egykét nap, és lesz a budapesti budoboltokban…

ha már nem jöttetek el a bemutatóra…

aki meg igen, annak emlékeztető

Number 2 (the first being Matsushima Bay) of the Nihon Sankei, the three most scenic sights of Japan, can be crossed off from our list: we visited the floating torii of the holy island of Miyajima. Miyajima (its real name is Itsukushima) is one of the many islands that speck the Inland Sea between the Southern end of Japan’s main island Honshu and Shikoku. Miyajima is located in front of Hiroshima, a 30 min train ride from the main station takes you to the ferry stop. The ferry is surprisingly big and the ride takes 10 minutes.
On the island, the tourist industry is thriving. The island’s specialty, Momiji Manju, maple leaf shaped filled cakes, are for sale everywhere. Also everywhere are the deer, which happily walk about in the streets and take naps under trees. A variety of signs alert the tourist to them. They usually state that the deer are wild animals and request the visitor either to be kind to them, to be patient with them, or more often, not to feed them (of course everyone feeds them). The truth is that the deer are very patient with us. They suffer to be patted and photographed by and with everyone with good grace.

Ikutsushima Shrine and 5-storied Pagoda

As often in Japan, urban sprawl (in this case Hiroshima) and scenic beauty lie close together on a trip to Miyajima. And as happens even more frequently, the place would be so much nicer without the herds of tourists. Even though we only stayed half a day on the Inland Sea, we got curious to come back for more.

View of the Inland Sea from Mt. Misen

Giant Buddha at Todaiji Temple, Nara

So far I’ve spent a lot of time talking about what there is to do in Osaka, but this time I want to give a quick overview of places that can be visited as day trips from Osaka. It is, in fact, the perfect city for this, because of its central location and its function as a transportation hub for the Kansai area.

The obvious destination is Kyoto, which is by far the most popular tourist destination in Japan among both domestic and international tourists. Then is nearby Nara (the imperial capital  from 710-794, before it moved to Kyoto), which like Kyoto is home to a number of famous temples and shrines including Todaiji, Koryuji, and Kasuga Taisha. I prefer Nara over Kyoto because it feels more genuine and is not as crowded. Kobe is known as a pleasant, cosmopolitan city with an international feel–I recommend the waterfront Meriken Park, which is a romantic hot spot at night. Then there’s Himeji, with its soaring castle that is more famous and impressive than any other in the country.

Wakaura Tenmangu Shrine, Wakayama City

If you’re looking for something new, why not try Wakayama City? It has a number of gorgeous old temples, some great food, and lovely beaches and hot spring areas. Iga, one of the two great ninja towns of Japan (the other being Koga in Shiga Prefecture), is located in Nara Prefecture and features a ninja museum that you’re sure to get a kick out of. Kumano Kodo, a pilgrimage route that has been celebrated since ancient times, has recently become popular after being named as Japan’s newest UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Yoshino is famous for its autumn colors and spring cherry blossoms, and also has a number of lovely old ryokan and baths. Further east is Ise Shrine (in eastern Mie Prefecture), the most important Shinto shrine in Japan. It is connected to the imperial family, and it has been rebuilt every 20 years on alternating lots using the same architecture and materials since the beginning of Japan as a unified civilization.

Ninja train, Iga

Yes, there are even ninjas inside the ninja train.

Heading north from Osaka, you will find Uji, which is famous for it matcha powdered green tea, and also for Byodoin, a graceful temple that is meant to be an earthly re-creation of the Buddhist paradise (you can find it pictured on the ten yen coin). Fushimi-Inari Shrine is a complex winding its way up a mountainside, featuring paths lined with thousands of bright-orange torii gates that create an impressive tunnel-like effect. The Lake Biwa area is also a treasure trove of great places to see and delicious foods to eat (read about my journey around the lake here).

There are more options available, but the places listed above are all great destinations for day or weekend trips out of the city. With the autumn leaves reaching their colorful peak, now is the perfect time to experience the many faces of the Kansai region.

Forse è un argomento che non è particolarmente legato al kendo, ma mi sono sempre chiesto cosa fossero quelle strutture, spesso posizionate dentro l’acqua o all’ingresso di aree sacre.

Leggendo questo articolo, ho scoperto che queste enormi strutture hanno un valore simbolico molto profondo. Esse sono infatti porte che introducono ad una zona sacra, quasi sempre ad un santuario shintoista.

Ve ne sono di varie forme…

La sua struttura classica è solitamente costituita da sette elementi architettonici principali:

• lo Shimaki, la parte superiore della trave posta tra le due colonne
• il Kasagi, la parte inferiore della stessa
• il Gakusoku, l’iscrizione situata tra l’asse trasversale principale e il Nuki
• il Nuki, trave secondaria più semplice sotto Shimaki, Kasagi e Gakusoku
• gli Hashira, le colonne cilindriche che sostengono la costruzione
• i Taiwa, i capitelli delle colonne
• i Kifuku, le basi di quest’ultime

Le origini del Torii non sono pero  perfettamente chiare nemmeno agli stessi giapponesi i quali nutrono delle perplessità.

