Top 10 Sacred & Religious Sites in Tokushima Prefecture, Shikoku

Reviewed By _E756CR - Kaifu-gun, Japan

The abundance of Maneki Neko (beckoning cats) on display here is just amazing. There're said to be only three cat-related shrines in Japan similar to this one. The traditional Shinto shrine Komainu (guardian statue) is a very large and very cute ... guess what? Cat! This is very unusual for shrines. Everything is devoted to cats - all traditional Shinto attributes have various cats on them. Wooden plaques to write wishes and prayers on (ema), fortune slips (omikuji), and of course charms. And you can even purchase your own Maneki neko! Traditionally, people could take home one of the shrine’s Maneki neko until their prayers came true, then return it and buy another, bigger one to donate to Omatsu Daigongen shrine as a sign of appreciation. It derives from a beautiful, sad and very Japanese legend about bakeneko, a cat, which become a supernatural spirit. At the shrine you can see a display, depicting the story of a woman called Omatsu. It is said to have taken place in the early Edo period in Kamo Village during a famine caused by a poor harvest. The head of the village had to borrow money from a wealthy man to save the villagers. He paid it back and trouble would have been avoided, if not for the greed of the rich man, who accused the headman of not paying and confiscated his land as a debt collateral. Desperate, the village head died from an illness. His wife, Omatsu, had nothing left but courage and a strong will. She fought against the wealthy man and the further unfair judgment of a bribed magistrate office. She went as far as reaching the feudal lord with her complaint, but failed the trial again and was executed. Before her death, she expressed her rage and despair to her beloved cat, which turned into a vengeful spirit and haunted everyone involved until they came to ruin. Omatsu’s grave lies within the shrine, resting in peace among cat statues and moss-covered trees. In time, Omatsu Daigonden shrine became a place for those seeking a fair judgement and later on for passing exams successfully - everyone wants their test results to be fair, right? Cats are everywhere - every time I visit I find more and more things I never noticed before.