Since it was kind of dark, my pictures didn't turn out super well, which is why I forgot to mention this visit earlier. Luckily, Midori managed to get a quick snapshot of me making a praying at the shrine despite failing to toss a coin into the wish-money receptacle.
Me making a wish at the Kibana Shrine
Although missing is uncommon enough be considered unlucky, I was fortunate enough to have done this before the New Year actually started. Supposedly, your luck kind of "resets" at the beginning of each new year, so I tried again after midnight and made it in. (Whew!)
At larger shrines, the crowds are usually pretty large, and Midori says that there's usually some sizable bonfires, too. Kibana, being small, only had a few braziers lit and one smallish fire in a stone pit, but I was grateful for the friendly atmosphere and breathing room. Since almost every time we visit a temple we purchase おみくじ、(o-mi-ku-ji, or fortunes) they kind of tend to pile up in your wallet / purse after a while. That is, of course, unless you get lots of un-lucky fortunes, in which case you're suppose to tie them up to the string set-up near the temple to be burned later. There's twelve different levels of luck or misfortune that can be foretold by the little slips of folded paper you can buy, but most shrines use a simplified version of about six or seven different levels. I'm fortunate enough to have always gotten things like "fair" or "a little" luck, but Jillian has received 大吉 or "best possible luck" fortunes three times! (Fortunes are usually sold for hyaku-en, or less than a dollar)
As part of the fortune-reset process, people at the shrine burned all of the fortunes they'd accumulated over the past year. Some of them also burned the good-luck arrows from last year before buying new ones. Immediately after midnight, everyone got in line to make wishes and ring the shrine's bell again, and those of us there were also served a nice, super-hot red-bean tea, and a small saucer of sake if we wanted.
Since Kibana is pretty small, most of the people there that night were college students, but there were a few families as well. Lots of people seemed to know each other, but even though Max, Jill and I were kind of on the side except for one young woman who chatted with us in some English for a little while, it was still a fun and interesting experience! I did miss seeing fireworks and things like that in the states, but it was nice to have a semi-quiet and relaxing New Year's Eve.
At larger shrines, the crowds are usually pretty large, and Midori says that there's usually some sizable bonfires, too. Kibana, being small, only had a few braziers lit and one smallish fire in a stone pit, but I was grateful for the friendly atmosphere and breathing room. Since almost every time we visit a temple we purchase おみくじ、(o-mi-ku-ji, or fortunes) they kind of tend to pile up in your wallet / purse after a while. That is, of course, unless you get lots of un-lucky fortunes, in which case you're suppose to tie them up to the string set-up near the temple to be burned later. There's twelve different levels of luck or misfortune that can be foretold by the little slips of folded paper you can buy, but most shrines use a simplified version of about six or seven different levels. I'm fortunate enough to have always gotten things like "fair" or "a little" luck, but Jillian has received 大吉 or "best possible luck" fortunes three times! (Fortunes are usually sold for hyaku-en, or less than a dollar)
As part of the fortune-reset process, people at the shrine burned all of the fortunes they'd accumulated over the past year. Some of them also burned the good-luck arrows from last year before buying new ones. Immediately after midnight, everyone got in line to make wishes and ring the shrine's bell again, and those of us there were also served a nice, super-hot red-bean tea, and a small saucer of sake if we wanted.
Since Kibana is pretty small, most of the people there that night were college students, but there were a few families as well. Lots of people seemed to know each other, but even though Max, Jill and I were kind of on the side except for one young woman who chatted with us in some English for a little while, it was still a fun and interesting experience! I did miss seeing fireworks and things like that in the states, but it was nice to have a semi-quiet and relaxing New Year's Eve.
No comments:
Post a Comment