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Hatsumōde Research Paper

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What is Hatsumōde?
With the arrival of the new year, many people make their first visit of the year to a Shinto shrine or a Buddhist temple to pray for happiness in the coming year. This custom is known as Hatsumōde.

During the Hatsumōde period, January 1st is the most popular day for paying the visit. Almost of the shrines—Meiji Jingu in Tokyo, Dazaifu Tenman-gū in Fukuoka and Yasaka Shrine in Kyoto to name a few—are extremely crowded on that day, which motivates more and more people to schedule their visit on the other days so as to avoid the crowds.

Origin of Hatsumōde
Hatsumōde can be traced back to two sources. One theory is that it came from Ehōmairi, whose details will be described later. The other theory regards the Shinto practice

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