Daikoku Shrine in Komagome – Visit in cherry blossom season

Daikoku Shrine is a small shrine in front of JR Komagome Station. It is a starting point of an excursion you can get from volunteers in Somei-Yoshino area for 300 yen. It is beautiful in cherry blossom season.Daikoku Shrine was founded in 1783. Although the deity enshrined in it is an iconic Daikokuten (大黒天), the name of the shrine is 大國神社, same as Daikoku Shrine in Ise.One of the special talismans you can buy there is “Luck with money” for 700 yen. As you know, Daikokuten is one of the Japanese Seven Lucky Gods. He he is a happy-looking god of wealth. Daikokuten’s “wealth-pounding” mallet, a kind of hammer, is one of the New Year’s lucky symbols as well. Here at the shrine you can see it everywhere. It is usually wooden and gold-plated, and sometimes called a “legendary Japanese magic hammer” Uchide-no-Kozuchi.　This item also appears in many old Japanese tales like Issun-boshi, Momotaro, and even some Maneki Neko (“bekoning cats”) hold it.Derived from Indian god Shiva, Daikokuten evolved into a very complicated character. Not only he had lost his fearsome facial expression, he had almost gone native here in Japan. He had also turned into a farmer instead of a warrior. Daikoku-sama (大黒様) is also a name that is used to depict a shinto kami Ookuninushi (“Great Land Master”), originally a ruler of Izumo.So in Daikoku Shrine in Komagome Shintoism and Buddhism are deeply intertwined. During Kinoene Festival (甲子祭り) of worshipping Daikokuten, Shinto rituals are performed. Around that time figures made of Japanese cypress hinoki are distributed for 60 days.

Information

Daikoku Shrine

Address: Tokyo, Toshima, Komagome 3-2-11
Telephone: 03-3918-7930
Access 1: a min. walk from JR Komagome Station, North Exit
Access 2: 2 min. walk from Nishigahara Subway Station, Exit 3
Distance to airport: 27 km from Haneda Airport
Official website: http://www.daikokujinja.org/

Article by Olga Kaneda