Alcuni riportano che il Torii fosse anticamente un trespolo su cui riposavano i galli sacri dalla lunga coda. In effetti, Torii significa gallo e dalle ricerche fatte in rete sembra che sia la radice del verbo essere/stare.

Qui di seguito il Torii di Tokyo, in onore dell-imperatore Mejii

I apologize in advance for the length and ridiculous amount of pictures in this post.  But really, can you blame me?

I woke up pretty early on Sunday so that I could shower and meet up with Lauren, Lynsey and Sarah around 9:30 to go to the train station.  We tried to go to Vidal again, but it was too early, so we couldn’t get bread.    But the train ride went well, and soon we were in Kyoto Station again.

I’m not sure why, but there was an adorable firefly mascot advertising something about Lake Biwa…

Our first mission was to get something to eat.  We explored an international food store, but Lauren and I ended up getting Subway, while Sarah and Lynsey went to Lotteria.  Subway wasn’t horribly different here, and it tasted good so I wasn’t complaining. 

Anyway, it took us a while to figure out how we were going to get around.  The plan was to go to Kinkaku-ji, Ryouan-ji, the Imperial Palace, Kiyomizu-dera and finally Fushimi Inari Taisha.  And apparently most of those places closed before 4:00 or something, so we didn’t have a lot of time.

At first we thought about taking the train, but then discovered that getting a bus pass for about $5 (it cost about $2.20 for every ride) and having unlimited bus rides for the day.  So we went and found the bus heading to Kinkaku-ji (thank goodness for Lynsey’s Japanese skills….) and got on board.  I was pretty excited though because almost immediately after we decided we’d ask someone which bus to get on, the first dialogue we ever had to memorize popped into my head.  It was about someone asking whether or not they were on the right bus.

Totally relevant, and majorly exciting for me.  Thank goodness for dialogues. 

But that was about the only good thing about the bus.  I managed to get a seat, but mostly it’s standing room.  And since it was right in front of the station and heading towards Kinkaku-ji, the bus was incredibly crowded.

That’s not a good thing if you’re mildly claustrophobic.

It was ok so long as I looked out the window or behind me and saw that there was indeed space on the bus instead of the wall of people standing in the aisle.  But every time we stopped it would get kind of hot and that was just not fun.    Apparently there was also some creeper staring at Lauren while we were on the bus, but I didn’t notice him because he was behind me and I was not looking towards the inside of the bus…

Either way, it was a rather slow bus ride, and people kept trying to get on the bus.  Oh man.  But after a while we finally got to our stop.  It turns out that’s where everyone was getting off, so at least we didn’t have to worry about missing our stop because we couldn’t get off the bus (yeah, it happens).

We walked up the street to get to the temple, and on the way we passed that hill with the character for big burnt into it.  We made our way to the entrance of the temple, got our tickets and went inside.

Here’s the thing about Kinkaku-ji.  The area is really beautiful, but aside from the temple itself, you really aren’t allowed to see anything else.  Although you’re welcome to buy souvenirs. 

However, I spent a good portion of Spring Quarter freshman year reading Mishima’s The Temple of the Golden Pavilion and he talks about it a lot (obviously, since the temple is the title of the book).  So I needed to see this building that the main character spends an entire book obsessing about before burning it down.  It is a beautiful building, but there’s not much to do at the location.

See?  Shiny….

Actually, the really cool thing was seeing the contrast between Western clothing and traditional Japanese clothing.

This is very typical of Kyoto, especially at temples or shrines during national holidays.  It’s one of the reasons Kyoto is such an interesting city.

Just for good measure, here’s a closer look at the temple:

So we passed through, ignoring the souvenirs, and started to make our way towards Ryouan-ji.  We got on another bus (this one was way less crowded) to head over there.  Upon arriving, I discovered another wonderful Japanese invention.

The green tea latte – from a vending machine. 

The first thing you see when you enter the enclosure is the lake.

It’s got all sorts of lily pads in it and it’s really nice.    As a matter of fact, the entire area is beautiful.  It’s just very peaceful and there’s lots of boulders and moss and trees and it’s just got a wonderful atmosphere.

In the middle of the lake is a small island with a little shrine on it.  I really liked that part. 

When we headed to the temple, it became apparent that there were a lot of people here because of the long weekend.  It’s supposed to be very quiet, but when we went inside the temple, there were lots of people and they were talking very loudly – even around the zen rock garden.

I’m sure if it had been less crowded, it would have been a lot nicer, but the amount of people sort of destroyed the intended atmosphere.  It was better once you headed around the outer walkway of the temple, but that was under construction so there was framework everywhere.

I think I’ll try going back another time because I think it could be really nice with fewer people there.

After putting our shoes back on, we headed out along the path that took us around the rest of the lake.  It was just a nice place to walk and be outside.

I was really excited to see this little torii gate in the water, but as will become evident later, this is not an uncommon sight. 

Our next stop was the Imperial Palace.  We’d decided to cut out the trip to Kiyomizu-dera because we had made plans to meet up with Kimi to go to Fushimi Inari Taisha, and that was the main place that I wanted to go.  Plus, it would have been really awful of us to just not go.

