🐇🐒🐉FAMILIARS AND FORTUNES🐂🦊🐁
Visitors to shrines and temples for a long time have enjoyed having their fortunes determined by lucky dip, but in recent years Kyōto's familiars have helped kickstart a new craze for collecting 'omikuji' (御御籤 'sacred lots').
Omikuji are folded strips of paper that are picked blindly. Each 'sacred lot' is printed with a random fortune, often detailing how lucky your love life, health and happiness will be for the year (or until your next omikuji).
Fortunes vary from 'great blessing' to 'great curse'.
Many shrines & temples across Kyōto and Japan are now using familiars (of the gods & Bodhisattvas enshrined within) to promote and sell their omikuji.
These small clay, wooden or plastic figures, holding the omikuji (aka 'otsuge' お告げ 'divine message'), can be taken home once the fortune is read.
#omikuji #おみくじ #Kyoto #京都 #kawaii #Japan #sacredlots #fortunes
1) SQUIRRELS🐿️
Squirrels (りす/栗鼠) are the divine messengers of Hirano-jinja (平野神社). They once populated the shrine's pine forest, and thus over time became associated with the enshrined gods.
Since Edo times Hirano-jinja has become better known for its sakura trees.
2) BOARS🐗
Boars are familiars of Marishiten (摩利支天), goddess of 'victory and abundance'.
Pale-faced and brightly garbed, Marishiten is seen riding seven golden boars. She was particularly popular with warriors, and is worshipped at Kennin-ji's sub-temple Zenkyo-an (禅居庵 aka Marishiten-dō 摩利支天堂).
3) PRINCESSES✨
Unusually Ichihime-jinja (市比売神社) enshrines only goddesses, and is thus considered a protector of women only.
Popular with the palace women, it was once known as the 'Empress Shrine' (皇后御祈願所).
The shrine sells 'hime-mikuji' (姫みくじ 'fortune princesses').
4) RABBITS🐇
Okazaki-jinja (岡崎神社) is also known as the 'Rabbit Shrine' (うさぎ神社).]
The shrine gods Susanoo (素盞嗚尊) and Kushinadahime (奇稻田姫命) were blessed with many children, and as a result rabbits (known for their fertility) became considered their familiars.
In times of old this part of Kyōto was countryside and woodland, and many wild rabbits lived in this area.
5) FUKUROKUJU🍀
Fukurokuju (福禄寿) is the god of wisdom, longevity, wealth and happiness.
In Kyōto he is worshipped at Sekizanzen-in (赤山禅院), 1 of 7 sites that make up a pilgrimage to the '7 Gods of Fortune' (七福神).
The omikuji here are known as 'osugata-mikuji' (お姿みくじ).
6) MICE🐁
Ōtoyo-jinja (大豊神社) is nicknamed the 'Mouse Shrine' (鼠の社 'Nezumi-no-sha') after 2 guardian mice 'koma-nezumi' (狛鼠)...familiars of the god Ōkuninushi (大国主).
It is said that they are modeled on 2 mice that once alerted locals to a fire!
The left-hand mouse carries a drinking bowl (水の器), representing abundant harvests, protection from illness and success in conceiving.
The right-hand guardian carries a scroll (巻物) to symbolise academic achievement and knowledge.
7) FROGS🐸
Bishamon-dō Shōrin-ji (毘沙門堂勝林寺) was founded in 1550 by the 205th abbot of Tōfuku-ji, Kōgaku Reishō (高岳令松).
Frog in Japanese is 'kaeru' (蛙), a homonym for 'return' (返る). People thus pray for things like a safe journey, the return of good fortune, and so on.
8) JIZŌ🔥
Yata-dera (矢田寺).
In 820 Mankei (満慶) was asked to administer the Bodhisattva Precepts to Enma, the King of Hell (閻魔大王). On a tour of the underworld he met Jizō who told him to take soil back home and create a Jizō statue to ease the suffering of those in hell.
9) FOXES🦊
Kitsune (狐) are familiars of the 'rice god' Inari Ōkami (稲荷大神), most probably because they hunted pests that invaded rice stores. In folklore foxes are said to have shapeshifting abilities.
These cute omikuji can be found at Fushimi Inari's Araki-jinja (荒木神社).
10) HORSES🏇
Fujinomori-jinja (藤森神社) enshrines 12 gods in total, and is considered a guardian of horses. People pray for 'luck at winning', including horse-racing.
With a history that may stretch back to 203, the shrine's May 5th festival is celebrated with horse 'stunts'.
11) DAIKOKUTEN🪙
Sanpō-ji (三宝寺) sells 3 kinds of omikuji. The first is in the image of Daikokuten (大黒天), god of commerce & prosperity, patron of cooks & farmers, and the guardian of crops.
The temple's main hall was originally constructed as Emperor Shōwa's enthronement room.
12) THE HELL KING👹
Rokudō Chinnō-ji (六道珍皇寺).
At death humans are summoned before Enma Dai-Ō (閻魔大王), 'king of hell' and 'judge of the dead', who examines their character and dispatches them to their appropriate rebirth (whether to earth or to one of the heavens or hells).
13) SAKURA🌸
Reaching their peak around mid-April, Ninna-ji's (仁和寺) groves of cherry trees are the last to bloom in Kyōto. Known as Omuro-zakura (御室桜), the temple trees are uniquely stunted, growing to only around 2m tall (due to poor nutrients in the soil). They are a variant of sato-zakura (郷さくら).
14) THE MEDICINE BUDDHA🩹
Jingo-ji (神護寺) is a rather beautiful temple situated on the upper slopes of Mt. Takao (高雄山) to the northwest of the city.
The temple's omikuji celebrates Yakushi Nyorai (薬師如来 'Medicine Buddha'), the principal figure of worship.
#Japan #Kyoto
15) PIGEONS🕊️
Pigeons feature prominently as a motif at Rokkaku-dō (六角堂), but the birds are not technically connected to the Bodhisattva enshrined.
Usually considered a pest, they have lived peacefully here since the temple was founded by Prince Shōtoku (聖徳太子) in 587.
16) PIGEONS (2)🕊️
Rokkaku-dō has another kind of pigeon charm, this one for making wishes.
Once considered the very centre point of Kyōto, the temple was already 200 years old when the city was created. Ikenobō (池坊), the oldest and largest school of Ikebana, was founded here.
22) YATAGARASU🪶
In 1160 Emperor Go-Shirakawa (後白河天皇) invited the 3 gods of Kumano to the capital and established Kumano Nyakuōji-jinja (熊野若王子神社).
The shrine omikuji is inspired by the divine, 3-legged crow (八咫烏) that led Japan's first emperor from Kumano to Yamato.
25) MANEKI NEKO (2)😺
An omikuji not particular to any one shrine or temple, Maneki-neko (招き猫) is a popular Japanese symbol, ushering in good luck to the possessor.
Tō-ji (東寺) sells a charming gang of cheerful cats.
The temple's pagoda is the tallest wooden tower in Japan.
33) TIGERS🐅
Ryōsoku-in's 3rd omikuji is in the shape of a tiger.
The tiger is Bishamonten's familiar, and the temple's Bishamonten-dō is guarded by a pair of the felines.
It is said that the god first appeared in Japan on the hour and day of the tiger, in the year of the tiger.
@camelliakyoto I loved Amabie's design in Shin Megami Tensei V Vengeance!
Amabie | Megami Tensei Wiki
https://megatenwiki.com/wiki/Amabie
Camellia Tea Ceremony
Jeff Forcier
COMPU73E ❄️