Happy New Year! 明けましておめでとうございます！
And what am I doing this morning? Rather, what did I already do some hours ago (it starts early). Waiting in line, of course!
This is the great Japanese custom of Hatsumōde (初詣), first shrine visit of the year. Unfortunately, it does involve waiting in line a lot…
Hatsumōde
Hatsumōde is the first shrine visit of the year. It takes place within the first 3 days of the year. Folks visit shrine and pray for good luck in the coming year. Most people also buy omamori (お守り; a kind of charm which you carry with you most of the time), hamaya (破魔矢; an arrow with no tip which repels evil), and omikuji (おみくじ; a fortune for the coming year). There are some other things to get, but those three are the standard buys.
Did I mention that it is also a time to stand in line?
Almost everyone does Hatsumōde, regardless of whether they are religious or not. For non-religious folks, the event is more of a fun tradition with the hope of good luck.
As you might imagine, it is very busy. Even smaller shrines can be packed on the 1st in the morning. Traffic does drop off, but you will still find a decent amount of people doing the celebration on the 3rd.
The first year I was in Japan, I made the mistake of going to Meiji Shrine in Tokyo for Hatsumōde. I had of course read about the event, but didn't entirely trust what I read. As soon as I exited the subway near the shrine, however, I knew the books were if anything understating the event. There were wall to wall people as far as I could see. It took be some time just to make it to the shrine entrance, then more than 3 hours to make it from the shrine entrance to the inner shrine where we pray.
Phew. I’ve not gone to Tokyo again for Hatsumōde, nor will I in the future if I can avoid it.
The shrine I usually go to now isn’t nearly that busy, but it’s still busy.
Once you get to the front of this line, you pray. Well, the full ritual is drop a few coins in the donation box, bow twice, clap twice, bow again and pray. What to pray for? Good luck in the new year, of course!
The shrine I took this at (Tatsuki Shrine) is smaller and less popular than Meiji Shrine which I mentioned above, but there were still quite a few people there. Crowds start forming for Hatsumode at midnight. It's long day for shrine attendants, I think.
And after praying… well, try our luck with omamori.
The fortune has a number of different lucks listed, including bad luck. And what to do if you happen to get bad luck? No worries! Tie it to a tree (or lines near a tree) where the bad luck is said to stick.
There are other things to buy, as listed above, and more long lines for each one. There is a lot of waiting for those brave enough to do Hatsumōde on the first day.
Not everyone is so brave! Our beloved haiku poet Issa had a different idea. He wrote:
昼頃に元日になる庵かな
hiru-goro ni ganjitsu ni naru iori kana
around noon
new years day starts…
at my hermitage
Smart man. He might have been on to something.
Happy New Years everyone! May 2022 be better than the last!
❦
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David LaSpina is an American photographer and translator lost in Japan, trying to capture the beauty of this country one photo at a time and searching for the perfect haiku. |
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