5 yen with Pray

Hello My friends

Any guy can tell me Why japanese people use coin 5 yen or 50 yen, which have a circle in the middle to pray at shrine or temple. I am really want to know about this.

Thank you very much for new knowlege

Jen

5 yen is "goen" in Japanese, which is pronounced the same as the word which means "good fortune".

The 5 yen coin is the special one. If you don't have a 5 yen coin then any coin is fine. I don't think 50 yen coins have any special significance, other than people like them because they have a hole.

As mentioned, it is because it's called a "go-EN" coin. The number 5 is "go" in Japanese, and "yen" is pronounced more like "en."

To be precise, "go-EN" means "honorably good luck" especially in terms of relationships. So people throw in these coins hoping to meet new people who might bring fortune, business, friendship or love.

The number 50 is pronounced "go-juu" which is the same pronunciation as the word meaning "5 layers" or in other words "5 times more." So although I recall that the true tradition was focused on the 5 yen coin, some may throw in 50 yen coins, pronounced "go-juu-EN" in hope for "luck coming 5 times more." Speaking of tradition, not many commoners had 50 yen to spare back in the old days when a taxi ride was a yen.

As for the hole, people prefer to believe that it implies future with "an unobstructed view." For the same reason, we eat lotus roots on New Years, because it has a lot of holes.

You can see that the Japanese like to "EN-gi o katsugu" (care about the risings of luck).

On a related note, when sending wallets as gifts, you're supposed to put a 5 yen coin inside it. Just a way of showing your thoughts to the receiver.