Relax at the open-air bath

We traveled through the Kyushu district from the east ( Oita city) to the west ( Kumamoto city) by a car.
The Kyushu district is in the west of Nara　and it  takes  about one hour  by a plane.
There are many volcanoes in this region. When we were driving, I saw many smokes rose up from  surface of  many mountains.  I've never seen such smokes  in Nara prefecture.  There are a lot of wonderful  hot springs there. I think  hot water  will gush if you dig anywhere in this area.

This  greenhouse uses the heat of  a hot spring

Water lily

Smoking from Kujyu-mountain chain

At Kurokawa hot spring

Icy flower in Kujyu-mountain chain

We drove up a narrow continuous curving  mountain path and visited "Kurokawa hot spring". It was along headwaters among  the mountains and its open-air baths are made beside a mountain stream . It's so quiet.  When I closed my eyes I  listen to only the murmur of a stream and birds' chirp at the open-air bath.  It gave me  perfect relaxing.
The quantity of this hot water is sufficient so hot water is left overflowing from the bathtub.
This hot spring is sulfur spring though the smell is not strong  and it has many 湯の花（the element in the hot spring that doesn't melt into  the hot water) like a white fluff. I felt I got smooth skin from this hot spring.
Though it was pretty cold on that day, our bodies were warmed enough after bathing and they didn't cold easily.

A open-air bath of a guest room

As a clothes-changing basket

A brook run between guest rooms

I heard TV program are on location at the Japanese-style hotel we stayed.  It's the TV program( 朝だ！生です旅サラダ） that a middle-aged actor introduces the hotel or Mt.Aso and  this will be broad casted on March 24. Waitresses were excited for the location.
At the hot spring, I usually enjoy the open-air bath at least three time for overnight, just after arriving the hotel, just before going to bed and just after getting up next morning.
As usual just after getting up next morning, when I was gladly heading to the open-air bath without washing my face, throwing 丹前（ a padded large-size kimono） on 浴衣（a informal cotton kimono for sleeping) I came across that actor. He wore a neat clothes with a small travel bag and seemed to leave the hotel. There were no staffs. He said "Good morning" politely to us. I thought courtesy need to keep popularity for actor,too.



a bus stop



We stayed  "Yufuin-hot spring",too. This hot spring  was very transparent and made my skin smooth.
after taking the bath.　We could enjoy  the open-air bath,watching Yufudake-mountain that snow sheeted on its top. Yufudake-mountain is ht.1583meters and a land mark of Yufuin-hot spring.

The open-air bath at Yufuin hot spring. Mt.Yufudake has a little snow on its top

Camellia at the garden of Kumamoto-Castle

                      This post is linked Our World Tuesday

The beauty of Japanese Apricot(Plum or Ume)

Kankobai-plum(寒紅梅）

Japanese apricot(Ume or plum) blossom is late  because of so cold in this year. But the  precocious Ume were in full bloom and the normal start blooming Ume were coming out in twos and threes at Osaka-Castle ume garden. I expected much more plum blossom at the garden. It's a disappointment.
But taking photos,  I realized the plum in full bloom is gorgeous but it's hard to take it perfectly  as many plums catch my eye. While a few flowers  have started to bloom in the cold air are fresh, graceful and we can enjoy the tree shape,too. I thought  it's lovely not only full bloom but also around Ume trees have  started to blossom.
According to the experts, generally the first flower in a Ume branch is more massive than the flowers bloom later in the same branch.

So when we enjoy Ume thoroughly, the beginning of bloom may be more charming than in full bloom.
Come to think of it,  Ume has been drawing on  the Japanese kimono or the Byobu(Japanese folding screen) from a long time ago.  I think those Ume are in  around the beginning of bloom in many cases.

Therefore the beauty of Ume for Japanese may be in  around the beginning of bloom. Of course, it depends on individual sense.

Red and White Plum Blossoms on the byobu by Ogata Korin in the 18centry(national treasure) image:by wikipedia

Kagoshimakou-plum(鹿児島紅）

Tojibai-plum(冬至梅）is in a full bloom

Talking of ume trees in the garden, the matured trunks are preferred. They bend like a hook. Young branches grow upward but gradually they grow sidewards and gardeners trim them in hooked shape many times. So the matured trunk has fine flavor.

The plum garden in the Osaka-Castle-Park

I sometimes drive on the freeway beside the Osaka-Castle  on my way back to my house from my mother's house in the night. The Castle-Tower is illuminated in the center of the dark grove surrounded by the showy city lights when I see it from the freeway.
The Castle-Tower shining  golden in the night's darkness  remind me of the glory of Toyotomi Hideyoshi who governed Japan.

At first the castle was surrounded by the double moat. So it was invulnerable  castle. But after the death of Hideyoshi, after damping soil into the moat, the castle fell to the enemy. A young general who is a son of Hideyoshi and his beautiful mother committed suicide by daggers in the burning castle. Sad story.

I went Osaka-Castle at daytime after an interval of twelve years. I was surprised the appearance of the Castle-Tower was changed. So white wall, golden tigers on the wall, golden killer-whales on the roof repaired recently were dazzling. I heard this imitates Hideyoshi's Osaka-Castle.

The Osaka-Castle-Tower

Indeed, this present Castle-Tower is the third-generation and was built in A.D. 1931 by the contribution of citizen.
The first-generation Castle-Tower was built in A.D.1583 by Toyotomi Hideyoshi but it burnt down in A.D.1615 by the battle for supremacy of Japan.


                   This post is linked Our World Tuesday

The grass fires festival in Mt.Wakakusa

The festival that burn the dead grass of Mt.Wakakusa was taken place on the 28th of January.
This festival is the traditional event that tell the early spring in ancient capital Nara.

