Posted in culture, religion and philosophy, temples, kyoto on Jan 14th, 2007 No Comments »
Torii gates are symbols of Shinto shrines and mark their sacred space from the mundane world. The basic structure consists of two pillars with a top rail and a little below that a second horizontal rail piercing both columns, providing stability to the structure.
The greatest orgy of torii gates can be seen on the mountain […]
Posted in calendar, travel and places, temples, kyoto on Jan 11th, 2007 No Comments »
Marishi Sontendo is another temple of the boar (inoshishi) that is strong for luck and victory in this Wild Boar Year!
[Roaring wild boar in Marishi Sontendo, Kyoto. Photo Ad Blankestijn]
Zenkyoan (the formal name of the temple in question) was set up as a hermitage by the noted Chinese Zen priest Qingzhuo Zhengcheng (in Japanese: Seisetsu […]
Posted in culture, calendar, travel and places, temples, kyoto on Jan 10th, 2007 No Comments »
Toka (Tenth Day) Ebisu is a festival with prayers for happiness and success in business that is held at Ebisu Shrines around Japan, especially in the Kansai, between 8 or 9 and 11 January. The most important shrines are Imamiya Ebisu in Osaka, Nishinomiya Ebisu in Nishinomiya near Kobe and the Ebisu Shrine near […]
Posted in culture, history, travel and places, kyoto on Jan 9th, 2007 No Comments »
[Street lined with teahouses in Miyagawacho. Photo Ad Blankestijn]
Maiko are going along the teahouses in Miyagawacho, taking notes; they are probably preparing for Hatsuyori, New year’s greetings. Miyagawacho is one of the five hanamachi or geiko quarters in Kyoto. Although less famous than Gion or Pontocho, there are quite some traditional houses left. While the […]
Posted in culture, calendar, travel and places, kyoto on Jan 8th, 2007 2 Comments »
Today was one of those national holidays that only Japan has: Coming of Age Day (Seijin no Hi). All young people who turned twenty between 2 April last year or do so at the latest on 1 April of the current year celebrate that they are now adults and therefore allowed to smoke, drink and […]
Posted in travel and places, gardens, temples, kyoto on Jan 7th, 2007 No Comments »
“Let us sit down quietly and contemplate this garden of sand and stones,” starts the pamphlet handed out by Ryoanji. Unfortunately, nothing could be more difficult. This small temple with its exquisite stone garden, is daily overrun by hordes of tourists. Whole schools, cohorts of kids in sailor’s uniforms, march over the poor wooden floors. […]
Posted in travel and places, temples, kyoto on Jan 7th, 2007 No Comments »
This morning it was snowing in Kyoto, so I did what everyone is supposed to do under such circumstances: I hastened to the Golden Pavilion, Kinkakuji, to take the famous snow pictures. Kinkakuji took some time to reach (it is after all 40 min from Kyoto St), so when I arrived around noon the snow […]
Posted in food, technology, intercultural on Jan 6th, 2007 2 Comments »
This is not an advertisement for milk cacao drinks from Bourbon - although the contents of this small bottle tasted not bad. No, when buying this plastic bottle with a hot beverage in it, I was reminded of the fact that Japan is perhaps the only country in the world where hot beverages are sold […]
Posted in culture, gardens, intercultural on Jan 6th, 2007 No Comments »
[Flowering kale. Photo Ad Blankestijn]
When I first saw this type of planting, many years ago in China, I thought somebody had tried to be funny by stuffing a pot full of cabbages. Yes, it looks ornamental, but my first reaction is to put my teeth in those leaves, rather then feasting on them with my […]
Posted in calendar, travel and places, temples, kyoto on Jan 3rd, 2007 No Comments »
[The wild boar is the messenger of the Go-o Shrine. Photo Ad Blankestijn]
I visited the Go-o Shrine at least three months too early when I came here in last September. As you see on the picture above, this is the Shrine of the Wild Boar, so there could be no more fitting destination for […]
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