A travel vlogger’s recent Japanese adventure left people stunned as he introduced the online community to the country’s unique hair loss shrine. Shervin Abdolhamidi recently travelled to Kyoto’s Arashiyama
bamboo forest and unravelled the world’s only spiritual site dedicated entirely to hair damage cure – the Mikami Shrine.
Located amid the quiet but scenic surroundings of Kyoto, this shrine sees visitors struggling with hair loss, facing hair growth challenges and anxieties, walking up a mile to register their prayers.
View this post on Instagram
How To Pray At Mikami Shrine
“The way you pray at this shrine is unique,” noted Abdolhamidi alongside his viral Instagram video, which introduced the Indian and global audience to this hidden Japanese shrine. “You buy a prayer envelope and then the priest cuts a small strand of your hair and puts it in the envelope.”
“You pray at the Kami (Masayuki Fujiwara) before giving the envelope back to the priest, who will pray for the well-being of your hair. I don’t really believe in this stuff but it’s worth a shot.”
Apart from locals and regular hair strugglers, the shrine also attracts those wishing to be future hairstylists. Why that is the case marks the real story behind the Mikami shrine.
Origins Of Mikami Shrine
It is believed that the Mikami shrine is dedicated to Japan’s first recorded hairdresser, Fujiwara Unemenosuke Masayuki. The legend is it was Masayuki who laid the foundation for hairstyling as a profession in Japan. A great hairstylist of the Kamakura period, he started off his journey by trimming and transforming the hair of the locals to earn a living for his family.
Masayuki’s skill and excellence at it became a point of inspiration for barbers and salons across the Japanese shores. So much so that for centuries, they’ve been shutting their shops every 17th day of the month to mourn the suspected date of his demise.
These barbers and salon owners seek the blessings of Masayuki by visiting the Mikami shrine. Apart from them, students preparing for Japan’s national beautician exams and travellers wishing for better hairlines and hair regrowth come rushing to the globe’s first and only shrine dedicated to hair care.
