Every year on February 8, in the temples of the Kanto region, which includes Tokyo and the surrounding area, the hari-kuyo ritual, a prayer for needles, takes place.
On this day, needles and pins, which have been used all year, are thanked for their faithful service.
Until the beginning of the 20th century, it was customary to do this at home.
Then the main occupation of the woman was sewing, and the needle was the nurse in the house.
Therefore, women prayed for better and more beautiful sewing, all the needles thanked, and the broken ones were not thrown away, but taken to the temple to rest.
The tradition is still alive today.
This day is set
o remove the needles, put away the needle box, and do not sew.
Now all the needles - both good and broken ones - are brought to the temple. On this day, not only seamstresses, but also nurses come to temples to thank their medical needles.
There are several temples in Tokyo where "hari-kuyo" is held, one of them - Awajima-jinja - is located inside the large and famous Sensoji temple in Asakusa.
This is how all Tokyo needles go to the resort for one day: they are dressed up, glued to their ears with colored mugs, and stuck in soft, tender and beloved by the Japanese tofu bean curd.
What could be better for a needle that has been tired for a year ?!
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