Saturday, October 6, 2018

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.

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