Goshuinchō: Japanese pilgrimage books

If you've ever visited a Buddhist temple or Shinto shrine in Japan, you may have seen people with small notebooks lining up at the office to get them stamped. Goshuinchō 御朱印帳 literally means scarlet seal book, and they were traditionally used by pilgrims to record their visits. Nowadays, these pilgrimage books are also popular with tourists as a way to commemorate their trip. Each temple or shrine has beautiful red seals which are stamped on the pages of the notebook, along with (usually beautifully executed) calligraphy.

Even if you're not traveling to Japan anytime soon, you can still enjoy a pilgrimage book and find creative uses for it. Whether it's for writing a story, keeping a journal or even just sketching or drawing, your imagination is the limit.

Although goshuinchō are often sold at temples and shrines, you can also find ones that don't have any associations with a particular temple and can be purchased in places like department stores...

...However, we strongly recommend this series of colorful, pop pilgrimage books with covers featuring Japanese motifs and patterns.

GOSHUIN Notebook series

Take a look at these covers!

This "GOSHUIN Notebook" pilgrimage book series has colorful, modern designs, with covers featuring brocade made in a traditional Japanese fabric known as 藤山織 Fujiyama Ori from 富士吉田 Fujiyoshida, a famous textile production area in the eastern part of Yamanashi Prefecture.

A closer look at the designs reveals Japanese motifs such as Mt. Fuji, sea bream (said to be auspicious), and Maneki Neko "beckoning cats," all arrayed in vivid colors.

If you've seen traditional goshuinchō before, they sometimes look like esoteric art items and not something you can casually carry around, especially outside of Japan. That's not the case with these cute and colorful pilgrimage books. They literally invite you to hold them, use them and take them with you.

These Fujiyama Ori brocade "GOSHUIN Notebooks" come in two sizes: Standard size (11 x 16 cm) and Large size (12 x 1.8 cm). Both of them can be used as conventional notebooks, of course, but if you are interested, you can also use them as true "pilgrimage books" to stamp seals when you visit temples in Japan. If you do, please use the entire book for that purpose since it's considered a breach of protocol to do otherwise.

There are a total of nine different designs. Why not get several, one for temple seals, one for notes, and one for an album? You can choose designs according to your purpose.

The combination of traditional Japanese patterns on the front cover and the dotted pattern on the back cover is so cute.

Mt. Fuji and Sakura (Large)

When you think of Japan, you think of Mt. Fuji and cherry blossoms! You can't get more iconic than this!

Goldfish (Large)

The lovely goldfish pattern is soothing. The light green of the front cover and vivid purple of the back cover are also a perfect match.

Plovers

Plovers, or chidori in Japanese, are said to be auspicious symbols.

Rabbits

You may have heard of the "Man in the Moon," but Japanese people see a rabbit pounding mochi rice cakes on the moon. That's why the association of a rabbit and a full moon is a familiar motif. You can enjoy it here in a pop design on this cute cover.

Auspicious Sea Breams

In Japanese, the word めでたい medetai, meaning "a call for celebration," contains the sound tai, which is a homonym of 鯛 tai, meaning sea bream. As a result, sea breams are considered harbingers of good fortune. Combined with Mt. Fuji, it's a powerful combination sure to bring you good luck and happiness!

Pine

Pine trees and cranes are also traditionally auspicious symbols in Japan. The vivid colors of this cover make a strong impact.

Plum

This splendid design features a Japanese bush warbler and plum blossoms in bright colors evoking the anticipation of spring.

123

The name of this model is a playful reference to the traditional belief about the order of auspicious symbols to see in your dreams at the beginning of the new year. First comes Mt. Fuji, hawks come second, and eggplants are third. Mt. Fuji is the most auspicious symbol in Japan, hawks "grab" good fortune, and the word for eggplant in Japanese, 茄子 nasu is a homonym for the verb 成す "to become / to realize," as in "achieving one's goals."

Cat

This whimsical design is a playful reference to the Japanese saying "throwing coins before a cat," the equivalent of "throwing pearls before swine." This design, however, takes a positive spin on it, imagining a very fortunate cat receiving a whole shower of flat oval coins like the ones used in the Edo period.

All of the designs are cute and fun to use. Why not choose your favorite design and put these pilgrimage books to good use!