A HAPPY NEW YEAR!

At the New Year in Japan, 'HATSUMODE'  is the custom
to worship at temples and shrines.  We pray for the family
well-being, prosperous business, and so on.

Most people go on New Year's Eve and the first of January.
If you were in Japan on those days you probably saw 
thousands of people walking towards temples and shrines. 









One of the most wide spread poplular religious
beliefs among the Japanese is devotion to Inari.
Shrines honoring this god are to be found all over the
country. 

The main shrine is Fushimi Inari at Fushimi in Kyoto.
It is famous for the Torii (sacred gates) donated by
believers in such numbers that they form a veritable tunnel.

Inari shrines are dedicated to Inari Daimyojin (the Great
God Inari), and the god of grain, Uganomitama no Kami.
The derivation of the name Inari goes back to legends of
the god appearing carring a bundle of rice plants on his back.
(Rice plant in Japanese is 'INE'; 'RI' means burden.)
This shows that rice cultivation was a very important
undertaking to the Japanese in ancient times.

In the Middle Ages, with advances in commerce and
industry, merchants and artisans joined the farmers in
their devotion to Inari; the god came to be widely
worshipped as a god that brings good fortune. 









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