Visiting the Shrine

Besides eating, the number one activity associated with celebrating the New Year is visiting the shrine.  Many people line up, waiting to enter the shrine at midnight to ask for good luck in the new year.  I have been to the shrine at midnight, which was really fun in a laidback sort of way.  But since having my son, we have preferred to stay home and go in the morning.

Back in Seattle, we were lucky to have access to an authentic Japanese shrine (it's actually in Granite Falls, but has always been worth the drive for us).  On January first, our friends would meet up at our house for a breakfast of osechi, including ozoni, and then we would carpool to the shrine.  This tradition always makes me smile when it crosses my mind. 

This year, we continued the tradition of celebrating a traditional Japanese New Year.  However, we were able to visit many different shrines because there are so many to choose from!

We started our journey by visiting our local shrine.  It is tiny, old, and a bit neglected.  But it is the home of powerful gods and we felt the need to pay respects there.  In addition to saying a short prayer asking for good luck in the new year, we purchased hamaya - an arrow meant to ward off misfortune and to attract good luck.  Each year, we return the previous year's arrow (which they burn) and purchase a new one.  The wooden tag dangling from the arrow is painted with the zodiac sign of the year.  2018 is the year of the dog!  The hamaya are only available for the first few days of the new year. 

After visiting our local shrine, we ventured out to visit another shrine in Nerima.  This one was much larger than our local shrine, but still pretty small.  By the time we arrived (before lunchtime) there was already a line of people waiting to pray that reached al the way to the street!  We waited for about 20 minutes to get up to the offering hall.  As is the protocol, we threw money into the offering box, rang the bell to get the god's attention, bowed twice, clapped twice, said our prayers, and bowed again. 

On January second, we ventured out to one of the biggest shrines in Japan, Meiji Shrine.  I was nervous about the crowds, but it really wasn't bad since we waited an extra day and went pretty early in the morning.  Meji Shrine is in the middle of a large park, and it is surrounded by trees.  So, despite the crowds, it was still a bit of fresh air and peace.  Many people purchase ema, a small wooden tag that they write wishes on and hang on special frames inside the shrine.

I love our tradition of going to the shrine.  It is such a positive way to start the new year.