A visit to Kyoto won’t be complete if you didn’t step foot into a shrine. Or two. And practically all areas of Kyoto have them, so whichever part you choose to go to, you can be sure to pass by at least one. In Arashiyama, it was one of those unexpected things, us stumbling on a small shrine while following the Path of Bamboo, which I talked about in my previous post.
On my first visit to Kyoto some years back, the most notable Kyoto shrines I visited were Yasaka Shrine and, a personal favorite, Fushimi Inari which, with much intent, I went back to on this trip for a second look. More on that in a future post.
Now we have to get this out of the way first, in case you’re one of the few who, like me, were confused at first: what’s the difference between a temple and a shrine?
The most basic difference is the religion. Temples are built for Buddhism, for the worship of Buddha; shrines are for Shintoism, and it is in these places that gods and goddesses are enshrined.
Just by looking, a temple usually has a pagoda within the temple compound, and a place for burning incense. And if that isn’t enough indication, you’d find a great Buddha statue in the temple.
A shrine, on the other hand, is characterized by vermillion gates, known as torii, on the entrances, and usually, there’d be statues of animals flanking the entrances, as if they are on guard. Instead of a place for burning incense, you’d find an area with running water, where you can wash your hands for purification prior to entering the shrine.
So now that we got that out of the way…. let’s head on to Nonomiya Shrine.
This, by the way, is NOT Nonomiya Shrine, but one of the entrances to the Tenryuji Temple, which I will touch on in the future. Once you arrive at the central area for sightseeing in Arashiyama, you’re bound to spot this first. We passed this and followed the signs leading to the Bamboo Forests.
If you keep following the small road flanked by tall bamboos on both sides, you won’t miss the signs indicating Nonomiya Shrine up ahead. And when you do, you won’t miss the wooden carved sign, romanizing the name.
From the road, it looks small and nondescript, and there weren’t a lot of people about when we were there, probably because it was still a bit early in the day.
As I mentioned earlier, shrines have a torii or gate, and this is what proudly stands in wait along the side of the path of bamboo.
Even from outside, you can easily spot the vermilion (orangey-red, or reddish-orange) color of some of the structures, confirming that, yes, indeed, you’re at a shrine.
I did say that shrines usually have vermillion gates. Well, the torii in the main entrance of Nonomiya Shrine is made of black wood, specifically unbarked tree trunks. This is actually the oldest type of torii, way before the vermillion gates were introduced, so that’s yet another thing that makes this small shrine special.
Nonomiya-jinja, or simply Nonomiya Shrine is popular as that “small shrine beside the bamboo groves of Arashiyama”. Its location means that it’s a popular place for a stopover for those coming to check out the bamboo forests of the area.
Accordingly, there are several deities enshrined in Nonomiya-jinja, but the main deity is Amaterasu, the Goddess of the Sun, also known as the deity of fire. And yes, “Nonomiya” also happens to be one of the many names that the Sun Goddess goes by.
Historically, Nonomiya Shrine is like the “boot camp” for unmarried imperial princesses but, instead of training here, they stay here for three years for them to be purified before they proceed to Ise Shrine to serve as Saigu. I don’t think this is being practiced by the present monarchs any longer, though.
I’m not quite sure how they pulled it off, too, because from what I saw, the place is not that spacious. Perhaps there’s an area behind it that is closed to the public, I’ll never know.
What did I tell you about shrines and their vermillion gates or torii? Seeing this gate made me even more excited, anticipating my return to Fushimi Inari in a couple of days. There I can have all the vermillion gates I could want!
If you take that short walk around the grounds of the shrine, you can see a small moss garden at the back, and a rock garden gently shaded by the tall trees surrounding the shrine.
And you can’t miss the places where wooden tablets, or ema, are hung.
Take note of the stone below. It’s called the turtle stone because… D-UH.
It is said that, if you come to the shrine, say your prayers and, keeping your prayers in mind, pet the turtle stone. If you do that, they say that your prayer will come true within a year.
Unfortunately, when I was there, I did not know that. If I did, I would have known what to pray for. (Yes. In the wise words of a philosopher named Kim Seokjin, “Money.”)
And let me talk about the ema or wooden plaques or tablets.
If you have a prayer or a petition, you can buy one of these tablets (price vary depending on the shape and size), write them down, then hang them anywhere on the shrine.
Among the ema in the shrine are heart-shaped ones. And there are others with illustrations of women wearing Heian period garb. Well, that is because Nonomiya Shrine is said to provide good luck in marriage.
But that is not all. Aside from marriage luck, Nonomiya Shrine is also where people can come to pray for pregnancy as well as smooth delivery or childbirth.
Makes sense, at least to me, since it is dedicated to the Sun Goddess Amaterasu. It certainly comes as no surprise that Nonomiya Shrine is popular among women.
While part of me is uncomfortable reading what other people, albeit strangers, are praying for, I sometimes cannot help but go over some of them. And I spotted some by fellow Filipinos!
Personally, though, I have never tried writing on an ema and having them hung anywhere. Hmm… maybe next time.
Nonomiya Shrine is a short and welcome respite if you’re feeling overwhelmed by all those looming, towering bamboos. It’s a small area, so it won’t take up too much of your time to step inside and take a look. It is definitely a fraction of Tenryuji Temple, which we’ll visit in my next blog post. See ya then!
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