Monday, March 18, 2013

Guiding an American Woman in a Strong Wind

[Date& Time] Monday, March 18, at 10:00~15:40
[Spots] Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine, Kotokuin Temple (Great Buddha), Hasedera Temple, and Kenchoji Temple
[Visitor] 1 American Woman (in her 30s)
[Attendant] 1 KSGG member
[Language] English



In the first spring storm, we enjoyed talking about the story of Shizuka Gozen in front of the Maiden stage in the precincts of Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine.  The visitor tried omikuji (paper fortune telling) for the first time, and it said “bad luck.”  I translated the contents of the paper fortune telling into English, and explained that by fastening it to a tree bad luck turns into good luck.  At Hasedera Temple, the visitor was impressed with eleven different face expressions of Hase Kannon.   At Kotokuin Temple, she was interested in the four petals of a lotus flower and letters curved on them.  She liked juniper trees in the precincts of Kenchoji Temple, and took many pictures of them.  At hojo, (abbot’s house), we admired its beautiful garden.