JAPAN: Japanese shrines prepare for New Year celebrations as residents look forward to 2013

Record ID: 466832

  • Title: JAPAN: Japanese shrines prepare for New Year celebrations as residents look forward to 2013
  • Date: 31st December 2012
  • Summary: VARIOUS OF WOMEN IN SHINTO CEREMONIAL CLOTHING LOOKING ON VARIOUS OF PEOPLE WALKING THROUGH HOOP
  • Embargoed: 15th January 2013 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Japan
  • Country: Japan
  • Topics: Entertainment,Religion
  • Reuters ID: LVA9I33NVBXKOU2M3LPDLRNM2J0H
  • Story Text: The sound of the flute paved the way for 2013 at shrines across Japan on Monday (December 31) in a traditional Shinto ceremony to close the year, and cleanse the way for the next.
    The rites Hie shrine in central Tokyo have remained untagged for more than a millennium.
    Priests and shrine-goers loop through a straw ring to pray for good fortune and wipe away the sins of the past year.
    Some participants ripped the straw off the large hoop to take home where they will make mini hoops in the hope of cleansing their sins.
    Millions are expected to head to Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines like this one for end-of-year rites, and ceremonies to mark the first day of 2013.
    Although 57 percent of Japan's population of more than 120 million say they have no link to established religion, some were hoping for more personal favours from the gods next year.

    "I hope I can find a good girlfriend, I asked the gods to help find me one," 29-year-old Takafumi Kurita said.
    Others had the diplomatic troubles of Japan firmly in mind, and hoped for a better 2013 for their country.

    "Japan has to really pull its socks up. Our nation is a bit pathetic at the moment," 64-year-old Masao Ozawa said.
    Japan in 2012 has experienced a series of territorial spats with its neighbours and a change of government.
    Over 100 people joined the ceremony which saw far more participants compared to the previous year, according to the shrine.
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