Waiting at the shrine
ⓒRebecca Bugge, All Rights Reserved
Do not use without permission.
At the Shinto shrine Suitengū (水天宮). If you just translate the name it would mean water-sky-shrine, which doesn't make that much sense. But what does is if you take into account thay Suiten is a name, the Japanese name of the Hindu god Varuna. Several Hindu gods and goddess came to Japan through Buddhism. With the 19th century official splitting of Buddhism and Shinto in Japan, Suiten was identified with the Japanese kami Amenominakanushi, and thus the worship of Suiten became a part of Shinto religion.
The shrine was founded by a daimyō of the Arima family in 1818 (in another spot, but when the family moved to Tokyo, the shrine came with them). The current shrine dates to 2016, but the chief priest of the shrine is still a member of the Arima family (it's actually the 17th family head).
The shrine is dedicated to conception and safe childbirth, which makes it very popular (as can be seen by this lunch time rush). And it is very, very easy to find. You just have to get to the Suitengumae station ('mae' means 'in front of' - so the name of the station is literally 'in front of the Suiten shrine').
The little dressed up girl to the far left was there with her family to celebrate the festival of Shichi-go-san - and they weren't alone either.
Waiting at the shrine
ⓒRebecca Bugge, All Rights Reserved
Do not use without permission.
At the Shinto shrine Suitengū (水天宮). If you just translate the name it would mean water-sky-shrine, which doesn't make that much sense. But what does is if you take into account thay Suiten is a name, the Japanese name of the Hindu god Varuna. Several Hindu gods and goddess came to Japan through Buddhism. With the 19th century official splitting of Buddhism and Shinto in Japan, Suiten was identified with the Japanese kami Amenominakanushi, and thus the worship of Suiten became a part of Shinto religion.
The shrine was founded by a daimyō of the Arima family in 1818 (in another spot, but when the family moved to Tokyo, the shrine came with them). The current shrine dates to 2016, but the chief priest of the shrine is still a member of the Arima family (it's actually the 17th family head).
The shrine is dedicated to conception and safe childbirth, which makes it very popular (as can be seen by this lunch time rush). And it is very, very easy to find. You just have to get to the Suitengumae station ('mae' means 'in front of' - so the name of the station is literally 'in front of the Suiten shrine').
The little dressed up girl to the far left was there with her family to celebrate the festival of Shichi-go-san - and they weren't alone either.