When I visited the Meiji Jingu temple for the Hatsumode tradition there were lots of sake bottles at the altar from different famous distilleries that pay to have their bottles placed next to the Gods. By doing this they hope business will go well in the future.
The funny thing is that there were Coke and Sprite bottles as well (The sign says Tokyo Coca-Cola bottling company). The monk was sitting down next to the Coke bottles during the whole ceremony :). I wonder how much The Coca-Cola Company payed to have those bottles placed right there in the most visited Hatsumode ceremony in the country. Can you imagine a Christian priest with Coke bottles next to the altar during mass?
Altar overview
Sponsors inside the temple!
2 replies on “Sponsors inside Meiji Jingu temple”
lol
Coca-Cola really stands out.
I think it’s rather crude. All the other companies have their wine placed there very tastefully and discrete (even the one in the red box). But Coca Cola has a huge sign over their!
They should have just sent in a single malt. It would have been a lot classier than to say, ‘We’re attention hog!’