A matchmaking charm modeled after a love letter from the Edo period
At Suga Shrine in Kyoto, famous as the god of matchmaking, special charms called "Kesoubumi" are given out during the Setsubun Festival. "Kesoubumi" are what we would call love letters today. There was a custom of people attaching these love letter-like charms to the branches of plum trees and selling them while dressed in eboshi (black hat) and suikan (traditional Japanese traditional clothing), with a mask on.
It was believed that if one secretly placed a Kesofumi in a dressing table or chest of drawers, one's appearance would become even more beautiful, one would have more kimonos, and one would find a good match, so women in Kyoto bought them.In addition to finding a partner, they are also said to grant people's wishes, such as prosperity in business, making them truly blessed charms.
This custom disappeared after the Meiji Restoration, but Suga Shrine has continued to carry on this culture, and during the Setsubun Festival, people dressed in mizuginu (traditional Japanese traditional clothing) hand out these prayer letters.
