投稿の詳細: 松尾さん　Matsuo Shrine

8月3日、4日は鴨川納涼祭でした。
長野県県人会の皆様、遠路おいで頂いた大阪の皆様、
関係者の皆様、お客様ありがとうございました。
4日は夕立から続く一夜の雨に濡れた鴨川べり、
これもまた京都の夏の風情と堪能致しました。

松尾さんはお酒の神様ですので一度訪ねてみたかったの
ですが、今回その希望も叶って充実した京都出張でした。

境内には、涼やかな風の吹き下ろす滝（多分霊験あらたか
な名水だと思います）があり、近くの湧水は亀の口から
流れ出ていてペットボトルに大量に汲み入れる人あり。

飛び入りで、醸造感謝のご祈祷も果たせました。
宮司の方が本殿前で深々とひれ伏してご祈祷をして下さり、
巫女の方が舞いを舞って感謝の気持ちを伝えて頂きました。
なんだかエラワンの4面仏陀の前のお祈りに似ているな
などと思ったりもして。

松尾大社は日本酒の神様だからワインなんて、などと思われるかも
しれませんが、醸造一般を治めておられ、全国から日本酒やワイン、ウイスキーに
焼酎などお酒関係のみならず、味噌、醤油、酢の関係の方々がお参りに
来られます。

庭には、なぜか亀と鯉の彫り物がたくさんありますが、
これは昔この大社を開く時に、神様が亀に乗ってこの
あたりの流れを行き、流れの速いところは鯉にのって
探訪されたという伝承によるものだそうです。
楠わいなりーのある地名は「亀倉」、なんだか
益々ワインづくりが楽しみになります。

鯉は、「幸運の双鯉」として恋愛成就のご利益もあるようです。
境内には同じく「相生の松」の名残りもあり、縁結び、夫婦円満
にもどうぞ。

外に出ると、入場無料のお酒博物館があり、イケメン杜氏と
ご対面。また大きな狸の親子の焼き物（信楽かな？）
もあり、商売繁盛を祈ってくれていて、神社の中も外も
何ともご利益の多そうな場所です。　

I participated in the Kamogawa River Festival during
August 3 and 4. We appreciated very much the members of
Nagano Prefectural Commissions in Kyoto, our friends visiting
from Osaka, those who took care of us for the event, and
special thanks to our customers.

We were able to enjoy a wet night by the Kamogawa River which
must be a typical Kyoto’s summer night in the rain. Another
very Japanese night out scene.

I was lucky this time because I was able to visit Matsuo Shrine,
where a Japanese Bacchus is supposed to be. There is a waterfall
from where a cool wind was blowing even during the hot day time.
There was a spring water coming out of a turtle statue nearby the
waterfall and the neighbor was putting the water into pet bottles.

I felt saddened to ask for the special pray by the priest. The young
priest prayed for me by expressing my thanks to the god for the
successful winemaking by bowing his head to the ground. A priestess
danced to express my gratitude and presented me a special gift from the god.
It reminded me of the Four Face Buddha and the dancers at Erawan
in Bangkok.

You may wonder why the sake god is good to grape winemaking.
But the god is ruling all the fermentation including miso, soy sauce,
vinegar making as well as grape winemaking. So many people related
to the business and the industries come here to pray.

You can find many statutes of turtle and carp elsewhere in the
premises. It was said that the god checked the area on a turtle in the
river around when he came to find the place for his shrine and he also
rode on the carps when he went up in the fast streams.

As Kusunoki Winery is in the area named Kamekura which literally means
the warehouse of turtle, it seems very promising to make wines at my winery.

There is a pair of carp statutes which represents success of love.
Special pine tree is also left as a good symbol of paring of man and
woman. Here you can pray for love, too.

Outside the shrine, there is a small museum of sake making and
you can meet a good looking sake master. A big and small raccoon dogs
which are the symbol of success in business also welcome you there.
What a nice place to visit!