More glimpses of unfamiliar Japan

The view from Hemp Mountain

2009-12-21T01:39:00.000+09:00

At 599m, Taima-San (Hemp Mountain) is the highest coastal mountain in the Hamada area. Among the many antennae and towers that bristle from its peak is an observation tower.This first view is looking NW out to sea. More than 200k away is Korea.Looking SW down the coast, Misumi Power Station, burning coal, is where we get our electricity. The mountain in the distance is in Yamaguchi. Old legends

Catholic Church in Tsuwano.

2009-12-19T13:11:00.000+09:00

Must be in the Christmas spirit to be posting all these churches :)The Catholic Church in Tsuwano was built in 1931.It's a replica of the Oura Tenshudo, the church built by the French in Nagasaki in 1865.Inside, no pews or chairs, only tatami to sit on.The church is open daily.On May 3rd there is a procession from the church up to the Chapel at Otome Pass followed by a Mass in front of the church.

Round Windows: looking in (traditional)

2009-12-18T19:41:00.001+09:00

Not much I can add to the title, except to give locations. This first one is from a farmhouse in the village of Yairoishi, up in the mountains of Iwami.This is of the Tea Room at Kennin-Ji, the oldest Zen temple in Kyoto.This is at Komyozen-Ji, a delightful small temple in Dazaifu, Fukuoka. It has my favorite temple garden.Just a house in Tsuwano.

Spring reflections

2009-12-17T11:40:00.005+09:00

There's a freezing wind howling outside, and a couple of inches of snow have fallen in the past day, so winter has certainly arrived a little earlier than usual, so for some reason my thoughts return to the fine spring we had.In April I went for a 50k bike ride, starting up in the mountains near Mizuho, coming down to Kawamoto, then down the river home. The last 15k coming down into Kawamoto I

Sexy Kappa?

2009-12-16T22:49:00.003+09:00

The Kappa, Japanese water imp, does on occasion behave kindly to humans, but mostly it is a malevolent creature, so it is not surprising that traditional representations of it portray it as a rather vicious-looking animal, as in these pictures at the excellent Onmark site.Contemporary representations of Kappa however tend to portray it as "kawaii", cute, cartoon-like, childish. I have yet to read

O-miki by the bottle.

2009-12-14T16:20:00.006+09:00

If you are a sake brewer or are rich you can donate a barrel of sake to a shrine. For most people, however, a bottle of sake is normal. The one pictured above is on the steps leading to the honden of a small, but brightly painted, shrine on the south coast of Shikoku.After pouring sake around the rice paddy, this bottle is then placed next to the sacred sakaki tree in then center of the paddy in

Torture in Tsuwano! The Memorial Chapel of Mary

2009-12-12T13:47:00.008+09:00

The Memorial Chapel of Mary is located in Otome Pass in Tsuwano. It was built in 1951 on the site of the torture and martyrdom of 25 Christians, including a 5 year old girl, in the early years of Meiji (1867-).When Japan "opened" in the 1850's thousands of "hidden christians" mistakenly believed that it was safe to come out of the closet as a Christian Church had been constructed in Nagasaki by

Fake maiko.

2009-12-10T16:55:00.000+09:00

These 2 young ladies in Gion were being photographed by a whole gaggle of foreign tourists who most probably believed they were seeing maiko or geisha.In fact the 2 women were customers of one of the many "Maiko make-over" shops that are in Gion.With prices ranging from 6,000 up to more than 40,000 yen. you can get made up and wear the costume and then wander around Gion.So, how can you tell they

St. Xavier Memorial Church

2009-12-09T14:52:00.000+09:00

The St. Xavier memorial Church is located in Yamaguchi City. It was built in 1998 to replace an earlier church that "mysteriously" burnt down in 1991.It was designed by the Italian architect Rugieri, and is constructed of marble and concrete.St. Francis Xavier spent 6 months in Yamaguchi in 1550 as the guest of the local daimyo and it is said it was the happiest 6 months of his life.The church

Concrete wabi sabi: more steps.

2009-12-08T10:05:00.006+09:00

Continuing with my exploration of the aesthetic potential in Japan's favorite material,.... more steps!An Escheresque view of the steps down sanbe Dam.A very standard form of steps. These go down to the stream that run through Omori, Iwami Ginzan.Of course concrete can be poured into any shape. These curved steps go down to the boat dock for the horikawa boat tour on the river in Matsue.These

O-miki by the barrel

2009-12-07T14:00:00.007+09:00

A huge stack of sakedaru (sake barrels) at Matsuo Shrine near Kyoto. Matsuo is the home of the patron kami of sake brewers.Sake when offered to the kami is known as O-miki. It is one of the primary offering (shinsen) to the kami. After a ceremony the omiki will be shared among the participants and congregation.I don't drink sake, but gladly drink omiki.The wooden sakedaru are wrapped in a

Typical Japanese Landscape 26

2009-12-06T14:11:00.000+09:00

Foothills of Katsuragi Mountain (Nara) at sunset.

It's going to be a snowy winter...

2009-12-05T12:32:00.003+09:00

...at least according to these critters! They are Kamemushi ( Turtle Bug), and this fall there has been a much larger number of them invading the house. Local wisdom says this means heavier than usual snowfall this winter.Members of the Pentatomidae family of bugs, in English they are commonly known as Stinkbugs because of the unpleasant smell they excrete when attacked. Many Japanese women and

Round Windows: looking out.

