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New Year in London

December 27, 2015 / John D. / 0 Comments

Green Shinto wishes readers a Happy Year of the Monkey! (photo from John Dougill’s ‘Japan’s World Heritage Sites’)

The following text is courtesy of the Japan Centre, Piccadilly, London

Sake Ceremony & Mochi Pounding Events for New Year
New Year will be soon upon us again and that means it’s time for some traditional Japanese celebrations! New Year, called Shōgatsu in Japanese is one of the most important festivals of the year with plenty of tasty food and drink, as well as a fantastic variety of interesting customs.

If you want to experience some of the fun that happens during the Japanese New Year celebrations, why not join us at Japan Centre and get involved. There’s free samples to be had to make it even more tempting. :)

sake casks Sake ‘Cask Opening’ Ceremony – 11.30 AM

Kagami Biraki literally means ‘opening the mirror’ in Japanese and refers to an ancient ritual of opening either a type of mochi, or more recently breaking open a ceremonial cask of sake. This is a common practice which although traditionally done just after New Year, is now popularly done at weddings, opening ceremonies for new businesses and other various special occasions in Japan.

We will be breaking open our very own cask of Gekkeikan sake at Japan Centre Piccadilly. You can even grab a free taster as a bit of hair of the dog after New Year’s.

pounding mochi (mochitsuki) Mochi Pounding – 12.00 PM

Called mochitsuki in Japanese, mochi pounding is the custom of pounding large amounts of mochi rice into soft, stretchy and sticky mochi. Using a giant hammer and a huge mortar, one person hammers down on the mochi while another person adds water and flips the mochi over in between pounding to stop it from sticking. It is a technique that takes a lot of coordination, but is certainly quite a show to watch.

Want to see some authentic mochi pounding at Japan Centre? Head over to Japan Centre Piccadilly and enjoy the spectacle. We will even have some free mochi to give away to anyone who wants to try this authentically made Japanese sweet.

Japan Centre – Japanese Food Hall Since 1976
19 Shaftesbury Ave. London W1D 7ED
(Situated between GAP and Jamie’s Diner, enter via the mirrored escalator entrance)
Tel. 020 3405 1246. Email: foodshop@japancentre.com

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For an account of New Year and the role of the ‘kagami mochi’ (below), see this earlier piece here.
For more about New Year decorations, see here. For more about the New Year celebrations in general, please click here.

kagami mochi

Meiji Shrine New Year

December 25, 2015 / John D. / 0 Comments

Crowds wait their turn to offer prayers at the Meiji Shrine in Tokyo, on the second day of the New Year Saturday, Jan. 2, 2010. | AP

In the days leading up to the New Year, it seems right to turn attention to what will be the nation’s no. 1 most popular spot for shrine visiting. That’s just what The Japan Times did yesterday with its celebratory article below. It’s timely too, since Green Shinto recently did a piece on Meiji’s burial mound here in Kyoto, together with an example of the emperor’s verse (one of 100,000 he composed!). (For a previous piece on the Meiji Shrine forest, see here.)

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Emperor Meiji (1867-1912), courtesy Wikicommons

Meiji Shrine: grounds to ring in the year
by Daisuke Kikuchi Japan Times Dec 24, 2015

Amidst the raging storms of life
Never flinch, o heart of man —
No more than the wind-tossed pine
Deep-rooted in the rock
— Emperor Meiji

This classical waka poem was written, in English, on the omikuji (paper fortune) that I recently drew when I visited the Tokyo’s Meiji Shrine, a Shinto shrine dedicated to Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken.

Emperor Meiji was known for his love of composing waka, having left behind a collection of about 100,000 poems for his people. His consort, Empress Shoken, is also believed to have composed around 30,000 of her own. Out of both the Emperor and Empress’ works, 30 were picked to be used for omikuji [fortune slips] — to become guiding words of wisdom for our daily life.

“Written omikuji (at shrines) usually represent either kichi (good luck) or kyō (bad luck). Ours, however, feature traditional waka poems written by either the Emperor Meiji or the Empress Shoken,” says Miki Fukutoku, manager at Meiji Shrine’s public-relations department. “It’s something very particular to and only available at our shrine.”

