Goshuin are temple stamps which are written and stamped by a monk in a special book, the GoShuincho, when visiting a Buddhist temple to show your proof of your visitation.
The Goshuin is not the same from the tourist stamps you can get at tourist attractions and rail stations around Japan. The Goshuin is a religious gift.
The handwritten calligraphy, which specifies the name of the temple, the date of visit and a small prayer distinct to the place where you got the Goshuin from.
First though, on entering the temple at the purification fountain near the shrine's entrance, you take one of the ladles provided, fill it with fresh water and rinse both hands, left then right. You then transfer some water into your cupped hand and rinse your mouth and spit the water beside the fountain. Then tip the remaining water down the handle by holding it vertical to cleanse it. Now you can enter the temple. Pay respects and gask for a Goshuin. They do not always give them, so you have to request one.
My first stamp and calligraphy from the Joenji temple in Shinjuku Tokyo.
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My GoShuincho
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A special day when relatives burn sticks, incense and put plants on graves to stop the ghosts coming out.
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