Kyoto opens world's first shrine for stuffed animals

Only in Japan: A shrine believed to be the world's first dedicated to stuffed animals (ぬいぐるみ or nuigurumi in Japanese) opened on 20 June in Miyama (美山), Nantan City, Kyōto Prefecture. The new Nuigurumi Shrine (ぬいぐるみ神社) offers owners a place to express gratitude to cherished plush toys and hold memorial services for those that have reached the end of their lives.


Located in the forested Miyama district, the shrine features a wooden torii gate fitted with ears and worship hall windows shaped like bears. The shrine was established by a company specialising in the repair of stuffed animals. The company said that some plush toys eventually become too worn or damaged to repair, and it wanted to create a place where owners could thank the toys that had supported them over many years. Visitors can bring their favourite stuffed animals to pray at the shrine, while plush toys that have fulfilled their role can be commemorated there through memorial rites.

People visiting the shrine with stuffed animals in hand said the site felt approachable despite being a shrine. "It has become a place that is easy to feel close to," one woman said. "I think it is a place that soothes the heart." The shrine also plans to build a dedicated facility to store the ashes of stuffed animals after memorial burning rites, a plush-toy version of an ossuary.

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Hummm?? Maybe I should send my 76 year old teddy there to RIP.

With all the hardships going on, you'd think of better things to come up with.