As a relatively new place of worship, established less than a century ago in 1920, Meiji Shrine was originally based around the concept of wakonyōsai — a belief that treasured the Japanese “soul,” while still embracing influences from the West. Its unusual omikuji, therefore, is not the only unique feature of the shrine.

“People tend to think Meiji Shrine is just the main shrine; however, it’s actually about a much larger area that includes both inner and outer gardens,” Fukutoku says. “The main shrine (in the inner gardens) is symbolically traditional Japanese (by design), where you worship and pay your respects to the spirits. The outer garden is more Westernized — it contains the Meiji Memorial Picture Gallery, which houses 80 paintings, and reflects the life of Emperor Meiji, who promoted friendly relations with overseas countries. The symmetric alignment of ginkgo trees in front of the gallery is believed to be designed after the Palace of Versailles.”

Meiji Shrine woods

The Treasure Museum of the Gaien gardens perhaps exemplifies this blend of Japanese and Western influences. Its architectural design resembles Shosoin, a treasure house that belongs to Nara Prefecture’s famous Todai-ji Temple. Unlike the temple, however, Meiji Shrine’s Treasure Museum is not made of wood but of reinforced concrete.

The shrine’s three main areas — Naien (inner) precinct with shrine buildings; Gaien (outer) precinct with the Meiji Memorial Picture Gallery and sports facilities, including the country’s second-oldest baseball stadium Meiji Jingu Stadium; and the Meiji Memorial Hall, a wedding hall — are also amid 700,000 sq. meters of lush forest. Around 170,000 trees of 245 different species were arranged by landscape architect Seiroku Honda (1866-1952) and his assistants Takanori Hongo (1877-1945) and Keiji Uehara (1889-1981), who famously refused the proposal of the then-Prime Minister Shigenobu Okuma (1838-1922) to exclusively use cedar. Honda wanted to create an evergreen forest, and cedar, it turned out, was an unsuitable tree for the area’s soil.

“In 2011, we surveyed the species living in the area as part of our preparations for the (shrine’s) 100th anniversary,” Fukutoku says. “This man-made forest was designed to last forever, so we’re keeping a record to see whether it’s evolving according to plan. The research so far says that, in terms of biodiversity, the forest contains far fewer alien species compared with its surrounding areas of central Tokyo.”

That abundance of local nature has attracted visitors other than worshippers to the shrine, where many rare species such as jewel beetles, kingfishers and northern goshawks are commonly seen among the trees and plants. It is home to Japan’s endangered golden orchid and kanto tanpopo, a native dandelion protected from invasive foreign species by the barrier of the forest.

Meiji Shrine tree

“The forest is now about to reach the end of Honda, Hongo and Uehara’s protocol and experts say it will remain this condition for some time, since camphor trees can live live 300 to 400 years,” says Fukutoku. “We won’t live for that long, though,” she continues with a laugh, “so, the next plan will be passed on to the next generation.”

Fukutoku says that despite all these attractions of Meiji Shrine, the number of non-Japanese visitors has only gradually increased over the years, even though she also says, “A visit to Meiji Shrine could be an easy way of introducing yourself to Japanese culture.”

“The shrines in the suburbs may offer a more authentic atmosphere, but we’re more accessible — even for someone like President Barack Obama, who came to visit last year. It’s in the center of Tokyo, but it is also suddenly within a forest and a sacred space of worship.”

The shrine’s most important festival, the Reisai (Autumn Grand Festival), held on Nov. 3 to commemorate Emperor Meiji’s birthday, invites ambassadors of many countries to view various traditional performances. Yet even though this is the most significant day for the shrine, Fukutoku says it is the upcoming new year season that is always the busiest time of the year.

Of the 10 million visitors it receives each year, around 3 million head to the shrine for hatsumōde, during the first few days of the year. So it you’re thinking of heading there, too, there are a few things you might want to keep in mind.

