Okayama: White Snakes on Display to Mark Year of the Snake

Kiyama Temple’s chief priest Shuko Takamine holds a white snake in front of a wooden cage at the temple in Maniwa, Okayama Prefecture.
13:11 JST, January 19, 2025
MANIWA, Okayama — Kiyama Temple in Maniwa, Okayama Prefecture, has started exhibiting two white snakes in a cage of kumiko lattice made of Japanese cypress and other wood to mark the Year of the Snake in the Chinese zodiac.
As white snakes are considered lucky animals, the temple, which is said to be founded in 815, hopes worshippers will have good fortune by visiting the temple.
The two albino Japanese rat snakes measure about 90 centimeters long. They were donated to the temple’s chief priest, Shuko Takamine, 43, in 2019. The priest raised them in his living quarters in the temple and displayed them only during the warm seasons.
However, thanks to cooperation from a local furniture and fitting manufacturer, the temple was able to introduce the new cage, which is equipped with a warming device, so the priest decided to display the snakes throughout the year.
A legend has it that a white snake has inhabited the Bentendo hall in the temple’s pond since ancient times.
“I hope many people will be blessed by the white snakes,” Takamine said.
The snakes are on display next to the main hall from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
"Features" POPULAR ARTICLE
-
Sapporo Snow Festival Attracts Many Visitors on Opening Day; Popular Event Taking Place at 3 Locations Around City
-
Asahi Breweries Develop Canned Lemon Sour of the Future; Unique Drink Drawing New Customers to Drink Market
-
My Son is Crazy about His Girlfriend, Who is Very Presumptuous
-
Kobe Luminarie, Spectacular Light Festival Held in Memory of Great Hanshin Quake Victims, Begins
-
Warm Up with Chicken Pot-Au-Feu, French-Style Soup with Winter Vegetables
JN ACCESS RANKING