Happy New Year!

January 1st is New Year or 'Shogatsu' and is one of the most important holidays celebrated in Japan. It's a time for people to stop working and return to their hometowns to spend time with family and, as traditionally a woman becomes a part of the husband's family after marriage, it's usually the husband's family. The home is given a big clean, kind of like the spring cleaning of some western countries, in preparation for the holidays. On the night of December 31st some people visit a temple to watch a Buddhist priest ring the huge temple bell 108 times. These days you can also watch it happen on TV as various temples from all over Japan are featured leading up to midnight. The 108 bongs on the bell represent the 108 defilements or torments that people are said to have in their mind and serve to repent for those sins so allowing us to start the New Year as innocents again.
On January 1st many Japanese get up early to watch the first sunrise and then during the day visit three Shinto Shrines to pray for health and prosperity in the coming year. Some of the popular shrines have thousands of people visiting them on this day; I like to go to smaller local shrines where there aren't so many people.


Today I went to Tashima Jinja which is the closest to my home, Sumiyoshi Jinja in the famous nearby town of Yanagawa and Oimatsu Jinja which is in the countryside near Number 1's family home and which is by far my favourite. The first two pictures are Tashima Jinja and you can see what a hive of local community it becomes at this time of year. People pray in front of the shrine by tossing a coin into the box, ringing a bell to wake up the Gods, bow twice, clap hands twice, say your prayer and then bow one more time. Amulets and good luck charms can be bought from the shrine, and on special occasions such as New Year, a cup of saki is given. There is a fire burning in the shrine grounds and traditionally a light is taken from here to light a fire in the home.

At Sumiyoshi Shrine there is a giant head of Fuku no Kami, the God of Happiness, that you can walk through. There's an old Japanese saying, "If you laugh, happiness comes" which I know to be true!


Oimatsu Shrine is in the middle of nowhere and is almost always deserted. Shrines are usually located in places of natural beauty since nature is an important part of Shinto beliefs as the Gods are thought to inhabit nature in an animistic way.
Here is the amulet I bought from Tashima Jinja. It will being me health and happiness in 2010. Happy New Year!