New Year greetings to all Green Shinto readers at this auspicious time of new beginnings…
Hatsumode (New Year shrine visit) is the busiest time of year for shrines, and also the most profitable in terms of income. Millions … Read the rest
Category: New Year (Page 5 of 8)
Green Shinto friend Paul de Leeuw will again be offering the only open Hatsumode service in Europe this year, which will take place at the Hotel Okura in Amsterdam. Anyone who would like to attend can find the details for … Read the rest
Tōka Ebisu is one of the big festivals held at the beginning of the new year, around the 10th of the month when you’ll often often people with small businesses clutching good luck charms for the business year head, … Read the rest
This year I made two ‘hatsumode’ shrine visits. Hatsu means first, and mode is a formal word for visit, so it’s the first shrine visit of the year when traditionally one renews amulets and protective charms. People flock to … Read the rest
Recently Green Shinto carried a post about the significance of New Year decorations. Now it’s the turn of the special New Year food known as osechi ryori. An article yesterday in The Japan Times considered the food’s … Read the rest
Kemari at Shimogamo Jinja
Japan Times JAN 2, 2014 Jun Hongo
The year of FIFA World Cup is upon us, with Brazil getting ready to host, and Japan scheduled to go head-to-head against Cote d’Ivoire, Greece and Colombia in … Read the rest
Syncretic celebration
The way Shinto and Buddhism complement each other is never more clearly seen than on the night of Dec. 31. Buddhism is other-worldly, concerned with individual salvation. Shinto is this-worldly, concerned with rites of passage and social well-being. … Read the rest