Futakashira Shrine

 Most years we go to the shrine on New Year's Day, often just after midnight. This year, however, we waited until January 2nd. We needed to go shopping the Futakashira Jinja, or shrine, is more or less on the way. When you enter the grounds of a shrine or temple, you are supposed to purify yourself with water. This is a line of people waiting at the fountain for their turn so they can enter the grounds. There were elaborate instructions written on the piece of paper that you can see behind the head of the woman on the right. You were supposed to pour water over both hands and rinse out your mouth.

 We then moved toward the main shrine building and joined another line. This time we went up a short flight of stairs to the floor level and performed a short ritual. You first make a small offer of cash which you place in a large collection box. Many people give one yen or ten yen, the two smallest coins but this year I gave 100 yen, about 80 cents in the US. Then you bow and pull on a rope that rings a bell, which sounds more like a metal rattle. Next you put your hands together and ... hmm, pray is not the right word, but I can not think of one that is correct. I always let my mind go blank and just focus on the experience of standing there. After ten seconds or so, you bow again and move of to the right in the picture. You go down another short flight of stairs and reach the ground level. At this point there is a little tent set up. The shrine maidens off you a shallow ceramic cup. You unwrap the paper around it and hold it out with both hands. The shrine maiden fills it with sake, Japanese rice wine. There is not very much and most people drink it in three ritualistic sips.

 Since New Year's Eve there has been a fire on the grounds. This is part of the celebration apparently because every shrine that I have visited on New Year's has had a bonfire. The fire at Futakashira Jinja has gotten quite small but the heat from it is still welcome. Before laying the fire, they put down two large sheets of iron, sheets that are usually used to make temporary roads on construction sites.

 These people are standing at the shrine shop, waiting to buy good luck charms and objects to place in their home shrine. Many Japanese people have a small shrine in their homes. It is usually place on a small shelf up in a corner near the ceiling. It will be a small bare wood representation of  a shrine building and will often have small offerings of various kinds. These same people will also have a Buddhist altar which will contain pictures of their ancestors and various offerings for them.