Nagata Shrine Talisman Office and Annex

The 1928 amulet office beside the gate

Nagata Shrine Talisman Office and Annex (長田神社神符授与所及び附属屋, Nagata Jinja Shinpu Juyojo oyobi Fuzokuya) is the 1928 amulet counter and small annex east of the Shinmon Gate of Nagata Shrine in Nagatacho, Nagata Ward, Kobe, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on February 14, 2002. The two copper-roofed parts together have a building area of 24 square meters.

Shinpu are the paper talismans a shrine issues. The annex attaches to the east end of the Shinmon Gate, and the talisman office continues beyond it, part of the straight line of buildings that separates the outer grounds from the inner precinct.

Why the Nagata Shrine Talisman Office and Annex was registered

Registered as a model of form under number 28-0089, the complex has two parts. The annex is 6 shaku by 8 shaku, its ridge running east to west under a roof sloping front and back. The talisman office is a hip-and-gable building, 18 shaku by 12 shaku, its ridge running north to south, projecting into the inner precinct.

The building has two faces. On the north, facing the worshippers inside, glass sliding screens fill three sides. On the south, office and annex alike match the corridors: boarded below, with Renji-mado slatted windows above. From outside it disappears into the run of corridors; from inside it opens up as a service window.

What to look for at the Nagata Shrine Talisman Office and Annex

See it from both sides of the gate. From the outer grounds, the wall east of the Shinmon Gate looks like more corridor. Walk through the gate and turn: just to your right, a glazed counter juts out, and that is the office. Its best feature is simply that it still works. According to the shrine, the counter just to the right inside the gate issues amulets and takes bookings for prayer rituals, as it has since 1928.

Visiting the Nagata Shrine Talisman Office and Annex

The exterior can be viewed freely. Prayer rituals are booked at this counter without reservation from 9:00 a.m. to about 3:30 p.m.; through about January 6, a temporary desk to the left of the main hall takes over. Amulets include charms for traffic safety and recovery from illness, and a netsuke charm shaped like the shrine's sacred chicken. At Setsubun, bundled remains of the torches used in the Tsuinashiki are handed out from a temporary stall below the gate. Access and general visiting details are on the Nagata Shrine page.