Nishinomiya City (西宮市) is a city located in Hyogo, Japan, between the cities of Osaka and Kobe.  On April 1, 2005, the city of Nishinomiya celebrated its 80th anniversary.  It is best known as the home of Koshien Stadium (甲子園球場), where the Hanshin Tigers (阪神タイガース) baseball team plays home games and where Japan's annual high school baseball championship is held.  It is also the location of Kwansei Gakuin University (関西大学), a private university founded by American missionaries in the nineteenth century.  Nishinomiya is an important commercial and shipping city in the Kansai region with the third largest population in Hyogo Prefecture.
  Nishinomiya City is located in the south-east of Hyogo Prefecture between the cities of Kobe and Osaka.  It is bordered by Osaka Bay to the south, the cities of Amagasaki (尼崎市), Itami (伊丹市) and Takarazuka (宝塚市) along the Muko-gawa (武庫川) and Ni-gawa (新川) rivers to the east and by a part of the Rokko Mountains and Kobe City to the north.  The city can be divided into two areas: a mountainous area in the north and a coastal plain in the south. Situated in the middle is Mount Kabuto (甲山, 309 meters), a landmark of the city.  The city has an area of 99.96 sq. km and population of 482,858 (1 April, 2012).  (Extracted from the site of "Wikipedia")

IMAGE	IMAGE NO.	DATA
Nishonomiya-jinjya		Nishonomiya-jinjya Shrine (西宮神社) is located at 1-17 Shake-cho, Nishimoniya City (西宮市社家町1番17号).  It is a Shinto shrine in Nishinomiya, Hyogo, Japan.  It is the head shrine of the Ebisu sect of Shinto (えびす宮総本社), and it is said that there are about 3,500 shrines under it.  Locals call the shrine ‘Ebessan’ (えべっさん).  It is famous for the Toka-Ebisu festival (十日戎開門神事福男選び), which is held on January 10 every year.  Particular to this festival is the "Lucky Men" (福男) race.  Begun during the Edo Period, participants gather in front of the shrine's main gate before 6 am on the 10th of January.  At 6 am, the shrine's drum sounds, the gates are opened, and the assembled crowd sprints perilously 230 meters to the main hall.  The top three finishers are given the title of "Lucky Men," and of those three the champion is known as the "Luckiest Man."  The race has been known to attract more than 6,000 runners.     Nishinomiya-jinjya Shrine has three small inner shrines and each shrine enshrines one or two kami.  The first shrine enshrines Nishinomiya-Okami (西宮大神), or Ebisu-no-mikoto (蛭子命), namely Ebisu.  The kami of the second shrine are Amaterasu-Omikami (天照大御神) and Okuninushino-Mikoto (大国主大神).  The third shrine is for Susanoono-Mikoto (須佐之男大神).   It is not clear when this shrine was established.  However, it is recorded that it was already at this site, under the name Ebisu-sha, and attracting many worshippers during the Heian Period.  For many centuries it was known as Nangu-sha (南宮社), the "Southern Shrine," in reference to its status as a branch shrine of Hirota Shrine (廣田神社), which is located to its north in Nishinomiya.  Nishinomiya Shrine itself had a similar relationship with Koshikiiwa-jinjya Shrine (越木岩神社), which was sometimes called Kita no Ebisu, meaning the Northern Ebisu.  (Extracted from the site of "Wikipedia")
	hns2012-048	(Friday 23 March) Illustrated map of Nishonomiya-jinjya Shrine, 1-17 Shake-cho, Nishimoniya City
	hns2012-098	(Friday 23 March) The approach to be the "Lucky Men," Nishonomiya-jinjya Shrine, 1-17 Shake-cho, Nishimoniya City
	hns2012-099	(Friday 23 March) The approach to be the "Lucky Men," Nishonomiya-jinjya Shrine, 1-17 Shake-cho, Nishimoniya City
	hns2012-157	(Friday 23 March) The approach to be the "Lucky Men," Nishonomiya-jinjya Shrine, 1-17 Shake-cho, Nishimoniya City
	hns2012-158	(Friday 23 March) The approach to be the "Lucky Men," Nishonomiya-jinjya Shrine, 1-17 Shake-cho, Nishimoniya City
	hns2012-159	(Friday 23 March) The approach to be the "Lucky Men," Nishonomiya-jinjya Shrine, 1-17 Shake-cho, Nishimoniya City
	hns2012-160	(Friday 23 March) The approach to be the "Lucky Men," Nishonomiya-jinjya Shrine, 1-17 Shake-cho, Nishimoniya City
	hns2012-161	(Friday 23 March) The approach to be the "Lucky Men," Nishonomiya-jinjya Shrine, 1-17 Shake-cho, Nishimoniya City
	hns2012-162	(Friday 23 March) The approach to be the "Lucky Men," Nishonomiya-jinjya Shrine, 1-17 Shake-cho, Nishimoniya City
	hns2012-163	(Friday 23 March) The approach to be the "Lucky Men," Nishonomiya-jinjya Shrine, 1-17 Shake-cho, Nishimoniya City
	hns2012-164	(Friday 23 March) The approach to be the "Lucky Men," Nishonomiya-jinjya Shrine, 1-17 Shake-cho, Nishimoniya City
	hns2012-165	(Friday 23 March) The approach to be the "Lucky Men," Nishonomiya-jinjya Shrine, 1-17 Shake-cho, Nishimoniya City
	hns2012-166	(Friday 23 March) The approach to be the "Lucky Men," Nishonomiya-jinjya Shrine, 1-17 Shake-cho, Nishimoniya City
	hns2012-167	(Friday 23 March) The approach to be the "Lucky Men," Nishonomiya-jinjya Shrine, 1-17 Shake-cho, Nishimoniya City
	hns2012-168	(Friday 23 March) The approach to be the "Lucky Men," Nishonomiya-jinjya Shrine, 1-17 Shake-cho, Nishimoniya City
	hns2012-169	(Friday 23 March) The approach to be the "Lucky Men," Nishonomiya-jinjya Shrine, 1-17 Shake-cho, Nishimoniya City

        

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