- Don’t miss the secret spot in the shrine deeply linked to merchants!
- The New Year’s Festival at Tooka Ebisu Shrine is crowded with worshippers every year.
- The lottery is the most popular event during New Year’s in Hakata.
- Amazing “Kachi-mairi”, where Hakata geishas parade around the precincts.
Don’t miss the secret spot in the shrine deeply linked to merchants!
Tooka Ebisu Shrine is considered to have originated from a historical event.
In 1591, the Hakata merchant Goemon Takeuchi happened to find two Ebisu deity statues on the beach, on his way home from his New Year’s shrine visit. He built a shrine pavilion to dedicate the two statues, and after this, his family business became prosperous.
The two deities are:Kotoshironushino-Okami, or the Deity Ebisu, the deity of success in business. Okuninushino-Okami, or the deity Daikoku, the deity of marriage (the divided tutelary deity from Izumo Taisha Shrine).
Please don’t miss their two stone statues behind the main hall, which are usually only known by those who are familiar with them. They are principal images of worship at this shrine. If you visit them and the main hall, you might receive a double blessing!
The New Year’s Festival at Tooka Ebisu Shrine is crowded with worshippers every year.
The four-day period from January 8 to 11 of every year called, Shogatsu Taisai or New Year’s Festival, is held at this Shrine and over a million worshippers visit.
The 8th is called “Hatsu-Ebisu”, the 9th is “Yoi-Ebisu”, the 10th is “Hon-Ebisu”, and the 11th is “Nokori-Ebisu”.
During the festival, worshippers get purified in front of the altar and a lottery is held, where you can win good luck charms. You can also enjoy buying lucky charms and eating hot snacks such as Yakitori at about 300 different street stalls.
Due to the large number of people, the amount of money offered and the purchase amount of the lottery adds up to an enormous sum.
After all, everyone wants to be happy!
The event schedule for the New Year’s Festival is here(Japanese text only)
The lottery is the most popular event during New Year’s in Hakata.
The popular event of this festival is the lottery.
Booths to provide lottery tickets are set up along the approach and lottery tickets are sold for 2,000 yen. The prizes are various lucky charms, such as large and small bamboo branches, bamboo rakes to collect luck, daruma dolls as a bringer of good luck, and oriental zodiac dolls. When someone wins the large bamboo branch, the ticket booth staff shouts “Big win!”, in celebration.
This lottery gets more popular year after year and It is not unusual to wait an hour for a ticket.
Why don’t you read your business fortune for the new year?
Amazing “Kachi-mairi”, where Hakata geishas parade around the precincts.
Another highlight of this festival is “Kachi-mairi”, held from 3:00pm on January 9.
The parade of Hakata geishas wearing black crested Kimono starts at the entrance of Higashi park and proceeds down to the shrine to pray for good luck and prosperous business for the year.
The parade is guided by musicians playing shamisen, as well as flutes and tambourines, which have become very popular among foreign tourists in latter years.
The beautiful geisha procession of the new year is a feast for the eyes!
This festival is busy, late into the evening.
Please visit the festival to feel a little happiness!
Additionally, visit Kushida Shrine in Hakata for The Hakata Gion-yamakasa during summer!
Visit Kushida Shrine during the New Year for longevity, success in business, and romance!
*“Hakata machi aruki Bura Bura Fukuoka” offers historical experiences for foreign visitors in Japan, Foreign guides, arrangements for a Kimono wearing experience, and other services.
For more details, please see http://en.burabura-fukuoka.jp/(Japanese, English, and Chinese websites are available).
