[Tokyo] The birthplace of the wealthy marriage? Yanagimori Shrine in front of Akihabara Station is said to bring good fortune to women!

Yanagimori Shrine was founded by Ota Dokan during the Muromachi period

Yanagimori Shrine is located along the Kanda River, a 3-minute walk from Akihabara Station on the JR Yamanote Line, Keihin-Tohoku Line, Sobu Line, Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line, and Tsukuba Express. Although it is a small shrine known only to locals today, Yanagimori Shrine was founded to protect Chiyoda Castle, the predecessor of Edo Castle, built by Ota Dokan, and was extremely popular among women during the Meiji period. We will guide you to Yanagimori Shrine, a hidden Edo temple

The history of Yanagimori Shrine, just a 3-minute walk from Akihabara Station

View of the Kanda River from Kanda Fureai Bridge

This is the view from Akihabara Station, looking towards Asakusabashi from the middle of Kanda Fureai Bridge over the Kanda River. Akihabara Station is on the left, and Yanagimori Shrine is on the right. Yanagimori Shrine is located on the left after crossing the bridge. Kanda Fureai Bridge is a pedestrian-only bridge. The source of the Kanda River is in a pond in Inokashira Park in Kichijoji. There is an urban legend about this pond that if a couple goes boating together, Benten, the deity enshrined in the pond, will become jealous and cause them to break up. The water from this pond joins the Zenpukuji River and Myoshoji River, and flows into the Kanda River

The main torii gate of Yanagimori Shrine

Yanagimori Shrine was originally built in 1458 by Ota Dokan in the area of ​​present-day Sakuma-cho to seal off the evil spirits of Edo Castle. Willow trees were planted as they were believed to have the power to ward off evil spirits, so it was literally a shrine in a willow forest. Then, in 1659, the shrine was moved to its current location. The willow forest was also transplanted to its current location. During the Edo period, it was protected by the Tokugawa Shogunate and flourished greatly. It remained a beloved local shrine throughout the Meiji and Taisho periods, but the shrine building was burned down in the Great Kanto Earthquake of September 1923, and was not rebuilt until 1930. The shrine also suffered damage from air raids during the Pacific War, and repairs and the construction of a Kagura hall were completed in 1954. Then, in 1984, two arson attacks completely burned down the Kagura hall and half of the shrine building. Restoration was completed in the spring of 1986, and the shrine remains as it is today

A shrine rumored to help you marry a wealthy man

Yanagimori Shrine grounds, past the torii gate

Once you pass through the torii gate, you will come to a staircase. This is the current grounds of Yanagimori Shrine. Behind the large torii gate on the left is Fukuju Shrine, which was reputed in the Meiji era to grant women who visited it the right to marry into wealth, in other words, to be blessed with a good marriage. Fukuju Shrine was originally built in the inner palace of Edo Castle by Keishoin, the mother of the fifth shogun, Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, to give thanks to the gods for the happy life she had lived up to that point

Keishoin was originally the daughter of a townsperson from Horikawa, Kyoto, and her name was Otama. After her husband died, Otama's mother married into a samurai family, and Otama was adopted into the family. While studying etiquette and serving as a servant at the residence of a distant relative, a nobleman, she caught the eye of Kasuga no Tsubone, the wet nurse of the third shogun, Tokugawa Iemitsu, and became Iemitsu's concubine. When Otama married into the shogun's family, she was greeted by a red palanquin (a palanquin similar to a portable shrine) and rode into Edo Castle, thus giving rise to the phrases "Otama's palanquin," "Tama's palanquin," and "Tama's palanquin." Later, her child became the fifth shogun, Tsunayoshi, and Otama, a townsperson's daughter, rose to become the shogun's mother. This inspired the women of the Ooku to aspire to be like her, and they flocked to the Fukuju Shrine, where Keishoin had practised faith, to pray

Eventually, when the Tokugawa Shogunate was abolished, the Ooku was also abolished, and the Fukuju Shrine was moved from the Ooku to be enshrined at Yanagimori Shrine in 1869 (Meiji 2). The story of Keishoin's success, which had been passed down in the Ooku, spread to the general public, and the Fukuju Shrine at Yanagimori Shrine became a popular shrine among women

Why a raccoon dog and not a lion dog?

The raccoon dog to the right of the torii gate at Fukuju Shrine

On either side of the torii gate are stone statues of tanuki. Normally, shrines would have lion dogs, and Inari shrines would have foxes, so why tanuki? There's a reason for this. The tanuki plays on the meaning of "tanuki," which means "to surpass others." It was already quite a feat for Otama, a simple town girl, to become the shogun's concubine, but to become the shogun's birth mother required competition with other concubines and great luck. Otama "surpassed others" to become the shogun's birth mother, which is why there is a tanuki here

Tanuki (raccoon dog) on ​​the left side of the torii gate at Fukuju Shrine

This is the tanuki to the left of the torii gate. During the Meiji period, Yanagimori Shrine sold tanuki-shaped charms called tanuki-mamori, which were popular not only with women but also with men. They were said to bring good fortune in winning competitions and career advancement, as they were said to help you surpass others

Fukuju Shrine

This is Fukuju Shrine. The tanuki (raccoon) under the shrine is made of iron. The Fukuju Shrine, which has remained since the Edo period, has continued to answer the prayers of the women of the Ooku, and is located at Yanagimori Shrine as a famous Edo temple known only to those in the know through the Meiji, Taisho, Showa and Heisei periods.
The Fukuju Shrine at Yanagimori Shrine, which was built by Ota Dokan in the Muromachi period, is now visited by fewer people, but it is actually a hidden power spot popular among women, continuing from the Ooku of Edo Castle. It is located close to Akihabara Station, so be sure to take a stroll around. You're sure to enjoy it.

INFORMATION

Jun Nambara

Writer, screenwriter, animation producer. He wrote and directed the drama CD ``The Rose of Versailles,'' supervised by Riyoko Ikeda, and has written many books, including ``Onmyoji ``Abe Seimei'' (Futami Shobo). He is also attracting attention as a travel writer who works as a tour conductor on weekends. His hobby is visiting the sacred places of anime, dramas, and movies.