Shuin

A shuin (朱印), also called "Go-shuin (御朱印)" as an honorific, is a seal stamp given to worshippers and visitors to Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples in Japan.

The seal stamps are often collected in books called shuinchō (朱印帳) that are sold at shrines and temples.

To create the shuin, the writer presses down one or more large stamps, and then uses black ink to write, in their distinctive calligraphy, the day of the visit, the name of the shrine or temple, as well as sometimes the names of the relevant Kami or Buddhist deities, and other messages.

There are various theories about the origin of shuin, though the strongest is that it was a receipt for a dedicated copied sutra.

[4] While ultimately a matter of personal preference, there are rare instances in which a shrine or temple may refuse to write a shuin if the shuinchō contains both Buddhist and Shinto stamps.