1. A Train Notice in 1885 Was the First Newspaper Mention of Hatsumode
On January 2, 1885, a short notice appeared in the Tokyo Nichi Nichi Shimbun newspaper. It stated that express trains on the Shimbashi to Yokohama line would normally not stop at Kawasaki Station. However, during the first three days of the New Year, many people would likely go to Kawasaki Daishi for "hatsumode," so special stops were arranged.[1]
This mention of "hatsumode" is cited in Hirayama Noboru’s research as the earliest confirmed example in newspapers. It is not certain that this was the very first time the word was ever used, as other articles point to different newspapers. This article follows the Tokyo Nichi Nichi Shimbun example.[1]
What is striking is that this was not a guide from a shrine or temple, but a railway notice. The term "hatsumode" appeared in the press during the age when trains began to run. Before trains existed, where did people go to pray during the New Year?
2. How People in the Edo Period Visited Shrines and Temples at New Year
People in the Edo period also visited shrines and temples during the New Year. However, the form was different from today’s hatsumode. A common custom cited as the origin is "toshigomori," where the head of a household stayed at the local shrine from New Year's Eve until New Year's Day morning to pray for a good harvest and family safety. This later split into "joyamairi" (New Year's Eve visit) and "ganjitsumairi" (New Year's Day visit), with the latter becoming the basis for hatsumode.[1]
According to Hirayama Noboru’s research, however, "ehomairi" was the mainstream practice for New Year visits in the Edo period. "Eho" is the direction associated with that year's god of fortune. JR East explains that because the eho direction changes on a 5-year cycle, the shrines people visited changed year by year.[1]
Visits were not concentrated on New Year's Day. It was common to visit the year's first festival day at each shrine or temple. For example, at Kawasaki Daishi, this was the 21st. Therefore, worship was spread out throughout the New Year period.[1]
Destinations changed yearly, and dates were scattered. For the custom to shift to "visit on New Year's Day," a catalyst was needed. That catalyst was the train, which began running in the early Meiji era.
Safety Note: Historically, the head of the household would stay at the local guardian deity's shrine from New Year's Eve until New Year's Day morning to pray for a good harvest and family safety.
3. How the Railway to Kawasaki Made Old Shrine-Visiting Rules Less Important
In 1872, Japan’s first railway opened between Shimbashi and Yokohama. There was a Kawasaki station on this line, allowing people to take a train from Tokyo to Kawasaki Daishi.[1] At the time, riding a train was a special enjoyment in itself.
Here, the way people thought about visiting began to change. "En-nichi" and "eho" were rules for choosing a shrine. But with trains, it became easier to travel to distant shrines, weakening the reason to stick to these rules. JR East materials explain that at Kawasaki Daishi, a new form settled in: visiting every year on New Year's Day, regardless of the 21st en-nichi or the eho direction.[1]
Nippon.com also explains that railways allowed people to reach distant eho directions. Combined with railway company promotions, the concern for lucky directions faded, and the term "hatsumode" came to replace "ehomairi."[1]
So far, the story is that railways weakened the rules of en-nichi and eho. But why did visits concentrate on the first three days of the New Year, rather than just any day?
4. Why Hatsumode Visits Gathered in the First Three Days of the New Year
With trains, people could go to shrines anytime. So why did they gather during the first three days of the New Year? Hirayama Noboru’s research points to the fact that most jobs were off during these three days. At the time, holidays varied by industry; some had Sundays off, others had the 1st and 15th of each month off. However, almost all industries were off for the first three days of the New Year.[1]
The time when holidays for many jobs overlapped was these three days. As a result, more people visited shrines during this period. Eventually, this new, loose custom came to be called "hatsumode."[1]
There was no fixed destination or mandatory day. It was a loose habit: "go somewhere between New Year's Day and the third day." Railway companies played a major role in its growth into the large event we know today, which we will examine next.
5. How Competing Railway Companies Increased Hatsumode Visitors and Destinations
For railway companies, more shrine visitors meant more passengers. Therefore, companies ran special New Year trains every year to attract visitors. When multiple lines served the same shrine, competition arose, including fare discounts.[1]
Hirayama Noboru cites Narita-san as an example. Narita-san’s hatsumode visitors increased about 10 times between 1926 and 1940, amidst competition between the national railway and Keisei Electric Railway.[1] This figure applies only to Narita-san, not to hatsumode visitors nationwide.
Traces of this remain in current visitor numbers. Top-ranked shrines are mostly in the suburbs of large cities, served by multiple railway lines. A 2009 National Police Agency summary listed the visitor numbers for the first three days as: Meiji Shrine (3.19 million), Narita-san Shinshoji (2.98 million), and Kawasaki Daishi (2.96 million).[1] These numbers are from 2009 and do not reflect current figures.
Additionally, "ninen-mairi," visiting a shrine across the boundary of New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, is a custom born in the Showa era. The spread of all-night train services is said to have supported its popularity.[1]
6. How to Investigate the History of Hatsumode in Your Own Town
The history of hatsumode overlaps with the history of railways. Let us look at shrines and temples in your own town from the railway perspective.
What you can do today: Open a map and choose one nearby shrine or temple. Find the nearest station and the lines that pass through it. Then, look up the shrines from the visitor rankings (Meiji Shrine, Narita-san Shinshoji, Kawasaki Daishi) and the lines that serve the nearest station. You might notice the feature that multiple railways serve shrines in the suburbs of large cities.
Ask your family: Ask your family where they went for hatsumode when they were children. You may see whether their destination was connected by train or was within walking distance.
If you want to know more: Hirayama Noboru’s books, "Railways Changed Shrine Visits" (2012) and "Social History of Hatsumode" (2015), are the research sources for this story. This article draws on explanations from JR East and others.[1]