Below is a photo of a sign in the Fujinomori Shrine asking attention for the bad years. These are counted as kazuedoshi, that is in the old system where you were already one year old at birth (meaning you have to add one year to all these figures – 33 is in fact 34, and 42 is 43, etc.). As people are not used to this system anymore, the years of birth are written behind them.

The inauspicious years are in red; also the year before and after that age is “bad.” In addition, for men 25 and 61 are weak years, and for women 19 and 37.

It is all totally unscientific, and I don’t know how many people still fall for it. Sometimes Japanese just like to take part for the fun of it without asking themselves such difficult questions. My Japanese family strongly disliked it. But when a religious institution finds a way of making money from the gullible, it will cling to it for ever!

[Chinowa in the Fujinomori Shrine, Kyoto]

For this rite, large rings made of miscanthus reed (chinowa) are set up in the grounds of shrines. By passing through the reed gate (the summer ring) worshippers are purified and get rid of any defilements (kegare). Thus they are protected from misfortune. The custom also existed of passing the defilement on to a paper or straw puppet and throwing this away in a river or the sea.

The rite was originally also held at the end of December, but that one has been given up long ago, perhaps because there are already other purification ceremonies at the New Year. In contrast, the Nagoshi no Harae has become bigger and nowadays most shrines put up the chinowa for the whole month of June.

[Shrine grounds, Fujinomori Jinja]

The shrine rather naively claims a history of 1,800 years, all the way back to Empress Jingu who is one of its present deities. Empress Jingu was a rather belligerent female, who led a naval expedition to attack Korea, but unfortunately for the shrine, she never existed. Her story is all pure myth, as are the banners and weapons she is supposed to have buried here after her victorious return from the continent.

[Detail of the Main Hall, Fujinomori Jinja]

Historical evidence shows rather that the Fujinomori Shrine was established in the 15th c. by the merger of a few local shrines in this area. About those original shrines, nothing is known, but if they had been famous, they would have figured in the 10th century Engishiki list of important shrines. So it is safe to assume this shrine was born from medieval warrior society, and that fits its character.

[Statue of sinister samurai, Fujinomori Jinja]

The grounds are spacious, but there are no historical buildings except the Main Hall which dates from 1712 and was apparently moved here from the Palace. The shrine is known for its hydrangeas, which flower in June in two gardens attached to the shrine.

[Holy water, Fujinomori Jinja. The water is called "Fuji" or unequaled and will make people who drink it victorious]

See more pictures on my Flickr Stream.

A 5-minute walk from JR Fujinomori Station on the JR Nara Line, or a 7-minute walk from Sumizome Station on the Keihan Line

[Hydrangeas like splashes of purple on the green leaves]

This year, at the end of June, I went to the Fujinomori Shrine in the Fushimi ward in Kyoto, a lesser-known spot as ajisai watching goes. But there was nothing wrong with it. Although the shrine stands in a busy residential district, Fukakusa, the grounds are extensive. There are two hydrangea gardens, one to the left of the approach to the shrine, the other at the back.

[White ghosts]

Narrow paths lead through these gardens and the flowers are so high that you can’t see other viewers, let alone be disturbed by the houses and parking lots around the shrine.

[Lace cap variety hydrangea in the Fujinomori Shrine, Kyoto. In Japanese lace caps are called Gaku Ajisai or "picture frame hydrangeas."]

The hydrangea gardens are open in June and July; in the middle of June there is also the Hydrangea Festival, but I avoided this for fear of crowds. It would only have meant some additional koto (Japanese zither) music, anyway. There were still enough beautiful hydrangea to make the visit a rewarding experience.

[Blue ghosts]

See more photos on my Flickr stream.

A 5-minute walk from JR Fujinomori Station on the JR Nara Line, or a 7-minute walk from Sumizome Station on the Keihan Line

[Main Hall of Gokurakubo, Gangoji, Nara]

It must have been a splendid temple, but all that remains of it today are the foundation stones of a pagoda, standing forlorn in a quiet garden somewhere in the middle of the old town of Nara (a small model of that pagoda can be seen in the Gangoji Museum). And there is a famous statue of a stern Yakushi Nyorai, now housed in the Nara National Museum.

[Zenshitsu of Gokurakubo, Gangoji, Nara]

And part of the elongated hall for the monks has been preserved. You can see such halls where the monks lived also in Horyuji. In the case of Gangoji, it long ago lost its function and was incorporated into a sub-temple, Gokurakubo, the “Paradise Quarters.” Gokurakubo today is the only functioning part of Gangoji, so it has taken over the name, but originally it was just an offshoot that became more important than the original temple.

[Stone statues in front of the Zenshitsu, Gangoji, Nara]

Gokurakubo was set up in the 8th c. after the Sanrin priest Chiko in his later years was directed in a dream to rely on faith in Amida alone. It became one of the earliest centers of faith in the Buddha Amida and his Western Paradise in Japan. In the following centuries, Amidism became very popular among the ordinary people, so Gokurakubo grew and survived as a living temple, while the rest of Gangoji fell away in the shadow of the centuries.

[Peeping into the Paradise Quarters, Gangoji, Nara]

But it, too, was rebuilt: the main hall dates from the Kamakura period (1244), but incorporates as its rear part the above mentioned monks’ hall of the original temple. So some elements of the temple from 718 survive here: some pieces of wood, especially part of the roof tiles are thought to be original – you can detect them by looking at the color, they are a bit brownish. This part of the hall is called Zenshitsu, or Meditation Hall. Other treasures in the temple are a serene Amida statue, an Amidist mandala developed by Chiko – this mandala was the main devotional image of Gokurakubo.

[Zenshitsu, Gangoji, Nara - can you spot the older tiles?]

I first came to Gangoji in December 1988, already more than twenty years ago (the photos used here were taken at that time). My wife and I had traveled to Nara from Tokyo that day, put our luggage in the hotel and then came to Gangoji. I just had a busy and rather annoying period in my work in Tokyo behind me. It was a fresh but sunny winter day, and standing there in front of the serene temple with its deep, soothing browns and grays was such an uplifting experience that all shadows in my mind fell away. That is why I love to visit temples in Japan – it is a perfect antidote to the modern world and its anxiety. In the ensuing weeks, my wife and I would visit all famous and many not-so famous temples in Nara, studying the ancient statues, and we saw many more great things, but the feeling on this first, bright day, was the best of them all.

See all my Gangoji photos on Flickr!

Access: 15 min on fot from Nara Kintetsu st., 10 min south of Kofukuji, right in the middle of the old town of Nara
Entry: 400 yen. Hrs. 9:00-17:00 (in winter 16:30), closed 12/28-1/4 and 8/21-8/25.
Tel. 0742-23-1377


P.S. Nowadays there is an excellent shop selling local sakes opposite the gate of Gangoji!