Meiji Shrine has three entrances — Harajuku-guchi, Yoyogi-guchi and Sangubashi-guchi. For hatsumōde (NewYear when it is at its utmost crowded), Harajuku-guchi is usually the only entrance open. This is mainly to help control the crowd, but, as Fukutoku explains, it also leads visitors to follow the proper path to the main shrine.

“Since Harajuku Station was built before Meiji Shrine, it’s obvious that most visitors arrive from Harajuku-guchi. That’s why nearby Omotesando is named so, ‘omote‘ means ‘front’ and ‘sandō’ means ‘visiting road,’ ” continues Fukutoku. “The Harajuku-guchi torii gate is therefore also the biggest one out of the three entrance gates (besides the dai-torii (large size gate) between Harajuku-guchi and Yoyogi-guchi). It’s usually a one-way path, but (if you take it), you will see all noted sights of the shrine.”

In 2020, the year of the Tokyo Olympics, Meiji Shrine will celebrate its 100th anniversary since its enshrinement and it faces renovations that Fukutoku says should help welcome more international visitors. “The preparation (for the 100th year) was scheduled to have started in fall, so we’re a little bit behind,” she explains. “But we are planning to make the area barrier free. Also, there are plans to repair the main shrine, which occasionally leaks through the roof during rainfall. That’s where the souls of Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken are enshrined — it’s the most essential part of the Meiji Shrine.”

Meiji Shrine is open on New Year’s Eve from 6:40 a.m. through to 7 p.m. on New Year’s Day. It is then open from 6:40 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Jan. 2, 3 and until 6 p.m. on Jan. 4. For more information, visit www.meijijingu.or.jp/english/index.html. For suggestions on where to visit during New Year in Tokyo, including a New Year’s Eve parade of people dressed as foxes, see here.

An oasis of greenery in a city of concrete

The Art of Peace

December 23, 2015 / John D. / 0 Comments

Morihei Ueshiba in 1939 (Wikicommons)

As the new year beckons, let’s hope that it ushers in a year of peace in place of the hatred and warfare of recent times. One man who realised the futility of aggression was the Shinto-inspired Morihei Ueshiba (1883-1969), who has been called ‘history’s greatest martial artist’.

The founder of aikido was born into a samurai family in Tanabe, Wakayama Prefecture. As a child he learnt something of Confucianism and Shingon Buddhism, as well as training in martial arts. He became the leader of a pioneer settlement in Hokkaido, and studied Daitō-ryū aiki-jūjutsu there. He then joned the Omoto sect in Ayabe, near Kyoto, working as their martial arts instructor, before moving to Tokyo and opening his own dojo.

Ueshiba came to the realisation that violence only prompts more violence, and he therefore promoted what he called the Art of Peace. From 1942 until his death, he was based at Iwama in Ibaraki Prefecture and the town hosts the world’s only shrine to aikido. It’s a place of pilgrimage for practitioners, and the annual festival on April 29th features a demonstration offering to the kami and a ceremony performed by Omoto sect priests.

Ueshiba drew inspiration for his martial art from the principles of Shinto, and the quotations below are taken from a compilation of his sayings. It’s a personal selection, which highlights the influence of Taoism (and thereby the closeness to Zen) in his thinking. The lines are taken from The Art of Peace by Morihei Ueshiba, translated by John Stevens and published by Shambhala in 2002.

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Everyone has a spirit that can be refined, a body that can be trained in some manner, a suitable path to follow. You are here for no other reason than to realize your inner divinity and manifest your inner enlightenment.

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All things, material and spiritual, originate from one source and are related as if they were one family. The past, present, and future are all contained in the life force…. Return to that source and leave behind all self-centred thoughts, petty desires, and anger.

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Now and again, it is necessary to seclude yourself among deep mountains and hidden valleys to restore your link to the source of life.

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All the principles of heaven and earth are living inside you. Life itself is the truth, and this will never change. Everything in heaven and earth breathes. Breath is the thread that ties creation together.

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Do not fail
To learn from
The pure voice of an
Ever-flowing stream
Splashing over the rocks.

