Prayer for Safety

The other day, we went to Ise Shrine to pray for safety, which is an annual event in Sumitomo Riko Group.

In previous years, company executives, labor union executives, and safety staff from each site gathered together to pray for safety, but due to the Corona pandemic, since last year only company executives have visited the shrine.

This year was the first time for me to participate.

And it's been about 10 years since I've been to Ise Shrine.

Because of the Corona, there were no foreign visitors, but I was a little surprised to see that there were more people visiting the shrine than I had expected, and many of them were young.

I went there with a bit of a hazy feeling because I had thought that safety is not something that we should "rely on God for," but rather something that each of us should pay attention to and act upon every day.

However, when it came time to hang my head in front of the Shinto priest and undergo purification, I gradually felt a sense of divinity and a strong sense that I had to work even harder for safety.

At each turning point of the year, such as the beginning of a new year or the beginning of a new fiscal year, we tighten our spirits and reevaluate things with a renewed mind. I felt that this kind of Shinto ritual is also part of Japanese culture, and that we should cherish it.

I believe you all made resolutions or requests for the whole year during the year-end and New Year holidays.

Time flies and the quarter of 2021 is about to end.

Please take a look back now and again.