ABSTRACT
The following account of Hiraoka Jinja is written to represent the “Kawachi Marti,” one of the 12 vessels of approximately 6,000 tons with which the N.Y.K. opened their European Service in 1896. The connection between the two is perhaps not very obvious, but the vessel was named after the province of Kawachi, one of the Gokinai, or 5 “home provinces,” and the shrine is the Ichinomiya or principal shrine of the province. It was therefore under the aegis and protection of the deities of Hiraoka that the “Kawachi Maru” rendered her faithful service, extending over 36 years, to the company.
