【033】Day of Dog (Suitengu Shrine ceremony for unborn baby)

This ceremony is very important and customary for Japanese women and families. Dogs have large litters so somehow the dog became a kind of symbol to pray to for a healthy birth and baby. I was very surprised by this custom and found it fascinating. Masami attended a Shinto ceremony with about 50 other women while her mother and I waited. Then she was given a good luck girdle to wear that protects the unborn child.
This shrine was the same her mother attended in Tokyo near Nihonbashi. After that we ate lunch at Tokyo station. My favorite part of the day!