This year I went to the tori no ichi festival at Otori Jinja in Asakusa. It’s observed every November in Tokyo, in order to pray for wealth and good fortune in business, for the year ahead.
Those coming to pray for good fortune line up and take turns to ring the bell at the shrine. It was so crowded, even though we went in the daytime!
There were kumade, decorated rakes, everywhere, so many different kinds and different sizes. The rake is meant to symbolise raking in good fortune.
I even bought my own, the littlest and cutest one I could find, all hand-made from paper. It has a crane, the Japanese flag, some red snappers, mochi, and Ebisu, one of the gods of fortune. They did the clapping ceremony for me, and I hope my business will prosper this coming year!
