萬松寺 (はくび 切り絵 — 白雪稲荷)

Confidence

Identification

• Name (Japanese): 亀嶽林 萬松寺 (白雪稲荷 はくび 切り絵御朱印)
• Name (Romanized): Kigaku-rin Banshō-ji (also Manshō-ji) — Hakusetsu Inari "Hakubi" Kirie Goshuin
• Type: Buddhist temple — Sōtō Zen sect (曹洞宗) — originally the Bodaiji (菩提寺 / family memorial temple) of the Oda clan
• Honzon: 十一面観世音菩薩 (Jūichimen Kanzeon Bosatsu / Eleven-Faced Kannon)
• Sub-shrine focus of this goshuin: 白雪稲荷大明神 (Hakusetsu Inari Daimyōjin) — the white-fox Inari guardian deity of the temple, with mascot character 「はくび」(Hakubi)
• Variant: Kirie (paper-cut) limited goshuin — two-page spread on washi
• Location: Ōsu, Naka Ward, Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture (~5 min walk from Ōsu Kannon #19)
• Date received: 令和七年四月七日 = 7 April 2025

Reading the goshuin (two-page spread)

This is a two-page spread with elaborate paper-cut artwork on the left and gold-brush calligraphy + multiple seals on the right.

Right page

Left page

What is Hakusetsu Inari and the Hakubi mascot?

白雪稲荷大明神 (Hakusetsu Inari Daimyōjin / "White-Snow Inari Great Deity") is the tutelary fox-deity (鎮守神 / chinju-shin) of Banshō-ji. The shrine has a specific origin story:

In 1610, when Nagoya Castle was being constructed under the direction of Tokugawa Ieyasu, Banshō-ji was relocated from its original Kiyosu site (along with the rest of the Kiyosu town's institutions, in a mass relocation called the Kiyosu-goshi) to its current Ōsu location. Along the way, the temple's monks acquired the Hakusetsu Inari image — a fox-deity originally enshrined inside Kobayashi Castle (小林城) — and made it the temple's guardian deity.

Local legend says that in a year of severe poverty Banshō-ji was struggling, and Hakusetsu Inari took the form of a young woman named "Goshōjorō" (御小女郎) who came to work at the temple, secretly performing miracles that saved Banshō-ji from financial ruin. She then disappeared, leaving behind the white fox image that is now permanently enshrined.

The mascot 「はくび」(Hakubi) is a modern cute-character (yuru-chara) rendering of this white fox — used on goshuin, omamori, and goods sold at the temple. The kanji rendering is sometimes given as 白美 ("white beauty") though the temple usually leaves it as hiragana.

What is kirie paper-cut goshuin?

切り絵御朱印 (kirie goshuin / "paper-cut goshuin") is a relatively recent (post-2018) trend in goshuin design — the visible image is physically cut from washi paper rather than printed or stamped. The cutout is then layered over a contrasting backing washi, producing a striking shadow-and-color effect that's tactile, multi-layered, and very visually arresting.

Banshō-ji is one of the leading kirie-goshuin temples in Japan, with a continuously rotating series of seasonal limited kirie editions. The Hakubi kirie series has multiple sub-variants by season (Boys' Day with carp banners, snow versions, summer wisteria, etc.). This stamp's specific layout — Hakubi seated in an asanoha-pattern halo — appears to be a standard year-round Hakubi kirie, distinguishable from the seasonal ones by the absence of seasonal decorative elements.

The kirie goshuin are sold as 書置き (kakioki) spreads, priced higher than standard goshuin (typically 1,000 yen for the spread; some seasonal editions cost more).

About Banshō-ji and the Oda clan

亀嶽林 萬松寺 (Kigaku-rin Banshō-ji) was founded in 1540 (Tenbun 9) by 織田信秀 (Oda Nobuhide) — father of Oda Nobunaga — as the Oda family bodaiji (菩提寺 / hereditary memorial temple). The original site was in Nagoya's Naka-ku Mei-eki area, but it was relocated to its current Ōsu location during the 1610 Kiyosu-goshi when Tokugawa Ieyasu redesigned greater Nagoya around the new castle.

Key Oda-clan moments at Banshō-ji:

• 1540 — founded by Oda Nobuhide
• 1551 — Nobuhide's funeral — site of the famous incident where the young Oda Nobunaga, dressed in dishevelled clothes, threw incense at his father's funerary tablet and stalked out — earning him the nickname 「尾張のうつけ」 ("the Owari fool") that he would later subvert spectacularly
• The temple's grounds traditionally hold the cremation site of Nobunaga's father

The top-right rectangular red seal 「織田信長公父 信秀公開基」 ("Founded by Oda Nobuhide, father of Lord Oda Nobunaga") explicitly anchors the temple's identity in this lineage.

What it's known for / the blessing

• Connection to Oda Nobunaga and Oda Nobuhide — the most direct surviving Buddhist link to the Oda clan
• Modern kirie goshuin — leading temple in this art form with frequent seasonal limited editions
• Hakubi (はくび) mascot — one of the cuter temple mascots in the Nagoya region
• 白雪稲荷 (Hakusetsu Inari) — the white-fox prosperity deity (tied to commercial success / household income, in the Inari tradition)
• Daily 10:00, 12:00, 17:00 karakuri-gyozō (mechanical Buddha statue) performances — the temple has a famous animated mechanical Buddha display
• Connection to Ōsu Shōtengai — within easy walking distance of Ōsu Kannon (#19)

Sources

• Banshō-ji — official goshuin page
• Banshō-ji "Hakubi" 2022 kirie goshuin reference — Amazon listing
• Banshō-ji — Hotokami goshuin info
• Aichi kirie goshuin guide (Banshō-ji included) — Goshuinjar
• Banshō-ji Ōsu visit guide — Tabemaro
• Banshō-ji visit + tourism — Enmusubi University