However, there didn’t seem to be any way in to the palace, even though foreigners are supposedly able to go inside.  There was actually one couple who apparently tried to go inside, but it set off an alarm…

At this point, I tried using Lynsey’s iPhone to call Kimi, but apparently his phone is blocked from international calls.  This was a bit problematic since I’d said I’d call to let him know when we would be going to the shrine.

Lynsey talked to the guard, and apparently there’s a guided tour that you have to book in order to go inside the palace.  She also asked about a pay phone that I could use to make the call instead.  The guard sent us over to this building that had a restaurant or something inside it, and we asked one of the staff there where a pay phone was.  I found the phone (it was bright green) and used some ¥10 coins to pay for the call.

I think I sounded kind of dumb over the phone because he answered in English, but I asked who it was in Japanese (badly) until I just decided English was easier…  I sort of explained the situation but my money ran out before I could finish.  It was odd though because I put in about ¥30 but the phone dumped a ¥50 coin into the coin return.

?

However, the phone wouldn’t let me pay with that coin.

?

So I ran back over to the others and exchanged money for ¥10 coins before running back over so that I could finish the call.  But we were able to set a time for everyone to meet up, so I went back to the others and we headed off to get some dinner.

We ended up eating at MOS Burger, and it was actually pretty good.  We didn’t have a whole lot of time so we left to get on the subway in order to get to Kyoto Station so that we could get on the Kyoto line to Toufuku-ji (I was really excited because I used my limited kanji skills to figure out which station it was on the ma, and then transfer to the Nara line to get to Fushimi Inari Station.

Oh my goodness.

It actually wasn’t that bad.  Although we were running a little late, so at Toufuku-ji station I called Kimi with the last of my money to tell him how we were getting there and that we’d be about ten minutes and that we were getting off at Fushimi Inari.

Then the phone cut out.

So we got on the train, hoping that we had the right one.  When the train stopped about 10 minutes later, the fact that the station was orange and black just like the torii gates at the shrine made me think that we had the right stop.

It also helped that Kimi was waiting for us after we got off the train.

Everybody was introduced and then we headed up the street in the direction that we hoped would lead us to the shrine – none of us actually knew how to get there…

Go uphill and follow the torii gates. 

I was soooooo excited, because I really wanted to see all the gates.  Eventually, we found ourselves at one of the entrances to the shrine.  There were lots of souvenir stands, and since those would close in about an hour, we picked out what we wanted (most of us got fox stuffed animals) and began the process of taking pictures like the ridiculous tourists that we were.

This was one of the first buildings that we saw.  I love the colors. 

These foxes (kitsune) are often found at shinto shrines, and are apparently messengers of Inari.

As we headed up the hill, we saw the first of many, many, many, many torii gates.  The characters at the top mean donation (I think) and most of the gates have been donated by companies whose names are on the back of the gates.

I really liked just walking up to the gates and then walking underneath them.  I was just really excited about the whole thing. 

It was also really nice because there were definitely fewer people here since it was kind of out of the way.  But it was still surprisingly difficult to get a picture with no one in it…

They just keep going and going and going…

Hmmm…  I spy with my little eye….something….vermilion.

It was kind of funny because we just kept stopping to take pictures constantly.  We also began to see many small shrines off to the side of the main path.  All of them were filled with mini torii gates that people had written on and left behind.  The hill also started to get steeper at this point.  As did the prices on drinks from the vending machines…

Once we got up to the next section, we decided to split up because only some of us wanted to walk the entire path.  By this point it was getting a little later in the day, so the sun had begun to go down.  It gave everything this beautiful yellow glow.

What?  I’ve never seen one of these before…  Cool!  Must take a picture.

After a bit of a (very uphill) walk, we finally reached a bit of a clearing.  This was where there were lots of options of paths to take, but they all came back to the same spot eventually.  The sun was really starting to go down, but I was excited to see what it would be like in the dark.

Did I also mention that we had a gorgeous view of Kyoto?

Soooo pretty….

After a bit of floundering around trying to come to a decision, we decided to take the trail that went uphill just to get it out of the way.

We came across a lot more of the smaller shrines, as well as some surprise residents.

Yay!!!  There were a surprising amount of cats just chilling out all over the place.  (And I’d like to note that the price of drinks had gone from ¥120 to about ¥220 and it was still climbing.  I think they eventually reached ¥300.)

Aren’t these ridiculously cool?

Around this point, our conversation was getting kind of strange.  We’d decided that around this point, if it were a horror movie, we’d still have no idea of the danger lurking.  But as time went on, we’d start to notice weird things, things that no one else did, and eventually we’d discover that there was actually an axe murderer just waiting for the oppurtune moment.

At which point we would throw Kimi at him and run away….

Of course, as we were discussing this suddenly I see movement behind me and this guy in black goes running past us.  He was just jogging, but it was kind of creepy.

But seriously, with all the lanterns, this place was way cool at night.  There were also very few people because we were so far up the trail, so it was very quiet and the weather was really nice as well.

Eventually we found ourselves back where the trail had split earlier, and we had another great view of Kyoto, this time all lit up at night.  Unfortunately, getting a picture was near impossible, so we just continued back the way we’d come earlier.

