Kifune Shrine

Kyoto · Japan · Monastery

In the shrine's ancient cedar grove, straw effigies are still nailed to the trees in the cursing rite of the hour of the ox.

Kifune Shrine in the mountains north of Kyoto is the home of the water god — and notorious as the site of 'ushi no koku mairi', the rite in which the spurned nail a straw effigy to the sacred trees at two in the morning to curse a rival. According to the legend behind the Noh play Kanawa, a jealous wife came here praying for transformation and became a living demon who tore her husband's new woman apart, until the master onmyōji Abe no Seimei drove her back. The nocturnal visit was originally a path to granted wishes, but the centuries turned it into Japan's most famous cursing ritual. Rusty nail holes can still be seen in the tree trunks above the shrine — and now and then, a fresh effigy.

FAQ

Wo befindet sich Kifune Shrine?

Kifune Shrine liegt in Kyoto, Japan.