Recent entries of "Japanese Culture"

Hata3 is a summer vacation from today. I want to be refreshed slowly for the latter half of this year.

A photograph is the Japanese wind-bells which I found at the station of the Seijo-Gakuen-mae.

Hata3 and my partner went for a fireworks show of Chofu city yesterday. This event is held every year in the riverbed of the Tamagawa River. Hata3 and my partner go for this fireworks show every year.

The fireworks show is a sort of poetic charm to the Japanese summer season, and is held in each places of the all over Japan from July to August.

Flowers of the lights opens in the night sky. It seems to be totally an abstraction picture made of the lights.

I challenged the photography of fireworks for the first time yesterday. I uploaded a lot of fireworks photographs to my Photo Blog, "Hata3's Digital Eye".

Today (May 5) is a holiday named "Children's Day" in Japan. It is also called "Tango no sekku (the Boy's Festival)" from ancient days. People express the hope that each boy in the family will grow up healthy and strong by flying carp-shaped streamers outside the house and displaying a warrior doll. Originally the Boy's Festival was an event to expel an evil spirit and an accident.

The upper photograph is the excellent warrior doll which attached an armor and a helmet. I took this photograph in the house of the acquaintance of Yamanashi prefecture last year.

Unfortunately, in recent Tokyo, it is difficult to display such an excellent warrior doll in the room because many of urban houses are too narrow and expensive.

Related information:
♣ Observance of Children's Day around the world (Wikipedia)

In the day before yesterday, I went to a kind of park near my house. That name is "Minka-en". It's means the park of old Japanese farm houses.

When I fall into gloom, I sometimes go to this park. I feel like this old site always gives me an important thing as a Japanese. I love this park very much.

If you can read Japanese character, please see my related entry.

At the opening of the year, most Japanese people visit Shinto shrines or Buddhist temples where they pray for safety, peace and good health throughout the new year. These New Year visits to shrines and temples are called hatsumôde.

Hata3 and my partner also visited Jindai-ji temple in Chofu city yesterday (above photo). This site is the second oldest temple in Kanto area and it keeps the tranquil atmosphere of the traditional mountain village called Musashino (northwest area of old Tokyo). We really like this site and we visited this temple in the last few years.

Besides Musashino area is famous for good o-soba (buckwheat noodles, left photo) from no later than Edo period. That is called "Jindai-ji soba". There are many soba shops along the gateway to Jindai-ji temple. That is the other reason why we like this site.

So, we ate good o-soba again this new year.

Happy New Year 2009!
Let me express the greetings of the season.

Above photo by myself of a bowl of "Ozôni" on our table. My partner cooked "Ozôni", then she and Hata3 ate it today's morning.

From January 1st to 3rd, we call "Oshô-gatsu" or "San-ga-nichi", are special days for most Japanese since olden days. It's not only the start of the new year. It was also originally celebrated annually to welcome the gods of harvest and the spirits of ancestors who protect their families in Japan.

On the morning of New Year's Day, we call "Gan-jitsu" or "Gan-tan", the whole family gathers to wish each other good health and to celebrate the coming of a new year by drinking a rice wine called "otoso". And we eat a special dish called "Ozôni", which contains "mochi" (rice cakes), vegetables and other ingredients. There are several ways to cooked "Ozôni", depending on the region of Japan.

But it seems to me that these traditional custom of the new year's day has gradually faded out among young families in these days. Good grief!

Click image for larger view.

In Japanese spring season, we can also find many cherry trees at any places in Japan, except the famous cherry blossoms spots. For example, I always enjoy the cherry blossoms at nearby promenade, familiar riverside, the bus route and so on.

Today, I upload some photographs of the cherry blossoms at nearby promenade along nogawa stream. Please enjoy them.

Todays Photos:
♣ Cherry blossoms promenade 01
♣ Cherry blossoms promenade 02
♣ Cherry blossoms promenade 03
♣ Cherry blossoms promenade 04

Click image for larger view.

Today, I went to Shinjuku Gyoen, one of the famous hanami (Cherry blossoms viewing) spots in Tokyo. Shinjuku Gyoen is a large park featuring more than one thousand cherry trees of over a dozen varieties in Western and Japanese style gardens.

Many people can be seen enjoying the cherry blossoms in full bloom at Shinjuku Gyoen. I took a lot of shots of cherry blossoms in this park. Please enjoy.

