Yaegaki Shrine

　　We visited Yaegaki Shrine next. It seemed that this shrine had appeared in a TV program and had become well known to people for its distinctive way of fortune-telling. I didn't know about this shrine and I learned its long and distinguished history from a staff member of the shrine, Miko, a female attendant.
　　I bought a sheet of paper at the shrine, on which nothing was written, and went to a pond deep in the forest. It is said that a young girl, who would get hitched to a man later who would kill the legendary monster, Yamata no Orochi, had hidden from Yamata no Orochi in this pond. People float this sheet of paper on the surface of the pond and put a coin on it. The faster it sinks, the faster the words come true written on the paper.
　　One single coin is supposed to be put on the paper. Some put a coin of 100yen or 500yen, because they are heavier than 10yen or 1yen, but I put 10 yen on it as you see in the picture. The words appeared just after it was placed on the pond. My paper says that my daughters will meet nice guys and they are from the direction of the west and the south. I don't adhere to such fortune-telling, but the words given to me made me happy. The last picture shows some of my friends, who were so eager for the fortune-telling. Are women like that in other countries?
　　We headed for the mountainous region where our inn was located. It was ground zero of the Yamata no Orochi legend.

Yaegaki Shrine

Miko

Miko, pictures