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The Art of Peace originates with the flow of things – its heart is like the movement of the wind and waves. The Way is like the veins that circulate blood through our bodies, following the natural flow of the life force.

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As soon as you concern yourself with the ‘good’ and ‘bad’ of your fellows, you create an opening in your heart for maliciousness to enter. Testing, competing with, and criticising others weakens and defeats you.

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sacred regalia

A true warrior is always armed with three things: the radiant sword of pacification; the mirror of bravery; and the precious jewel of enlightenment.

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To practise properly the Art of Peace you must
• calm the spirit and return to the source
*cleanse the bod and spirit by removing all malice, selfishness, and desire
* be ever grateful for the gifts received from the universe, your family, Mother Nature, and your fellow human beings

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To purify yourself you must wash away all external defilements, remove all obstacles from your path, separate yourself from disorder, and abstain from negative thoughts. This will create a radiant state of being. Such purification allows you to return to the very beginning, where all is fresh, bright, and pristine, and you will see once again the world’s scintillating beauty.

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Loyalty and devotion lead to bravery. Bravery leads to the spirit of self-sacrifice. The spirit of self-sacrifice creates trust in the power of love.

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The Divine is not something high above us. It is in heaven, it is in earth, and it is inside us.

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The Divine does not like to be shut up in a building. The divine likes to be out in the open. It is right here in this very body. Each one of us is a miniature universe, a living shrine.

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(For a remarkable two-and-a half-minutes video of Ueshiba demonstrating aikido as an old man, please see here. For a 26 minute documentary, click here.)

The Aiki Shrine in Iwama, founded by Morihei Ueshiba

Kyushu power spot

December 20, 2015 / John D. / 7 Comments

Steps to the shrine As far as I know, there is no special celebration of the winter solstice in Shinto, preoccupied as it is with clearing away old impurities before the renewal of the year with Oshogatsu (New Year). However, it seems important that the shortest day of the year be marked in some way, and a visit to a power spot, whether real or virtual, seems in order. In this respect An article in Rocket News celebrating a power spot in Kyushu has providentially drawn attention to itself.

And so this year the solstice spotlight shines on the grandly named but small and powerful Kamishikimi Kumanoimasu Shrine in Kumamoto Prefecture.

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Deep in the forests of Takamorimachi, a small town in Kumamoto Prefecture on Japan’s southern island of Kyushu, hides a humble shrine shrouded by trees and moss-covered greenery. Hailed as a “power spot” by the Japanese, Kamishikimi Kumanoimasu Shrine is a mystical destination for those looking to feel the earth’s energy and recharge their spirits, or to just take in the all the scenic beauty it has to offer.

Twitter has been abuzz about this particular shrine, and for good reason. Even before entering the forest you can tell something magical is afoot. Being there must make you feel like you’ve been spirited away to an enchanted scene straight out of a Ghibli film. You can feel the serenity of the place just by looking at the photos; if you’re ever in need of a real good recharge, this is without a doubt the place to go.

“Now and again, it is necessary to seclude yourself among deep moutains and hiden valleys to restore your link to the source of life.” – Morihei Ueshiba

The approach – perfect example of Shinto animism

The main shrine, or Honden

The giant wind tunnel. This particular power spot attracts many visitors. (All images courtesy Cocopri)

And not far away are awe-inspiring giant cedars (courtesy Sakiko Yoshimoto)

(courtesy brainpickings)

Emperor’s mounds (verse)

December 15, 2015 / John D. / 4 Comments

The modest entrance to the burial mound of Kyoto’s founder, Emperor Kammu. In the background is Hideyoshi’s Momoyama castle (rebuilt in modern times in concrete).

In the south-east corner of Kyoto, between the railways stations of Tambabashi and Fushimi Momoyama, is a peaceful wooded area containing the burial mounds of the first and last emperors to reside in Kyoto. In less than an hour, you can traverse over 1000 years of history. There are historical associations and untouched nature, yet few people visit this parkland despite its proximity to the famous Fushimi saké area.

