Hatsu-moude (初詣)

Hatsu-moude (初詣）is the first visit of the year to a shrine.
'Hatsu’ means ‘first’ and ‘moude’ means ‘to go to worship.’

Many Japanese visit a shrine on the New Year's Day.
Some wait in a shrine from the night of New Year's Eve,
and go to worship as soon as a new year starts.


The red arch in the above photo is called 'Torii(鳥居),' and this is a symbol of Japanese shinto shrine. (So Buddism temples don't have it.)



When we visit a shrine, many of us take a fortune slip called 'Omikuji (おみくじ)'. It costs about 100 yen to 200 yen (50p to 1 pound.)
The Omikuji I took this year is this.
It tells about my life, health, love, etc of this year.
This year, my Omikuji was good one saying that my dreams come true, I would meet a nice guy!! So I kept it with me.






If you pick bad one and are not happy with it, you tie it with a branch of the shrine.
It means you leave your bad luck there.

We Japanese love fortune-telling and trying to check our own lucks.

Happy 2008!!

Long time no updating...(-"-;A
Hope your 2008 be a lovely one!!



Well, I visited a bottega (craft center) of an embroider in Kyoto.
He's one of the best know embroiders in Japan, and famous for
specializing in Noh costumes.



Aren't they beautiful?! I got trembled when I saw them!
Of couse, they both were all handstitched.

Nowadays, we live in 'easy, instant same, cheaper is better' world. But seeing these artistic costumes, I felt we shouldn't lose this kind of cultures.


The world would be so boring if we wear same clothes and have same pictures in our rooms. I wish wonderful Japanese culture keeps going on, and your wonderful cultures do, too. ☆^(o≧▽ﾟ)o