One of old Taipei’s most popular deities is going on a historic visit to Japan and he has an important mission — to help find love matches for single Japanese looking to get married.
Known as the “Old Man Under the Moon” (月下老人) or just the “Moon Elder” (月老), the legendary figure said to originate from the Tang Dynasty has been venerated at Taipei’s Xia Hai City God Temple (霞海城隍廟) in the Dadaocheng area (大稻埕) since his statue was consecrated at the temple in 1971.
It is the first time the deity is taking a trip overseas, a three-day tour of Okinawa starting on Friday, which is Valentine’s Day.
Photo: Shih Chih-ju, Taipei Times
A delegation from Okinawa visited the City God Temple on Saturday to present an official invitation. Unmarried members of the delegation gave offerings and conducted a ritual, seeking help to find their love matches.
Hsieh Cheng-chun (謝正君), administrator of Taipei’s Datong District (大同) where the temple is located, said the deity had agreed to the overseas trip.
“The ‘Moon Elder’ gave his consent. We did this using the divination ritual of Bua-buei (筊杯) [casting of two crescent-shaped paired wooden divination devices],” Hsieh said. “In the temple, we have several consecrated ‘Moon Elder’ deity statues. The one going to Japan is a ‘horcrux’ [a figure with magical powers that contains parts of the deity’s soul]. It will be taken aboard the plane as a piece of carry-on luggage by a temple official.”
He said the deity would travel to Okinawa so that Japanese single men and women could worship it.
“Taiwanese can still come to our temple on Valentine’s Day. We have the ‘Moon Elder’ main deity figure, who will provide his regular service,” Hsieh said.
The visit to Okinawa is a collaboration with the Okinawa Industry Promotion Public Corp, a government agency.
“Activities also include karaoke singing contests, along with the promotion of Taiwanese tea, braised pork rice and other Taiwanese products in Okinawa,” he said.
Although the City God Temple on Dihua Street (迪化街) is not big, it attracts large numbers of devotees at weekends and on holidays.
Single people worship the “Moon Elder” in an attempt to find a love match, while those who are married can seek to obtain a “Shoe of Happiness” from the wife of the deity, as many believe that placing the shoe inside a closet at home can ensure a harmonious relationship.
In recent years, increasing numbers of Japanese tourists have visited the temple.
On Saturday, a 26-year-old Japanese visitor with the surname Ishihara said it was his first visit to the temple.
“I wish to find a pretty girlfriend. We heard people can obtain red linen from the ‘Moon Elder,’ which can help find a person’s true love. If my wish comes true and I marry a good woman, then I shall bring my wife to Taiwan for our honeymoon and present offerings to thank the deity,” Ishihara said.
Global bodies should stop excluding Taiwan for political reasons, President William Lai (賴清德) told Pope Francis in a letter, adding that he agrees war has no winners. The Vatican is one of only 12 countries to retain formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, and Taipei has watched with concern efforts by Beijing and the Holy See to improve ties. In October, the Vatican and China extended an accord on the appointment of Catholic bishops in China for four years, pointing to a new level of trust between the two parties. Lai, writing to the pope in response to the pontiff’s message on Jan. 1’s
A Vietnamese migrant worker on Thursday won the NT$12 million (US$383,590) jackpot on a scratch-off lottery ticket she bought from a lottery shop in Changhua County’s Puyan Township (埔鹽), Taiwan Lottery Co said yesterday. The lottery winner, who is in her 30s and married, said she would continue to work in Taiwan and send her winnings to her family in Vietnam to improve their life. More Taiwanese and migrant workers have flocked to the lottery shop on Sec 2 of Jhangshuei Road (彰水路) to share in the luck. The shop owner, surnamed Chen (陳), said that his shop has been open for just
HOLIDAY EXERCISE: National forest recreation areas from north to south offer travelers a wide choice of sights to connect with nature and enjoy its benefits Hiking is a good way to improve one’s health, the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency said, as it released a list of national forest recreation areas that travelers can visit during the Lunar New Year holiday. Taking a green shower of phytoncides in the woods could boost one’s immunity system and metabolism, agency Director-General Lin Hwa-ching (林華慶) cited a Japanese study as saying. For people visiting northern Taiwan, Lin recommended the Dongyanshan National Forest Recreation Area in Taoyuan’s Fusing District (復興). Once an important plantation in the north, Dongyanshan (東眼山) has a number of historic monuments, he said. The area is broadly covered by
TAKE BREAKS: A woman developed cystitis by refusing to get up to use the bathroom while playing mahjong for fear of disturbing her winning streak, a doctor said People should stand up and move around often while traveling or playing mahjong during the Lunar New Year holiday, as prolonged sitting can lead to cystitis or hemorrhoids, doctors said. Yuan’s General Hospital urologist Lee Tsung-hsi (李宗熹) said that he treated a 63-year-old woman surnamed Chao (趙) who had been sitting motionless and holding off going to the bathroom, increasing her risk of bladder infection. Chao would drink beverages and not urinate for several hours while playing mahjong with friends and family, especially when she was on a winning streak, afraid that using the bathroom would ruin her luck, he said. She had
RSS