2009-12-04T08:11:00.004+09:00

Circular windows are not uniquely Japanese, but they do seem a little more common here traditionally.Kennin-Ji, the oldest Zen Temple in KyotoThe former Wilds Gallery, Omori, Iwami GinzanTea room, Chofu gardens, Yamaguchi Pref.Manor House, Takahashi, Okayama.Park. Asari, near Gotsu

Haikyo

2009-12-02T13:29:00.000+09:00

Haikyo is a Japanese word that means something along the lines of "ruin" and "abandoned building", and its a word that is becoming used in English now. There are lots of people who's hobby is exploring abandoned sites around Japan. Where I live close to half the buildings are abandoned, so it doesn't seem anything special.This tiny haikyo was on the trail leading up to the small chapel at Otome

Traditional japanese house

2009-11-30T12:24:00.000+09:00

It's only been quite recently that I have begun to appreciate the aesthetics of traditional Japanese houses. This one seemed a little lighter than many.I have also come to appreciate the gardens, though I can't quite get used to the fact that Japanese gardens are meant to be looked at, not walked in.For many years I didn't even bother going into any of the many old houses open to the public.This

Jellyfish invasion

2009-11-29T14:21:00.000+09:00

Not sure what these species are. There was an interesting article in last week's Japan Times about the invasion of Nomura jellyfish, the worlds largest. The article is hereThe one in the photo above was pretty small, and it was trapped in a tide pool.Just off the rocks was this much larger one, about 50cms wide. While sailing off the Shimane coast I have seen some monsters more than 1 meter

Concrete wabi sabi: Steps

2009-11-28T12:12:00.001+09:00

Concrete is everywhere in japan. Japan pours, by far, more concrete than anywhere else on the planet. One of the few factoids I knew of Japan before I came was that japan was self-sufficient in limestone.There is an aesthetic to concrete that I call Concrete Wabi sabi.The first pic is a harbor wall in a tiny fishing village near Hamada.Also in Hamada, steps down to the river.Steps down to the

Marine Hall, a wedding chapel.

2009-11-27T13:17:00.000+09:00

Marine Hall is one of 2 wedding chapels at the Meriken Park Oriental Hotel in Kobe.Rather than go for the "traditional" architecture of Japanese wedding chapels that look like sets from a Takarazuka performance, the design is based on the form of a seashell.Built in 1995 and designed by the Takenaka Company, the roof is 14 metres above ground.Nearby is the Kobe Maritime Museum and the Kobe Port

A morning walk through Senjokei

2009-11-25T14:43:00.000+09:00

Ted of Notes From The Nog fame was visiting for a couple of days, so decided to take advantage of the fine weather and went for a hike down Senjokei, a local beauty spot.It's a narrow gorge that has 12 waterfalls within the space of 3 kilometres.We started at the top of the gorge in Hiwa, thinking, correctly as it turned out, that on top of the mountains the sun would have already burnt off the

Kosan-Ji: the statues...

2009-11-24T11:10:00.004+09:00

This pair of Phoenix's stand in the grounds of the Kongo Kan (New Treasure House) across the road from Kosan-Ji Temple.The Museum houses a large collection of Buddhist art, mostly from Japan but some from Korea.Entrance to the museum is included in the entrance fee to Kosan-Ji. Within the temple there is also a large collection of Tea Ceremony objects, and a collection of Modern Art.Most of the

Shichi-Go-San

2009-11-23T12:03:00.003+09:00

Stopped by an unusual Inari Shrine near Fukuyama on Saturday and there was a Shichi-Go-San ceremony going on. The song the priest is singing is not something I've heard before. There is a cadence and lilt to it that was quite foot-tapping, quite unlike the normal "shinto" chanting which sounds similar to the buddhist chanting it's influenced by.The Miko performs the purification part of the

October means Matsuri. Matsuri means Kagura. Part 9

2009-11-21T15:15:00.001+09:00

The ninth, and final, matsuri I went to in October was in Waki-cho, a seaside village that is part of Gotsu.Earlier in the afternoon we stopped by a bunch of shrines in the area that were all having their matsuri that night. While we were at the shrine in Waki there was a ceremony going on for all the people of the village that had turned 60 years of age that year. The Chinese dating system that

A muted Fall at Gakuen-Ji

2009-11-18T11:22:00.000+09:00

I had to go up to Izumo on Monday so I dropped by Gakuen-Ji on my way back.The fall colors were only just starting, and it was cloudy, so it was a more muted display rather than vivid.Gakuen-Ji is, I think, my favorite temple. Nestled in the mountains to the north of Izumo Taisha, the temple is actually older than Izumo Taisha.Except for the last couple of weeks in November when the place gets

Kosan-Ji. The architecture,,,

2009-11-17T21:23:00.005+09:00

Kosan-Ji temple on Ikuchijima is probably the most unique and unusual temple in Japan.The temple complex is composed of many "copies" of the most famous examples of temple architecture from throughout Japan.They are built at a slightly reduced scale from the originals, but have been "improved" and embellished with intricate carvings and color schemes that bear no connection to the originals.Gaudy