Tokyo Flashbacks : Yabo Tenman-gu and the Takahata Fudoson / 東京フラッシュバック：谷保天満宮（やほてんまんぐ）と高幡不動尊

My wife and I love to explore different temples and shrines. But it was our friends Yukio and Reiko that got us started on collecting goshuin. What's a goshuin? A shuin or goshuin is a seal stamp given to worshippers and visitors to Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples in Japan. The seal stamps are often collected in a goshuincho (stamp and seal notebook) that are sold at shrines and temples. ~from Wikipedia if you must know. We first had to decide where to buy a goshuincho. My wife browsed the Internet looking for a cute goshuincho to start our collection. We decided on a shrine called Yabo Tenmangu located in Kunitachi.

僕と僕の妻はお寺や神社を探索の大好き。そして友達の幸男と令ちゃんの影響で御朱印を集めることになった。妻はどこの御朱印帳を買えば良いか悩んでた末、インターネットでいろいろ調べたら、国立にある谷保天満宮（やぼてんまんぐう）に決定した。なぜと言えば、妻がこの神社の御朱印帳が可愛いと言ったからです。

We saw these two guys at a place that sells and makes tombstones and other temple and shrine related figures.

仁王さまの像をある店で発見。

The torii at Yabo Tenman-gu.

谷保天満宮の鳥居。

My wife at the hand purification basin.

妻が手水舎に手を洗ってます。

Hand purification basin / 手水舎

A small waterfall on the shrine grounds.

境内に小さな滝がありました。

It's a statue of a cow!

牛の像です！

Haiden / 拝殿

Don't give me any "bull"!!

デッカイ牛だ！

Votive Tablet (Prayer Board) rack / 絵馬掛け

Komainu / 狛犬

These are wooden statues of the komainu and are registered as an Important Cultural Property.

木造獅子狛犬が重要文化財に指定されてます。

Tengu mask / 天狗

Tenjin dolls / 天神人形

Painting of Yabo Tenmangu in the Edo era.

江戸時代の谷保天満宮の絵。

Back to the cow.

牛の所に戻った。

Shrine office / 社務所

We also went to the Takahata Fudoson in Hino City.

谷保天満宮のあとは日野にある高幡不動尊も行きました。

Uesugi-do / 上杉堂

Kannon / 観音様

Climbing up some stairs!

階段を上る！

Hana Well / 鼻井戸

The story goes that on the date of August 4, 1335, a typhoon knocked over the building encompassing a statue of a jizo and where the jizo's nose touched, this well was found.

お鼻井戸は建武二年（一三三五年）八月四日夜の台風の為、不動堂倒れた折不動尊像が落ちて鼻をついた所と伝えられている。

My wife.

僕の妻です。

Our first goshuincho.

私たちの初めての御朱印帳。

And my first goshuin.

そして初の御朱印。

And our second goshuin from Takahata Fudoson.

二つ目の御朱印は高幡不動尊から。

And then we had lunch somewhere! Most likely in Hino but I don't really remember. So ended our adventure.

最後は日野でランチ。どこに行ったか覚えてない。これで私たちの冒険の幕が閉じた。