is one of the major Japanese traditions of the new year, which is the first visit to a

Buddhist temple A Buddhist temple or Buddhist monastery is the place of worship for Buddhism, Buddhists, the followers of Buddhism. They include the structures called vihara, chaitya, stupa, wat, khurul and pagoda in different regions and languages. Temples in B ...

Shinto shrine A Stuart D. B. Picken, 1994. p. xxiii is a structure whose main purpose is to house ("enshrine") one or more kami, , the deities of the Shinto religion. The Also called the . is where a shrine's patron is or are enshrined.Iwanami Japanese dic ...

visit of the Japanese New Year. Typically taking place on the first, second, or third day of the year, it is meant to bring a fresh start to the year. ''Hatsumōde'' is written with two kanji: the former means “first” and the latter means “visiting a shrine or temple.” Many visit on the first, second, or third day of the year. Generally, wishes for the new year are made, new '' omamori'' (charms or

amulet An amulet, also known as a good luck charm or phylactery, is an object believed to confer protection upon its possessor. The word "amulet" comes from the Latin word , which Pliny's ''Natural History'' describes as "an object that protects a perso ...

s) are bought, and the old ones are returned to the shrine so they can be

cremated Cremation is a method of Disposal of human corpses, final disposition of a corpse through Combustion, burning. Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India, Nepal, and ...

. Major shrines throughout Japan often have long queues. Most people in Japan outside of the retail and emergency service professions are off work from December 29 until January 3 of every year. It is during this time that the house is cleaned, debts are paid, friends and family are visited and gifts are exchanged. It is customary to spend the early morning of New Year's Day in domestic worship, followed by consumption of sake ( toso) and special celebration food (e.g.

osechi (御節料理, お節料理 or おせち) are traditional Japanese New Year foods. are easily recognizable by their special boxes called '' jūbako'' (重箱), which resemble '' bentō'' boxes. Like ''bentō'' boxes, ''jūbako'' are often ke ...

, zōni). The tradition is believed to be fairly recent and primarily created during the

Meiji era The was an Japanese era name, era of History of Japan, Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868, to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feu ...

by railway companies seeking to drive custom. Some shrines and temples have millions of visitors over the three days. Sensoji temple in Tokyo is the most popular one. Meiji Shrine for example had 3.45 million visitors in 1998, and in the first three days of January 2010, 3.2 million people visited Meiji Jingū, 2.98 million Narita-san, 2.96 million Kawasaki Daishi, 2.7 million Fushimi Inari-taisha, and 2.6 million Sumiyoshi Taisha. Other popular destinations include Atsuta Jingū, Tsurugaoka Hachimangū, Dazaifu Tenman-gū, and Hikawa Shrine. A common custom during ''hatsumōde'' is to buy a written

oracle An oracle is a person or thing considered to provide insight, wise counsel or prophetic predictions, most notably including precognition of the future, inspired by deities. If done through occultic means, it is a form of divination. Descript ...

called ''

omikuji are random Prophecy, fortunes written on strips of paper at Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples in Japan. Literally "sacred Cleromancy, lot", these are usually received by making a small offering and randomly choosing one from a box, hoping fo ...

''. If the ''omikuji'' predicts bad luck purchasers can tie it to a tree on the shrine grounds, in the hope that its prediction will not come true. The ''omikuji'' goes into detail, and offers predictions relating to various areas of life, such as business and love, for that year, in a similar way to horoscopes in the West. Often a good-luck charm comes with the ''omikuji'' when purchased. Shrines make much of their money in the first week or two of the year.

Ninenmairi

Ninenmairi (二年参り) is a style of Hatsumode. It is called a "two year visit" not because it takes place over two years but rather the event starts on

New Year's Eve In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve refers to the evening, or commonly the entire day, of the last day of the year, 31 December, also known as Old Year's Day. In many countries, New Year's Eve is celebrated with dancing, eating, drinkin ...

and ends on

New Year's Day In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Day is the first day of the calendar year, January 1, 1 January. Most solar calendars, such as the Gregorian and Julian calendars, begin the year regularly at or near the December solstice, northern winter ...

, thus happening over two years. People frequently write wishes for the year on Ema and Toshikoshi-soba is eaten an hour before midnight

References

Shinto New Year in Japan Shinto and society Buddhism and society {{Shinto-stub

Ninenmairi

See also

References