We were having trouble navigating the stairs, so eventually we gave up and just ran down them in the dark because we had to take too large of steps to go down them.  It was really fun, although sometimes I was afraid that I would trip or something.

When we came to the place where Sarah had split off, we took the route that she’d taken back to the base of the shrine.

The kitsune statues became infinitely more menacing at night too…

(Watch out for the axe murderer!!!!)

But as we kept going, it wasn’t clear where we were.  There were still small shrines (some even came equipped with a vending machine) but we were definitely walking through someone’s neighborhood…  We really didn’t know where we were, but there was another couple nearby, so we followed them.

We almost went the wrong way, but this old woman popped out of the darkness (gah! Axe murderer!!!) and pointed the way back.  It should have been obvious because there was a giant torii gate, but of course we didn’t notice that…

We found ourselves back at the start and once we’d located Sarah we headed back to the station.

Until Kimi told us that there was a better way to get back to Kyoto Station.  Instead of taking the crazy route we’d taken, we could just take the Keihan line from Inari Station to Kyoto Station.

Fail.

He showed us the way there and all of us took the train back to the station.  We left him there and went off in search of food and something to do.

Kyoto Tower’s pretty awesome at night, right?

After wandering around for a while, we took the subway over to the covered mall that they’d gone to the day before.  It was pretty cool.  They had a store they wanted to go to and then we went to find somewhere to sit and eat.

I saw some girl with bubble tea and I decided that that’s what I wanted.  We ended up at a chain restaurant called First Kitchen, and they actually really liked the food.  I wasn’t really hungry so I just got a green tea tapioca float.

Yay.

We were pretty much exhausted after that, so we got back on the subway to get to the station so we could go home.  We found a train heading in the right direction and were really excited at the prospect of sleeping.

On a side note, Japanese trains are awesome.  The seats have this function where you can push the back rest and change the direction the seats are facing.  Awesome, no?

Then the train made its last stop at Yasu.

The train was completely empty, except for this other guy who booked it after he saw everyone else was gone.  As we left the train, we saw the train that we should have gotten on in order to get back to Hikone heading off into the distance…

We only had to wait like 10 minutes for another train, but it was kind of sad.

Either way, we all made it home ok, although I was having some serious problems with my bike basket on the ride back to JCMU.  I had a bottle of C.C. Lemon that just kept falling out and at one point I ran into this cable supporting a tree and it just wasn’t good.

But I got everything straightened out and we all got back to JCMU for some much needed sleep.

It was definitely the best day out of Silver Week.  I think Fushimi Inari Taisha is my favorite place in Japan, and it was the best thing that I did that day.  We spent at least an hour there and the atmosphere was a lot better than at the other places we visited.  It was also nice to see a familiar face – that didn’t belong to a JCMU student.  Don’t get me wrong, the people here are really nice, but when you never see anybody else it can start to feel a little cramped.

It was a good day, and a lot of fun and I couldn’t wait to go back to Kyoto again.

Torii also known as gate in Japanese.
These were taken Summer 07 back home.

Hayama beach

Fushimi Inari Taisha in Kyoto
Vermilion

Cerca de Kyoto, y más teniendo a mano un Japan Rail Pass, hay muchos sitios para ver. Al final decidimos cambiar de planes y no fuimos a ver Nara (lo dejamos para hoy). No sé si habéis visto la película “Memorias de una Geisha”, pero hay una escena que especialmente a Imma se le quedó grabada, con la protagonista de niña correteando a lo largo de un pasillo interminable de Toriis de color rojo.

Pues esto es lo que fuimos a ver, en el santuario Fushimi Inari-taisha. Realmente espectacular.

En uno de los interminables pasillos de Torii

Torii por el lado en el que llevan escrito el nombre del patrocinador

Cada Torii de los que forman el pasillo, se supone que ha sido pagado o patrocinado por una persona/familia, y su nombre queda escrito en el mismo entre otras cosas. Nosotros nos llevamos uno en miniatura con nuestros nombres

Estos pasillos conectan múltiples altares y secciones del santuario, que está dedicado a la deidad Inari. La figura del Zorro omnipresente en estos altares, representa al mensajero de Inari.

Los mensajeros de Inari en un mini altar

Muchos mensajeros de Inari, de fiesta en otro altar

También tuvimos ocasión de cruzarnos con el guardián del santuario, alerta y atento ante cualquier situación de peligro.

Gato ejerciendo de gato sobre un lecho de Torii, es decir, durmiendo.

Como os hemos comentado, el sitio es enorme. Largos de pasillos de Torii de distinta altura se suceden en un terreno de pequeñas colinas, donde entre subidas y bajadas sueles encontrar más santuarios, altares y tiendas donde comprar fideos en caldo (udon) o algún souvenir (en realidad eso que nos llevamos como souvenirs los lugareños lo utilizan como ofrendas en los altares, velas, figuras de zorros, torii en miniatura, …)

Por la tarde fuimos a un pueblecito llamado Arashiyama, a pasear a lo largo de un bosque de bambú que prometía ser agradable…

Bosque de bambú en Arashiyama

Bosque de bambú en Arashiyama

Bosque de bambú en Arashiyama

Estaba bastante transitado por gente que paseaba a pie, o bien que contrataba a un muchacho local que les llevaba tirando de un carro (ni idea de cómo se llama esto).

