“When asked what foods the gods like best, Uenishi replies thoughtfully. “We make food for the Kamisama every day, but we don’t really know what foods gods like. So we cook what we think tastes great — that’s the best hospitality for a god.” The continuation of this ancient ritual is one of the reasons Kibitsu-jinja Shrine maintains its traditional kitchen. That, and the severed demon’s head buried under the stove.”
Client: Setouchi Reflection Trip, the official travel guide to the Setouchi Region of Japan.
Project Description: Write a travel advertorial with photographs.
A Quote
“When asked what foods the gods like best, Uenishi replies thoughtfully. “We make food for the Kamisama every day, but we don’t really know what foods gods like. So we cook what we think tastes great — that’s the best hospitality for a god.” The continuation of this ancient ritual is one of the reasons Kibitsu-jinja Shrine maintains its traditional kitchen. That, and the severed demon’s head buried under the stove.”
The Inside Scoop
This was a pretty rad piece. I mean, I got to commune with an ancient demon. On assignment. How many people can say that?
Seriously though, Kibitsu-Jinja has an amazing and loooooong history, and for anyone who follows my work, it should come as no surprise that this write up was right up my alley.
One thing worth noting is that not everyone loves writing about shrines. They tend to be particular about minutia, and there’s often a lot of back and forth to make sure you’ve gotten everything juuuuuust right. Some find this irritating. But I actually appreciate the dedication. To me it just shows that they care about what you write, and what writer doesn’t enjoy that feeling?!
One thing you may notice about this article is that I go into real detail concerning the legend of Kibitsuhiko-no-Mikoto, the patron kamisama (great spirit/god) of Kibistu-jinja. That was my authorial decision, as there were numerous conflicting English accounts online, and Uenishi-san, the Shinto priest I interviewed for the piece, seemed rather dismayed by this revelation. So I decided to do them a solid and set the record straight in at least one online English resource.
That said, due to the aforementioned penchant for accuracy inherent to Shrines, that decision did bite me in the ass a bit, LOL. But it’s all good, and I’m glad I could get those details down in the article. But there was this massive back and forth about the definition of “valley” in English, which eventually reached the point of just dropping that part from the text.
And that’s a shrine write for ya!
My Favorite Part
Demonic rituals, duh.
See the results:
Kibitsu-jinja Shrine – Interview with a Demon
