December 29, 2016
-
New Year's Eve Okunidama Shrine in Fuchu
New Year's vacation has begun and DH needs to GO SOMEWHERE, so today it was Okunidama Shrine in Fuchu. The shrine is busy making preparations for the crowds that will visit during the first three days of 2017.
As we enter the shrine, we notice a sub-shrine that we had not seen before. Women come here to pray for a safe and easy birth, and that the baby will come out as easily as water comes out the hole in these ladles. They can also put up a shingle with prayers for a safe birth as well as a shingle written in thanks for a safe birth.
Below is Yerrs Trooly posing in front of a giant chicken shingle where everyone will be posing as the New Year begins.
The large tree behind the shrine is given a new belt, and preparations are made outside the shrine building - an area where people will throw in a coin or two as they pray for an auspicious New Year.
