A traditional ceremony for children is catching on among pet owners in Japan, where dogs and cats are receiving ever more attention amid the nation’s plummeting birthrate.
Natsuki Aoki took her two Chihuahuas on a plane ride to Tokyo from the western city of Hiroshima so her fur babies could get a special blessing.
“There aren’t many shrines that welcome pets and allow them to walk inside, so I think it would be great to see more places like this,” 33-year-old Aoki said on Tuesday.
Photo: Reuters
The Zama Shrine, which dates back to the 6th century and is about 35km southwest of Tokyo, established a specific prayer site for pets in 2012. It now hosts Shichi-Go-San rituals where pet parents can pray for the health and happiness of their animals.
The rite, which means Seven-Five-Three in Japanese, is traditionally celebrated in mid-November for children reaching those ages. Parents dress their girls and boys in kimonos and bring them to a Shinto holy place for the ceremony.
On Tuesday, pet owners led their charges up the steep steps to reach the Inuneko Jinja, or Dog-Cat Shrine, to pray and receive a blessing from a Shinto priest. Six Shiba Inu dogs dressed in kimonos lined up for pictures at the event.
Japan’s birthrate last year declined for a seventh straight year to a record low, while deaths increased to an all-time high.
“The number of children is decreasing each year, and as a result, more and more people are pouring their love into their dogs and cats,” Zama Shrine priest Yoshinori Hiraga said.
“We want to offer the pet owners a place at Zama Shrine for them to thank the gods when their dogs and cats reach the age of three, five and seven,” said Hiraga, who estimated that about 120 pets would be brought to the shrine this season.
Among them was Masayo Tashiro, who brought her terrier and Pomeranian to the site as she made offerings and prayers.
“They are very important to me, like my own children,” the 53-year old caregiver said. “I came here to pray that they will have a safe and healthy life with us together.”
VENEZUELAN ACTION: Marco Rubio said that previous US interdiction efforts have not stemmed the flow of illicit drugs into the US and that ‘blowing them up’ would US President Donald Trump on Wednesday justified a lethal military strike that his administration said was carried out a day earlier against a Venezuelan gang as a necessary effort by the US to send a message to Latin American cartels. Asked why the military did not instead interdict the vessel and capture those on board, Trump said that the operation would cause drug smugglers to think twice about trying to move drugs into the US. “There was massive amounts of drugs coming into our country to kill a lot of people and everybody fully understands that,” Trump said while hosting Polish President
China on Monday announced its first ever sanctions against an individual Japanese lawmaker, targeting China-born Hei Seki for “spreading fallacies” on issues such as Taiwan, Hong Kong and disputed islands, prompting a protest from Tokyo. Beijing has an ongoing spat with Tokyo over islands in the East China Sea claimed by both countries, and considers foreign criticism on sensitive political topics to be acts of interference. Seki, a naturalised Japanese citizen, “spread false information, colluded with Japanese anti-China forces, and wantonly attacked and smeared China”, foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian told reporters on Monday. “For his own selfish interests, (Seki)
Japan yesterday heralded the coming-of-age of Japanese Prince Hisahito with an elaborate ceremony at the Imperial Palace, where a succession crisis is brewing. The nephew of Japanese Emperor Naruhito, Hisahito received a black silk-and-lacquer crown at the ceremony, which marks the beginning of his royal adult life. “Thank you very much for bestowing the crown today at the coming-of-age ceremony,” Hisahito said. “I will fulfill my duties, being aware of my responsibilities as an adult member of the imperial family.” Although the emperor has a daughter — Princess Aiko — the 23-year-old has been sidelined by the royal family’s male-only
A French couple kept Louise, a playful black panther, in an apartment in northern France, triggering panic when she was spotted roaming nearby rooftops. The pair were were handed suspended jail sentences on Thursday for illegally keeping a wild animal, despite protesting that they saw Louise as their baby. The ruling follows a September 2019 incident when the months-old feline was seen roaming a rooftop in Armentieres after slipping out of the couple’s window. Authorities captured the panther by sedating her with anesthetic darts after she entered a home. No injuries were reported during the animal’s time on the loose. The court in the
RSS