Era complicado sacar fotos sin gente

El pueblecito en cuestión tenía pinta de ser bastante tradicional… por el camino nos encontramos a un par de Maikos/Geishas que posaban para un par de turistas.

Maikos/Geishas posando para turistas

Hoy amaneció con buen tiempo… a ver qué fotos traemos de Nara.

My day trip to the south part of Kyoto included three stops along the JR Nara line: Tofuku-ji, Fushimi Inari taisha, and Byodo-in.  I had been to both Tofuku-ji and Byodo-in before but there’s always something new to see.  Fushimi Inari taisha is a place I’d always been meaning to visit but never seemed to fit into my plans.

僕の京都の南地方の日帰り間に東福寺、伏見稲荷大社と平等院へ行きました。東福寺と平等院に行った事があるけど新しいことを見ました。

First stop is literally the first stop on the Nara line from Kyoto station; Tofuku-ji.  It had been about 7 or 8 years since I had last been and like most temples that I visit more than once, there’s always something new to discover.  This time, I discovered a couple of new (to me) gardens.  The first was in Reiun-in, a subtemple of Tofuku-ji.  The nice thing about a lot of subtemples is that they don’t draw the crowds like the main attractions so they can be a nice escape from the hordes who arrive, click and leave just to say they had actually been.  The second garden was the dragon garden within the subtemple of Ryogin-an.  The subtemple itself dates to the 14th century but the current gardens were created in 1964.  Still, that doesn’t detract from the beauty.

最初、東福寺に行きました。７、８年前ぐらい行った事がありますけど今度見えなかった庭を見付けりました。霊雲院と龍吟庵の庭が阻も白いししずかです。だいたい、所に戻る時、新しいことを見ます。面白いと思います。龍吟庵の西庭は龍の庭と言われます。三石は龍の頭みたいです。

Next stop was Fushimi Inari taisha (shrine) is found at the base of Inari mountain.  It’s a Shinto shrine rather than a Buddhist temple so part of its fame is due to the thousands of vermillion coloured torii (gates) that go up the mountain from the main shrine, in particular the double set of torii leading to the inner shrine.  In 2011, it will be celebrating its 1300th anniversary.  Hard to believe that this shrine (like other shrines and temples in Japan) was around for about a millenium before the notion of the country of Canada was even a glimmer.

次に、伏見稲荷大社に止まりました。昔から行きたかったですが行った事ないです。鳥居のトーナルは有名なので見たいです。平成２３（２０１１）に１３００年の記念です。その神社は１０００年ぐらいカナダより年を取っている。少し信じられないんです。

Last stop of the day was Byodo-in in the town of Uji.  If you’ve ever seen a Japanese 10 yen coin, you’ve seen Byodo-in as it’s the Phoenix hall that can be seen on the obverse side.  The site of Byodo-in actually began life as a rural villa of the Fujiwara clan in 998 but was changed to a Buddhist temple in 1052.  The Phoenix hall is the only original building remaining.  If it’s on a coin you know it’s an important structure and in 1994 it was added to the UNESCO list of world heritage sites.  The last time I was at Byodo-in the Phoenix hall was not only closed but mostly covered by scaffolding as the 12 year restoration of gardens and buildings which was completed in 2007 was still underway.

最後、平等院に止まりました。十円硬貨にあるですね。五年前ぐらい平等院に行きました。その時、維持をしました。それから、景色が悪かった。今度、維持が終わりました。鳳凰堂の内に入りました。残念ことが写真を撮るはだめです。平等院の鳳翔館は面白いです。たくさん国宝があります。

Uji is also one of the main tea producing regions in Japan.  Since it’s difficult (and expensive) to find a good variety of Japanese tea in Hong Kong, I made sure I stocked up.  Since the roasting is done in-house by the independent sellers, walking down the shopping streets around Byodo-in is great as the smell of roasting tea is fabulous.

宇治はもう一つ有名な物があります。お茶です。平等院のそばにお茶屋からいい匂いがあります。お茶焙煎の匂いがすきです。香港には日本茶の品種があんまりないですので宇治にたくさんお茶を買いました。

Agradecimentos especiais ao Ventura!!!

foto: Pedro Nasser

Les portes dels temples sintoistes s’anomenen torii. Separen el mon finit, el dels mortals, amb el de les divinitats, que en la religió sintoista, originària del Japó i amb gran quantitat de fidels, són animals o plantes amb característiques especials o dons supranaturals. A Fushima Inari no hi ha una torii, sinó que el sinuós camí cap al cim d’aquest turó està format, precisament, per milers d’elles.  El temple està dedicat a la prosperitat en els negocis -els sintoistes tenen una divinitat per a cada pregària, tal com en la religió cristiana es tenen els diversos sants- i així, al llarg dels temps i fins avui en dia, els comerciants de Kioto planten una d’aquestes torii personalitzada amb el seu nom i la seva particular pregària (són els símbols kanji que es veuen pintats sobre la mateixa torii) esperant que el futur els sigui propici.
L’experiència de pujar ininterrumpudament durant un parell d’hores, rodejats d’aquestes portes trans-dimensionals, separades entre si per poc menys de mig metre, protegint-nos d’un bosc frondós i replet de vida va ser realment enlluernadora.

