Peaceful nights

There is no day above 30 degrees Celsius any more although the average temperature tends to get higher and higher lately. It became comfortable to walk in the evening.
We admired the harvest moon recently. On that night some events were held in Nara city.
I went Sarusawa pond on that night at first but a large number of people had already sit around the pond. And there wasn't no spot to see well for me so I left there early and drove to 唐招提寺temple.


At 唐招提寺(Toshodaiji-Temple)
The event to admire the harvest moon with the images of Buddha( national treasure) or the priest 鑑真(Ganjin, A.D.688~763)who found this temple  together was held at 唐招提寺(World Heritage Site).
The three doors of the hall are open only on that night in a year and after priests' Buddhist service we can pay homage.
The moon was shining silently high in the night sky. Three golden image of Buddha came out of the dark. Visitors appreciated its divine beauty peacefully. When I was soaked in the solemn atmosphere of the night three doors were closed quietly. It's the closing time, 9:00 p.m. It became so dark as usual around there.

At Sarusawa pond   the festival was held in memory of a court lady Uneme on the harvest moon.

At 宝山寺(Hozanji-Temple)on the  Autumn Equinox
Buddhist service is held at almost temples on the day of the Autumn Equinox or Spring Equinox.
And  宝山寺 temple also had a Buddhist service on that day.
Mt.Ikoma exist the border between 生駒市(Ikoma-city) in Nara district and Osaka district.  宝山寺temple is standing on the middle of the slope of Mt.Ikoma of Nara side. So I went  there by a cable car with pretty dog face. This cable car is usually used by kids because there is an amusement park on the top of Mt.Ikoma.
As this temple is standing along the slope of Mt.Ikoma  it has a plenty of stone steps from the approach to the inmost hall. On that night, plenty of candle lights were lit up at around more than 300 stone image of Buddha. We enjoyed many candle lights and the night view of Ikoma city below.

At a entrance of a temple,  higan flowers are blooming around the equinoctial week.

They seem to welcome to visitors to the temple.                                                   

                          Thank you for visiting, friends!

Basara Festival in Nara

Basara Festival was held in Nara on the last day of August. It was very hot today.

The "Basara Festival" is a festival with a focus on street dance that takes place in Nara, which began in the summer of 1999.
This is the summer festival of citizen participation which is full of live feeling. Dance teams are wearing elaborated costumes and unfold the performance dancing parade on some streets or at Todaiji-temple entrance or Nara park etc. From children to adult ,38 teams, about 1000 people of inside and outside Nara district participated this year.

           Ten teams dedicated their performance at the entrance of TodaijiTemple.

      They are students of a university in Osaka.

Basara is originally a trend that was popular in Kamakura period (about 13 century),Muromachi period(about 14 century) and that in such court dance and music remove the time signature on purpose to play freely, to stand out.
It's said that in Nanbokucyo era(about 14 century), flashy costumes frighten the human eye, stylish behavior represented extremely aesthetics, the values of the unquiet days and also became the buzzword of the day.

"Basara Festival" is a new summer festival of the ancient capital Nara revive the modern its power and energy.

   A hospital team-they are doctors.

   

     From " kids dance contest."

Costumes were made by yukata-kimono texture.

    Many deer and tourist were hanging around in Nara-Park as usual on that day,too.
    This girl was chasing a deer with breathtaking speed on the large grass, though usually even boys scare, surrounded by  many deer.
                                                           Do your best,Hooray!

I do aerobics or Latin dance some times a week. Dancing with music is excitement for me though I am still a beginner.
So I got energy and passion from young people who were dancing with a beam of delight. Thank you all performers!
   

Thank you for taking time and reading my blog, Friends!