THE POWER OF THE OMAMORI
When we first had the idea of making Omamori, it really mattered to us to provide authentic ones. We wanted to have them blessed so you could carry Deities Power and Protection with you. Exactly the same as if buy it at temples or a shrines, here in Japan!
For us, the Omamori is so much more than just a stylish or cute object. Not only it is a spiritual connection that bonds you to Dieties but it also brings confidence in life, pushes you to be your best self and creates positivity around you.
"IT BRINGS CONFIDENCE IN LIFE,
PUSHES YOU TO BE YOUR BEST SELF
AND CREATES POSITIVITY AROUND YOU"
In Japan, it is common to ask spiritual or religious services to temples and shrines. You can even ask to have personal objects blessed! Of course, we wanted to find the right place for our Omamori. A place with a special connection, and a special story...
So we went all the way to the city of Sendai, 830km up north, to reach a small Buddhist temple and get that unique blessing we were looking for!
Why so far away from Kyoto, which surely doesn't lack sacred establishments? Well, Itokuji (威徳寺), that’s the name of the Buddhist temple, is run by a very special monk who shares a common passion for cars and surely knows how to handle them...
Taishu, the drift monk.
The relation with the Sacred in Japan is relatively uninhibited. Monks have wife, families and can enjoy the hobby of their choice. Any hobby. Even though it involves driving sideways and burning tires!
Taishu was into cars as long as he can remember. His passion for drift started before his monk academic training. After his graduation, not only he decided to keep drifting as a hobby but he was determined to compete in the top series: the D1GP!
At that time, drivers grinding for a D1 license were legions and it wasn’t an easy task! They had to prove their skills in local events and only the best of the bests were granted the highly desired license. After a couple of year kicking asses in Ikaten and regional competitions, Taishu finally joined the private club.
And just like that, 4 years in a row, we had a monk competing in D1GP! Taishu even did a full season in 2010! No need to say his professional status generated a lot of attention, especially with the dedicated media. He even made the cover of the Drift Tengoku DVD Vol.9!
Unfortunately, his drift career ended suddenly in March 2011 when the 9.0 earthquake hit the north of Japan. That day, his 180SX was at a local tuner for maintenance and got completely flooded by the tsunami. The salty water destroyed everything: engine, sequential gearbox, electronics, frame... It broke his heart and after so many years of sacrifices, Taishu decided it was time to take a break.
Few years have past now and the drift monk hasn't entered any official competition since the tragedy. But he stills owns a Silvia S15 and confessed to us that the urge of "clutch kick / handbrake" can get very strong sometimes...
Taishu kindly accepted to help us in our project, and as you can see now, we couldn't find a better person to bless our Omamori! You have to admit, that's a pretty cool story to tell your friends when they ask where this little amulet comes from!