The Hailstones Haiku Group recently did an outing to the area, starting with the burial place of Emperor Kanmu, a mere fifteen minute walk from Tambabashi station. Only the occasional jogger passes by to pay respects, but personally I find it an awe-inspiring site. Firstly, as the founder of one of the world’s great cities Kanmu surely deserves the gratitude of those who have inherited the benefits of his visionary act in 794.

The city that Kammu founded in 794

Here is the man who pretended to set out on a hunting expedition while scouting for a new location for his capital just ten years after relocating from Nara to Nagaoka-kyo. Latest research suggests the site was prone to flooding, and so he determined to move again.

According to tradition, from the vantage point of Shogunzuka he looked out with Wake no Kiyomaro over the river basin of Kyoto and saw that geomantically it was perfect – mountains on three sides, a body of water to the south (Lake Ogura), rivers to east and west, and mighty Mt Hiei guarding the Devil’s Gate in the north-east.

A second reason for awe is that his grave, like others of its ilk, typifies the blending of ancestral worship and animism that form the twin pillars of Shinto. In the planting of the corpse into the earth, and in the nourishing of the plantation that grows above it, is an interlinking of human and nature made manifest in the lush evergreen growth. In this way the deceased evolves into the landscape, and the trees that reach up to heaven are imbued with human essence. The posthumous spirit is thus transformed into a true spirit of place. Ancestral and animist are one and the same.

persimmon - Version 2

Sunlight spotlight
Kammu’s final resting place –
Ripe, ripe persimmon

Autumn leaves
Scattered in a wreath –
Kammu’s mound

A twenty minute walk through pleasant woodland brings one to the much more substantial grave of Emperor Meiji. Here is evident the pomp and glory of State Shinto, as the Restored Emperor at the centre of the Meiji regime was given a full-scale burial designed to impress. You only have to stand at the bottom of the huge stairway leading up to the shrine to realise the grandeur by contrast with that of Kammu.

Stairway to heaven – the steps up to the burial mound of Emperor Meiji

Meiji was born as plain Mutsuhito in Gosho (Former Imperial Palace), and a plaque there marks the site of his Parturition Hut. (Birth being considered a form of pollution was traditionally done outside the palace proper.) He was the last emperor to be born in the city, and the last who could be considered a Kyoto man. His father died when he was 14, making him emperor, he was ‘restored to power’ at the age of 15, shifted the capital to Tokyo and married at 16. Quite a start to life by anyone’s standards!!

Previous emperors in the Edo Period had been buried at the Shingon temple of Sennyu-ji in south-east Kyoto, and the imperial cemetery there is known as Tsukinowa. Meiji was something of a poet, and after paying respects at the grave of his father, Emperor Komei, he penned the following:

When I visited
The tombs at Tsukinowa
On my sleeves
Old needles from pines
Kept falling

Like Victoria, Meiji reigned over an age of astonishing changes – in industry, commerce, social composition, politics, foreign relations and military standing. Small wonder that so many clung to him as the one unifying factor in such turbulent times.

On the evening of Sept 13, 1912, a cart decorated in gold leaf and lacquer, drawn by a team of oxen, left the Imperial Palace in Tokyo with a procession of people carrying banners, torches and ceremonial arms. The coffin was loaded onto a train, which left in the cover of dark for the emperor’s state funeral and final resting place. He had apparently asked specifically to be buried on the green hills that he remembered visiting from his childhood. The place was known as Kojosan (Old Castle Hill) because it was the site of Hideyoshi’s Momoyama Castle. Now it’s known as Momoyama Goryo (Burial Mound).

The burial mound of Emperor Meiji (1852-1912)

Emperor’s mound –
The sound of birdsong
Like gagaku

Out of view, and discretely located to one side, is the burial mound of Meiji’s chief wife, Empress Shoken who died two years later. She had no children of her own, whereas her husband had fifteen by his concubines, or official mistresses. Unlike Jewishness, it’s the male line that counts in Japaneseness, and so she adopted the son of one of the other ‘wives’ and brought him up as heir apparent (later to become Emperor Taisho).

