There are many shrines in Japan worshiped to the Nine-Headed Dragon (Kuzuryu). The Kuzuryu Taisha Shrine, located in Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, is a relatively new shrine founded in 1954. Its origins trace back to a dream in which the deity Kuzuryu Benzaiten appeared to its founder, Shojiro Onishi.

Since Shiozawa is currently working on a painting “Kuzuryu and Minamoto no Mitsunaka,” we went to visit the site on March 5.

In Japan, there is a custom called “O-sen-do-mari,” in which worshippers walk back and forth across the grounds of a shrine or temple 1,000 times to convey their prayers to the gods and Buddhas; here, however, worshippers walk clockwise nine times around the main hall, offering prayers at eight sacred spots along the way.

On this beautiful, sunny day, we prayed for divine protection to ensure the smooth progress of the Kuzuryu production and the success of the June offering ceremony at the Kumano Sanzan.