The Reiwa Era & Kōyasan’s Goshuin
The Reiwa Era & Kōyasan’s Goshuin
Today, being an auspicious day in all of Japan, with the ascension of Emperor Naruhito which marks the beginning of the new Reiwa Era, it's a custom for many to obtain the traditional goshuin or shuin (J: 御朱印 / 朱印; See more: 1 2) from temples and shrines, causing long queues with some waiting for as long as 10 hours according to some reports from landmark places & Kōyasan is no exception to this cultural enthusiasm. Some fundamentals of the Buddhist goshuin would be: seed syllable of the temple's chief deity in Siddham & kanji, temple seals, name of the year and era, date of the stamping & calligraphy and et al. Prices for it would range from ¥300-500 for standard ones and ¥1000 for special editions and from landmark temples.
One can see in this link how people are lining up in the rain to obtain it from the two hallmark places there: Okunoin (Mausoleum of Kōbō-Daishi) and the Kongōbuji Head Temple.
The videos above and below are samples of the temple seal from the Heisei Era: the upper one is a recorded demonstration from the Kongōbuji Head Temple and the lower one showing the collected goshuin from various Kōyasan temples.