One day, Tatsu asked me what it means finding the red painting on the wall.

Good question! Maybe, even Japanese teenagers might not know. It’s a very ancient and very Japanese tactic to avoid something. Can you guess?
Obviously, the symbol means the gate of shrine. I took some pictures of the shrine gate/torii 鳥居 at nearby shrine.

They supposed to be holy, so drawing its images on the wall inhibits them from urinating!!
Unbelievable in this modern civilized Japan, but there are obligatory jackass in the back streets!!
You can also see these paintings or a miniature shrine gate standing at the vacant lot to prevent garbage dumping. I like the way of appealing to their conscience without spelling it out. However, sad to say, it hasn’t worked well in these days…

O-bon is a Buddhist festival celebrated to remember your ancestors. In Osaka the O-bon meant holidays and many of the restaurants were closed and we had trouble finding anywhere to eat In Kyoto however, not so many places took holidays but there are some interesting celebrations. Giant fires in the shape of kanji are lit on the mountains around Kyoto to show the spirits where to go (it is believed they visit this world during O-bon).

Today we caught the local Randen train to Arashiyama, the hilly region to the north west of Kyoto. We visited Tenyru-ji and walked through the very peaceful gardens they had. Then we went out the north exit and strolled through the bamboo grove. There were lots of elderly walkers (maybe part of a hiking club?) in a big group all walking up and down the mountain. The bamboo grove itself was quite large but maybe not so similar to the Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon movie. There are in fact bamboo groves in the Ginkaku-ji gardens and they looked just as good.

After the bamboo grove we walked down the hill, over the river with the fishing boats (used for cormorant fishing) and the up a hill to the Monkey Park. It was a bit of a walk to the top of the hill were the monkeys were and you can only feed the monkeys through bars. Since it was summer, there were lots of little baby monkeys born recently in spring and they were cute.

Taking the train back to Atsu’s house we had some of his delicious forest rice for lunch, relaxed for a bit then caught the JR train to Kyoto eki and then south to Inari eki. All three of us visited Fushimi Inari shrine, famous for its red torii. The red torii stretch on and on for 4 km or so, we reckoned, so we only walked a short stretch. Many of them had inscriptions – they had been donated by companies in the hope that they would have success and prosperity.

It was getting time for dinner so we heading back on the train, stopping in at the supermarket on the way. We made vegan okonmiyaki for dinner, with entree of salsa and avocado dip with corn chips, and chocolate self-saucing pudding for dessert.

At 8pm we stood out on the balcony and were able to see 2 giant fires lit on the mountain sides around Atsu’s apartment. From one side we saw a giant torii (shrine gate) and from the other side we saw the daimon-ji (kanji for big, dai). The fires only lasted for about 15 minutes then died out. It was great to be able to see them from the apartment.

A torii or gate is a symbol of Shinto shrines all over Japan. The torii pictured above was taken at the Itsukushima Shrine in the island of Itsukushima, popularly known as Miyajima, off the coast of Hiroshima.

This torii is one of Japan’s most popular tourist attractions, and is one of Japan’s three scenic views (wikipedia).

- Sunday

Otsu, Shiga Prefecture, Japan

June 25, 2009

A long long time ago…in a land far far away…there was a lady with powdery-white face, blackened teeth, and brows at the middle of her forehead. She retreated to a mountain temple and came up with an epic tale “on the night of the full moon.”

Lady Murasaki

That was a thousand years ago – August 1004 to be exact.

The land is now Shiga Prefecture, just an hour away from Kyoto but fairly remote in people’s consciousness.

The lady was Murasaki Shikibu, a courtier who may have looked as the aforementioned description, which was the standard of beauty during the Heian era.

The story is called The Tale of Genji, generally regarded as the world’s first modern novel (not to mention, soap opera!).

And the temple is the astonishingly lovely Ishiyama-dera.

It’s not hard to imagine Lady Murasaki seized by overwhelming inspiration to weave a story that will last through the ages in this place. The temple and its grounds are surrounded by foliage-canopied vistas of tranquility. To commemorate this defining moment in world literary history, a room in the temple – the Genji Room - is fitted with a life-size figure of the author, pen in hand poised to write some parts of her historic novel.

This ancient temple is set on a rocky mountain slope; hence, the name literally means “stony mountain temple.” All kinds of stone are accounted for here. There are rock gardens with pebbles raked to parallel perfection. Stone-strewn footpaths make hiking audibly crunchy with every step. Magnificent and craggy metamorphic rocks (called wollastonite) jut out, as if regurgitated from the bowels of the earth.

Magnificently Metamorphic

Bleeding Leaves

The dark grey slabs are mostly shrouded by the summery greens of cherry, maple, and cedar trees. The place must look aflame with the bright colors of momiji (maple) in autumn and sakura (cherry blossom) in spring. An obvious advantage of a summer visit, though, is the lack of crowds. I only had to share the meditative temple grounds with a handful of Japanese pilgrims.

