Shinto shrine in Kyoto has become globally famous for its beauty, but inconsiderate visitors are ruining the view for everyone but themselves.
bamboo
It’s gonna take more than one call to insurance for this one.
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After all, what trip abroad is complete without experiencing some potentially perilous activity that you’d never dream of doing in your own country?
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Tori no Ichi is an open-air market festival held in Japan on the day of the Rooster in November, as determined by the Chinese calendar. At the festivals, markets are set up in front of or near to Shinto shrines, and charms- most often decorated bamboo rakes called kumade- that are said to bring the owner good fortune in the coming year are sold to visitors.
Kumade literally means “bear hand”, since, when you think about them, rakes are shaped rather like a large hand with claws. Rakes were chosen generations ago as a sign of good luck since they can be used to draw things– in this case wealth and good fortune– towards us, and the practice of buying ornamental rakes has been common in Japan since the Edo period (1600-1867).
Wanting to check out the lively festival and ask for continued success for the website next year, our reporter Mr. Sato headed over to the famous Hanazono shrine in Shinjuku to purchase a kumade on behalf of RocketNews24.
However, having never purchased one of the charms before, he discovered that he had more than a couple of things to learn…
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