it was highly revered by the rulers of the Akashi Domain and it became a practice for them to visit the shrine each February. Until the post WWII period of rapid economic growth the main torii had stood on the beach, but land reclamation in the 1960s resulted in it being moved to its present position on dry land in front of the...

Nice peaceful place to find space to think and pray. Convenient to the station and with parking available too. Sandwiched between the main road and the railway line it should be a noisy place...but is...

海神社（わたつみじんじゃ）。兵庫県神戸市垂水区宮本町。

式内社（名神大）三座、旧官幣中社。 伊和神社・粒坐天照神社とともに播磨三大社とされる。

主祭神：海神三座 ・上津綿津見神（うわつわたつみのかみ）：海上＝航海の神 ・中津綿津見神（なかつわたつみのかみ）：海中＝魚（漁業）の神 ・底津綿津見神（そこつわたつみのかみ）：海底＝海藻、塩の神 配祀神：大日孁貴尊　-　アマテラスオオミカミ。

資料によると、 社伝によると、神功皇后が三韓征伐からの帰途、当地の海上で暴風雨が起こって船が進めなくなったため、皇后が綿津見三神を祀ると暴風雨が治まり、その縁でこの地に綿津見三神を祀る社殿を建てたのが始まりという。...