Wearable blankets blessed by 1,100-year old Shinto shrine on sale in Japan, surprisingly affordable

Blessed Wearable Blankets all receive prayers that wearers will pass their entrance exams.

Some people might describe the current weather in Japan as invigoratingly crisp, but it won’t be long until it’s cold enough that staying in bed all day, wrapped in your warm blankets, is going to feel like a very tempting plan. Unfortunately, the chilly part of the year coincides with the final studying push as students get ready for high school and college entrance exams, which is wear Japanese apparel company Senshukai comes in.

Knowing that it’s hard to concentrate when you’re cold, Senshukai wanted to design a garment that would help keep wearers comfortable, cozy, and able to focus on studying. What they come up with was the Blessed Wearable Blanket (or GokitoKiry Mofu in Japanese), which looks similar to some blanket-like robes from other manufacturers, but with a number of clever and thoughtful touches that make it especially appealing for students studying for entrance exams.

To start with, the Blessed Wearable Blanket is extra-long, so that it’ll keep your legs warm all the way down to you ankles, even if you’re sitting in a chair at your study desk. Fully enclosed mitten-style sleeves would make it hard to turn textbook pages or write notes, but the designers still wanted to leave as little of your hands exposed to the cold as possible, so the sleeves are long too, with thumb holes.

Speaking of writing things down, Senshukai realizes you might be using a pencil if, for example, you’re working through math problems. Of course, the whole point of using a pencil is so that you can erase what you wrote if you need to, so the Blessed Wearable Blanket has patches on the elbows/forearms to keep the sleeves from picking up any eraser dust or shavings that have fallen onto your desk.

And as for the “blessed” part of the name? That’s because before they’re shipped to customers, each and every Blessed Wearable Blanket is sent to Takinomiya Tenmangu, a Shinto shrine in the town of Ayauta, Kagawa Prefecture.

▼ Blessed Wearable Blankets at Takinomiya Tenmangu

Founded in 886, Takinomiya Tenmangu has long been associated with scholarship and academic achievement. The shrine is dedicated to the spirit of Sugawara no Michizane, the 9th century governor of the Kagawa area renowned for his intellect who was deified as a god of learning following his death. To this day, students often visit Takinomiya Tenmangu to pray for good results in important academic endeavors, such as entrance exams, and so the Blessed Wearable Blanket’s are blessed at the shrine for the benefit of students unable to make the trip themselves.

Finally, the Blessed Wearable Blanket features a unique five-sided inner pocket. Why five sides? Because the Japanese word for “pentagon,” gokaku, sound very similar to gokaku, which means “to pass a test.”

It’s worth reiterating that Takinomiya Tenmangu is know as a shrine for learning in general, and so the blessing should ostensibly apply to all attempts to acquire new knowledge, not just entrance exams, and the finger holes and elbow pads should be just as nice to have for pleasure reading and sketching or other art projects as they are for studying. Even setting aside any divine assistance it may bestow, It’s hard to fault Senshukai’s logic that it’s easier to concentrate when you’re not uncomfortably, distractingly cold, so this definitely looks like a good studywear choice, and if, after you put on your Blessed Wearable Blanket, you decide to do nothing more productive than lie down and take a nap, it looks like it’s very nicely suited for that purpose too.

The Blessed Wearable Blanket is priced at 6,990 yen (US$47) and can be oderd through Senshukai’s online shop, Belle Maison, here.

Source: PR Times
Top image: PR Times
Insert images: PR Times, Belle Maison
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