The Love Stones

The Kiyomizu-dera temple had many charming little shrines.  Here are a few...including our favorite one, the "Love Stone".
But first, the photo below shows a Japanese god of love.  The gentleman to the right would be the god.  The rabbit, to his left, is his messenger.  There is a small box at the foot of the statue in which believers can slip a small prayer...normally a prayer by the unmarried to find a good and happy match.

The god below is not so specialized.  He is a kind of a one-wish-genie.  He will answer any prayer, but only one prayer.  Believers write down their wishes on a slip of paper and drop it in the box at the foot of the shrine.

And now, for the famous Love Stone.   Actually, it's a pair of stones.  Stone #1 is pictured below, followed immediately by stone #2.  The stones are spaced about 20 yards apart in a small courtyard.  The story goes, that any person who can find their way from one stone to the other with their eyes closed will be guaranteed to find love in the coming year. 

Pictured below is a young lady who is just a step away from finding the second stone.  It took her about 10 minutes to find her way, and only then with the help of the lady in black standing behind the stone.  The task is made all-the-harder by the fact that half the population of Japan was streaming through that little courtyard on this particular day.