Prayers and Amulets

Prayer

We offer prayers at the main hall of the shrine, which is designated as a nationally important cultural property, to receive the blessings of Hachiman Okami for the fulfillment of your prayers. We also offer services such as the ground-breaking ritual or purification ritual at a location of your choice.

Prayer Guide

We pray for the fulfillment of your wishes at the shrine main hall.
- We offer prayers for the safety of your family, to drive away evil spirits, for the first visit to a shrine of a newborn, to pass university entrance exams, etc.
More information
On-Demand Rituals

We will visit home or a specified location and conduct a ritual.
- Ground-breaking rituals, purification rituals, annual festivals, Shinto altar rituals, etc.
More information

Prayer

We perform a prayer for the fulfillment of your wishes at the shrine hall.

Main Prayers

Family safety, business prosperity, traffic safety, victory, first shrine visit, celebration of the Shichi-Go-San festival, warding off evil, company prosperity, good health, fulfillment of wishes, recovery from illness, success in school, good fortune, easy delivery, direction, construction safety

Boys, at 3 and 5 years old, and girls, at 3 and 7 years old, make a prayer to the kami.
Kamioki is for 3-year-old boys and girls to grow their hair for the first time, Hakamagi is for 5-year-old boys to wear a hakama for the first time, and Obitoki is for 7-year-old girls to wear an obi for the first time. We wish for the healthy growth of children and celebrate the age that the child turned.

3-year-old	boys and girls	Kamioki
5-year-old	boys	Hakamagi
7-year-old	girls	Obitoki

Years of bad luck are a very important time of mental, physical and social transition for both men and women. The ages of 42 for men and 33 for women are considered to be years of bad luck. The bad luck is believed to come in a three-year period that also includes the years after and before the main year, which are considered years of lesser bad luck. In these years, we should pray in order to get rid of misfortune and avoid disasters.

Year 2024 Bad Luck Years Chart

Men
The year before the bad luck year	24 years old ()	41 years old ()	60 years old ()
The bad luck year	25 years old ()	42 years old ()	61 years old ()
The year after the bad luck year	26 years old ()	43 years old ()	62 years old ()

Women
The year before the bad luck year	18 years old ()	32 years old ()	36 years old ()	60 years old ()
This bad luck year	19 years old ()	33 years old ()	37 years old ()	61 years old ()
The year after the bad luck year	20 years old ()	34 years old ()	38 years old ()	62 years old ()

Prayer Requests

Individuals

Reception Method: Please fill out the necessary information at the prayer desk and pay the initial charge.
Reception Location: Prayer office at the bottom of the Great Stone Steps
Site Map
Reception hours: 8:30am - 4:30pm
※Prayer times during the New Year's period will be announced on the Notices page.
Initial charge (prayer fee): From 10,000 yen per case

Companies, Groups of 10 or More People or Those Who Need a Number of Ofuda

For those applicable above, please let us know in advance in order to reduce waiting time. Please provide us with the necessary information specified below.

Type of prayer
Company name, representative, postal code, address and telephone number
Initial charge
Name to be written on the ofuda (Shinto tag)
The number of worshippers
The date and time of your visit
Contact information

E-mail:international-affairs＠hachimangu.or.jp

Preparation and Flow of the Day

Preparation for the day

Personal effects: Please pay the prayer fee (hatsuho-ryo) at the prayer desk.
If you wish to purify your car as a traffic safety prayer, please bring your car's license plate number to the shrine.
Attire: Formal attire is recommended for shrine visits. Please refrain from wearing informal clothing, coming barefoot, or using otherwise disrespectful clothing.
For those coming by car: Please park in the parking lot of Tsurugaoka Hachimangu.
Show your parking ticket at the prayer desk and you will receive 2 hours free parking.
Check the location of the parking lot
If you wish to have your car purified as a traffic safety prayer, please park your car at the Kurumaharaisho and proceed to the prayer desk.
Check the location of the Kurumaharaisho

The Flow of Prayers

1.Reception

You will be asked to fill out an application form at the reception desk on the east side of the Oishidan (the Great Stone Steps), confirm the content of your prayers, and pay your prayer fee. If you wish to purify your car as a traffic safety prayer, please bring your car's license plate number with you as this needs to be written on the form.

2.Waiting room

Please wait in the waiting room for your prayers.

3.Ritual

After ascending to the shrine, please receive your prayers.
After the prayers, please accept the Shinto tags that were raised in front of the shrine.

※Those who come to the shrine by car to pray for traffic safety, we will purify your car at the Kurumaharaisho after praying.

※In case of rain,the car purification will be postponed.

On-Demand Rituals

We will come to your home or the venue of your choice to perform a prayer ritual.

Main Rituals

Ground-breaking ritual, beam-raising ritual, purification ritual, household altar ritual, Shinto shrine funeral ritual, annual ritual, pool opening ritual, unveiling ritual, launching ritual, completion ritual, well purification ritual, tree felling purification ritual, building extension and reconstruction purification ritual

The Shinto funeral ritual is called Shinsousai. The Shinto rituals are recorded in the Kojiki and Nihonshoki texts and convey the Japanese belief that "people are born from the kami and return to the kami". Although the Buddhist funeral ritual was established in the Edo period (1603-1868), after the Meiji period (1868-1912) the Shinto funeral rituals came to be widely practiced within the growing trend of reexamining the ancient spirit and culture of Japan.
The main rituals include the wake ritual and the funeral hall ritual (farewell ritual). In the Shinto funeral ritual, the spirit of the deceased is enshrined in the sacred seal. This is equivalent to a Buddhist mortuary tablet. We enshrine the sacred seals in the mitamaya (equivalent to a Buddhist altar) and pray that the deceased's family will be looked after from now on.

We perform this service on the anniversary of the death of the deceased, such as at one year, three years, five years, ten years, etc. We commemorate the spirit of the deceased and pray for the prosperity of the family and descendants of the deceased.
On the grounds of Tsurugaoka Hachimangu, there is an ancestral shrine to enshrine the spirits of the ancestors of the worshippers of the shrine.

About Ancestral Shrine Maintenance Association

Applying for Rituals

How to apply: Please contact us by email.
Please fill out the following form to speed up the process.

Preferred date and time

Type of ritual

Representative and contractor

Number of attendees

Contact information

E-mail:international-affairs＠hachimangu.or.jp

Reception hours (Phone): 8:30am - 4:30pm
Initial charge (Prayer fee): Prayer fees depend on the type of ritual, so please check with the shrine office.

Preparation on the day of the festival

Necessary preparations depend on the type of ritual, please check at the time of application.

Prayer

Prayer Guide

On-Demand Rituals

Prayer

Main Prayers

First Visit to a Shrine

Shichi-Go-San Festival

Warding off Evil

Prayer Requests

Individuals

Companies, Groups of 10 or More People or Those Who Need a Number of Ofuda

Preparation and Flow of the Day

Preparation for the day

The Flow of Prayers

On-Demand Rituals

Main Rituals

Tokoshizume no Matsuri (Ground-breaking Ritual)

Muneage-Matsuri (Beam-raising Ritual)

Kiyoharaishiki (Purification Ritual)

Kamidana Ritual (Household Altar Ritual)

Shinto Rituals

Annual Rituals

Applying for Rituals

Preparation on the day of the festival