Dazaifu shrine has year-end cleaning ritual

A shrine in Fukuoka Prefecture, western Japan, held its annual year-end cleaning ritual on Tuesday.

The main hall in the Dazaifu-Tenmangu shrine is dusted every year on December 28th.

Seven priests dressed in ceremonial clothing used 4-meter long bamboo stalks to carefully dust the ceiling and other places without damaging the artfully lacquered pillars.

The shrine is dedicated to the 9th century scholar Sugawara Michizane, revered as a patron of learning and the arts. About 2 million people will visit the shrine over the first 3 days of the New Year to pray for good luck.

A visitor from Kagawa Prefecture said his grandchild was born just the previous day, and he hopes next year will be a happy one for children