Staying in business
Miyajima priest
The key to maintaining a business for a long time, especially this one which has been going on for hundreds of years, is to extract cash for services rendered. I’m not sure how much this lady had to pay for individual treatment from the priest. However, it’s well documented that Katsu Kaishu (勝海舟), in trying to give his famous peace sword to Itsukushima Shrine (厳島神社), was denied the privilege. Instead, he had to pay them to take it. I wonder if they still have it, or if they sold it to someone else.
