July 16th, 2014

I decided I'd round out my Japan posts with photos of all the lucky charms (omamori) I bought from different shrines and temples. For the sake of scale, all of these are between one and three inches long.

From Itsukushima:

A general "good fortune" talisman, embroidered with the island deer.

A talisman for good luck in academics, taking exams, etc.

From Kinkakuji:

A "traffic safety" amulet, which I'm assuming extends likewise to safety during travel.

From Kiyomizudera:

A squishy little talisman portraying the god of business success.

A dragon talisman for good fortune.

From Jishu:

A talisman for improving "the luck in love of one's zodiac sign". I'm a Pisces.

From Meiji:

I was so worried that I'd lost this one because I couldn't find it the other day, but when I got my keychain holding all of these out to take pictures, there it was! This amulet promotes oneness of the mind and body.

The writing on this carved wood reads "kodama", which is the Japanese word for "tree spirit" (similar to the European dryad). These spirits of the forest are generally benign, unless their tree is attacked, in which case they may curse the person who cut it. According to the Meiji shrine website, these wooden bells are made from the wood of sacred trees which have finished guarding the shrine precinct and allow for the oneness of human spirit and nature.

And then there's this: my little desktop shrine for academic excellence.

All of these are definitely coming to college with me.