Canopy of Cherry Trees

Raked Rocks

A koi pond greets both pilgrim and tourist just past the gate. The koi is a symbol of love. I found a woman standing by the pond, transfixed by the sinuous cylindrical love fish.

Looking for Love

Koi, Not Coy

Surprisingly, by the stony steps stands a shocking vermilion torii (Shinto gate), which I expected to see at Shinto shrines rather than Buddhist temples. But religious pluralism is the norm in Japan. Shintoism and Buddhism are not mutually exclusive. The Japanese can be both, depending on the occasion or time of year! The torii separates the mundane from the sacred; thus, passing through it marks a transcendence to a spiritual dimension.

I love the torii. It is distinctly Japanese – visually arresting in its minimalist and monochromatic design of vertical posts and double lintels painted in bright vermilion.

Torii (Japanese Shinto Gate)

A good hike up the steep steps leads to the tahoto (treasure tower or pagoda) that peeks out from the lush vegetation and huge rocks that partly conceal it. The temple has inspired artists of all persuasions – from Lady Murasaki a millennium ago to an anonymous lady presently sketching the spiry structure by the clearing.

Temple Tahoto

The Sketcher

Hondo Hall

The hondo (main hall of the temple) is the most sacred place in the temple complex; it is where the Buddha is enshrined at the far end, behind a latticed curtain. A huge Japanese lantern hangs by the entrance with its sliding doors pushed back to welcome pilgrims in. Alas, photography is not allowed within the hall. This hondo is the oldest building in Shiga at almost a thousand years old, but still sturdy. Beside the main hall is the relatively tiny Genji Room which is, unfortunately, off-limits to visitors. You can only peek through a huge window to see the Murasaki-in-action tableau.

I noticed the pilgrims to be mostly all-female groups. The Concealed Buddha, it turns out, is a bodhisattva sympathetic to women’s issues, such as marriage, childbirth, and divorce! Women through the ages have looked for love or escaped from it in this sanctuary of love. Lady Murasaki herself might have gone here for the same reasons, as her tale, although mainly a fictionalized account of courtly life, is essentially a convoluted love story. Her hero, Genji, is an incredibly handsome lothario who has a way with women.

Verdant Veranda

The architecture employs the butai zukuri (hanging style) design, which is marked by verandas overlooking the forested precipice. Doors to the veranda are flung wide open, illuminating the dimly-lit hondo with natural light and pervading it with the fragrance of cedar. Communing with nature is a delight to the senses. There is more than a dash of romance in this meditative milieu.

Shanti Shanti in Shinto

Further up the crunchy footpath are scenes of sheer natural beauty. Topiary trees and trellises, stony paths and terraces are a testament to Japanese aesthetic sensibilities based on nature.

Under the Trellis

Scene of Tranquility

Colors of Summer

Stone Terraces

Temple Flora

Towering tsukimi-tei (moon-viewing pavilions) are spread over the mountainside. These are elevated wooden structures with an open viewing deck where the aristocratic Japanese celebrated the autumn moon with poetry and food. It must have been a magical sight as the moon cast its reflection on the still waters of nearby Lake Biwa and Seta River.

And it is always said that Lady Murasaki was compelled by an unseen force to write her tale “on the night of the full moon.” The moon certainly worked its magic that night.

Between the Moon and Otsu City

This visit to Ishiyama-dera spurred my interest in The Tale of Genji, but I heard it is a difficult read. The title character seems to have much in common with his place of conception. Both are irresistibly beautiful and hopelessly romantic.

Genji Wannabe: The Love Hero

Red is the color of the forbidden fruit that kissed the lips of Eve. 

It is the color of the rage that consumes us. It is the velvet ropes of the VIP.

It is the depth of passion, the tempting sight of sin, the color of the doors to a Forbidden City, and the color of the carpets that adorn the path of fame.

It is the Red letter A adorning the bosom of the adulterer, it is the color of blood and courage, it is the battle cry of Ares and of a never-ending war, and it is the ugly side of fury.

It serves as a warning and a herald of danger; it is the angry flames of fire, the raging tides of feverish lust, it is the Devil’s tempting grasp and the color of the district full of guilty sin. 

It is the firebrand and the phoenix, the power of rebirth, it is the color of the ink used to sever life, it is the enticement of a Geishas lips, the fertile springs of life, the erotic shame of dying glory.

It is the rising sun; it is in the dying light, it is the very heat that scorches the Human soul so deep and yet in the end is leaves an hollow scar. 

Recent studies have shown that a woman wearing the color red appears to be more attractive, physically and sexually.  During the study a group of young men looked at photos of the same woman standing behind a green, grey, white and red background.  Most men chose the woman standing behind the red wall. In another survey the same woman posed in the same shirt in blue and red. The outcome was the same, the men said that they would be willing to lavish more attention on the woman dressed in red as opposed to blue.

It is used in signs to make us aware of potentially dangerous things. A red light means stop and the red circle and slash mean NO. It is used to capture attention and promote awareness.

