Author: KM

Hi, enerone!
Today I will tell you about Goshuin-cho.
Goshuin-cho is a special notebook for collecting Goshuin.
If you are not familiar with Goshuin, look at this page.(link)

I started to collect Goshuin when I was a child, so now I have four Goshuin-cho!

My first Goshuin-cho

My parents bought me my first Goshuin-cho when I was 12.

My father is interested in Japanese temples and shrines, so we often visited Kyoto on family trip.
When I was 12, my family visited Kyoto during summer vacation. We visited Ryoan-ji (temple), which is famous for its garden with 15 rocks.
At the temple we found a cool Goshuin-cho. I think I already knew about Goshuin at that time so I told my parents that I wanted to collect Goshuin. Then my parents bought one for me and one for my sister.

I started to collect Goshuin!!
From then on, I started to carry my Goshuin-cho to almost every trip in Japan.

My second Goshuin-cho

I bought my second Goshuin-cho when I was 19.

I really love the design of the second Goshuin-cho!!
I think it is very cool and elegant. I got this at Izumo-taisha(shrine), which is a famous and important shrine.
I went to Izumo during summer vacation with my family.

Izumo is a very famous shrine and I always wanted to visit there. But I knew it will be not easy to go to Izumo again because Izumo is far away from my house and not easy to access.
So I planned to buy a new Goshuin-cho there. When I saw the design, I loved it so much that immediately decided to buy it!

By the way, some of you might think that it took me a long time to get the second book. The reason is the COVID-19 pandemic. I couldn’t visit temples and shrines during high school because of the pandemic.
But after I entered college at Kyoto and the pandemic was over, I started to collect Goshuin again!!
I’m glad I can visit many places again!

My third and fourth Goshuin-cho

I got the third and forth Goshun-cho at the same day.

I bought them during my trip to Nikko-toshogu last winter. Nikko-toshogu is also a famous shrine. It is famous for the “three wise monkeys” or “See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil”.

I always wanted to visit Nikko, too. But Nikko is also far away from my house and not easy to acces for me.
So I wanted to buy my new Goshuin-cho there. But unforunatly I didn’t like the design so much…
But I bought it anyway.

This is my third Goshuin-cho.

Soon after I bought the third, I visited the temple next to Nikko-toshogu.
Then I found a really really cool and beautiful Goshuin-cho…!

It was a deep red notebook with a golden dragon. I wasn’t sure if I should buy it because I bought one literally 10 minutes earlier.
But I loved it as much as the second Goshuin-cho and I decided to buy it.

This is my fourth Goshuin-cho.

I ‘m collecting Goshuin with my third one now.
So I didn’t start to use the fourth but I’m looking forward to carry my forth one because I will be excited every time I get a new Goshuin by seeing the design!!

My personal struggles about Goshuin-cho

I have two major struggles about Goshuin-cho.

• Do I use both sides of the notebook?
• Carrying Goshuin-cho limits my choices of bags I can use

Do I use both side of the notebook?

The structure of Goshuin-cho is a bit different from the notebooks you use at school.
There are front pages and back pages.
However, since the characters of the Goshuin are written with ink and a brush, the Goshuin on the front can show through from the back.
Therefore, it is difficult to decide whether to have the Goshuin written on the back page as well.

I personally like my Goshun-cho to be organized, so I didn’t want to use the back pages.
But I also have specific tastes in Goshuin-cho desigh. Therefore I couldn’t find the second Goshuin-cho for a while and I ended up using the back pages of my first Goshuin-cho.

I can’t use tiny hand bags because I can’t carry my Goshuin-cho with them…

As a girl in my twenties, I have some interest in fashion. But when I carry my Goshuin-cho, I can’t use my tiny pretty bags.
It is not a serious problem, but visiting temples and shrines is my hobby, so I usually want to wear my favorite clothes and take some pictures there. Sometimes I feel inconvenient to carry my Goshuin-cho because I want to use the small bags to complete my look.

You can buy Goshuin-cho at general stores

I personally recommend you to buy Goshuin-cho at temples and shrines, but you can buy them at general stores as well.

You can get them easily, especially in Kyoto!
I saw many designs of Goshuin-cho at stores in Kyoto. I liked some of them. Some are made by wood(the pages are still paper). Others are made of traditional Japanese papre called washi. Some designs are based on Japanese traditional patterns, and others contain modern motifs. There are also Goshin-cho with anime characters!

I like Goshun-cho in dark blue or green color with simple pattern, so I buy them at tempes and shrines I visit.

There are many kinds of Goshuin-cho and you can find them in various places.
I think you can find your favorite Goshuin-cho, so if you are intersted in collecting Goshuin, try to find one that suits you!!

Hi, everyone!
If you are planning a trip to Japan, I think some of you might be interested in Japanese temples and shrines.
When you visit famous temples and shrines, you may see people getting red stamps in thier notebooks. They are getting Goshuin!!
I’m a Goshuin collector myself, so today I will write about Goshuin and recommend you to try getting some during your trip in Japan!

What is Goshuin?

Goshuin is a sacred red stamp!

御朱印
This is how Goshuin is written in Kanji .(Kanji are one of the Japanese characters.)

御 is a character used for sacred things or for showing respect.

朱 means red.(This coller is often used in Japanese Shrines.) 印 means stamp, so 朱印 means red stamp.

As you can guess from the meanings of each character, Goshuin is a sacred red stamp that you can get at Japanese Shrines and Temples.

It looks like the picture below.

Why do I started to collect Goshuin?

I have a few reasons for collecting Goshuin.

• I’m interested in Japanese traditional culture
• I love visiting temples and shrines, and I can recall the experiences at the places by looking back the Goshuin.
• I love collecting things

If you are interested in Japanese spritual culture and plan to visit more than two different temples and shrines, I recommend to get Goshuin.

How to get one.

Get a Gosyuin-cho

I recommend you to get a Goshuin-cho, Which is a special notebook for collecting Goshuin. You can buy them at famous or big temples/shrines. Some turists get Goshuin on thier own notebooks but I think it is not very respectful. Also, many temples/shrins have cool designed goshuin-cho, and I think you would be excited to get one if you like Japanese desgn.

You have to pay!!

You have to pay to get Goshuin!

Usually, Goshuin conteins red stamps and handwriting of the name of the temple/shrine, the name of the god they believe in and tha date you visited. You gave your Goshun-cho to the temple/shrine at the dedicated counter and they write Goshuin on your note book.

It is usually 500 yen. How ever,there are spetial edition Goshuin such as seasonal or mamorial Goshuin. They are more expencive and you have to pay more than 1000 yen.

Enjoy your trip to Japan!