Hatsumoude, The first visit to a Shrine during the New Year
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What is Hatsumoude?
Hatsumoude is the word used to refer to a person’s first visit to a Shinto shrine or Buddhist temple during the New Year.
Because it was customary to visit the shrine or temple located in the direction from one’s home considered to be the most auspicious that year, this practice was also called Eho-mairi.
Today, however, it has become more common to visit well-known shrines and temples, regardless of their location.
These visits, which begin at midnight on New year’s eve, are made annually by large numbers of Japanese. Tokyo’s Meiji Jingu Shrine, kamakura’s Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine and Kyoto’s Yasaka Shrine each receive several million visitors over the first three days of January.
(adapted from japan: An Illustrated Encyclopedia.Tokyo: Kodansha,1993)
The ritual to do while visiting a shrine
Before a saying visitors bow in front of the guard fram while going to worship hall, clean their hands and mouth at the Chozu-sha” (this is the place for cleansing your hands and mouth in shrines).
Below is the ritual of saying a prayer at a worship hall:
- Give an offering in the form of money
Recommended amount :- ￥5 Pronounced as “Goen” which means lucky in Japanese
- ￥11、￥21、￥31 Indivisible amount said to be a form of good luck for happy marriage and love.
- ￥29 It can be pronounced as “Fuku” in Japanese which means wealth.
- ￥115 It can be pronounced as “Ii-Goen” in japanese which means good luck.
- Ring a bell
- Bow twice
- Clap your hands twice
- Join your hands in prayer
- Bow once
Other things that you can do at Hatsumoude
- Draw “Omikuji” The written fortune
- Buying good luck charms
- Writing your wish on ”Ema” a form of tablet and hang it on where this tablet wishes is placed for this wishes to be realized by God