In each culture however red has a different meaning but the root is mostly the same; blood. Like the famous lyrics imply, “you bleed just to know your alive.” Red is the symbol of our life blood, it is what Vampires drain and it is the heat and the pounding of a beating heart.

In Greek Mythology there is a tale explaining the presence of the red poppy flower all over Greece.  It is said that red poppies grow where the drops of blood from Apollo fell to the Earth. The pomegranate Persephone ate is always described as having seeds the “color of rich, red blood.”

The famous poem “In Flanders Fields” was written during WWI by Canadian John McCrae who wrote the poem during a during a pause in the battle using the nub of a pencil. The poem found its way into the pages of a magazine and by 1918 was known throughout the allied world magazine. The reply written by Moina Michael has led to a deep tradition of wearing red poppies to honor the sacrifices and bravery of soldiers.

“We cherish too, the Poppy red 
That grows on fields where valor led, 
It seems to signal to the skies 
That blood of heroes never dies”

In Fashion the color red plays a very important role, especially in Asian cultures.

For example “China Red” is the eternal and immortal color representing the country. From the gates of the Forbidden City to the Red Guard and beyond every inch of China is decorated in red. 

The main color of a Chinese wedding is red. Red is considered to be the most lucky and auspicious color bringing great joy and prosperity.  The picture above is an example of traditional wedding gowns in China while below shows a modern bridal gown. 

The Hongbao traded at New Years is red to ward off evil spirits and many of the surviving lotus shoes are red. 

In Japan red has a special symbolic meaning. It is meant to ward off evil spirits and cast out demons. It is no wonder that the Torii gates near sacred sites are painted this color. It is also the color of the Hakama worn by the shrine maidens and the main color in the traditional wedding uchikake kimono.

Of course the more modern bride in Japan still takes into account the red used in the Uchikake. 

For Geisha the color red is seen as a sign of great beauty.  It is the color of a Geisha’s flower petal lips on a pale white palate.

As a maiko the collar  has more white than red.

A junior maiko’s collar will predominately red. And a Geisha will wear  white collar. 

It is the color of the rising sun on a white background.  It seems that Red and White are the foundation colors of Japan., white represents purity and red is the color  of many emotions. The power of the Japanese Army, the sensuality of expression, the sexuality and fertility of a woman, the protector against evil and the beauty of nature. 

Keep an eye out for Red Part 2 which feature the color used in the fashion world, partciulary Valentino, Galliano and every Obsessive Shoe Collectors dream, Christian Louboutin.

Until next time, think Red.

Lyzexoxo

Apparently an All-Star Game selection was Superman’s kryptonite this season.

The Halos’ Superman of the first half, Torii Hunter, withdrew himself from competing in the upcoming MLB All-Star Game today due to an injury he’s been playing with for almost 2 months. Nelson Cruz, a power-hitting outfielder for the Texas Rangers will replace Hunter in the Mid-Summer Classic.

As you may remember back in the first series with the Dodgers at Chavez Ravine in May, Torii slammed into the center field wall straight on while trying to make a grab on a long fly ball. Well, like Torii usually does, he made the catch… but he had to come out of the game for what would later be a nagging strained adductor muscle in his right side. He would re-aggravate it in a series with the San Francisco Giants in mid-June on an eerily similar play.

This injury not only forces Hunter out of what would have been his 3rd All-Star game, but also forces him to go on the Disabled List, where he’s eligible to come off and play on July 22nd.

If there’s any time to go on the DL, it’s now. With only 1 series left to play before the All-Star break, he’s only scheduled to miss 9 games, instead of being somewhere around 13 or 14 games if it had been any other time during the year.

Hunter also earlier declined an invitation to participate in this year’s Home Run Derby.

The Angels’ offensive leader is tops on the team in home runs with 17, and his 65 RBI ranks 3rd best in the American League.

As they say, misery loves company. It’s hard to call Torii misery, but his company will be Vladimir Guerrero.

The Big Daddy will join Mr. Hunter on the DL as well after planting his left leg awkwardly in right field during a game with the Rangers Tuesday night.

The current diagnosis consists of a strained muscle behind his left knee, as well as a hamstring strain.

Just as it seemed the Vladdy was getting his extra-base power back, he hits another setback in a year where he’s already missed 38 games while on the Disabled List. Vlad is scheduled to come off the DL at the same time as Hunter.

Coming up to replace the two men who combine for 11 All-Star appearances will be catcher Bobby Wilson, and “Mr. Get called up, play a few games, get sent back down” himself, 3rd baseman Brandon Wood.

This may now allow Jeff Mathis to be the regular catcher, while moving Mike Napoli back to the Designated Hitter role where he hit the ball exceptionally well earlier in the season with Vlad on the DL.

Wilson is hitting .261 with 6 home runs and 27 RBI for AAA Salt Lake.

As for Wood, he’s batting .313 with 17 homers and 52 RBI and has the 3rd best slugging percentage mark in the Pacific Coast League with a .592 mark for the Salt Lake Bees.

The Halos have a tough 3-game set with the Yankees before the All-Star break, and without their #3 and 4 hitters in the lineup, they’ll have their work cut out for them against quality starters in Joba Chamerlain, Andy Pettitte and C.C. Sabathia.