Photo= Votive wooden tablet dedicated by Hanyu (Seimei Jinja Shrine, Kamigyo Ward, Kyoto)

Photo= Votive wooden tablet dedicated by Medvedeva (Seimei Jinja Shrine, Kamigyo Ward, Kyoto)

Seimei Jinja Shrine in Kamigyo Ward, Kyoto, which Yuzuru Hanyu visited before the PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games where he won successive victories in men's figure skating, has become a sort of "Mecca" for figure skating fans. Votive wooden tablets that were handwritten and dedicated by Hanyu and Evgenia Medvedeva, who won the silver medal in women's figure skating, are exhibited in the precincts, and are now a popular photo spot. Additionally, many fans of Hanyu are paying "thank-you visits." The shrine is now lively showing the excitement lingering from the Olympics.

Hanyu used a part of the soundtrack from the movie "Onmyoji," or Onmyoji: The Yin Yang Master, in his program "SEIMEI." Due to this connection, Hanyu has twice visited the shrine where Seimei Abe, an onmyoji in the Heian Period, is enshrined. According to the shrine, the number of fans visiting from abroad is also increasing.

The handwritten votive tablet dedicated by Hanyu when he visited the shrine in June 2017 is displayed in the precincts along with a placard written by Chief Priest, Yamaguchi, which reads "Congratulations on the Gold Medal." Also exhibited is the tablet handwritten by Medvedeva which was dedicated in May of last year.