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Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples across Japan

The saisen box, Japan

If you count acts rather than fame, the busiest coin ritual on earth is not in Rome. It happens millions of times a day in front of wooden boxes with slatted lids at the entrance to Japanese shrines and temples. The box is the saisen-bako, the coin is usually five yen, and what happens there is close enough to a wish to belong in this guide and different enough to be worth explaining.

Why five yen

The five-yen coin is brass, has a hole through the middle, and is worth very little. It is chosen for a pun. Five yen is go-en, and go-en is also the word for a connection, a tie, a favourable relationship — with a person, a place, or a deity.

Offering five yen is therefore offering a connection. The hole in the middle gets folded into the same reasoning: a coin you can see through is said to give a clear view ahead. Forty-five yen, nine five-yen coins, is a stronger version of the same pun.

Ten-yen coins are avoided by the superstitious for the opposite reason: tō-en can be read as distance, the connection pushed away. None of this is doctrine. It is wordplay that became habit, which is how most ritual actually forms.

The sequence at a shrine

At a Shinto shrine the standard form is two bows, two claps, one bow — ni-rei ni-hakushu ichi-rei. The coin goes in the box first, then the thick rope is shaken to sound the bell, then the bows and claps, with the request made silently between the claps and the final bow.

Before any of that comes temizu: at the water basin near the entrance, rinse the left hand, then the right, then pour water into the left hand to rinse the mouth, then let the remaining water run down the handle of the ladle to clean it for the next person.

At a Buddhist temple the sequence differs — you do not clap. You put in the coin, bow, place your palms together in gasshō, and bow again. Clapping at a temple is the single most common mistake made by visitors, and by a fair number of Japanese people too.

A prayer, not quite a wish

The distinction matters if you want to do this respectfully. The dominant convention is that you begin by giving your name and where you are from, then offer thanks, and only then say what you hope for. Many people say nothing about the future at all.

The coin is not payment. Nobody in this tradition believes five yen buys an outcome; the amount is deliberately trivial, and a large note would be closer to bad manners than to piety. The offering is a formality that marks the boundary between walking past and standing in front of.

It is worth noticing that this is the exact opposite of the Trevi economy, where the coins add up to something enormous and go on to feed people. Both are sincere. They just place the weight in different halves of the gesture.

If you go

Photographs of the offering hall are usually fine; photographs of people mid-prayer are not. Walk to the side of the central path at a shrine rather than down the middle, which is traditionally reserved for the deity.

Small change is the correct etiquette, so keep some. Almost every shrine of any size also sells ema plaques and omikuji fortunes, both of which are wish practices in their own right.

How to make an offering at a Shinto shrine

  1. Purify at the water basin

    Left hand, right hand, then rinse the mouth from the left hand. Never drink straight from the ladle.

  2. Put the coin in the box

    Five yen if you have it. Place it in rather than flinging it.

  3. Ring the bell

    Shake the rope once or twice, where a bell is present.

  4. Two bows, two claps

    Deep bows from the waist, then two claps with the right hand slightly lower than the left.

  5. Say what you came to say, then bow once more

    Silently, hands together. Name and thanks first is the usual form. Finish with a final deep bow.

In short

Usual coin
Five yen — go-en, a connection
Shrine sequence
Two bows, two claps, one bow
Temple sequence
Bow, palms together, bow — no clapping
Before you start
Rinse hands and mouth at the basin

Questions people ask

How much should you put in a saisen box?
Five yen is the traditional choice, for the pun on go-en, a connection. The amount is deliberately small — this is not a payment and a large sum is not more respectful.
Do you clap at a Buddhist temple?
No. Clapping belongs to Shinto shrines. At a temple you offer the coin, bow, place your palms together silently, and bow again.

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  • How to make a wish

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