The red Chinese character hanging under the eaves is pronounced “en” which means “chance,” “relationship,” “link” or “knot.”
Visitors here may be schoolgirls wishing for a meeting with their sweet boyfriends, or sushi restaurant owners hoping for more customers, or even housewives fed up with their husbands coming home late every night and considering future divorce.
This shrine specializing in “chance” and “relationship” is located behind Kiyomizu-dera temple, one of the world heritages. Most foreign visitors just passing by admit it as a somewhat “minor” place since it’s ignored in the world famous guide books. However, observations of more Japanese gathering at the smaller shrines than the “headquarters” of word heritage gives you a closer look in order to truly understand what Japanese people are all about. Even though they have a life insurance system, many Japanese people cannot wait until the end of their lives. but They simply want to be answered by the Shinto God to introduce them to a good boyfriend or continuous customers immediately.
Even though Japan is now one of the advanced countries in technologies and even though people know that the apple falls due to gravity, we Japanese people believe the customers come to sushi bars not because of fine marketing strategy by businessmen with MBA’s conducting a feasible study of the location or competitive pricing with another sushi bar next door, but simply just by “luck.” When people wish to the Shinto God, what they throw into the offertory box in front is a five-yen coin since it is pronounced as Go-en, homophones for five yen, which also means wishing for good luck.
We are also wishing our visitors come by “chance.” As indeed you found out this website, maybe we will meet you soon in Japan. WaRaiDo presents you something deep inside the things Japanese.