朝日新聞社4y
Japanese mark the end of winter with bean-throwing ritual to ward off evil spirits
Japan’s annual ritual of “mame-maki ... Like rice, soybeans are considered a symbol of vitality and purity. Inside the Zojoji temple in Tokyo, a number of people including sumo wrestlers ...
朝日新聞社6mon
As sales of Japan temples and shrines surge, a crackdown on bad-faith buyers
SANBAGAWA, Gunma Prefecture--Benmou Suzuki’s dilapidated 420-year-old temple, located deep in the forest near a tiny Japanese mountain village, hardly looks like prized real estate. Yet the monk ...