Taipei Xiahai City God Temple’s deity of love and marriage, better known as Yue Lao or the Old Man under the Moon, is on a monthlong working holiday in Okinawa, helping residents of Japan’s southernmost prefecture discover love and spotlighting the Taipei 2017 Summer Universiade.
Departing Oct. 23 from the century-old temple in Datong District’s Dadaocheng area, a statue of the deity was escorted on its journey by Yoshinaga Ryota, head of the Okinawa Convention and Visitors Bureau Taipei Office. It is the third visit for Yue Lao to Japan, with previous trips in 2014 and March this year proving effective in spreading love and fostering closer Taiwan-Japan cultural ties.
Taipei City Government’s Datong District Office said one of the deity’s missions during its Japan sojourn is promoting the 29th edition of the biennial Universiade next year. “We hope Yue Lao can play a part in convincing more Japanese tourists to visit Taipei for the games before traveling to other destinations around Taiwan.”
Running Aug. 19-30, 2017, the Universiade is the largest sporting event ever staged in Taiwan and is expected to involve an estimated 7,700-plus athletes from nearly 170 countries contesting 21 sports. Competition will take place at 38 venues in northern Taiwan planned in accordance with standards set down by the International University Sports Federation, the Switzerland-based organization responsible for overseeing the Universiade.
Datong is one of 12 districts in Taipei assigned to introducing and promoting the cultures of participating countries in the Universiade. It is responsible for Japan, along with 12 others, and will stage a variety of activities to this end. Yue Lao’s visit to Okinawa—one of the first events scheduled by the district office—will be followed by costume parades, dragon dances, food festivals and musical performances held by local and overseas groups in the run-up to the games.
Wu Men-huang, a publicist with Xiahai temple, said the deity’s trip to Okinawa this year will be its longest ever and extend to more than matchmaking and Universiade promotion. As island countries, Taiwan and Japan share many business and cultural interests, areas in which Yue Lao can serve as a catalyst for further exchanges, he added.
According to Wu, the temple is renowned for helping lonely hearts find love, with its official prayer procedure drawing many visitors from home and abroad—predominantly Japan. There are many steps involved, but one of the most important is making sure the red string tied around the wrist of a worshipper is properly blessed so a connection can be made with the soul mate at the end of it by Yue Lao, he said.
Completed in 1859, Xiahai City God Temple is home to more than 600 deities and functions as a leading religious center in northern Taiwan. On May 13 each year, the temple holds its City God Birthday Parade—a well-attended celebration classified as an intangible asset by the local government. (SCK-E)
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