How to become a Fukumusume (Shrine Maiden) - Imamiya Ebisu, Osaka

Back when I was a student in Kyoto I had the chance to participate in the popular festival "Toka Ebisu" (十日戎) in Osaka as a "lucky girl" - fukumusume (福娘). This was a great cultural experience for me, and one of the most fun memories I have of my time as a student in Japan. Each year the Imamiya Ebisu shrine elects a total of 50 girls through the Fukumusume contest, and the lucky chosen get to work at the shrine during the 3-day long Osaka festival held on an annual basis in January, and if you are lucky you could have the chance to become one of the lucky girls of next year!

How to become a Fukumusume (Shrine Maiden) - Imamiya Ebisu

There are two ways you can apply for the contest. Ritsumeikan University (立命館大学) and Kansai University (関西大学) have special agreements with the Imamiya Ebisu shrine, and if you're a student at either of them your first option is to apply for the contest directly through your school. In that case, you can ask for application forms at the university, and they will help you with the initial process. Note again that this only is possible for students at these two universities.

Above: From the contest in 2011

Your second option is to apply directly to the Imamiya Shrine, but this involves a longer and more complicated application process. If you still want to try and apply directly you can find the application details for 2019 here:
http://www.imamiya-ebisu.jp/h31boshu

Note that the deadline for the 2018 applications is November 9th (documents must arrive before this date.

Related blog posts

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• 第６０回福娘発表会 The Daihyou Fuku Musume-Election
• Hair Ornaments for Fuku Musume
• Fuku Musume (福娘): Behind the Scene of Osaka's Touka Ebisu Festival (十日戎)
• Day 1 of the Tōka-Ebisu Festival!
• The Fuku Musume TV-Show 2012 福娘2012年
• The Norwegian Embassy writing about Fuku Musume
• Fuku Musume (福娘): The Children's Ebisu Festival 子供戎祭
• Working as a Fukumusume (福娘): The Tōka Ebisu Festival (十日戎) 2013
• Fukumusume (福娘): Working at the Tōka Ebisu Festival (十日戎) 2015
• 第１５回Fuku Musume 同窓会 in Osaka!
• 商売繁盛で笹持ってこい！Behind the scene of the Toka Ebisu Festival 2016

• All blog posts from Japan 

About Anette
Anette came to Japan as an exchange student in 2010, met the love of her life and got stuck. From her base in Tokyo she writes about her experiences as a full-time worker in Tokyo and about her travels in Japan and abroad. She's a free-spirited adventurer who enjoys both the great outdoors and her urban lifestyle.