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Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto, also known as Tsukiyomi, is the younger sister of Amaterasu and the older sister of Susano-o. In mythology, the three siblings are the left eye, right eye and nose of Izanagi-no-Mikoto, respectively, and are the highest gods who rule Takamagahara.
The left eye becomes the sun, and the right eye becomes the moon, which is somewhat similar to Pangu in Chinese mythology. However, the development of Japanese Shintoism over the past thousand years has been deeply influenced by traditional Chinese mythology, so similar creation stories are not surprising.
Compared with Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto, Amaterasu and Susanoo are undoubtedly more popular among the people. The former is the chief of the gods in Takamagahara, and the latter is the god who blesses marriage and solves love luck.
What about Tsukuyomi? His priesthood is farming. If he were in a farm in Hokkaido, perhaps there would be more people worshipping him. However, there are no farms in Tokyo anymore, and the number of people worshipping Tsukumine Shrine has also decreased significantly in recent years. The shrine master even had an idea and took on the filming business. Finally, he managed to gather some funds to repair the shrine on weekdays.
"Can I ask why Sister Huayin wants me to become a shrine maiden? To be honest, I have to study and recently joined the choir, so I don't have time for anything else."
"Actually, it's because of what happened in Hatsumedori."
"First visit?"
Ling knew that Hatsumode refers to the New Year's shrine's prayers. Japan has always learned from Chinese traditions and has the custom of the Spring Festival, but the weird thing is that the Spring Festival here is not based on the lunar calendar, but on January 1st of the Gregorian calendar, which is New Year's Day every year. A typical combination of Chinese and Western.
It was the end of September, and although the weather was still a little hot, it wasn't long until New Year's Day. Those shrines that held large-scale festivals every year must have already started preparing.
On the first day of the new year, Hatsumode is a traditional ceremony for visiting the shrine.
"Everyone comes to pray with their wishes. Everyone has good wishes. On New Year's Day, thousands and tens of thousands of people come to Izumo Taisha. In the past, I was always powerless and always felt that I was deceiving everyone. However, if possible, I hope that the gods can really hear these wishes."
"If it's Reiya, then it must be possible, right? To truly bring these wishes to the ears of God."
Kuze Kanon can be said to have grown up in a shrine since childhood, but she has always felt that shrines are deceptive.
The bad guys caught by the police are those who defraud and steal people's money. But what about the shrines? They not only ask for money, but also defraud people's faith.
In Hisashi's opinion, there are people who are even worse than thieves and swindlers, but the police never come to catch them.
On the contrary, whenever there is a large-scale scam in the name of "festival", many policemen come to protect them and maintain order. Even during the New Year's Day, there are bigwigs from the Metropolitan Police Department and City Hall who come to pay their respects.
On New Year's Eve, many believers rush to the front of the shrine before dark and endure the cold all night just to be the first in line when the shrine gate opens the next day and to draw the first fortune of the new year.
But as a shrine maiden, Aion always sees that the real first lot is drawn by the "special guest" long before the gate opens.
But what Yan Yin knew more clearly was that no matter how many people lined up overnight or offered huge amounts of incense, the lots they drew were no different from the blank pieces of paper. There was no so-called god's blessing, and no one would listen to their prayers or confessions. Everyone was just playing along, but it seemed as if they had deceived even themselves.
Just two days ago, she became the chief priest of Izumo Taisha Shrine, the number one person under the chief priest, and naturally became the second-in-command of the largest "fraud gang" in Izumo.
In fact, two years ago, the chief priest had wanted her to be the chief priest, but she was always rejected by Kuze. But this time, Kuze did not refuse. She told the chief priest that she had been blessed by the gods, and she believed it.
The god may or may not have believed it, but it made no difference. In the main hall of Izumo Shrine, in front of the thrones of Amaterasu and many other gods, he draped Chihaya, the embroidered golden auspicious pattern, over Kuze.
Every year, when he first visited Izumo Taisha Shrine, he saw huge crowds of believers making wishes for something that did not exist. Huayin felt ashamed from the bottom of his heart, ashamed that he had deceived those sincere pilgrims who came from afar.
But this time, Kuze hoped that the "scam scene" in more than two months would really become a blessing scene. For the first time in her life, she looked forward to Hatsumode's arrival.
But the premise of all this is that Oshima Reiya, a real shrine maiden, can become a shrine maiden of Izumo Taisha Shrine. She can visit Izumo Taisha Shrine during the first ceremony and pray for all living beings.
That was why she couldn't wait to travel thousands of miles to Tokyo on the third day after becoming the owner, hoping that Ling could also be called a shrine maiden of Izumo Taisha and wear the Chihaya robe that belonged to a shrine maiden.
Whether it was an assessment or training, it didn't matter, because Oshima Miko was already standing in the final place - she was already standing before the gods. Fortunately, she had been the head of Izumo Taisha Shrine since two days ago, and was fully qualified to be exempted from these red tape.
The only question is, will Reiya be willing to wear Chihaya?
