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Words-and-Pictures:
Tsurugaoka Hachimangu
(as seen on September 8th, 2001,
on the Old Tokaido stage of the Aki
Meguri)
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| Note:
This Shinto shrine is in Kamakura, in Kanagawa
Prefecture. Kamakura is a sidetrip off of the Old Tokaido between
Kanagawa (now Yokohama) and Hodogaya, Stations 3 and 4 (from Tokyo.)
You can read about my visit to Hachimangu in my Logbook.
You may also choose to start reading about my Tokaido
journey at the beginning, or start at the top of my Aki
Meguri pages. |
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The approach to the shrine. That's
my friend Tom
scratching his back in the left foreground. |
| The stage for sacred dance. I once saw
grandmother-aged women in ancient costumes dancing with swords
here. Wouldn't want to fight one of them for a seat
on the train. |
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I wasn't surprised to see people practicing
archery here. Shrines are great places for the promotion
of all kinds of traditional arts. I was surprised,
though, to see that the archers were standing inside one
of the halls of worship--this one dedicated to Emma-O, the King
of Hell--and shooting out towards targets. |
| All the modern conveniences. In the
past, you would pay a small fee to draw a paper out of a jar, or
a stick out of a box. This led to receiving your fortune.
Now, just pop your coin into the machine and voila!
Instant destiny. |
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| A Place for Weddings |
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Like all large shrines, Tsurugaoka Hachimangu
is almost always hosting a wedding--or two, or three. |
| This bride is being walked back toward the
front of the shrine. |
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I snuck in on the "formal" shot in
the jinrikusha. The new couple will be paraded around
Kamakura. |
| Uninvited guests. |
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Who's next? (Tom and
Yuka, with whom I was staying.) |
HISTORY
