As I wrote in a previous post, due to the resignation of the local neighborhood shrine elders, it was unknown who would prepare and officiate at the shrine for the New Year celebration. It seems the tasks were left up to the priest and his staff from the nearby Shimagashira Tenmangu Shrine「島頭天満宮」, the current parent shrine to our Ubusuna Shrine「産土神社」in the regional and national Shinto Church social organization. In the past when the shrine did not have its own priest and the the neighborhood elders ran things, Ubusuna Shrine was fairly independent, especially in terms of grounds maintenance and festivals. There was also a stronger feeling of community. The priest from Shimagashira only came on special occasions and he had his wife conduct the monthly service.
***
TANGENT: Ubusuna Shrine is located in Shirogaki-cho, Kadoma-shi, Osaka prefecture. It has over 800 years of history going back to when the area was a village known as Kamimbushi. This area was part of the greater Kawachi province that was established in the 7th century. At that time, Ubusuna Shrine was one of the major and largest shrines in the area. You can check out the shrine homepage that was made by one of the shrine elders:
Information on Shimagashira Tenmangu Shrine:
https://osakadai3shibu.kilo.jp/jinja/kadoma/jinja/simagasira.html
I visited the shrine just past midnight, and it seemed sabishii 「寂しい」or lonely, and very minimalist. I did not see or meet anybody I knew from the neighborhood. The people that were there were bed-town strangers. And more people seemed to bring their little dogs with them this year.
I liked the glowing lighting of the lanterns (which made for some nice photos), but much was missing from the set-up in previous years.
There were no bonfires and there were fewer spotlights. It was darker, colder and less dramatic.
The large white tent where parishioners could receive omiki, the sacred sake, was missing (it was replaced with a small vessel of sake and small paper cups as self service at the counter where amulets were sold; there was a small note saying there was only a limited amount of the sake and when it was gone, it was gone. Last year, I was responsible for pouring and offering sake to the parishioners. We had several large bottles of sake on hand and some small snacks as well.)
There were only two young shrine maidens (probably working as a part-time job) selling amulets and fortunes. They seemed to be the only support staff there (as opposed to the usual 10-15 elders and volunteers in the past).
The Hinomaru「日の丸」or Japanese flag, and illustrations of the flag were abundantly present, and the Japanese National Anthem, Kimigayo「君が代」, was playing in a repeating loop inside the shrine office building. (The flag and the anthem are two very powerful and problematic symbols associated with Japanese right-wing nationalism.)
There was a "Staff Only" sign in English (and in Japanese in a much smaller font size) on the shrine office door. I have never seen any usage of English at the shrine before.
***
I visited the shrine just past midnight, and it seemed sabishii 「寂しい」or lonely, and very minimalist. I did not see or meet anybody I knew from the neighborhood. The people that were there were bed-town strangers. And more people seemed to bring their little dogs with them this year.
I liked the glowing lighting of the lanterns (which made for some nice photos), but much was missing from the set-up in previous years.
There were no bonfires and there were fewer spotlights. It was darker, colder and less dramatic.
The large white tent where parishioners could receive omiki, the sacred sake, was missing (it was replaced with a small vessel of sake and small paper cups as self service at the counter where amulets were sold; there was a small note saying there was only a limited amount of the sake and when it was gone, it was gone. Last year, I was responsible for pouring and offering sake to the parishioners. We had several large bottles of sake on hand and some small snacks as well.)
There were only two young shrine maidens (probably working as a part-time job) selling amulets and fortunes. They seemed to be the only support staff there (as opposed to the usual 10-15 elders and volunteers in the past).
The Hinomaru「日の丸」or Japanese flag, and illustrations of the flag were abundantly present, and the Japanese National Anthem, Kimigayo「君が代」, was playing in a repeating loop inside the shrine office building. (The flag and the anthem are two very powerful and problematic symbols associated with Japanese right-wing nationalism.)
There was a "Staff Only" sign in English (and in Japanese in a much smaller font size) on the shrine office door. I have never seen any usage of English at the shrine before.
The were two signs announcing the cancellation of the Tondo Matsuri on January 15 (there will be a future post on this cancellation...).
Here are some of the photos I took.
To get a better idea of the shrine layout in the daytime:
Ubusuna Shrine prepped and (almost) ready to go (?)...: http://visualanthropologyofjapan.blogspot.com/2025/12/ubusuna-shrine-prepped-and-almost-ready.html
Compare with last year with this important post which has turned into a piece of salvage ethnography:
New Year's Eve 2024 / Early New Year's Day 2025「2024年大晦日から2025年元旦」: http://visualanthropologyofjapan.blogspot.com/2025/01/new-years-eve-2024-early-new-years-day.html
Here are some of the photos I took.
Ubusuna Shrine prepped and (almost) ready to go (?)...: http://visualanthropologyofjapan.blogspot.com/2025/12/ubusuna-shrine-prepped-and-almost-ready.html
Compare with last year with this important post which has turned into a piece of salvage ethnography:
New Year's Eve 2024 / Early New Year's Day 2025「2024年大晦日から2025年元旦」: http://visualanthropologyofjapan.blogspot.com/2025/01/new-years-eve-2024-early-new-years-day.html
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