Presenting, the Demon of Namiyoke!
This guy looks good no matter what I do to him. His picture is all over this blog, and it's deserved. He's very unique. Chances are most people haven't heard of Namiyoke Shrine, but if you go to the Tsukiji fish market and then wander into the more casual market area to the side, head back towards the "woods" and you'll find Namiyoke. This small shrine protects the fish market, among other things. The shrine itself is pretty ordinary, but there's a giant demon head!
The gigantic head is wooden and carried around for festivals. This omamori is modeled after the Namiyoke Shrine head. It's made of a light wood, and the jaw has little wooden hinges, so his mouth can open and close. The strip of paper inside his mouth has the shrine's name. This is one of, if not the, best omamori in my collection. There's no doubt this guy is made on the premise of the shrine, and I've never seen anything like it in my all my years collecting.
The gigantic head is wooden and carried around for festivals. This omamori is modeled after the Namiyoke Shrine head. It's made of a light wood, and the jaw has little wooden hinges, so his mouth can open and close. The strip of paper inside his mouth has the shrine's name. This is one of, if not the, best omamori in my collection. There's no doubt this guy is made on the premise of the shrine, and I've never seen anything like it in my all my years collecting.
And now, here's a picture of the head he's modeled after...
Photos from Tsukiji Fish Market:
For the record, I would also like to mention that I visited Tsukiji Honganji. I combed over the entire premise and there were no omamori! For shame! Omamori aside, it's a very impressive and unusual complex modeled after Indian temples instead of Japanese/Chinese styles.
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