Chapter 102 Late Night Diner
"So, Sister Huayin actually wants me to participate in the New Year's Hatsumode of Izumo Taisha this year, so she wants me to become a shrine maiden of Izumo Taisha?"
This reason is easier to understand than asking me to wear Chihaya as soon as I meet her.
Kuze nodded. Rather than participating, she actually wanted Lingye to preside over the ceremony. In her opinion, only a first ceremony like that could be called a true shrine maiden festival.
In this generation, people no longer believe in gods, so even if it's just once, Hisashi hopes that everyone can once again be bathed in the grace of gods and be blessed by gods.
It is not to make them believe in religion or convert to Shintoism. Ordinary people have ordinary happiness and troubles, that is real life. If they have troubles on weekdays, it is enough to ask for divination and ask for amulets to make them feel at ease.
Jiuze just feels that even for a day or an hour, everyone can put aside those messy thoughts and take a look at the real self who is buried under the dust and trivial matters by the meaningless busyness.
This was also what Kusei experienced personally on that day not long ago in the Firefly Plains. That day she felt the sight of the gods, but she did not see the gods, but only her own heart. It made her know what she had wanted for a long time.
Only a shrine that is truly blessed by the gods is worthy of the name "Izumo Taisha" that has been passed down for thousands of years. It is also worth it for the pilgrims to get up early in the New Year and even queue up all night to pray for the gods' grace.
"So what about normal times? Besides Hatsumode, what else do you need to do for normal training?"
Kuze smiled, because she knew that since Lingye asked this, it at least proved that she had seriously considered it and was willing to agree.
"You don't need to do anything. If you have time, you can go to Tsukimine Shrine and help the Moon God. You can clean up, organize the painted horses, or make amulets. All of these are fine."
"Let alone cleaning, I don't know how to make amulets."
"It's very simple, just like making a sachet. Amulets are even simpler than making sachets. Moreover, amulets nowadays are actually custom-made, and the shrine maiden only needs to pray and bless them."
In the past, shrine maidens had to sew amulets one by one in the shrine, which was also one of the daily tasks of the shrine maidens. But no matter how skilled a shrine maiden is, how many amulets can she sew in a day?
But the present age is not like the past. A few decades ago, there were no cars or trains, and even shrines like Izumo Taisha only received a few dozen or a hundred pilgrims every day.
But now the daily tourist flow of Izumo Taisha Shrine is at least several thousand, and the number of visitors during holidays is tens of thousands. Since most people have spent plane tickets and train tickets to visit Izumo Taisha Shrine in the mountains of Shimane Prefecture, they would not mind spending a little more to buy an amulet to take home. They may even buy a few more to bring to relatives and friends, which is considered a specialty of Izumo.
With such a demand, even if all the priestesses worked overtime to make it, it would still be too late.
The solution is of course to place an order with the factory. For industrialized production, order a batch of products every month to keep inventory, and leave professional matters to professionals, and there will be no trouble.
The job of the shrine maiden is to bless the finished amulets through rituals. There is a ceremony once a week, with the shrine maidens and priests singing and dancing for half an hour to satisfy the tourists, and at the same time, tens of thousands of amulets are "blessed".
On the contrary, Yan Yin believes that Ling Ye, who claims that she can't make amulets, is the only girl who can make real amulets. The blessing of ordinary shrine maidens is just a traditional ritual, and Ling Ye's blessing may really be a blessing from the gods in the mystical sense.
Maybe then I could go to Yuefeng Shrine and ask for one, and then ask for one for the Lord Shrine as well.
At this time, the owner of the restaurant came over with a tray of food.
"This is braised lamb and grilled mountain vegetables. The grilled saury needs to be processed a little more. I'll go order the ramen set right away."
As he said this, the boss brought out more than two dishes, including a plate of fried horse mackerel and a serving of tamagoyaki.
“We didn’t order this—”
"I know. I'm sorry for what you just said. Are you the miko and priest of the shrine?"
The restaurant itself is not very big. The bar counter is also used as a dining table. There are only three or five seats by the window. The whole shop, including the kitchen, is probably less than 50 or 60 square meters.
Although there is some noise from cooking in the kitchen, it is impossible to pretend not to hear normal volume conversation in such a cramped environment.
"This is a boatload of horse mackerel that just arrived at the port this afternoon. It's very fresh, and so is the tamagoyaki. Please enjoy it as a tribute to our shop."
Shop owners usually set up shrines in their shops to pray for prosperous business and wealth.
If you encounter a priest or a shrine maiden on weekdays, you are willing to make offerings to them to establish a good relationship with them. It is just like a monk begging for alms, but the difference is that shrine maidens and priests do not have the tradition of begging for alms, so they will not take the initiative to ask for it. But believers will not refuse if they take the initiative to make offerings.
It doesn't need to be a very precious offering, just like the horse mackerel and tamagoyaki, which normally cost only a few hundred yen per plate, just to show your thoughts. It's like throwing five yuan at a shrine to express a bond, it's more symbolic.
This was not the first time that the priest Tsurugi had encountered such a thing. He was the first to speak up, and he thanked the offerings in a familiar way, saying some words of blessing. On the contrary, Kuze rarely went out, and this was his first time encountering such a thing, so he followed Tsurugi in thanking his boss.
