Posted in calendar, travel and places, temples, kyoto on Apr 29th, 2007 2 Comments »
With the sprouting of the fresh green and the red splash of the azaleas, in May Japan bursts out in a frenzy of festivals.
[Shiobune Temple fire festival. Photo Ad Blankestijn]
Late April - Early May, Nara: Opening of Hokuendo Hall of Kofukuji (2007: 4/27-5/6).
May 1- 4, Kyoto: Nenbutsu Kyogen at Senbonshakado Temple.
One of the three greatest kyogen […]
Posted in nature, calendar, travel and places, kyoto on Apr 8th, 2007 1 Comment »
The Philosopher’s Path (Tetsugaku no Michi) in Kyoto is one of my favorite walks, but I had been there only in summer, autumn (good for momiji leaves) and winter, as I discovered yesterday, because I never realized that it is also the prime sakura spot in Kyoto!
The philosopher’s Path is a 2 kilometer trail along […]
Posted in nature, calendar, travel and places, kyoto on Apr 5th, 2007 No Comments »
One of the most famous places for seeing cherryblossoms in Osaka is the Mint, or Zoheikyoku, which features a long lane where rare cherry trees form a veritable tunnel of blossoms.
As the branches hang down low, the flowers are surprisingly closeby.
There are apparently 120 different kinds of cherrytrees and about tree times as many trees; […]
Posted in calendar, museums, temples, kyoto on Apr 4th, 2007 No Comments »
It is spring, so many Kyoto temples that are usually closed will open their doors - some only briefly. Here is a selection:
Anrakuji: weekends from April 7 to June 2 as well as the last part of Golden Week (May 3-6). Anrakuji is named after a disciple of Honen, who was executed with his colleague […]
Posted in calendar, religion and philosophy, temples, kyoto on Apr 1st, 2007 No Comments »
One of the nicest festivals in the Buddhist calendar is April 8, when the Buddha’s birthday is celebrated. The official name is Kanbutsu-e (”the bathing of Buddha”), and popularly its is called Hana Matsuri or Flower Festival. It takes place just as the sakura and other flowers are in full spring bloom. Many Buddhist temples […]
Posted in nature, calendar on Mar 14th, 2007 1 Comment »
The cherry blossoms will bloom early this year. Whether that is a good thing is the question, as according to popular belief strong winters make good sakura, just like hot summers cause deep-red koyo. And although in normal years the blossoms advance over Japan from the south, like a nice frontline (the sakura zensen), this […]
Posted in calendar, temples on Mar 9th, 2007 No Comments »
Osaka Tenmangu is dedicated to the 10th c. courtier and poet Sugawara Michizane, who was deified as the patron of scholarship and literature. There are thousands of Tenjin Shrines all over Japan, but Osaka Tenmangu is one of the most famous, together with the Kitano Tenmangu Shrine in Kyoto and the Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine in […]
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, 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 […]
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