Revitalize Your Spirit: Japan's Miyagi Prefecture Offers Destinations to Energize for the New Year

Revitalize Your Spirit: Japan's Miyagi Prefecture Offers Destinations to Energize for the New Year

Japan commemorates the arrival of a new year during the first three days of January. The most popular tradition is hatsumode, the first shrine or temple visit of the year which is meant to reinvigorate the spirit, bringing good fortune and health. Miyagi Prefecture is well-known for its temples and shrines located in various environments throughout the region. However, for the most efficient hatsumode visit, travelers should take note of the power spots of each temple and shrine since they each have special qualities. Below are some of Miyagi's most popular temples and shrines to visit.

Believed to be over 1,200 years old, Shiogama Shrine is a large Shinto complex and is historically one of the most important shrines of the region. The shrine and the area are both dedicated to the deities who taught people how to harvest salt by boiling seawater in large kettles (shio means "salt" in Japanese). Since salt is considered cleansing and a preserver of purity in Japanese culture, the shrine is believed to have the power to purify the soul. The shrine is on a steep hill overlooking Matsushima Bay, one of Japan's Three Most Scenic Sites. While there, guests can also visit the shrine's museum for an in-depth look at samurai history during the Edo period and discover relics from the city's salt manufacturing and fishing industries.

On an island where nature and spirituality coexist, deer are the sacred creatures that roam Kinkasan Island. The island is part of Koganeyama Shrine, which was originally built around 750 to celebrate the first production of gold in Miyagi. Today, the island is home to over 500 wild deer that inhabit the island and are protected as messengers of the gods. Because of the island's association with gold, there is a popular belief in Miyagi that those who visit Kinkasen Island for three consecutive years will not have money problems for the rest of their lives!

Another popular shrine is the Takekoma Inari Shrine which is dedicated to the three guardian deities of clothing, food and shelter. The shrine was founded in 842, making it the second oldest Inari shrine in all of Japan. The shrine boasts a beautiful garden that contains a monument to the famous haiku poet Matsuo Basho, several tree sculptures and a lantern gate that provides incredible serene views of the garden and the pond.

The Osaki Hachimangu Shrine is considered one of the most important Shinto shrines in the city of Sendai and is home to the largest Dontosai Festival, a ritual unique to Miyagi. Every year, people flock to the Osaki Hachiman Shrine to burn their New Year's decorations in a massive bonfire as a ritual to rid themselves of bad luck, as well as pray for health and good fortune. The most famous spectacle is the hadaka-mairi, during which participants walk half-naked through the city streets in a pilgrimage to the shrine. During this 300-year-old parade, men dressed only in white traditional loincloths, straw belts and straw shoes ring a bell to herald the coming year while cleansing themselves of the previous year.

For more information on Miyagi, please visit https://www.visitmiyagi.com

Image credit © Visit Miyagi