Kyoto the Jewel in Japan

Zuiki Matsuri

kojikisan — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 18:57:09 +0000

1 st October this festival is held in appreciation for the year’s grain harvest. The festival began as an offering of new rice husks, vegetables and fruit to the deity. The name comes from the portable shrine, which is adorned with a taro stalk roof. For the deity celebration on the 1st is a parade of portable shrines from the main shrine to the place of travel. For the return celebration on the 4th day, the parade returns from the place of travel to the main shrine.

Shisen-do

kojikisan — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 10:45:11 +0000

Shisen-do is a delightful little temple in the northern part of the Higashi-yama mountains.

The temple name is Rokuroku-zan, Shisen-do Jozan-ji, of the Soto sect of Buddhism. It was originally a residence built-in 1641 by Jozan Ishikawa, an attendant to Tokugawa Ieyasu. Jozan was a man of culture and a tea master. He also knew how to use a sword.

This is one of the great gardens which use shaped azaleas rather than rocks. It is also a stroll, from the house down thru the garden on stairs and paths.

Hagoita

kojikisan — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 19:52:46 +0000

A hagoita is a rectangular board with a handle used for playing a New Year game called hanetsuki. It is perhaps best described as a kind of game hitting badminton shuttlecocks with large ping-pong rackets. The hagoita sold at Hagoita-ichi, however, are not for practical use; they are, in fact, good-luck charms for ornamental purposes, for they are decorated with gorgeous pictures and accessories. The front of the hagoita is designed with images of elegantly made-up Kabuki actors, or popular celebrities, TV personalities, athletes, and anime characters of the year.

Kanji hatsu means first or start in Japanese

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2012

Kurama

kojikisan — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 13:07:18 +0000

The rural town of Kurama is located at a distance of about an hour from the Kyoto city center in the northern mountains. Kurama, as a tourist destination, is popular because of its temple Kurama-dera and its hot spring and its hot spring. In fact, the hot spring at Kurama is the most easily accessible hot springs from Kyoto.

Kurama also offer outdoor and indoor baths at Kurama Onsen, which is a ryoken located at the upper end of the town.

Jidai Matsuri

kojikisan — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 11:54:05 +0000

This is the annual festival of Heian – jinja Shrine. This event was started in 1895 in celebration of the 1,100th year since the capital had been transferred to Heian-kyo, commemorating October 22, 794, the date that Emperor Kammu entered Heian-kyo.

Featured at this festival is the parade of approximately 2,000 people dressed in traditional costumes ranging from the Heian Period to the Meiji Period. Leaving Kyoto Gyoen Park at noon, the parade travels down Karasuma-dori to Sanjo-dori, then down Jingo-do, and toward Heian – jinja Shrine.

Byodo-in

kojikisan — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 10:47:20 +0000

Byōdō-in Temple is one of the few surviving examples of Heian era (794-1185) architecture left in Japan. Byodo.in was originally a private residence, like most Japanese temples. It was converted into a temple by a member of the Fujiwara clan in 1052. The Phoenix Hall was added in 1053 to house the Amida Buddha image.

The temple complex was once much larger; most of the additional buildings burned down during the civil war in 1336. Originally, the pond’s beach stretched up to the Uji River, with mountains on the opposite side of the river as a background. The entire scenic area encompassing the temple was a representation of the Western Paradise or Pure Land on earth.

Today, the Phoenix Hall is virtually all that remains and Byodoin is one of the few examples of Heian temple architecture left in Japan. Japan has commemorated the longevity and cultural significance of Byodoin by displaying its image on the 10 yen coin. The Phoenix Hall, the great statue of Amida inside it, and several other items at Byodoin are Japanese National Treasures.

And it’s not just Japan that cherishes this temple. A full-size replica of Byodoin was built in 1968 at the Valley of the Temples on O’ahu, Hawaii. In December 1994, UNESCO listed the building as a World Heritage Site.

Nishijin Brocade

kojikisan — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 10:36:56 +0000

Nishijin Ori is the most famous brocade in Japan. The roots of Kyoto’s Nishijin brocade go back 1,200 years, to a time when Japan’s Imperial Court employed weavers to produce high-quality, luxury fabrics for the court’s nobles. By the middle of the Heian Period 794-1192, such state-owned textile operations were on the decline, and weavers increasingly chose to set up their own independent workshops. At the same time, new weaving techniques were arriving from Sung Dynasty China, which the Nishijin weavers were.

Daisen-in

kojikisan — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 05:09:07 +0000

Daisen-in, a subtemple of Daitoku-ji was founded in 1509 by Zen priest Kogaku Soko1464-1548. The gardens date from about that time and may have been designed by Kogaku or perhaps by the painter Soami, who did the landscape paintings in the main hall. The garden is a miniature landscape with mountains, waterfalls and river and wraps entirely around the main hall, hojo.

Daitoku-ji is a complex of 24 sub-temples, and a main center of Rinzai Zen Buddhism. If you have only one day in Kyoto, Daitoku-ji would provide a good overview of zen temples and gardens.

Fukujuen

kojikisan — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 18:01:40 +0000

Fukujuen is one of the most famous tea companies in Kyoto and has over 210 years of history. Fukujuen has recently opened a new and interesting ‘workshop where you can experience how to make tea. Not brew a cup of tea, but experience the process of preparing fresh tea leaves for brewing tea, first hand, by hand.

Kyoto has been holding the reputation as the birthplace of high quality of tea. The plant is flourishing especially in Uji, which is located on the south in Kyoto, for the reasons below.“Rich nature and environment suited to the cultivation.” There are two rivers running – the Kizu river and the Uji river – through, and morning mist comes up from both rivers gives enough moisture to tea trees. And the property in Uji surrounded by many mountains is suitable for the growing of tea.” Tradition rooted on this area” Until the Kamakura Era, Kyoto was the center of everything; culture, academy, art, architecture, economy, and politics. And the way of tea had been formed and sharpened, and refined by many great pioneers like Eisai or Senno-Rikyu, Tea Master, and its style and thought still remain as the part of Japanese tradition.

Uje Bridge

kojikisan — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 19:50:09 +0000

The Uji Bridge is one of the main three ancient bridges in Japan. The Uji Bridge is said to have been constructed in 646 at the first time.

This Bridge is a symbol of Uji. It appears in ancient literature. It is Kokinwaka-shu and The Tale of Genji.

Frequently this bridge has been damaged by floods and wars. The present bridge was constructed in March, 1993.