Ebisu Shrine, Hiroshima

photo by Taisyo · CC BY 3.0

Founded in 1603: every year, 18–20 November, the good-luck rakes for business.

On Ebisu-dōri, a covered street in the centre, the shrine is squeezed in between the shops and for eleven months of the year goes almost unnoticed. For three days in mid-November the street in front fills with stalls selling komazarae, the decorated bamboo rakes that people buy for good business in the year ahead; on the last day the main street closes to traffic and in the evening there are kagura dances.

胡子神社 (Ebisu-jinja) is a Shinto shrine dedicated to Ebisu, the god of fishing and commerce, founded in 1603 according to the shrine's page. Every year from 18 to 20 November (the shrine itself counts the start from the 17th) the 胡子大祭 (Ebisu taisai) is held, the festival that has been tied to the city's merchants for centuries.

ℹ️ The shrine is a small neighbourhood building, which can be visited as a place of worship with no ticket; no opening hours of its own are published. The festival is held every year from 18 to 20 November (the shrine counts it from the 17th): it is a fixed date, so in 2027 too it will fall on the same dates. On the last day, Chūō-dōri in front of the shrine closes to traffic and becomes pedestrianised, with kagura dances in the evening. It is a few steps from the south exit of the Mitsukoshi department store in Hiroshima.

🚉 Ebisu-cho · 2 min walk

Sources: ebisujinja.jp · ebisujinja.jp

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