Empress Shoken burial mound

Dead pine
At Shoken’s grave –
Ever green oaks

Not far away from the imperial mounds, just ten minutes walk, is the shrine of Meiji’s most devoted servant, General Nogi, who served as governor of Taiwan.

Nogi Jinja

Nogi was the last person (together with his wife) to commit junshi, ritual suicide to follow one’s master into death. He first came to prominence in the Satsuma Rebellion of 1877 (known to filmgoers for the final battle in The Last Samurai). In charge of the emperor’s banner, he was horrified when it was seized from him and he suicidally plunged into the enemy ranks to win it back until ordered to desist.

Count Maresuke Nogi (1864-1912), known in Japan as Nogi taisho (General Nogi)

After distinguished service against the Chinese in 1894, he was made commander of the forces who took Port Arthur from the Russians a decade later, thus helping cement victory against the Europeans in the 1904-5 war. He was appalled however at the loss of life of those under him and sent a letter to the Emperor requesting permission to commit suicide. Though the request was refused, he was apparently mindful of this when he and his wife took their lives in 1912 immediately following the funeral of Emperor Meiji. Some praised him highly for epitomising Japanese values of loyalty and devotion; others saw it as a retrograde act of feudalism in a modernising age.

There are five Nogi shrines altogether, with the main one in Tokyo at the place of his suicide. The Kyoto shrine was built in 1916, and because of the general’s love of horses there are a pair in front of the Worship Hall overshadowing the komainu guardians. There’s also a small museum of his life and a scene of his humble upbringing in Edo, as pictured below.

Last blue butterfly
fluttering behind grass –
thoughts of times gone by

General Nogi as a youth (foreground) sitting with his mother receiving instruction from his strict father.

Shinto death 16: Postscript

December 14, 2015 / John D. / 0 Comments

A timely article recently appeared in the Japan Times about a subject which will be familiar to anyone who has seen Okuribito (Departures), the 2009 Oscar-winning film about Japan’s special funeral services. The care and sensitivity with which the deceased are handled speak to basic Shinto values of purity, reverence and meticulousness. (For the original article, see here.)

Sayuri Takahashi performs her skills in nokan — preparation of the dead before cremation — during a contest at the Life Ending Industry Expo in Tokyo on Tuesday. More than 200 companies doing businesses related to the end of life, such as funerals, are participating in the three-day exhibition. | AFP-JIJI

Japan’s death specialists converge at inaugural Life Ending Industry Expo
AFP-JIJI DEC 9, 2015

Specialists in the fading profession of preparing bodies for funeral and cremation gave a rare glimpse of their skills at the opening of a Tokyo exhibition focused on the business of death and dying.

Practitioners of nokan — translated as “encoffinment” — took part in what organizers said was Japan’s first contest to demonstrate their techniques, as a pianist and a guitarist played peaceful, relaxing music.

Over 15 minutes, the contestants demonstrated their skill on Tuesday in dressing live models who laid still on a futon. Sayuri Takahashi knelt gracefully before a motionless female figure on the floor, gently maneuvering the arms and legs to dress her in a shirt, slacks and socks, with the light of artificial candles flickering behind.

PR shot from the film Okuribito

The partially clothed model was covered with a robe to hide exposed skin, the favored way of dressing the dead to maintain modesty when family members are watching.

The competition was part of the inaugural Life Ending Industry Expo, which has attracted more than 200 companies in the business of death. The expo runs through Thursday.

The craft of the specialists, who are known as nokanshi, is declining in bigger cities but remains fairly common in rural areas. The work overlaps somewhat with that of morticians in Western countries, though in Japan embalming is rare and wakes and funerals are still sometimes held in the family home.

It came to worldwide attention in 2009 when the film Okuribito (“Departures”) won the Oscar for best foreign-language film for its depiction of an out-of-work cellist who becomes a nokanshi in small-town Japan.

“We wanted the public to know more about nokanshi as there weren’t enough specialists after the 2011 disaster,” said competition organizer Koki Kimura, referring to the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami in which more than 15,000 people died.

