Anime-style outfits have become so popular they’re inspiring their own fan art.

In Japan, it’s customary to pay a visit to a shine or temple at the beginning of the New Year to pray for health, happiness, and prosperity over the next 12 months. For residents of Kanagawa Prefecture, Tokyo’s neighbor to the south, one of the most popular places of worship to do this at is the Tsurugaoka Hachimangu shrine.

There are a lot of things Tsurugaoka Hachimangu has going for it. At more than 900 years old, it has tremendous cultural significance, but it’s also conveniently located near the main rail station in the city of Kamkura, which boasts numerous serene temples, fashionable restaurants, and beautiful views of the mountains and sea.

And if that wasn’t enough, Tsurugaoka Hachimangu has one more point of appeal: incredibly snappy looking uniforms for its security guards.

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Tsurugaoka Hachimangu doesn’t really attract too many rowdy visitors. However, the shrine’s prominence means it has to be ready to receive huge masses of worshipers at New Year’s and other special occasions. Thankfully, the crowd control officers are easy to spot in their attention-commanding bright red coats, which make them look like they’re as ready to jump into giant robots and fight against invading aliens as they are to direct people down the proper paths as they make their way to the main alter and collection box.

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With several dashing anime-like elements, female fans of Japanese animation seem to be especially captivated by the uniforms and the men who wear them, which nturally has led to fan art.

But while the guys are getting the lion’s share of the attention, the female security staff uniforms, with their jaunty berets, are also pretty fashionable.

It’s a little ironic that Tsurugaoka Hachimangu has chosen to dress its crowd control workers, whose job is ostensibly to keep people moving, in outfits that are making visitors stop and snap pictures of them. Then again, considering that the security workers are spending their entire shift outdoors in the middle of winter, we’re sure they’re happy to have those long coats to keep them warm while also making them look cool.

Source: Kinisoku