Once a month, this little temple in Shunan city comes alive with expectant mothers and elderly people. By 0830 their four parking lots are almost completely full and though they’re not huge parking lots, I was pretty surprised when we got one of the last three spots left. I thought we were getting there early!
The entrance to the temple. It may not look like much, but women who are expecting come here to pray for a healthy pregnancy, safe delivery, and healthy baby. In many cases, a visit to this temple becomes a part of their routine while they are pregnant. I also heard stories of how some women came here for every single pregnancy, just as their mothers and grandmothers did before them.
This temple is not just for expectant mothers though. People also come here to pray if they are suffering from pain. As you walk up the steps to the entrance, you’ll see this large stone statue to your right.
Place money in the blue box in front of it and, as you slowly walk around it, rub the stone and then rub the area where you feel pain. If you are experiencing pain in your upper body, then rub the upper part of the stone. If you are experiencing pain in your lower body, then rub the lower part of the stone. It is said that your pain will get better if you do this. As for the amount of money to place in the box, it can be a one yen coin or a five yen coin or even a hundred yen coin. It’s completely up to you. There are a lot of statues at this temple and they all have a blue box in front of them. Most of the people I saw were going around to every single one of them and placing a one yen coin in each box.
The stairs are steep, but there is a path on the right that is more gradual and flat. I don’t recommend strollers though, because the area at the top is not very large at all and it gets crowded.
Once at the top, a candle and some incense can be purchased where this sign is located. It’s self-service so just place fifty yen in the box and grab one candle and three incense sticks.
Light your candle using one of the other lit candles and then place it on the rack. Then, you light your incense using your candle.
Once you have lit your incense and they are producing smoke, walk over and place them with all of the other burning incense.
Bringing the smoke to you is said to have healing properties.
Right behind the incense is where people go to pray. There is a box to place offerings in before praying.
An omamori can be purchased at this temple. It is like a lucky charm that you keep with you at all times. This one is for healthy pregnancy, safe delivery, and healthy baby.
My mother gave me one both times I was pregnant and after I gave birth, she insisted I give her back the omamori so she could take it back to the temple, let them know that it worked and thank them. That isn’t always possible so it is not a requirement, but my mother felt so passionately about it that she had me mail mine to her after I gave birth to my first child in California. It was a little bit easier with my second child since I gave birth here. I understood why she was doing it, but I’ll be honest, I wanted to keep it.
The temple also offers rice cooked with beans, and tea that can be enjoyed for free. They offer this every month, and you can even purchase some of the rice to take home, for a very modest fee.
After we enjoyed the rice and some tea, we decided to walk around the rest of the grounds.
We went to the back of the temple and this is what we saw –
If you think those look like breasts, you’re absolutely correct. Expectant mothers come to this temple to also pray for good milk supply. They do not sell these at the temple. These were all handmade by expectant mothers or their friends. Once completed, the mom-to-be would write her wish and then hang it on the wall.
If you continue walking around the grounds you’ll see some really beautiful statues.
This one is one of the most beautiful ones I’ve ever seen. It is made of wood and her face…. I don’t have the words to describe how this face makes me feel. You will have to go and look for yourself.
Shunan city is a little over an hour south of Iwakuni by car, on Route 2.
Kawasaki Kannon Temple is only open on the 17th of every month. Everyone who was working on the day I went was so helpful and so nice.
They also offer goshuin (temple stamp), but they don’t do it on the spot. They have some that are pre-made and this gentleman adds the date.
If you find yourself free on the 17th of the month, go check out this temple! It’s definitely a different experience to visit a small neighborhood temple.
Address: 2 Chome-1 Kawasaki, Shunan, Yamaguchi Prefecture 746-0001
Here is the pin
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