Tokyo Travel Guide: Yushima SeidoYushima Seidō (湯島聖堂) is the only Confucian temple (聖堂 seidō, "sacred hall' or "cathedral") in Japan. It is located in Bunkyō Ward, Tōkyō, just across Kanda Myōjin. In Japan, Confucian temples are also known as taiseiden (大成殿).
The origins of Yushima Seidō can be traced to the Kōbun-in (弘文 院), a private educational institution founded under the aegis of Tokugawa Iemitsu by the Neo-Confucian scholar Hayashi Razan (林羅山, 1583-1657), advisor to the first four...
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Kameido Tenjin Shrine, founded in 1661, is situated in Tokyo's Koto Ward in the quiet downtown district known as the Shitamachi (traditional area). The shrine is an important part of local life, and if you're lucky enough, you could witness a Japanese wedding ceremony or the blessings of pregnant women and newborns performing there.
Kameido Shrine was created to celebrate Sugawara no Michizane, a renowned politician and scholar and prosperous life serving a number of Japanese emperors...
My car and my bike are already on their long way back home, so I can only reach my last destinations in Japan by public transportation. Yesterday, I visited a beautiful place in eastern Osaka Prefecture, Hoshi no Buranko (星のブランコ) suspension bridge in Hoshida Prefectural Park.
It is one of the most beautiful spots around Osaka to watch autumn leaves. "Hoshi no buranko" means as much as "star swinging bridge".
Hoshida Prefectural Park is located in Katano City, Osaka Prefecture and is...
A man follows another man’s trail of lies in a compelling psychological story about the search for identity, by Japan’s award-winning literary sensation Keiichiro Hirano in his first novel to be translated into English.
Akira Kido is a divorce attorney whose own marriage is in danger of being destroyed by an emotional disconnect. With a midlife crisis looming, Kido’s life is upended by the reemergence of a former client, Rié Takemoto. She wants Kido to investigate a dead man—her recently...
Sake (also spelt saké) is an alcoholic beverage made by fermenting polished rice. Despite the name, Japanese rice wine, sake, and indeed any East Asian rice wine (such as huangjiu and cheongju), is produced by a brewing process more akin to that of beer, where starch is converted into sugars which ferment into alcohol. In contrast, in wine, alcohol is produced by fermenting sugar that is naturally present in fruit, typically grapes.
The brewing process for sake differs from the process...
Gokuraku-ji (極楽寺, "Temple of Paradise"), officially known as Ryōjusen Kan'nō-in Gokurakuji (霊鷲山感応院極楽律寺), is a Buddhist temple of the Shingon Risshū sect (真言律宗) located in Gokurakuji, adjacent to the station by the same name along Enoden Line. It is the only temple of the Shingon school in Kamakura. Its first priest was Ryōkanbō Ninshō (良観房忍性, 1217-1303), a disciple of Eison, and its principal image of worship is a statue of Shaka Nyorai (釈迦如来). Gokuroku-ji is part of the Bandō Sanjūsankasho...
Natsume Sōseki (夏目漱石, 9 February 1867 - 9 December 1916), born Natsume Kinnosuke (夏目 金之助), was a novelist and a scholar of English literature whose works focused on the transformation of Japan from a backward country to a modern nation by scrutinising its civilisation and society and describing the plight of Japanese intellectuals caught between the contradictions of tradition and modernism. His most famous novels I Am A Cat, Botchan, and Kokoro have attained international fame. He is seen...
Takeda Shingen (1521-1573), also known as the "Tiger of Kai" (甲斐の虎), was one of the foremost daimyō of the Sengoku Period (1467-1568) and the Azuchi-Momoyama period (1568-1600). After deposing his father, he conquered his neighbours' territories and established control over the provinces of Kai and Shinano, then proceeded to attack and defeat his rival Uesugi Kenshin of Echigo. Forging and breaking several short-lived alliances with other daimyō, he was the only military leader who could...
The coast of Jōgasaki (城ヶ崎海岸 Jōgasaki Kaigan) is located on the eastern shore of Izu Peninsula in Shizuoka prefecture, just south of the city of Itō. The rugged and picturesque coast was formed some 4,000 years ago when Ōmuroyama volcano erupted, and its lava flowed into Sagami Bay, creating new land when it reached the ocean and cooled. The outermost edge of the solidified lava shaped the rocky coastline characterised by unique geological, botanical and zoological features that can still be...
The Kawazu Seven Falls (河津七瀑 Kawazu nanadaru) are a series of waterfalls along Hontani River, a tributary of Kawazu River in the south of Izu Peninsula. The river carved its bed into spectacular basalt rock formations formed after volcanic eruptions some 25,000 years ago. Odaru Fall (大瀑), the highest of the seven, drops some thirty meters deep.
Odaru Fall (大瀑)
What does 'daru' mean?
In Japanese, waterfalls are usually denoted by the Chinese characters 滝 or 瀧, both read as taki (たき) in...
