The first destination given to us was Sumiyoshi Taisha (住吉大社), a shrine, and surprisingly, only our group was given this place to go. There were some overlapping destinations, like the Osaka-castle, Dodonburi etc., but only we had this shrine. So there we were, crammed onto a seat on the densha, scouring the map for the location of this place when this kind gentlemen sitting across us asked us,
‘Are you guys from the Foundation?’
We nodded yes, and he smiled and introduced himself as Ikeuchi-san. He said his wife worked closely with our center, and he was more than willing to help us find our destination. We told him we were looking for this place, and he said, ‘I’m heading there too, just follow me.’ What a stroke of luck I must say! Needless to say, our group were very excited and happy, because this would lower our chances of getting lost and completing our tasks on time.
Ikeuchi-san led us out of our stop, and we walked the short distance to the shrine. As it was 1st of April, it marked a new beginning for most of the people in Japan, so we saw people in their work outfits, dressed very smartly in groups heading to the shrine to pay their respects. Ikeuchi-san told us that those people are joining their respective companies today, so it is like a small ritual to ask for blessings. And also, turnout at the shrine was more than usual.
He taught us how to wash our hands before heading into the shrine, to purify ourselves. He then led us to the main shrine, and taught us the proper way of praying, including clapping our hands, ringing the bells and tossing some coins into the box placed before the shrine. The bells was to let the god know that we are here, and hoping that they would hear our wishes out.
We also passed a tall tree, and Ikeuchi-san said that it has a spirit, looking over the area, so it should be respected as it has been growing and growing for hundred of years now.
As it was the first day of the month, sake was offered at the shrine, as a blessing. Ikeuchi-san led us there and got us to try it, which was served by the shrine maidens on a long, flat plate. We sipped the sake, for me, tasted it for the first time in my life, and found that it was sweet. We then returned the plates and headed over to their stalls and bought myself an amulet to remember the day I visited this shrine, and my Vietnamese friend got the same one for herself, which is to keep all evil around us at bay.
Ikeuchi-san also made the effort to get us small papers which described the history of this shrine in Japanese. He reckoned that since we are studying the language, we would slowly understand the contents of the paper and appreciate it. He roughly explained that this shrine has a link to the legendary figure, Isshun-boshi, a little boy who was not taller than an inch.
We then made our way out of the shrine, under the tori gate which marks the barrier between the holy grounds and the outside world, and headed on to our next destination.
この長い旅で 