Abstract
Goshuin (御朱印), red stamps accompanied by calligraphic inscriptions obtained at Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples, have become a universal and critical element of sacred site visitation in Japan. Their collection represents perhaps the most widespread form of pilgrimage in contemporary society. Seal-oriented pilgrimages, known as goshuin meguri (御朱印巡り), are typically free-form and self-directed, and this practice entered a nationwide boom that appears to have peaked around 2019. Despite its popularity, goshuin pilgrimage has received only limited—and often speculative—scholarly attention, with little reliance on empirical data. Kinjoji Temple (金城寺), a Shingon Buddhist temple in Toyama Prefecture, is known for offering a new style of goshuin that is more graphically dynamic and visually exuberant. Between March 2017 and December 2023, the temple collected survey data from 1,603 goshuin pilgrims. This article presents an exploratory case study of that data, evaluating contemporary goshuin practice and testing emerging scholarly propositions against lived patterns of seal-seeking pilgrimage. We also highlight several directions for future research on the goshuin journey as a modern pilgrimage form.
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Recommended Citation
Kaneko, Nachika and shultz, john
(2026)
"The Goshuin Journey: Sacred Seal Pilgrimage in Contemporary Japan,"
International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage:
Vol. 14:
Iss.
1, Article 12.
Available at:
https://arrow.tudublin.ie/ijrtp/vol14/iss1/12