Every season we collect lots of team merchandise to remember our time abroad. This past season was a little different because instead of our typical team t-shirts and scarves we were able to snatch up lots of different goodies... teddy bears, keychains, buttons, and wrist bands just to mention a few. Not only did the Sendai 89ers have great merchandise but they also had some neat advertising around the city.
7 Comments
When Dan was at an away game in Okinawa, I got a chance to venture out of Izumi and explore the Osaki Hachimangu Shrine in Sendai city. The shrine was simply stunning! It was exactly what I was missing in our everyday life in Japan; the old beautiful Japanese architecture and the sacred traditions of the far East. I even got a private tour inside of the shrine! I was so taken back by their generosity and willingness to show me around. I only asked if I would be able to go inside to take a look, they agreed but I got the two hands crossed for photography (meaning no pictures inside, haha) A Shinto priest as well as an English translator gave me a mini tour. The inside was simply beautiful, rich in color, as well as traditions and spirituality. The woodwork was painted over 400 years ago and has not been touched since, only the outside of the shrine has been restored. The shrine itself was constructed between 1604 and 1607. While inside, the priest and the translator showed me the proper way to pray: you bow twice, clap your hands twice, make a sincere wish , and bow one more time. (I bowed twice at the end and they started giggling... hey, gotta love the foreigner trying to fit in, ha) Ema are votive plaques. At most shrines, one finds a stand with hundreds of small wooden plaques attached to it. These votive plaques, sold at the Shrine, are called ema. Worshippers buy the plaque, write their wish on it, then hang it on the ema stand, in hopes the shrine deity will grant their wish. All types of wishes are made -- couples hoping to have children, students hoping to pass school exams, people looking for true love, etc. Good Luck/Bad Luck fortune: Most shrines sell fortunes called Omikuji. If you draw a good fortune, keep it, take it home with you. But if it's bad, leave it at the shrine. These are bad fortunes tied to a rope at the shrine, people would also leave them on trees, fences, etc. The concept is leave the bad luck at the shrine, were the divine spirit can get rid it. |
Archives
July 2014
Categories
All
|