August
18
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The Lost Cat Shrine
Don’t you just hate it when your kittehs get a touch of the walkabout? Well now you can do something about it. A quick prayer at the Tachikawa Suitengu Shrine will have them back on your doorstep quicker than a twist of the can opener!
Judging by the number of prayer plaques hung on the rack at this quiet shrine in Tachikawa, the local kami-sama are A+ at delivering lost felines back home, safe and sound.
Offer your respects at this cheery-looking neko-guarded stone basin for starters…
…then buy an ema at the shrine shop and step over to this stone pussycat…
…and pen your wish for Growler’s safe return.
After you’ve added it to the rack…
…thank the kami-sama by giving the stone kitteh a little scritch behind the ears.
As an added bonus, if you happen to have a baby at home that’s less than a hundred days old, their future teeth are in luck. Pick a stone from this sacred pile (they’re called “hakatame no ishi“) and take it home. Touch the stone with a pair of chopsticks, then touch the baby’s gums and say a prayer for good strong teeth. If you bring the rock back to the shrine, your young ‘un is guaranteed to have a long life and choppers of kryptonite.
If you’d like to visit the Lost Cat Shrine the next time you’re in Tokyo, a map is on my website, The Tokyo Guide I Wish I’d Had.
And just for fun, here are the eleven strangest shrines in Tokyo, with all the inside scoop on the resident gods’ superpowers
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Interesting side bar: In these days of pull-top cans, my cats don’t recognize the can opener. I hardly ever use it myself!
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Ha, you can tell how long ago I had my last cat!
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Having lost a cat, I think such a shrine can play an important emotional role. Your blog is fascinating and I have enjoyed looking at it.
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Thank you so much! The best thing about writing this is crossing paths with people who like the same things I do. ^^;; Sorry you lost a cat, though – I think all of us who’ve been through that harrowing experience appreciate how great it would be to have a shrine where our fervent wishes to get our kittehs back can be given form and substance!
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