Ishizu-jinja, Shinto shrine in Japan

Ishizu-jinja is a Shinto shrine in Sakai with a simple layout featuring a main hall and smaller structures surrounded by trees and stone lanterns. The traditional wooden buildings have tiled roofs and connect through clean gravel paths that guide visitors through the grounds.

Shrine tradition holds that the deity Yae Kotoshironushi descended here carrying five-colored stones, which gave the place its name Ishizu. It is identified with the Ishizu Ojinja, a shrine listed in the Engishiki, said to have been founded in 484 by imperial command. In 1697 the Tokugawa shogunate granted it a vermilion-seal estate, and in 1909 it merged with Rokusho Shrine from Ichino, now worshipped in the same hall.

The shrine is dedicated to Kotoshironushi, a deity believed to bring wealth and happiness in local traditions. Visitors leave small offerings and write wishes on wooden ema plaques, showing how the community keeps spiritual practices alive through everyday rituals.

The shrine is located in Sakai and is easy to reach on foot or by local buses, with clear signage and simple navigation. The site is open most days, allowing visitors to leave small coins as offerings and observe respectful customs such as bowing before entering.

The shrine calls itself Japan's oldest Ebisu shrine, and its name is said to come from the five-coloured stone that Yae Kotoshironushi no Kami carried when he descended here; that stone is believed to be buried in front of the shrine and to rise to the surface when natural disasters occur.