Kuze picked up a piece of horse mackerel with his chopsticks and passed it to Reiya's bowl. Because no one had touched the chopsticks beforehand, the chopsticks were clean and there was no need for serving chopsticks.
"But this is what the boss gave to you two, right?"
"It's the three of us." Kuze said, circling his fingers in a circle, "Reiya, you are also a shrine maiden. And, if you are willing to wear Chihaya, you will be the official shrine maiden of our Izumo Taisha."
The horse mackerel tastes very delicious, even after being fried in oil, it still retains its tenderness. The same is true for the tamagoyaki, a sweet egg roll with honey, which is not too greasy. It suits Lingye's taste very well, and it is also very similar to the taste of her hometown - tomato scrambled eggs without sugar are soulless.
The sliding door of the restaurant opened and closed, and some customers came in one after another. They greeted the boss warmly and they all seemed to be regular customers.
The sky gradually darkened, and after seven o'clock, which was the dividing line between dusk and night, this was when the canteen really started to open for business.
Customers are of all kinds, including college students reading books while eating, young women wearing revealing clothes, and even men wearing wooden clogs and open-chested kimonos with their hair down, just like the ronin in the story. They lie in front of the bar, drinking from a pot of sake. If they carry a reverse-edged sword and have a cross-shaped scar on their face, they will look even more like ronin.
There is a small radio at the bar, which is usually turned off, but the boss won’t stop customers if they turn it on.
At this time, the radio was playing music, some songs from the Taisho era with a sense of age. The Meiji Restoration had just ended, and it was an era when liberal ideas were rampant. The songs were also like this, with distinct characteristics of the times. As the song "Gondola Song" said, life is short, but love is long.
Some people drink a glass and leave, while others add more dishes when their plates are empty. When the wine pot is empty and the dishes are not finished, they add more wine, one dish after another, one pot after another, probably just to give themselves a reason not to go home like this.
If you are physically tired, just take a rest, but what should you do if you are mentally tired?
This restaurant is such a place.
Once you walk out of the door here, you have to pretend to be energetic, whether you are facing your boss or your family.
At this time, the sliding door opened again, and a tall, thin man came in, wearing sunglasses and with a cold face. He didn't need any introduction, he was obviously a fierce gangster.
The restaurant was silent at first. The diners held their breath. Even Mr. Ronin put down his wine glass and stared blankly for a moment with a dazed look in his eyes.
Zhemu subconsciously stood up and stood in front of the two girls. He reached his hand to his chest, wanting to pull something out.
"What? Xiaolong, you are discharged from the hospital."
This greeting seemed to turn on a switch, and the restaurant became lively again. The drinking 'ronin' even clapped his hands to show his welcome.
This gangster man was also a frequent visitor here. He was called Xiaolong, and the word "Xiao (jiang)" after his name didn't seem to match his aura, but the man was obviously used to being called that.
He glanced at Zhemu in the corner, then nodded nonchalantly as a greeting. Zhemu felt a little embarrassed and loosened his hand from his chest.
The man in sunglasses then walked to the seat in front of the bar and sat down. Even though he was seated, he still wore his sunglasses.
"You actually carry a knife!" Lingye whispered in surprise. Although the thing that Zhemu hid in his chest was not taken out, Lingye could already see the reflection of the metal from his angle.
He carries a knife with him and doesn't know which side is the underworld.
"Uh--as a priest, it's logical for me to carry a ritual blade with me, right?"
Ling didn't know whether the priest had the so-called "ritual blade" prop, but what puzzled her was how the priest Tsurugi passed the Shinkansen security check?
On the other side, the boss has already started entertaining the new man in sunglasses.
"Same as before, a plate of octopus sausages?"
"Yes, thank you, boss. I'd like another thick omelette."
The boss nodded, picked up a towel to wipe his hands, and went to the kitchen to start preparing.
However, while cutting the sausage into the shape of an octopus, he was still chatting with the man, and it seemed that they were more than familiar with each other.
"What does it feel like to be stabbed in the stomach?"
"It was terrible. But thanks to this surgery, I didn't have to have appendectomy."
"Is this true? They just cut the appendix. This is such good luck."
The regulars at the bar started talking. The man who was the topic of conversation still had a cold face, but once you get used to it, you will find him unexpectedly cute. "Mafia boss" seems to be just an identity card. Once you enter this small shop, those identities are just a topic of conversation and no longer have any practical meaning.
Even being stabbed during gang fights became a joke to go with drinking.
"To celebrate Xiaolong's recovery and discharge from the hospital, let's have a toast!"
Ordinary chats give the restaurant a relaxed and intimate feeling. People who know each other or not will soon become acquaintances. Even if they will not meet in the outside world after walking out of this door, at least at this moment they are all strangers who are familiar with each other and can open their hearts to each other.
"Tokyo is more interesting than I thought." Kuze held her chin with one hand, looking at the people chatting at the bar with some envy. This is another world that she doesn't know.