Sakura madness.

Just in front of our frontdoor is a cherry tree we planted 3 years ago.
I noticed yesterday that one bud had bloomed.
Strangely, I felt no compulsion to spread out sheets of blue plastic, invite dozens of people, get stinking drunk, and do karaoke.
I guess I just don't appreciate nature!

For safe childbirth climb the mountain

This is the start of the path that goes up to the top of Isari Mountain, near Yasaka, south of Hamada.

We were told there was a shrine on top of the mountain that local women used to pray for safe childbirth. When we started we didn't realize just how high it was, 714 metres, and it had some great views over the Chugoku Mountains.

The Chugoku mountaisn are not particularly high, but they are pretty steep, and its a fairly remote region.

The shrine itself was a tin shack that had been built around an older hokora (wayside shrine). No-one knows when or why the shrine was established.

It's an Asama Shrine, commonly known as the goddess of volcanoes. The kamis name is Konohanasakuyahime, and she was the wife of Ninigi who was sent by Amaterasu to subdue and rule over Japan. The head shrine is Fujisan Hongu Sengen Taisha located at the base of Mt Fuji. She is one of several kami that are known for protection of safe births.

North of Isari Mountain is the higher Taima (hemp) Mountain.

Typical Japanese Landscape 17

Driving around the past couple of days, this has been a typical view. Fields of rape.

It used to be far more typical.

If you want to know about rapeseed in Japan, this article is excellent.

In fact at a cursory glance the website seems to have some excellent articles on the state of Japanese agriculture as well as information on traditional foods and methods.

Down in northern Hiroshima in Oasa Town they have planted all the unused land in rape. It is then sold at a competitive price to local households. The used oil is then collected and used to power the towns buses and taxis.

Shimane by numbers. Part 3

Continuing my look at some interesting statistics concerning the prefecture I live in,... Shimane.

This time just one statistic.

Shimane has the oldest population in Japan.

What that means is that 27% of Shimane's people are over 65 years old. And that figure seems set to continue to grow. I know up in the mountains near here is a village where the youngest person is 73!

Like Mrs. M, the lady we bought our house from.

Or Ebiya-san who lives over the river in Kawado, who at 83 years old is a damn site more spritely than many much younger than him. He designed and makes Hero Flutes, kagura flutes that can be played more easily than traditional kagura flutes.

Of course the one place you will see these old people is in the gardens and fields. I read that the average age of farmers in japan is 70!

The young people continue to leave the countryside for the cities, and I find it hard to imagine what it will be like in another 20 years as many of these elders pass on.

For now I enjoy learning from the grandparent generation. They are often sharper and smarter than those who grew up in the 1960's and 1970's, and still know how to make things and live in the environment they are in.

Bamboo forest

There is something quite magical in bamboo groves. I've been trying to capture some of it for years in the camera.

You can't catch the swaying in the wind,....

... and you can't catch the clacking as they bang into each other,....

.. but I am fairly pleased with some of the color and light that I did manage to catch on a trip up in to the mountains around Yasaka last year.

Myriad Yakushi

Yakushi Nyorai is the Japanese name for the Buddha of Medicine & Healing.

These statues, about 25cms tall, are at the Ichibata Yakushi Temple between lake Shinji and the Japan Sea coast up in Izumo.

Ichibata Yakushi is primarily known as a temple to pray at for eye problems.

Originally of the Tendai sect, it is known as a Rinzai temple, but actually it is the head of its own "religious corporation", with 31 temples nationwide.

Not sure exactly how many little statues there are, but it runs into the many thousands.

March Harvest

Red cabbage, or in Japanese, Murasikikabestu, which means purple cabbage, never seems to grow as big as regular green cabbage, but I always grow a couple just so I can make pickled red cabbage.

Mizuna, commonly known as Japanese Mustard in English, has been grown in Japan since ancient times, but probably came from China originally. Good in salads or as greens.

Brussel Sprouts, Mekabetsu in Japanese, are not common. Like most people it seems, I hated brussel sprouts as a kid, but now have come to love them. I just steam a bunch, lightly salt them, then munch on them all day as a snack!

Regular cabbage, daikon, green onions, and carrots are still in abundance.

As usual I am behind schedule in the gardens. I haven't even finished planted potatoes yet and need to do some weeding and mulching before planting....

The London Gherkin

A bit of non-Japanese architecture as I work my way through my photo backlog :)

The building known as the Gherkin in London was finished in 2003, and so a trip back to England I made a point of going to see it.

In the middle of "The City", Londons financial district, the building real name is 30 St. Mary Axe, which is its address.

The 40 story glass tower was designed by Norman Foster and Ken Shuttleworth.

I visited on a Sunday when all the offices were closed so the streets were deserted allowing me to wander into the roads to get good views.

Temples & Snacks

I love wandering around the old neighborhoods of Japanese towns and villages. All these photos are from one of the old parts of the castle area in Hamada.

There are usually a mishmash of architectural styles and periods. The photo above is probably Meiji era, and was probably a school originally.

The area south of the castle had an awful lot of "Snacks", or Sunaku, little drinking establishments that don't serve meals, just alcohol and "bar snacks" and in some instances female companionship.

I counted at least 30 within a few hundred metres of walking back streets. Most of them kind of funky.

There were also a lot of temples, many of them quite picturesque, with statues, and gardens etc

I'm not sure if there is a direct relationship between a neighborhood having a lot of temples and a lot of bars :)

There is a lot of history in these neighborhoods, and not the contrived museum kind of history one finds in tourist areas, and perhaps more interesting because of that.

Hamada Hachiman Shrine

There are steps leading up to Hamada Hachiman Shrine.

More than 100 of them.

There are steps leading up to most shrines and temples.

I did a rough calculation, and figure I must have climbed more than a million by now.

The steps and road to the steps lead back in a straight line to where Hamada castle stood on its hill overlooking Hamada, as this shrine was the tutelary shrine for the lords of Hamada.

Hachiman, kami of war, tutelary deity of all samurai.

It's a fairly standard Hachiman shrine, though I noticed on my last visit that it had a whole new set of front doors.

Behind the main shrine is a small secondary shrine, a Densha, some type of rice paddy kami, and a small old Inari shrine.

Being hamada, of course there is a kagura den.

To the side of the main shrine is a second, much larger Inari shrine. This was moved here from a few hundred metres away about 30 years ago. The original shrine was established by a son of the lord about 400 years ago.

Though its locally known simply as Hamada Hachimangu, its real name is Hisamitsuyama Hachimangu.