Todays Photos:
♠ Cherry blossoms of Shinjuku Gyoen 01
♠ Cherry blossoms of Shinjuku Gyoen 02
♠ Cherry blossoms of Shinjuku Gyoen 03
♠ Cherry blossoms of Shinjuku Gyoen 04
♠ Cherry blossoms of Shinjuku Gyoen 05
♠ Cherry blossoms of Shinjuku Gyoen 06
♠ Cherry blossoms of Shinjuku Gyoen 07
♠ Cherry blossoms of Shinjuku Gyoen 08
♠ Cherry blossoms of Shinjuku Gyoen 09
♠ Cherry blossoms of Shinjuku Gyoen 10

Click image for larger view.

This entry is too late to post today, I think. But I can't help posting this entry.

The real spring has come in Japan. Because the cherry blossoms are in full bloom in many places of Japan.

Many of all Japanese people loves cherry blossoms from old days. While viewing cherry blossoms in full bloom, people enjoy eating and drinking under the cherry trees. It was the Edo period that this custom, called hanami, became popular.

There are many places known for their beautiful cherry blossoms in Japan. Of course, our Kinuta park is the one of the such places.

Todays Photos:
♣ Cherry blossoms of Kinuta park 1
♣ Cherry blossoms of Kinuta park 2

Click image for larger view.

A few days ago, I ran into a lot of girls practicing Kendo when I went to Setagaya Sports Park. Kendo, a kind of fencing, was born from the martial arts of Japanese warriors. Shinai, or bamboo swords, together with men (face masks) and do-ate (body protectors) began to be used in the Edo period.

They were practicing before the High school's Kendo Tournament front of the gymnasium. Recently, girls are really muscular than boys in Japan.

Click image for larger view.

Hata3 often go to the Jidayu-bori Minkaen park near my house. This park preserve historic sites about old farm house of Edo Period in Setagaya-ku. When I come here, I can have a relaxing moment at all.

Today, I saw some set of dolls for the hinamatsuri festival dressed in period dress and displayed on a special stand at this park. Hinamatsuri is the Jpanese girls' festival on March 3, when the birth of girls is celebrated and wishes are expressed for their future happiness.

But this old custom might be dying out recently in the urban area of Japan. Because I have never seen the hina dolls around our normal life for a long time.

Today's Photos:
♥ Hina dolls of Taishou Period 1
♥ Hina dolls of Taishou Period 2
♥ A set of Hina dolls

Click image for larger view.

Today, for the first time in a long while, my partner and Hata3 went to a familiar ramen shop at lunch. I love ramen very much. I ordered soy sauce taste ramen and roasted pork fillet, my partner ordered miso taste one.

Even if Japanese, there are few people knowing that the ramen is not Chinese food. The ramen was created in Hokkaido in the postwar reconstruction period of Japan. Now, the ramen can be said to be the second Japanese nation food.

There are many ramen shops in Japan, and taste is different every area. Because I am from Hokkaido, I like Hokkaido taste ramen.

Today's phots:
♦ Ramen (soy sauce taste)
♦ Ramen (miso taste)

Valentine's Day is only five days away. But, my partner doesn't give me any chocolate every year. I am slightly sad.

Japanese Valentine's Day is different from Americans or Europeans. Originally Valentine's Day that is not a Japanese traditional event started as a campaign of the chocolate sale in Japan. Thanks to a concentrated marketing effort, Valentine's Day has emerged in Japan as a day on which women give chocolate to a beloved man.

Besides, it has become an obligation for many women to give chocolates to their male co-workers, male friends, male families ...etc. It is so-called "Giri-choco". There is completely not any romance or love in giri-choco. What a nonsense!

That's why we can find many advertisements of the chocolate in everywhere when Valentine's Day approaches in Japan. The photograph above is an advertisement of Godiva Chocolatier that is one of the famous chocolate retailer. Now, Omotesando Station of the Tokyo metro is filling with their posters.

Yesterday, I took a lot of photos of the snow scenes of Kinuta Park in Setagaya-ku, Tokyo. Today, I would like to show one or two photos about winter plants in Japan.

The first photograph is a snow-capped "sasanqua". The botanical zoological name of sasanqua is "Camellia sasanqua" and very popular flower from the old days with Japanese garden trees. The snow-capped sasanqua like this photo makes me a little "wabi" feeling.

"Wabi" feeling is a kind of austere refinement. That is a frame of mind in which spiritual richness can be found in the simple and tranquil. This mentality forms an important basis of the Japanese traditional tea ceremony.

The second photograph is snow-capped buds of "Ume" [Jpanese apricot / plum tree]. I am looking forward to bloom Ume flowers. I love Ume flowers very much because it seems to me that they are pretty more than "sakura" [Japanese cherry tree]. If it had not snowed in Tokyo yesterday, many of Ume trees would be blooming their flowers now.