Ishikiritsurugiya Shrine

Ishikiritsurugiya Shrine stands on the western foothills of Mount Ikoma in Higashiōsaka, Osaka. The principal enshrined kami (shusaijin) are Nigihayahi-no-Mikoto and his son Umashimade-no-Mikoto. This ancient shrine of Mononobe-clan significance sits on a high plateau at the eastern edge of the Osaka plain, offering views across the lowlands. The approach path (sando) extends from Shinichigirikiri Station on the Keihan-na Line, and a separate upper shrine (Kami-no-Sha) marking Nigihayahi's original seat remains within the precincts.

According to the *Nihon Shoki* (Chronicles of Japan, 720 CE) and the *Sendai Kuji Hongi*, Nigihayahi-no-Mikoto descended as a heavenly kami (amatsukami) in the heavenly rock vessel to Ikaruga Peak (in the heights of Mount Ikoma) in Kawachi Province. He was the ancestral deity of the Mononobe, Hozumi, and Uneme clans. Umashimade-no-Mikoto, his son by Mikashikiya-hime (sister of Nagasune-hiko), later yielded to the Emperor Jinmu during the eastern campaign, continuing his father's will.

Tradition holds that the shrine's founding occurred in the second year of Emperor Jinmu's reign, when Umashimade enshrined the treasures left by his father Nigihayahi—the heavenly feather-arrows (ame-no-haha-ya) and heavenly feather-bow (ame-no-haha-yumi). The *Engishiki* (*Procedures of the Engi Era*, 927 CE) lists it in the Register of Shrines as a shrine of the first rank, recorded as 'Ishikiri Sword-and-Arrow Shrine, two seats' in Kawachi District, Kawachi Province.

From the medieval period onward, the shrine attracted deep veneration among Kawachi warriors and commoners alike. In the early modern period and beyond, it became widely known as a shrine for the healing of swellings and growths, achieving national prominence through the practice of *hyakudo mairi* (hundred times worship) performed before the main hall (honden).

The shrine's principal annual festival is the autumn great festival (shinko-sai, divine procession) on 21–22 October. Year-round observances include the summer purification ritual (harae) on 4 August, monthly rites on the 1st and 15th, and the continuous custom of *hyakudo mairi* pilgrimage.