Biwako Biennale is an art festival established in 2001. Presented in 18 different venues, the artwork is exhibited in abandoned traditional Japanese houses renovated by residents of Hikone and Omihachiman.
Link:
https://energyfield.org/biwakobiennale/en/
Hokkaido Trip 2020 - Days 8: Hill of the Buddha, Hakusen no taki
On the day of my departure, I had the rental car for a few more hours. I decided to visit Rarumanai Natural Park in Eniwa (恵庭市), south of Sapporo. Eniwa Gorge is an 18-kilometer long valley with three scenic waterfalls along Chitose River towards Lake Shikotsu. Definitely worth a visit, especially for the autumn leaves.
As I'm an avid fan of Ando Tadao (in case I haven't mentioned yet) I revisited the Hill of the...
Hokkaido Trip 2020 - Days 6, 7: Niseko and Noboribetsu
On days 6 and 7 I explored the area southwest of Sapporo. The weather was significantly cooler and wetter.
I stopped over in Niseko (ニセコ), a famous ski resort around Yōtei-zan (羊蹄山), a volcano in the Shikotsu-Tōya National Park. Of course, the skiing season hasn't started yet and there were no foreign tourists that usually make up most of the visitors. Niseko has been developed by foreign companies from Australia, Hongkong, etc. and...
Hokkaido Trip 2020 - Day 5: Nemuro Peninsula
Day 5 was a journey from one peninsula (Shiretoko) to the next (Nemuro), then to the volcanic lakes in the center of Hokkaido, and unfortunately, a detour back to Asahigawa where I had forgotten my cellphone recharger.
Nemuro Peninsula (根室半島) is on the eastern side of Hokkaido and stretches about 30 kilometers into the Pacific. My destination was Cape Nosappu (納沙布岬), the easternmost point of Hokkaido where the Sea of Okhotsk and the Pacific...
Hokkaido Trip 2020 - Day 3: the North
500 kilometers around the northern cape.
Hard to believe that this is Japan. Almost no cars, no people. A shot of the coastline along the northwestern shore, Teshio District:
Cape Sōya (宗谷岬) in Wakkanai is the northernmost point of Hokkaido. Many monuments along the cape:
This is the memorial of the USS Wahoo, a US submarine sunk in 1943.
43 kilometers to Sakhalin.
The northernmost point of Japan.
This is the Akebono Memorial commemorating...
Hokkaido Trip 2020 - Day 2: around Furano
On the second day, I was exploring the area around Furano (富良野).
Being a fan of Tadao Ando, I visited the Chapel on the Water, a wedding chapel located on the grounds of the Hoshino Resorts Tomamu.
The next destination was the famous Blue Pond (青い池 Aoiike), one of the hottest Instagram spots in Japan. It is an artificial pond that was created close to the town of Shirogane Onsen after the eruption of Mount Tokachi in 1988. It is part of a...
Hokkaido Trip 2020 - Day 1/02
Moerenuma Park (in Japanese: モエレ沼公園 Moerenuma Kōen) is a municipal park in Sapporo conceived as 'one complete sculpture' built on garbage reclaimed land. It was designed by the Japanese American artist Isamu Noguchi and opened in 2005.
Hidamari Glass Pyramid:
Access: from Sapporo Station take Tōhō Line (東豊線) to Kanjō-Dōri-Higashi Station (環状通東駅) and transfer to Chuo Bus No. 68 and get off at Toyohata (17 stops). It's a 1.4-kilometer walk...
Hokkaido Trip 2020 - Day 1/01
The Hill of Buddha (in Japanese: 頭大仏 Atama Daibutsu) is a Buddhist monument created by the renowned Japanese architect Andō Tadao (安藤 忠雄, ~ 13 Sep 1941) located at Makomanai Takino Cemetery (真駒内滝野霊園) in Sapporo, Hokkaido. The Buddha statue is 13.5 meters tall and encircled by an artificial concrete hill with over 100,000 lavender plants. The head of the Buddha protrudes from the "crater mound" on top of the hill.
Check out the video:
Some photos taken...
Matsuyama Castle (松山城 Matsuyama-jō) is a hirayamajiro (平山城, flatland mountain castle) located in Matsuyama City, Ehime Prefecture. It was constructed between 1603 and 1614 by Katō Yoshiaki (加藤嘉明, 1563-1631) and was built on the 132-metre-tall Mount Katsuyama. It is also known as Katsuyama Castle (勝山城 Katsuyama-jō) or Iyo Matsuyama Castle (伊予松山城) to distinguish it from other castles by the same name. It is considered one of the twelve "original castles" of Japan that have preserved much of...
Chigasaki Castle was a Sengoku-era fortress located in the present-day Chigasaki Castle Ruins Park (茅ヶ崎城址公園 Chigasaki jōshikōen) in Tsuzuki-ku, Yokohama. Apart from the stone foundations of several buildings, very few remnants survived the centuries. Still, the outline of the former castle along with its kuruwa (郭, enclosures or baileys), dry moats (空堀 karabori), and dorui (土塁, earthen embankments) is well-preserved. The castle was designated a "Historic Site of the City of Yokohama" in...
