At the Meiji Jingumae Shrine (in Tokyo), I witnessed a ceremony where the locals presented their dolls to the Shrine to be cremated! Yes, you read it correctly, cremated! I took a number of pictures of this practice (which is held once or twice a year?)
You may want to click on the photos to view the captions on them.
This is a shot of people visiting the shrine and presenting their dolls to the temple maidens.
Another shot of people giving up their dolls. In order to present 1 doll to the shrine to be cremated, the locals have to submit 3000Yen per doll! 3000Yen is about USD37!
After handing over their dolls and their money, the temple maiden presents a token stored in a small square box (I don't know what this thing is) and paper offering.
The paper offering is in a shape of doll figurine!
Some people helping to remove the dolls from the boxes and placing them on the tables.
Tables filling up with dolls.
And more dolls...
Good bye dolls!
So many dolls! Most of the dolls I noticed were the traditional ones but there were a fair share of modern day dolls like Pooh bears. Some look kind of creepy.
These Pooh Bears were actually quite new looking.
What? A Daruma doll? Someone gave up on a wish?
Some of the things presented were not even dolls!
These tables are meant for the patrons to write the final good byes on the paper offerings (which were shaped like figurines).
People queuing up to say their final good byes.
The queue ended at the temple building, where the patrons placed the paper figurines with their final goodbyes written on them in a box, dropped a coin in collection box and said some prayers.
Now, some background information on this custom. This strange custom began about 40 years ago, when couples who want want to start a family will go to a temple and pray to be blessed with a child. After the child is born, the couple will normally offer a doll to the temple as a way to give thanks for being blessed with a child and believing that by not offering a doll may cause harm to the child, simply reinforced this practice.
As years go by, more and more dolls are placed in the temples for the reason above as well as other reasons. Some locals who were interviewed provided various reasons why they offer their dolls, e.g. you can possible throw things with a face, it was a wedding gift and the spouse has passed away long time ago, etc.
I think the reason for doing so could just be for practical reasons (e.g. too much junk at home, not enough space etc). But why pay 3000Yen per doll to be disposed? Why not just donate them to less fortunate children (some of the dolls are pretty new!). Is 3000Yen the price of peace of mind or maybe the price of absolving them from their guilty conscience of not finding a better use of their dolls they no longer wanted? Or are they hoping that the "doll's spirits" may look kindly on them and blessed them in the future?
Just a few hundred metres away, at the entrance to the park where the Meiji-Jingumae shrine lies, is an area where the Harajuku kids hang out every Sunday (I think).
I don't know which is weirder - these kids or the parents who paid 3000Yen to have their dolls cremated. Maybe if you don't treat your dolls well and give them a decent send off, your kids will end up looking like this!
Now, that's would certainly get the cash registers at the temple ringing next year.
Ja mata...
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