Hatsumoude to the Shimogamo Shrine (下鴨神社)

Happy New Year 2016

Hatsumoude: the first visit to a shrine or temple to pray for safety and peace during the New Year.

Japanese people usually visit a shrine or temple at the begging of the new year. I visited the Shimogamo Shrine to do the first shrine visit of the year 2016! 

Shimogamo shrine is the one of the four popular shrines in Kyoto for hatsumoude. The other three are Fushimi Inari Taisha (伏見稲荷大社), Yasaka Shrine(八坂神社), and Kitano Tenmangu (北野天満宮). I visited Fushimi Inari Taisha as Hatsumoude last year.  

Shimogamo Shrine worshiped as the god of matchmaking is crowded with a lot of people every year during the first three days of the New Year's day. Hatsumoude is generally refers to the first three days of the New Year: however, it is said that there are no problem in particular if the visit is made sometime in January.

This shrine commonly known as the Shimogamo Shrine (下鴨神社) compared with the Kamigamo Shrine (上賀茂神社）, the original name is Kamomioya Shrine (賀茂御祖神社)

Many food stall are set up during the New Year's day. I visited there on January 3rd but there were still lots of food stall, for example, yakisoba (やきそば), frankfurters (フランクフルト), fried chickens (唐揚げ), chocolate and banana (チョコバナナ), candy apples (林檎飴), and so on.

I had a Tamasen topped with Yakisoba. （やきそば入りたません）

Shimogamo Shrine is also known as the birthplace of mitarashi-dango (みたらし団子）. Mitarashi dango is dumplings coated with a soy based sauce and sugar syrup, and one of the representative of wagashi (和菓子) : Japanese-style confectionery. It is said that the shape of mitarashi-dango is featuring watery foam floating on mitarashi pond (みたらし池) in the precinct.

mitarasshi-dango

Amazake is a traditional Japanese sweet mild sake, that is a white cloudy beverage made from rice and rice malt, or fermented rice. Although the name referred as a sake, it usually refers to soft drink. Amazake made from fermented rice contains slightly alcohol, while the one made from rice and rice malt is non-alcohol, It is sold or offered in the precincts are said to expel the devil by drinking them. 

amazake(甘酒）

Amazake sold in Shimogamo Shrine was non-alcohol one.

We drew a Omikuji (おみくじ), the written fortune, and mine said that I would have the luck (吉).

good luck charm shaped in the form of Yatagarasu, mythical craw

2016 is the year of monkey Chinese astrology. We call it eto (干支). Do you know what the eto is?

a big ema on which a monkey are painted in the Shimogamo Shrine

Eto is the twelve sings of Chinese zodiac. They are all real animals except the dragon. The year of each of them comes around one every 12 years.

ne(子)-ushi(丑)-tora(寅)-u(卯)-tatsu(辰)-mi(巳)-uma(午)-hitsuji(羊)-saru(申)-tori(酉)inu(犬)-i(亥)

mouse-cow-tiger-rabbit-dragon-snake-hourse-sheep-monkey-bird-dog-wild boar

So your birth year corresponds to the year in Chinese astrology. I was born in the year of monkey. People call the woman who were born in a year with same eto as the current year Toshi-onna (年女). I'm Toshi-onna! In males, they are called Toshi-otoko (年男). And you can guess the age of  anyone if only you could know his eto. What is your eto??

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adress : 59, Shimogamo Izumigawa-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto-shi, Kyoto, Japan

access : about 10 minutes walk from Demachiyanagi station (出町柳駅) on Keihan main line of Keihan Electric Railway

open hours : 6:30am～6:00pm

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See you soon!