Qualla: Hikawa Shrine: Where Two Thousand Wind Chimes Pray for Love

Hikawa Shrine: Where Two Thousand Wind Chimes Pray for Love: Introduction

Mon, 16 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Twilight2640, CC BY-SA 3.0. Every summer, two thousand glass wind chimes fill the grounds of Kawagoe Hikawa Shrine with a sound like rainfall made of crystal. Each one carries a small wooden plaque inscribed with a wish -- almost always for love. The shrine has been in the business of matchmaking since the year 541, when it was founded during the reign of Emperor Kinmei and dedicated to a divine family: the storm god Susanoo, his wife Kushinadahime, their son, and her parents. Two couples among five deities. The message was clear from the start. Nearly fifteen hundred years later, couples still line up at 8:08 on the eighth of each month -- eight being an auspicious number in Japanese tradition -- to pray for a good match. The number eight, written in kanji, fans outward at its base, a shape the Japanese read as widening fortune.

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Image: Twilight2640 | CC BY-SA 3.0

Hikawa Shrine: Where Two Thousand Wind Chimes Pray for Love: A Gate Tall Enough for a God's Family

Mon, 16 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Keith Lu, CC BY 2.0. The torii gate of Hikawa Shrine stands fifteen meters high, one of the tallest wooden torii in Japan, its bright vermilion frame commanding the approach like a doorway between worlds. Mounted at its center is a framed inscription bearing the calligraphy of Katsu Kaishu, the state...

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Image: Keith Lu | CC BY 2.0

Hikawa Shrine: Where Two Thousand Wind Chimes Pray for Love: Storm God, Gentle Protector

Mon, 16 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Keith Lu, CC BY 2.0. The theology of Hikawa Shrine explains its reputation. Susanoo-no-Mikoto is one of the most dramatic figures in Japanese mythology -- the tempestuous storm god who was banished from heaven, only to redeem himself by slaying the eight-headed serpent Yamata no Orochi to save the ma...

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Image: Keith Lu | CC BY 2.0

Hikawa Shrine: Where Two Thousand Wind Chimes Pray for Love: The Corridor of a Thousand Wishes

Mon, 16 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Cheng-en Cheng from Taichung City, Taiwan, CC BY-SA 2.0. The Wind Chime Festival, held from July through September, transforms the shrine into something close to a dream. Roughly two thousand handmade glass furin, each unique in color and shape, hang from wooden frames along a corridor stretching through the grounds. Thin wooden strips...

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Image: Cheng-en Cheng from Taichung City, Taiwan | CC BY-SA 2.0

Hikawa Shrine: Where Two Thousand Wind Chimes Pray for Love: Floats Through the Castle Town

Mon, 16 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Cheng-en Cheng from Taichung City, Taiwan, CC BY-SA 2.0. The shrine's most ancient celebration predates the wind chimes by centuries. The Reitaisai, held every October 14, is the shrine's grand festival and the spiritual origin of the Kawagoe Festival, which takes place the following weekend. During the festival, elaborately decorated ...

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Image: Cheng-en Cheng from Taichung City, Taiwan | CC BY-SA 2.0