Iwakura Tomomi (岩倉具視, 1825-1883) was a courtier and statesman who played a vital role in the Meiji Restoration. The only court noble in the early Meiji government, he was described as shrewd and cunning but instrumental in mediating between Satsuma and Chōshū. He had a strong influence on Emperor Meiji.
Iwakura Tomomi (childhood name Kanemaru) was born in Kyōto as the second son of Horikawa Yasukicha (堀川康親), a low-ranking courtier and was later adopted by Iwakura Tomoyasu (岩倉具康). While...
The lwakura Mission (岩倉使節団 Iwakura Shisetsudan, 1871-1873) was an eighteen-month embassy to the United States and Europe by leading members of the early Meiji government and one of the most remarkable journeys in world history. It was commissioned by Emperor Meiji and was said to have cost one million U.S. dollars (more than 20 million dollars in modern currency). The mission was led by the influential senior minister Iwakura Tomomi, as chief ambassador, and his close political allies and...
Yesterday, we decided to veer off our usual bicycle heatmaps in Kanagawa and head up to Lake Tama (多摩湖 Tamako) located at the prefectural border to Saitama. Tamako and Sayamako are two artificial lakes that serve as freshwater reservoirs for Tokyo and environs. They are also popular resorts, not only for cyclists but also for joggers and hikers who can explore the dams and bridges and circle Tamako on a dedicated cycle/jogging path. Being reservoirs, the lakes and its surrounding forests are...
Back in the south, on my last day before flying back to Nagoya, we had a little “gokurou-san!” dinner party after training, both for me . Ritsuko-san made some delicious yakisoba and I brought a Bueno chicken with me. My friend had told me that this was a famous chicken and a common thing to bring to parties and picnics. When I first described it he hadn’t heard of Bueno Chicken, but when I cracked my backpack open and the smell of garlic filled our nostrils, he “Oh! This is just like Rico...
Week 4
Didn’t take as many extensive notes this week; most of them are written at night and I’ve been too exhausted to write much. Since the kids had finished their performance they only came for Tuesday and Friday’s sessions, but they’ve earned the rest. I’m grateful for the festival, as it gave me a chance to train with them nearly every day for three weeks. Who knows if Sensei would have made himself so open and available to me if the kids didn’t have this performance to work toward...
Saturday 9/28/2019:
Performance day! The kids did great, smoothly running through their enbu so quickly I was glad I was at the ready with several cameras to capture it. There was a full roster of performances, mostly dance, and throughout the evening various dances with the Shiisa (Shiishii-mai), where a karateka with a bo danced around and "fought" with the Shiisa). The design of the Matsumura Seito Hozon Kai patch is based on the Haebaru/Miyahira Shisa, a brown lion with the kanji for...
Friday 9/27/2019:
Met up with Sensei early today, and went to the Karate Kaikan with him and his wife Ritsuko. We met up with Miguel Da Luz, who I had recognized as an interpreter in some of the videos I’d seen in my research. The kaikan was just finished 3 years ago so there's still plenty to do, and Miguel is there 4 days a week and works for the Karate promotion arm of the Okinawan government. They had already made setsumei (explanatory) books for Goju-ryu and Uechi-ryu, and translated...
Thursday 9/26/2019:
Went to yoga at Asato Dojo and hung out a bit with James (the owner) afterwards. Very interesting conversation, he noted that there was almost no knife work in Okinawan karate, except for a style that does some sword and tanto work, and Nakamoto sensei (I think this is a kobudo sensei, I saw a book with his name in the Shureido store), but "it's pretty clear that he's just making that stuff up,” cause it's not very good. Hokama sensei does some knife stuff but that's...
Week 3
Sensei told me about a monk that came to Okinawa to pray for the restoration of its pristine waters and landscape. He was around the island for 6-8 years and Sensei would see him around the same place all the time. Finally he approached him and asked "what's the purpose of meditation (mokusō)? What do you think about?" His answer: the only point of meditation is to relax by thinking about nothing. We all have complex lives and go through our days with our minds filled with thoughts...
Week 2
Classes continue, and the kids have been coming every day to practice with me. After kihon, we'd do kata, then maybe some kobudo. So far I've gone along for Pinan shodan, Pinan nidan, and Passai sho. I've followed along with Naihanchi and Chinto but don't feel too comfortable with them yet.
クラスが続けている。普段は週に二回だけだけど、子供達も毎日一緒に稽古をしにくる。必ず基本から始め、そして型と古武道。今までピンアン初段と二段とパッサイ小がちょっとできるようになった。ナイハンチもチントーも少しやっているけどまだまだだ。
Paraphrased nuggets of wisdom:
“If you have a bad practice or habit, your...