[415] A Happiness Charm - 2007/07/20 (Fri)

Woah... When I read the BBS, it turns out people visit Kuzuryuu Shrine *
It's really nice over there.

A branch of the Kuzuryuu Shrine is right across from Hakone Shrine
but across the river is the main shrine.
They have a festival on the thirteenth day of every month,
and go to the main shrine via boat.

One time a while back I went out in the very early morning without any sleep,
and man~ there was an amazing amount of people for such an early time. (^_^)
With such a flourish of people, I wondered if maybe it was a wedding blessing.

The mysterious thing is, it was raining that day,
but when they started their divine work, the rain suddenly ceased,
and the waves on surface of Ashi no Ko beat against each other with splash.

Man oh man, the goosebumps were going full blast, but what else would you expect from a dragon god. (^_^)
People who like that kind of thing should check it out, early in the morning. (^^;)
I recommend it.

Well, getting to the main point (^_^)
Is anyone familiar with the 'Happiness Charm' in the photo?
It's a charm from the 'Bell Cricket Shrine' in Kyoto, **
It's a famous temple for marriage and love life. (^_^)

The sounds of bell crickets echo here all year round,
and you can listen to the lectures of the chief priest while eating tea cakes.

I used to go there a lot during my student days.
Although, I had a lot of unrequited love nonetheless. (^_^)
Ah- and tea cakes were never my goal. (^_^)

Things like that, isn't it best to call them by their full name? 'Koufuku omamori.'
Even now, I carry them around in my bag sometimes.

If you're in Kyoto, definitely give them a try.
I recommend those, too.

P.S. There's a surprising number of people who like temples and shrines.
I'm going to try and visit Izumo Temple.
After that, I'd like to go to the Grand Shrine at Ise, maybe eat some Akafuku. (bwahahah) ***


[ * lit the Nine-Headed Dragon Shrine.
** the popular name for the Mt Myoutoku Kegon Buddhist shrine in Kyoto.
*** akafukumochi, lit Red Happiness Rice Cakes, are, of course, a kind of confection. basically sticky rice cakes covered in sweet red bean paste.
also, sorry for the delay. all work and no play makes meredeth's brain very very mushy. ]