The Japanese are the most romantic people on earth. There. I said it.
This does not diminish the contributions of the Greeks who gave us Eros, the god of love and sex and (apparently) Fifty Shades of Grey 2,000 years later. The Romans gave us Cupid and girls in fish net stockings and wings for Valentine’s Day. But not to be out done are the nearly one million Japanese a year who visit the Shinto deity Okuninushi at Keta Taisha shrine for a little shove toward love.
For those in need of a little mojo with their love life, Keta Taisha shrine is just a plane ride to Osaka’s Kansai airport, an express train ride north, a twenty-minute bus ride from the train station to Hakui City and a fifteen-minute walk (up-hill) from the bus stop. You can feel the love with each step.
I passed under the entrance gate, walked up to a miko and confessed to her that “I was searching for true love.” The female temple assistant uttered “Shosho omachi kudasai,” and after several phone calls, a young woman came skipping down a series of steps leading from the shrine. This was how I met a breathless Saori Morikawa, the only female priestess of the six monks who reside at Keta Taisha shrine.
She explained that Keta Taisha shrine has been at this location well past two thousand years. Even if none of the existing wooden structures are original, the site upon which the shrine rests makes it extraordinary. We walked a little way to a moss covered torii gate. “This is the forbidden forest,” she uttered while pointing into the emerald shadows, “because this is where the gods for good relationships reside.”
Shinshoku Morikawa explained that even when you come with the dream of finding true love, all dreams don’t come true right away. So at Keta Taisha shrine, you can leave a message for Okuninushi. She escorted me to an area where thousands of ema were left hanging from fences surrounding the shrine. Think of ema as 4″ by 5″ wooden message boards with love tweets scribbled on them.
The inscriptions on the ema often express private, intimate wishes for true love. Although it felt a lot like reading some else’s love letter, it was impossible to turn away without glancing at some of the ema left hanging for Okuninushi to consider. One message, when translated, shot like an arrow: “Please help me meet someone I really like.” Another translation revealed a wide-open heart: “Please help me find someone who will treat me well and wants to get married.” And one note didn’t ask for much at all: “Please give me a boyfriend who is fun.”
The heart-shaped ema and the arrows piercing bulls-eyes suggested that some symbols of love are universal. Unlike the ema left at Keta Taisha shrine, you can also purchase omamori of amore at a stand near the entrance to take away with you. The small fabric amulets are often adorned with flowers and gold thread and encase prayers for your wish for true love to be fulfilled. It is small enough to carry in your pocket, purse, or wallet. For about $5 USD, less than the price of a Happy Meal, who can resist such a reasonable price for the chance at true love?
I bought five.
Does that seem too desperate?
By now, the afternoon sun was failing and the luminescent glow of the gold accents of the Keta Taisha shrine sparkled. That was my cue to prepare for my departure away from this bubble of love.
I have learned after a lifetime of travel, that one’s journey away from something is as important as the path toward it. To put it another way, a Japanese proverb declares that when you have completed 95% of a journey, you are halfway there. Which meant I had a long way to go even if I had just arrived.
So that’s what I did. I took a breath, said good-bye and began walking away from Keta Taisha shrine and toward my true true love somewhere out there. Guy Sibilla