The event for good luck

                              I wish you happiness in 2014, my dear friends!



I visited two auspicious events at the beginning of the year.

The first,
Osaka district is a center of commerce. So many merchants or businesspeople especially visit Ebisu-Shrine to get good luck, fortune on the 10th of January.
Ebisu-Shrines enshrine God Ebisu.
God ebisu is one of seven gods in Japan and have a fishing rod in the right hands, holding a big sea bream under the left arm. This god was a god of fishing in the old days. But after commerce started developing in the Middle Ages people began to believe as god of prosperity of business,too.

I visited Saraki-Shrine in Nara district that enshrine God Ebisu.

 

These women are called Fuku-Musume(Fuku means good luck, Musume means girl) and they attach ornaments to a small bamboo and shake bells to call happiness for visitor. In this shrine, they usually work for a big company but they volunteer on this day. How beautiful today's Fuku-Musumes are!





The second,
舞楽始式（The first dance of the year) in Kasuga-Grand-Shrine.

The dances came from the Asian Continent in 7or 8 century and Japan own dances have being preserved. This tradition were handed down three organizations where  are in Kyoto district,Nara district,Osaka district.
Today's dance was dedicated by Nara's organization.



        胡飲酒（konjyu) The king of the country of Hu dances intoxicated to alcohol, I heard.

　　　振鉾三節（enbu-sansetu) dance for praying that people live in security, 三節means honoring the heaven, the earth, the spirit ,I heard.

       長保楽（chobouraku)

                                      Thank you for coming.

On-maturi

This is Wakamiya- Shrine's festival. Wakamiya-shrine is affiliated with Kasuga-Grand-Shrine.

In the year 1136, people in Yamato district were suffering from flood or hunger, so Kanpaku(the rank to assist a Emperor)-Fujiwarano Tadamichi built the temporary palace and dedicated performing arts to Wakamiya God.  Rain stopped and became to get rich harvest. So this became an annual event. This festival has been continued and this year is the 878th.

                                   Yabusame by a boy.    He put an arrow in the target excellently

                                                   Maiden in Shrine

                                                          Bacyo-no-chigo

                                                              before the parade

                                                  Daimyo-gyoretu

                                                                      horse race

The festival was held from the 15th to the 18th on December. The climax is the 17th. At 0:00a.m. Wakamiya God enter at the temporary palace.  From 12:00p.m. performing arts groups and people join the festival start a procession. From 3:30p.m. until 11:00p.m. they dedicate dances on the 9 m square grass stage. After those performing Wakamiya God get back to his usual palace around 11:30p.m.

                                                           They played Kagura

 

                                            Azuma-asobi   four boys played.

                                                                         Dengaku

                                                                     Seinoo

Since Onmaturi began in Nara where Japanese culture was born.  Shinto ritual  or Kagura, Azumaasobi, Yamatomai etc in old Japanese performing arts have been strictly protected .Bugaku that came from Korean peninsula are handed down. And Dengaku, Seinoo, Sarugaku etc that were formed among citizen in Middle Ages are succeeded relatively correctly. So this festival look like the museum of art performance.

    Bugaku,  Kitoku  (I took last year.If you would like to see last bolg, click Here .)

                                                                                                ( I took the year before last)

                                                                         Bugaku,  Nasori            (I took last year)

Thank you for visiting during this year.
Wishing you Merry Christmas and Very Happy New year!              
                                                                              Best Wishes Sarah
 

Today's Todaiji-Temple

Today I felt here is alive with foreign travelers,having a bustle before the  Lehman Shock. Thanks to yen's depreciation,I wonder?

I walked around at the site of the Todaiji-Temple today.
Maples or ginkgos leaves have already colored and started falling from the trees. ｔhey were showing the last glow, receiving the late autumn's light.

As the site of Todaiji-Temple is very large and I don't know well about the way around there. So I strolled the place where I can see the golden しび（ a kind of decoration that attached the both side of ridge of roof,  charm against the fire, that's embodied the shape that fish jumps from the surface and left its tail over the surface.)
             
                                                      The Great Buddha of Todaiji

                                                                 Around Daibutu Pond

                                                    From The Febuary -Hall in Todaiji

There are many big ginkgo trees in the site and  their golden leaves were strewed and accumulated widely around them. The place covered with ginkgo's leaves are shiny in the dimly grove, so couples, children, foreign travelers and deers were exciting together on the yellow carpet and  touching the warmness ginkgo provided.

