After parting with the three members of the Tōsaka family, the Matou family finally entered Ryudo Temple.
Most temples across Japan are not very popular on weekdays (with the exception of famous large temples such as Kinkaku-ji Temple), but they are a different scene during major festivals. This is due to Japan's unique culture and is also one of the local characteristics.
Compared with China, where the tradition originated, Shinji thinks that Japan is closer to the purpose of the Buddhist Pure Land. The temples in China are too popular and have too much secular and money-oriented smell, more like a conglomerate than a temple. Buddha is only a symbol there, and the monks are not cultivating Buddha but fame and fortune. The so-called "six senses of purity" has long been forgotten.
Of course, there are many peculiar aspects of Japanese Buddhism. For example, some sects do not require shaving one's head, some sects allow marriage, some sects do not prohibit meat and fish, etc. - although in the eyes of Shinji, whose six senses are impure, this is not only not a bad thing, but a very good thing.
Ryudo Temple is such a temple that Shinji described as "very good". Although it is a family temple, the abbots are all from the Ryudo family. The Ryudo here is not the name of the temple but a surname, which means that you can get married, but the rules and practices in the temple are very strict. Morning and evening classes, chanting scriptures, practicing martial arts, and self-cultivation occupy most of the monks' time.
Because of this, Ryuudou Temple has a very high reputation in Fuyuki City, even surpassing the local shrines and becoming the first choice for citizens to perform their first ceremony.
Although we intentionally avoided the peak season for worship, there was still a steady stream of people coming to worship.
Because it is related to religion, Japan's Hatsumode has a specific process. Depending on the location of the visit, it is divided into shrine Hatsumode and temple Hatsumode.
Let's not talk about the first visit to a shrine for now, let's talk about the first visit to a temple. The first visit to a temple is mainly divided into several steps, making a wish in front of the Buddha, drawing lots, ringing the bell, and asking for a lucky charm. Each step has corresponding requirements.
Taking making a wish in front of Buddha as an example, before making a wish you should bow twice, clap your hands twice, recite your wish silently, and finally bow once more to express your sincerity.
The ceremony itself is not complicated and will not cause people to resist. When the whole family or many people worship together, there will be a faint sense of solemnity. To be honest, Shinji quite likes this feeling.
Leaving the main hall where the Buddha statue is enshrined, the youngest Sakura couldn't wait to grab Shinji's hand and asked, "Brother, brother, what is your wish?"
"I won't tell you." Shinji kept it a secret.
"Go ahead, go ahead." Sakura shook Shinji's hand and said coquettishly, "Fujino-sister, you want to know too, right?"
Fujino nodded.
"Then tell me yours first." Shinji turned the tables.
"Well, I'll go first." Ying was still very positive, "My wish is that Dad's health can get better and my brother can spend more time with me."
"I see."
Shinji was not surprised by Sakura's wish, but he really couldn't guarantee the last point. Both Kenneth and Team E needed his strength.
"Where's Fujino?"
"Well, I hope the wishes of my whole family can come true." The family that Fujino wishes for does not refer to blood relatives, but a large family that cares about her and loves her.
In comparison, Sakura felt that her wish was immediately overshadowed: "Ah, Fujino-nee is so cunning."
Fujino's face showed a bit of cunning that didn't match her calm temperament: "The family I'm talking about also includes you, Sakura."
"Well...well...I'm going to make a wish like this next year." Ying pouted and vowed, "It's my brother's turn."
"As for me, I'd better keep it a secret." Shinji smiled slightly.
"Why is that? Didn't we agree that you would say it too if we said it?" Sakura pouted even higher.
"Did we agree on this? Why don't I remember?" Shinji's expression was so cunning, "I just said I would talk about yours first, but I didn't say I would talk about mine."
"Shinji!" Even the usually docile Fujino couldn't stand it anymore.
Shinji looked at Sakura on his left, then at Fujino on his right, and ran away.
"Don't run." The two girls chased after him, waving their fists.
The one chasing was really serious about it, but the one running away wasn't really running. You have to know that the girls were wearing kimonos and wooden clogs, which severely restricted their movements. How could they possibly outrun Shinji, who was wearing a suit and trousers? If Shinji really wanted to run, he would have already disappeared. He just wanted to have a long-lost chase and fight with his family.
Tsuruya, Erza, and Kariya watched the scene with amusement, chatting as they followed behind.
Chengzi lowered her head, not letting others see the emotions in her eyes. Perhaps this was what true brothers and sisters were like, but Qingzi and I had never played like this, not even once.
Justisa hesitated for a moment, but ultimately did not join in. Born into the Einzbern family, she had never experienced such a feeling before, so she decided to let Shinji play with her alone one day.
The beautiful "Snow Girl" thought so and childishly kicked away the snow pile on the roadside. This scene was seen by a child holding a broom and wearing a cassock nearby, which immediately aroused the other party's vigilance.
The child wearing glasses put his hands together and silently chanted: "Pull out all the karma and be reborn in the Pure Land, and the evil spirits will retreat!"
On the other side, Shinji ran all the way to the fortune-telling table and saw a familiar family again - the Emiya family.
Emiya Kiritsugu and Hisau Maiya changed into orthodox dark kimonos, but Irisviel and Illya did not. The mother and daughter wore white coats of the same style, and covered themselves tightly with hats and scarves. The exposed eyes also changed color with magic.
Shinji didn't go up to greet the Tosaka family like he did to them, but just bowed to Kiritsugu and the others from a distance. This family has always kept a low profile, and Shinji would not add unnecessary changes to their hard-earned peaceful life.
However, there are still four people. It seems that Kiritsugu and Maiya still haven't found Sigma in 1998. It's true that it's not easy for a mother and son who have been separated since birth to reunite. Find a chance to keep an eye out for a magician who is good at prophecy magic in the clock tower.
Oh, no, not four people, but five. Because the last person was so lively, he seemed to have finished worshipping first and was waving at the others in front of the main hall.
Shinji is also very familiar with this person. She is the famous bamboo sword girl, no, now it should be the bamboo sword young woman, Fujimura Taiga, who is known as the "Tiger of Fuyuki".
She is the granddaughter of the original owner of the Emiya residence, the underworld tycoon Fujimura Rai. Just as described in the book "Fate Zero", after the Holy Grail War, the Fujimura Group sent people to help renovate the old Emiya residence out of courtesy, and Taiga was also one of the people who came to help.
Soon, this girl with a simple brain comparable to Liz Baifei was attracted by the melancholy and cold young man Emiya Kiritsugu and became his fan girl. After Irisviel "appeared", she became a fan of Irisviel (disciple number zero), and not long after, she became the "master" of Illya (disciple number one). It is not known whether it is because the world line is shrinking or some people are born to be more compatible.
The only thing that is certain is that Kiritsugu's luck with women seems to have gotten even better.
"Got it!"
In the short time he stopped to watch, Sakura and Fujino had caught up with him. They grabbed Shinji's arms on the left and right to prevent him from escaping.
"I lose. I won't run anymore." Shinji surrendered.
"Then, tell us your wish." The girls said in unison.
"Wish? I hope for world peace - of course that's impossible. My wish is that the people I care about are healthy and happy."
This is Shinji's heartfelt wish.
PS: Japanese shrine maidens and Japanese monks are both great.
PS2: It is 1999, and the next volume of Fate Apocrypha is not far away. Fate fans, don't worry, because in that Holy Grail War, I will act more freely because I have no worries.
PS3: So the question is, although Jian Shao has already conceived a new partner for Erye, book friends can put forward any good ideas they have.