Green Shinto wishes all its readers a Happy New Year and the best for 2022. Hopefully the Year of the Tiger will scare off any unwanted viruses, and this large ema at Shimogamo Jinja should certainly help!
For more about Oshogatsu and its vital place in Japanese culture please see these previous Green Shinto posts –
All about New Year significance, customs, decorations….. click here. And for more, click here.
Buddhism rings out the old, Shinto celebrates the new. Click here. And for a syncretic start to the year, click here. Or here.
Preparing for Oshogatsu, the big clean-up (osoji)…. click here.
Hatsumode 2019 – first shrine visit of the year … click here. And for Hatsumode in pics, click here.
New Year decorations, including kadomatsu…. click here, And for more pics with explanation of the symbolism, click here.
Chinese zodiac animals …. click here. And for a more in-depth look at zodiac worship click here.
New Year at Japan’s most visited shrine – Meiji Jingu. Click here.
New Year food, known as osechi ryori…. click here.
New Year lucky arrows, known as hamaya…. click here.
