Pre-New Year (Shimogamo)

The large shrine ema for the coming year of the monkey is up and ready

Wood for burning on New Year’s Eve to keep participants warm while they drink their sweet saké

Three more days till New Year’s Eve, but some have dressed up already

Saké offerings are in place

Foreign visitors have increased dramatically this year in Kyoto

Miko are busy getting things ready for the big sales over Hatsumode

‘Monkey dumplings’ have been resurrected after an interval of 140 years

Hitogata ready to absorb impurities. Write your name and age, then rub it over the body and breathe your impurities into it. Later it will be ritually destroyed in a year-end purification.

The shrine is using a well-known Zen story about the monkey pointing to the moon as part of its celebrations this year. For Y10,000 you can purchase one of these banners to be hung on the shrine, which will bring your family well-being in the year ahead.

This year has been unusually mild, and some of the maples in the Tadasu wood are just turning red unusually late this year….

….  yet just over the road the destruction of part of the shrine woods goes on at full speed.

Looking ahead to the new year, there will be ‘kemari’ kick-ball to entertain the kami on Jan 4