Kyoto: Eel Statues Guard Entrance at Shrine; Worshipers Venerate These Fish as Messengers of Deity

The Yomiuri Shimbun

10:19 JST, December 21, 2024

KYOTO — Most Shinto shrines have a pair of komainu guardian lion dog statues flanking their entrance. But one shrine in Kyoto’s Higashiyama Ward has something very different: a sextet of eels.

Eels are venerated at Mishima Jinja Gohongu shrine, which is known as a place where worshipers come to pray that they might be blessed with children and give birth safely.

Eels are said to be messengers of the shrine’s deity. Traditionally, pregnant women abstain from eating eels to pray for easy delivery, and once that wish has been fulfilled, they eat eels to give themselves strength after childbirth.

There are two statues, one on the left of the entrance and one on the right, each comprising three eels made of black granite. They measure about 45 centimeters tall and 40 centimeters wide.

The three eels on the right have open mouths, while the three on the left have closed mouths. The middle eel on the right side holds a jewel in his mouth. The statues were donated by eel traders and shrine parishioners from all over the country. The statues’ charming shapes are eye-catching. The purification trough, where visitors purify their hands and other objects, also includes a spout in the shape of an eel, from whose mouth the water pours.