What is Goshuin?
Goshuin can be received by visitors in Buddhist Temples and Shinto Shrines. It is a large stamp, written in ink that proves your visit to a particular temple.
Shuin is often called “goshuin”, “go” being a Japanese honorific prefix.
The style of shuin is different in every temple. Usually, it is the temple’s priest or kannushi who writes in ink the temple’s name, name of the deity and date of visit.
It is different from so-called “tourist stamp”, that is offered in most tourist destinations.
The origins of shuin
There are many legends regarding the origins of shuin; unfortunately, there is no official explanation.
Normally, shuin is given to those who bring a piece of paper with their wish and donate a sutra (shakyo).
Shakyo means a copy of Buddhist sutra. It is considered beneficial for believers to make a sutra as it becomes training for monks and helps people to achieve Nirvana.
Modern Goshuin
Although some temples don’t give you a stamp unless you donate a sutra, most temples will be happy to give you one for free.
Usually, among Japanese, elderly people and pious people obtain shuin.
However, recently it has also become popular among people in their 20s and 30s. There is an expression “Goshuin girl” which means a young woman, obsessed with shuin.
Foreign tourists see the bright dynamic vermillion color as something uniquely Japanese, which makes it a popular souvenir.
Goshuin-cho (shuin notebook)
Goshuin-cho is a special notebook that you can obtain at a temple.
It is also called “shuin-cho”; normally, honorific suffix “go” is added in order to show respects to temples and deities.
At large temples shuin-cho can be purchased for 1000-2000 yen, some famous temples offer their own shuin-cho.
You can get as much as 20-40 stamps in one notebook. You can get stamps from different temples.
There is an opinion that one should have different notebooks for Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples but you don’t need to worry about that.
Apart from temples, the notebooks are also available at stationary and book stores. They are sold online but it might be difficult to find them in a language other than Japanese.
(Ref: https://www.japanhoppers.com/en/features/temples_shrines/320/)
A shuin (朱印) is a seal stamp given to worshippers and visitors to Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples in Japan. The seal stamps are often collected in books called shuinchō (朱印帳) that are sold at shrines and temples.[1]
The stamps are different from commemorative stamps in that they are made by people who work at the temples: Buddhist monks, or Shinto kannushi. To create the shuin, the writer presses down one or more large stamps, and then uses black ink to write, in his distinctive calligraphy, the name of the temple, the day of the visit, and other messages on and around the stamped portions.
There are various theories about the origin of shuin, though the strongest is that it was a receipt for a dedicated copied sutra. There are still temples where one cannot receive a shuin without having donated a sutra or money, but the majority of the temples will now accept a small amount of money for a shuin. It usually costs 300 yen,[2] though there are some places that charge up to 1000 yen.[3] At Itsukushima Shrine, there is a sign that asks people to dedicate their feelings.[citation needed]
Special shuinchō (and occasionally hanging scrolls) are available for people who do pilgrimages such as the Kansai Kannon Pilgrimage and the Shikoku Pilgrimage. People who do the Shikoku pilgrimage can also get shuin on the white robes they sometimes wear.
A number of Jōdo Shinshū temples do not offer shuin.
(Ref: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shuin)
i
These are the 21 Temple signatures/sutras/mantras I obtained in Japan. I bought the Goshuin book in Mount Osorezan, which is one of the most spiritual places in Japan, on June 9, 2018. These temples and Shinto shrines were all over Japan, mostly in Aomori Prefecture, Kyoto Prefecture, Osaka, and Hyogo Prefecture. This was a personal task I took on and it was a lovely pilgrimage obtaining these spiritual signatures from these beautiful shrines and temples.
I was lucky enough to live and work in Japan for a lengthy time period, with plenty of days off. I took advantage of my work schedule and ventured out to see some of the beauty, culture and spirituality Japan has to offer. This Goshuin book is the single favorite item I will take back home with me when I return from my assignment.