Mt.Wakakusa(342m ht) is the gradual mountain covered with the grasses all over. Usually deers are eating grasses or playing on it lazily.


There are some origin of this grass fires festival. According to legend, this mountain has an ancient tomb on the top of the mountain. So there was a superstition that Ghosts of this tomb scared people a long time ago. People thought if they don't burn this mountain to sooth the soul of ancient, unfavorable affair would happen. So someone set fire and the next year,too and the next year,too........It continued.
It was  the festival for woodmen to comfort the soul or make offerings.
Mt.Wakakusa lies to near Kasuga shrine, Todaiji-temple, Kofukuji-temple in Nara park in Nara city. These temples and shrine are listed on World Heritage Site and big ones. Now the wood men's  festival fixed as the festival that divines of these two temples and a shrine gather and comfort ancestors or pray peace for people.



A procession came near Mt. Wakakusa. The procession consists of players of Japanese musical instruments, Buddhist monk soldiers, monks  play tritons, Nara government officials in those days  and monks or attendants of Kasuga-shrine,Todaiji-temple,Kofukuji-temple.
They got fire from  the small sacred fire in Kasuga-shrine to their  torches there.

A Shinto priest gives  the sacred fire from Kasuga-shrine(it's inside the box at the center) 

A young father next to me said to his small son "Gathering of these big three Japanese lanterns is rare."(it means that getting together of these temples and shrine is rare. Chinese characters of "Kasugataisya-shrine,Todaiji-temple,Kofukuji-temple" and their heraldries were written on lanterns each)

They got fire that kasuga-taisya put

They carried torches  at the foot of Mt.Wakakusa and lighted the bonfire with their torches. Sutra recitation was begun by monks of Kasuga-shrine,Todaiji-temple,Kofukuji-temple.

The party go to the big bonfire in front of Mt.Wakakusa

After that, they carried torches to the big bonfire in front of Mt.Wakakusa and lighted it.

They lighted the big bonfire

Following that, fireworks were displayed. The whole spectators burst into cheers. We enjoyed the wink colorful flowers in the winter sky. But I had stiff shoulders. Which fireworks do you like?

The small lights over there are fire men

Lots of firemen got fire to their torches from the big bonfire and spread on the mountain,taking torches. They lighted the dead grasses together.
The fire run in the grasses and burst into a blaze in the winter night sky.

Thank you firefighters

The fire caught the next field

 The fire grows to the top of the mountain

The small sacred fire brought from Kasuga-shrine expanded the whole mountain.
Accidentally I turned  round, I could see the light in Nara city. Similarly people in most of Nara city can look up this fire. People has been watching this fire from the old days. Thanks to people's effort that has been keeping this grass fires, we can touch the culture in the  remote past of Nara.
I've been living in Nara city for 25years. This festival made me feel again that Nara is great.

 The light in Nara city

Aesthetic sash at a distance

Wish you all blessed days from Mt.Wakakusa!

This post is linked Our World Tuesday.

Horyuji-Temple in Winter

It's cold day

Horyuji-temple is the oldest woody building in the world that was built in A.D.607 by the Emperor Suiko and Prince Shotoku. Its site is about 187000 square meters. It was  registered the first  on UNESCO's World Heritage list in Japan that has about 2300 national treasures and cultural heritages .
It takes about 30 minutes to the southwest from Nara city by car.

The second gate and a five-storied pagoda-------pillars of Entasis style

I happened to find  this dragon ( this year's zodiac sign in Chinese astrology) under the roof of the main temple.

The main temple has "Syaka-Sanzon-Zo" (sitting Buddha statue)or "The Wall-Painting" or  "the canopy".We could see them well as the safety wire net was taken off during this term.
I thought the face of Syaka(Buddha) was longer.
The wall paintings painted by Bengala or so on  reminded me of the wall painting of Dunhuang　in Chaina or Ajanta in India  but regrettably it was disappeared by the fire, now they are replicas except few.
The canopy  has  the mood of Asian Minor  and flying celestial nymphs etc are painted on it.

A part of " the wall painting" restored (Image by NHK)

There was "Tamamushi-no-Zushi"(zushi means Buddhist altar. Tamamushi means a buprestid or a jewel beetle)　 inside a glass case for security. Though the doors of it were open, as it's a little dark, we couldn't see the reverse of the door well. A woman in charge wiping the glass case lighted the reverse of the door with her flashlight and as a next man was watching it with his small telescope, we borrowed  it. Thanks to a flashlight and a telescope,  we could see lots of small Buddhas on the reverse of the doors.
The woman said "let's take with a flashlight and a telescope ,not a camera when you go see the statue  of Buddhas."
 Kindly she fetched the specimen of a real Tamamushi( buprestid or jewel beetle).   I heard the lots of  wings of jewel beetles were mounted under the fretwork metal fittings of Tamamushi-no-zushi. I thought it must have looked like jewel. Now they disappeared, of course.

We learned about these national treasures in our junior high school students. But I saw them for the first time.
    

Tamamushi (Image by Mushinavi)

The fence of camellia

The second gate. Horyuji's heraldry on cloths

Why didn't birds eat this gorgeous feast?

A decoration of sacred straw rope of Cyuguji-temple(a part of Horyuji-temple).........It differ from our houses'

I was interested in "Kudara-Kannon-zou". This Goddess of Mercy is tall,thin and has a small head, so nice delicate  figure. I thought it's unlike that of an average  Japanese Goddess.

 Kudara-Kannon-Zou ( image by Wikipedia)

The real one is brownish (image by wikipedia)