When Fall turned the leaves crimson in Japan, people go maple viewing. This custom started around Heian period ( around 8 ~12century, its capital was Kyoto city) so many maple trees are planted in Kyoto city.

Many people composed a tanka poem related to the maple trees. This was composed in around 10 century.

                奥山に紅葉踏み分け
                     鳴く鹿の　
                          声聞く時ぞ秋は悲しき

meaning:
　　Feet deep in maple's autumnal carpets in the mountains,

     Away from crowds along with distant voice,

      Heart deep in sorrow with deer crying in solo.


(Both the writer and the deer were disappointed in love,I wonder?)

Some world heritage site like Todaiji-temple or Kasuga Grand Shrine or Kofukuji-Temple etc, are built near each other and also adjoin the living space of people or Nara park. We can go around by foot. People are trying to let the living space sit in the situation of the old days as possible as they can. So when I walk there I can be in the restful world like time stopped. I like it. I think it's similar to some  European medieval world heritage site.

Two another worlds

Utukushigahara
美ヶ原（Utukusigahara) plateau locates in the east of Matumoto city(松本市） in Nagano prefecture and　it's about 2000meters high.
As 美ヶ原　is like field or meadow and there is no landmark when a dense fog lay all around, there seemed to be people who got lost. So the small tower (美しの塔)with a bell was build in the center of the field to tell its place for visitor.

Just after sunset fog run around there with deadly speed and closed in over there. I was surprised with its speed and thought if I was walking there I couldn't escape out of it. At that time I was taking photos on the roof in the hotel and I also was wrapped in the fog in a flash. I couldn't get to see nothing and felt chill,scariness.

 

 

美ヶ原is said "Observatory of Alps". We can see high mountains of 360 degrees around from here. At the south, Mt.Fuji, 八ヶ岳連峰（the Yatugatake peaks),中央アルプス連峰（the Central- Alps peaks),南アルプス連峰（the Southern-Alps peaks) etc. At the west , 北アルプス連峰（the Northern-Alps peaks),etc. At the north, 剣立山連峰（the Turugi-Tateyama peaks),etc. At the east, Mt.Asama etc.

I have climbed 西穂高岳(Nishi-hodaka-mountain),乗鞍岳（Norikura-mountain)or Mt.Fuji,etc. Seeing those peaks with white snow, I satisfied by myself that how could I attain such a high place.

According to a hotel driver, " Mt.Fuji locates near the Pacific Ocean and Mt. 白馬岳（Sirouma-dake)locates near the Sea of Japan. As you can see Mt.Fuji and Mt.Sirouma-dake from here, you can recognize roughly the breadth of the Japanese archipelago." Don't you think this idea is interesting?

Before daybreak

 

Mt.Fuji was designated for World Heritage Site this year. Before daybreak. The back trapezoid silhouette.

 

Good morning.

At sunrise, many peaks have white snow are colored pink and those feet are filled with the field of clouds.
Here 美ヶ原is famous for the field of clouds. They closed down to near the hotel we stayed. We could see them through the window of the dining room at the breakfast. I felt like I can walk on them.
Also they change to mild pink at the part that sun right reflect for short minutes just after sunrise.

 

 

 

Here we could see stars bigger than on the ground. Autumn's constellation--the Pegasus, vestige of Summer's constellation--the Swan, Winter's ---the Orion etc, its quiet twinkle  fascinated me.

During Summer season, milk cows that built up stress are carried to the meadow here. They are pastured and given salt but not a barn. I wonder where he shelter at heavy rain or cold days but after living here they can get to produce milk. This surroundings also  heal cows as well as human.

We came across many wild deers for night drive by the hotel. Only their eyes shone in the weak light of a flashlight. I heard Matumusiso( a plant that have pale purple flowers in the early Autumn) here or some plants are decreasing because the increasing deers eat. Even in this strict  environmental preservation the food chain is changing little by little. I wonder if we can have foods in 22century though it's exaggerated idea.

As the hotel stands in the nature reserve, one's own car can't enter this reserve and no buses. Only one option to reach the hotel is to use the courtesy bus of the hotel. Excluding cars is one of those way that leave this beautiful country.

 So here is literally another world  on the clouds surrounded by nature.



Fujimi highland
It seemed I was in a country of the fairy tale.
The mountains were painted gorgeous pattern by colored leaves.

Larch

 

Mt.Fuji.