Hatsumode – First visit to the temple in Japan

At the beginning of the new year, large crowds of people flock to shrines or temples in Japan. That is an important annual tradition called Hatsumode 初詣, visiting a shrine or temple to appreciate the health and happiness of the past year and pray for another good or better one. Regardless of religions and beliefs, Hatsumode is quite a popular New Year’s event. Hatsumode literally means “the first visit (mode) to the shrine (hatsu)”, so in essence, hatsumode is visiting a shrine (or temple) to pray for good luck for the new year.

Many shrines and temples hold Hatsumode festivities during the first few days of the year, especially on January 1 . At the more visited shrines and temples, you can experience a more festive atmosphere with food stalls and many people lining up to say a prayer in the main hall, buying lucky charms, known as omamori , for a lucky new year, and getting rid of last year’s lucky charms.

Some popular shrines open the special section offering hatsumode good luck charms earlier than usual, and some are open as late as March. Technically, any time of the first visit in the new year is hatsumode , so there is no strict rule about visiting a shrine in the early days of the new year, and many people visit temples or shrines at later dates. Also, some changes have been made to the rules and customs of visiting a shrine.

Another of the activities that are carried out in the temples in the hatsumode is to take out your Omikujiおみくじwhich is a sheet of paper that predicts if your year will be lucky or not. There are many types of omikuji and the one that is most popular at this time is the New Year zodiac animal. Generally, there are seven categories to tell you luck with 大吉 (daikichi) being the best of luck and 大凶 (daikyo) being the worst. On the paper of the omikuji is written the luck of the year and some advice on various aspects of life, such as your general wish, marriage, business, travel, academics, etc. If your prediction is bad, it is customary to tie your omikuji on strings provided for it and let your bad prediction stay in the temple and disappear.

At Hatsumode, you can also purchase various charms such as the Omamoriお守り which is a lucky charm that is believed to protect you and help make your wish come true. You can choose your omamori according to your desire or need for protection, for example, marriage, safe travel, good health and academics, etc. and once the year has passed, it is common to return the omamori to the shrine to be burned in a sacred fire.

The Ofuda is a talisman or amulet that you can take home. Along with the omamori , it is common to get a new one for the new year. It is equivalent to the spirits of the deities in the shrine, so it would be like welcoming a part of the spirit of the deity into your home. It is carefully placed on the altar to be worshiped throughout the year.

While many Japanese visit a local or nearby folk shrine or temple for first worship, some choose it based on their wishes for the coming year or what they are grateful for from the past year. In Shintoism there is an unlimited number of deities and each shrine has a unique deity. For example, deities of money, love, study, health, business, etc. So, depending on what you want, it will be the sanctuary that you should visit.

What New Year’s tradition do you have in your country? Tell us in the comments!