A panel of three judges examined not only how well the models were dressed but also how gracefully the nokanshi completed the process. “The kindness and politeness toward the family of the deceased combined with efficiency are key,” said Shinji Kimura, one of the judges and an adviser to the lead actor in Okuribito. “We want to do our best for the final departure of the deceased,” said Kimura, who has 30 years of experience as a nokanshi. “So it should not be mechanical.”

Takahashi, the 27-year-old winner who was awarded a trophy and an undisclosed sum, said she started her job three years ago after learning about the profession following a death in her family where the body was tended to by a nokanshi.

“My relative’s face looked peaceful,” she said after the contest, adding that the Oscar-winning movie also inspired her choice. “I’m most happy when the family of the deceased tell me they’re grateful for what I did,” she said.

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The full series of Shinto death postings are as follows:

Part 1: Overview
Part 2: Washing
Part 3: Offerings
Part 4: The Coffin
Part 5: Home rites
Part 6: The Wake
Part 7: Spirit Transfer
Part 8: Funeral rite
Part 9: Funeral procession
Part 10: Memorial rites
Part 11: Posthumous names
Part 12: Taboos
Part 13: Graves and afterlife
Part 14: Impurity
Part 15: Summing up

Gokonomiya Shrine (Kyoto)

December 13, 2015 / John D. / 2 Comments

Komainu Gokonomiya Shrine is not one of the better-known shrines of Kyoto, though in any other town it would certainly be a focus of attention. It was first mentioned in 862 as having been restored – which means it dates from an earlier time. It is said to have been built on the site of an imperial villa (Kyoto was founded in 794). The imperial connection is reflected in its enshrined deities, the legendary Empress Jingu and Hachiman (also known as her son, Emperor Ojin).

Ritual for a first shrine visit for a baby (Hatsumiyamairi)

Ritual for the first shrine visit of a baby (Hatsu miyamairi)

According to the noticeboard at the shrine, spring water gushed out of the land in 863 with a particularly fresh aroma – hence the name of the shrine, which could be translated as Shrine of Fragrance. The water acquired a reputation for its protective and curative properties, and it is still treasured by parishioners who bottle it for home consumption.

Though the spring dried up in Meiji times, it was restored in 1982 and in one of those typical Japanese listings, it’s now included in the top 100 natural water sources of Japan. Unsurprisingly, the shrine has close relations with the nearby saké breweries which were established in Fushimi because of the purity of the underground water. Kizakura and Gekkeikan are the best known.

The shrine’s entrance gate was relocated from Fushimi Castle in the early Edo period, but the pride of the shrine is its fine Momoyama colouring. The Honden (Sanctuary) was built in 1605 and the Haiden (Worship Hall) in 1612. The bright distinctive paintwork, with its colourful decorations, were renewed in 1990.

In modern times the shrine served as headquarters for the Satsuma Clan at the Battle of Toba-Fushimi (1868), though fortunately suffering no damage. Other items of interest include an astonishingly vigorous ‘sotetsu’ tree, normally associated with tropical climes, a collection of rocks that once belonged to Hideyoshi’s Fushimi Castle, and a stone garden by Kobori Enshu. There’s also a white horse statue standing ever ready for the kami to mount, and an Ema Hall with some fine old votive plaques donated by various groups in the past.

In the past the shrine was visited by the likes of Hideyoshi and the emperor. It’s said many from the Tokugawa lineage used the protective spring water for their baby’s first bath. People of Fushimi are said to be very attached to their shrine, and the grand festival which lasts nine days is of greater importance to locals than even the grand Gion Festival.

Gokonomiya may not be among the city’s most prestigious shrines, but it’s well worth a visit and there are quiet corners of the large shrine where one can sip the curative water at peace and perhaps write a haiku or two. as suggested by a stone monument commemorating Basho and Kyorai’s poetry here in 1694). The first is by Basho and the reply by Kyorai (tr. Blyth).

In the plum blossom scent
the sun pops up —
a mountain path

‘Yes, yes!’ I answered,
But someone still knocked
At the snow-mantled gate