Miyagi Prefecture
A special visit to the sacred island of Kinkasan in Miyagi Prefecture.
Last week we ventured to the neighboring prefecture of Miyagi where we made a special visit to the sacred island of Kinkasan just off the coast of Ishinomaki City along the Sanriku Coastline.
This island is home to the Koganeyama Shrine, a shinto shrine visited by hundreds of thousands of visitors each year seeking blessings for wealth and financial good fortune.
It is said that by visiting this shrine each year for three years in a row will bestow visitors with wealth and fortune in their lives. It also has a unique ritual here where visitors will wash their credit cards in one of the fountains next to the Ebisu and Daikokuten statues at the shrine to obtain wealth and fortune.
In addition to the Koganeyama Shrine, Kinkasan also has over 500 deer that freely roam the shrine and forests of this island. Deer are viewed as messengers of the gods in Shinto religion and like the deer in Nara, have enjoyed centuries of pampered treatment by the people visiting Kinkasan. The shrine here sells deer feed with which you can feed the deer here. Just be careful as the deer here have zero fear of humans and will not hesitate to bump or even bite you if they see a chance to get more food out of you!
See a short video we shot with the deer during our short visit.
Derek Yamashita
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