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!

                             

Summer greeting from the ancient capital

It's high Summer in Japan now. Japanese people get along in hot, sultry days. How about you?

My friend and I went to see lotus flowers at vestige of 藤原京（Fujiwara-kyo)
藤原京（Fujiwara-Kyo) is south of Nara city and it was the capital in Japan during the year 694~710, before the capital was moved to Heijyo-Kyo in Nara city. It takes about 30 minutes from Nara city by train.
Now here is only field surrounded three small mountain( Mt.Miminashi, Mt. Kagu, Mt.Unebi) or rice paddies.

At a part of the field of Fujiwara-Kyo, A lot of lotus were full blooming.

The day we visited there was very hot. Tall thriving lotus flowers were growing toward the deep blue Summer sky.
Deep blue Summer sky. Deep blue or white are Summer color,I think. 持統天皇(Female Emperor,Jito)was
ruling Japan in those days at Fujiwara-Kyo and this is one of her tanka poetry.
 
　　 春過ぎて　夏きたるらし　白妙の　衣ほしたり　天の香久山

It means Spring was over and Summer came. So white clothes are hung out toward Mt.Kagu. It's Summer-like view. White stood out under Summer strong light.

Yellow cosmos also were full blooming in the field of Fujiwara-Kyo.

                                        With Mt.Miminasi that is one of three mountain in Fujiwara-Kyo.

                          A baseball-boy was riding among yellow cosmos and green rice paddy.

We were going to leave there and supposed to call a taxi. But  there was too spacious around so we didn't know where we were. There were nobody around there. We couldn't meet anyone to ask where we were. But at last we discovered one man who was leaving his house. We only wanted to know the address we were standing  to call a taxi but he called a taxi for us and her mother invited us to have a cup of tea in her house.
I was impressed with their kindness for us, strangers. According to the taxi driver, " all people around here are kind like them".
I had a impression that they succeeded houses, estate, rice paddies, fortune etc, from their ancestors,maybe from the ancestor of the period of Fujiwara-Kyo and they've been  farming diligently at the rice-paddies. Around there in Nara, disasters must have been striking  little. So they could accumulate wealthy as I've read about it in a newspaper.

In the intermission of the rainy season

Now we are just  in the rainy season. The stationary front is settling in above the Japanese Archipelago. When does this front go away to the Continent,I wonder?  I hope it gets off without giving the harmful
damage to the archipelago like usual year.
But the rain or water is essential for us or living thing. Many life are born in this season.  I walked Nara-Park in the intermission of the rainy season.
The grove is given water and shoots born in spring grow to deep green. So we can see many kind of green.
And I also met many families of Starling in the wood of Kasuga-Grand-Shrine. They were picking something with children born recently vigorously.
There is a pond in the Park. Nobody were there. Now the pond was full of water and we could have heard a pin drop though  there are a lot of beautiful wisteria trees around this pond and many people visited cheerfully,noisy in May. Because of too quiet and pure air I thought water or wood nymphs may appear around there.

Also deers in Nara-Park come to the season of birth.
 In Nara-park about 700 female deer are living and babies of deer are born during from the middle of May to around July. Every year about 200 pregnant female deer are protected at Rokuen( deer's garden) and they deliver babies at this place. Babies get to be able to eat grass  about 20 days after the  birth. After that they are set off the Park with mothers. So we can see babies and mothers here during June.

      Mizutani-Cyaya( the restaurant in Nara Park)

We can see babies that have the clear white-spotted on their backs at the  Rokuen. There were about 30 babies and many female deer on the day I visited. Babies get to be able to stand in about one hour after birth.

       Babies like the place like this. They have habit that hide behind grasses.

                                                        ************************


I visited Hasedera-temple in Kamakura of Kanagawa prefecture next to Tokyo. This temple is famous for hydrangea. The hydrangea in the rain is more beautiful.

         From the observatory of Hasedera-temple. Sagami-Bay and the beach.

       Enoshima-dentetu-line.  Opening run was in 1902. This runs very close to private houses or along the beach. It's convenient to visit the Hasedera-temple.

                  An old-fashioned mailbox was standing surrounded with pink hydrangea. Nice atmosphere.

　　　　　　　　sharing Our World Tuesday

Our garden in May

I was watching the dogwood tree in our garden vaguely through the window, having breakfast. Because some birds were coming to eat food in the can on the dogwood everyday during winter as my husband has been continuing to put food in that can. But they left our garden since spring came. I thought the birds migrated to the short distance like bulbuls.

At that very moment, the shadow of some birds crossed branches of the dogwood. I gladly expected birds had left early spring came back to our dogwoods tree. I approached the dogwood cautiously and found broods on a branch. Maybe they seemed to  have just left their  nest. Four chickens perched on the branch of the dogwood closely.

                  Maybe the right young's  eyes rested on my camera. Though I took them through the window.

But where was their nest? My husband said when he went the garden six days before, two birds( maybe their parent) flied down  to attack him. So their nest must have been around there.

They on the branch seemed to fall down with strong wind but four chickens clung the branch together. They were squirming busily but they froze with my husband's footstep. After the footstep receded they started squirming again. I wonder why they fly away with footsteps? Parent said them to stay here or they can't fly without parent's lead or? I remembered my children raising.

And when mother bird and farther bird each bring worms they pressed  with yellow bills full open. Parents give them food in turn,I wonder. I thought bringing up four children takes a lot of doing.

It seems that they are talking with their eyes and I feel parent's love to their children. the left is child.

Parent brings worms frequently. I wonder what this worm is ,or where they find from? Though there are small bushes neighborhood.

I was not weary of watching them then the entrance chime rang.
When I came back here from the entrance, their figures had already disappeared.

The family started off. I cannot help wishing  they survive in the hard natural world though the encounter with them was only for 30 minutes.

I think they are a family of Japanese bush warbler.


                                              &

This year may be a great year roses. Roses in the garden neighborhood and ours are full blooming. After raining.

                                      Thank you for coming, dear friends! Have a lovely day!