Culture Tokyo weather shrine sees surge in visitors amid climate crisis

Kisho Jinja weather shrine stands on the grounds of Kōenji Hikawa Shrine (高円寺氷川神社). The sanctuaries are dedicated to several gods in the large pantheon of Shinto, a native Japanese faith that was the state religion until the end of the Second World War. During the war, the Imperial Japanese Army formed a research group to study how weather forecasting could benefit military strategy. [...] One of the enshrined deities, Yagokoro Omoikaneno Mikoto, is said to control eight meteorological phenomena, including sunny skies, rain and thunder. Many visitors to the god's shrine write their wishes for fair weather during holidays, weddings and other important events on wooden votive tablets called ema. [...] Parishioner Yamada says: "I'm concerned that the remarkable abnormal weather and unstable climate in recent years are causing great losses to agriculture. With extreme heat and flooding due to heavy rain, we cannot harvest our precious vegetables and fruits. If this situation continues, I worry there will be food shortages."

Click to expand...

Link: