Japan Photo Journal: Branding of rice scoops for new year's luck begins at castle

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Japan Photo Journal: Branding of rice scoops for new year's luck begins at castle
The Mainichi
© The Mainichi
Employees of the Aizuwakamatsu Tourism Bureau and others brand rice scoops at Tsurugajo Castle in Aizuwakamatsu, Fukushima Prefecture. (Mainichi/Kengo Miura)
Work to brand wooden rice scoops to be distributed to visitors to the castle tower on New Year's Day began at Tsurugajo Castle in the city of Aizuwakamatsu, Fukushima Prefecture, on Dec. 10, 2020. About 10 volunteer guides branded the paddles one by one with searing irons in the hope that the novel coronavirus crisis will soon come to an end and people will have a happy new year. Kanji characters including those representing next year's zodiac sign of the Ox were seared on the rice scoops, which are made of giant dogwood and considered to bring good luck. The items will be handed out to the first 5,000 people to visit the castle tower on Jan. 1, 2021. Due to measures to prevent coronavirus infections, the tower will open only after the turn of the year, instead of from 11:30 p.m. on New Year's Eve as in normal years. "We are creating these items in the hope that next year will be a happier one," said an employee at the Aizuwakamatsu Tourism Bureau.

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