Tondo food & drink

Upon arriving at Tondo matsuri the first thing to do is get a drink of Kappo Zake, sake poured into a piece of bamboo that is then heated in coals and drunk from a bamboo cup. It really is delicious with a hint of bamboo flavor.

While the men are busy warming their butts by the coals, drinking sake, the ladies of the village are busy preparing food.

On the altar in front of the bonfire is a bottle of sake. In this form it is called Omiki. More on that later.

Once the fire is underway time to tuck in. First course is Nanakusa no sekku, rice porridge with the 7 herbs of spring. I asked the ladies which 7 plants were used and they said the standard ones, though I suspect there was some local variation. There usually is, though local people will believe their version is the national version. The official list is Seri (japanese parsley) Nazuna (shepherds purse) Gogyo (Jersey cudweed) Hakobera (chickweed) Hotokenoza (henbit) Suzuna (turnip) Suzushiro (daikon) Being a barbarian I found the porridge almost tasteless........ some milk and sugar would have helped.....

Main course was a huge pot of Wild Boar stew.... from the hills around the village, with masses of vegetables and tofu. Really tasty. Ive spoken with lots of "town" Japanese who have never eaten wild boar. They tell me it smells. They also say that mutton and turkey smells.

Over the coals mochi are toasted. Big pass for me. Can't stand mochi, though there was also Zenzai, which is mochi cooked up in a sweet bean sauce. Thats OK.

Finally the Omiki, though not the usual omiki. This is Kinpakku Iri, sake with gold flakes added. The gold flakes have no meaning, there are simply to make the sake expensive. I like Tondo. Lots of free food and drink and everyone is in good spirits.

Tondo Matsuri

Yesterday was Tondo Matsuri over in Tanijyugo. A fire festival traditionally held on the first new moon of the year.

On the bonfire are placed everybodies new years decorations, which have accumulated "bad luck".

A short ritual is performed, though not by a priest. A lot of what is now called shinto was appropriated from folk customs. Many of the traditions that now occur in shrines were formerly done by villagers outside of the shrine in the community, like Tondo.

4 people who were born in previous rabbit years light the fire.

The purification takes place....... and then we eat and drink!!!

The obligatory annual snow pics

Its that time of the year again...... its been snowing off and on for a couple of weeks, though it tends to melt during the day....

For the new year most of the local graves have had fresh flowers...

My hamlet.

Snow on bamboo always makes for a good shot.

The neighboring valley of Tanijyugo where I was heading for Tondo matsuri...

Seahawk Hotel

The Seahawk Hotel in the Hawkstown area of Fukuoka was until recently owned by JAL, the national airline. As part of the companies bankruptcy restructuring they had to sell off all their hotels, so now it is owned by Hilton.

With more than 1,000 rooms it was the biggest hotel in Japan, but that is now one in Tokyo, though it comprises 3 separate towers.

There are 34 floors above ground, rising to a height of 143 meters.

It was built in 1995 and designed by Cesar Pelli.

The hotel is way out of my price range, but it does have a fantastic atrium that I went in, so will post on that on my next architecture post.

Shichifukujin The 7 lucky gods

All of these statues of the 7 lucky gods of Japan are at Taizo-Ji, a temple at the southern end of the Kunisaki peninsular. This first one is Daikoku, usually equated with Okuninushi, though originally a Hindu deity, Mahakala, a war god. In japan he is associated with agriculture, rice farming and the kitchen. He is usually depicted carrying a magic mallet, standing on a pair of rice bales and with a sack of treasure over his soldier.

The reason these statues are silver is that they are covered with little silver papers that visitors purchase from the temple and apply to the statues while making their prayers/requests. On the silver paper are bonji, a japanese version of an ancient sanskrit script.

This is Fukurokuju, god of wisdom and longevity and sometimes credited with the power to revive the dead. He is a manifestation of the southern Pole star and is linked to a myth of a Chinese Taoist sage. He is a later addition to the seven, replacing Kichijoten.

Benzaiten, a Hindu deity called saraswati, is usually depicted holding a Biwa, Japanese lute, and is associated with all that flows,... water, words, music etc. Often equated with the shinto kami Ichikishimahime

Ebisu is often considered to be the only Japanese god of the seven. The god of fishermen, workingmen, and good luck. He is immensely popular and is often depicted paired with Daikoku as a manifestation of the father-son pair Okuninushi and Kotoshironushi. He is usually depicted carrying a fish.

Bishamonten is a god of war and warriors, so obviously popular with samurai. Originally Hindu, he is the leader of the Shitenno, the 4 heavenly kings of Buddhism and protector of the north.

Jurojin, another Taoist god of wisdom and longevity, often confused with Fukurokuju and said to inhabit the same body.

Hotei, known as the Laughing Buddha in the West, is probably based on a real Chinese Zen monk. He is the god of happiness and the patron of bartenders!!

Vacation 2010 Day 12: St. Ives

I got off the sleeper in Penzance to black skies and a howling wind, but a quick bus trip to St Ives on the north coast brought clearing skies and a bit of sunshine.

Not a tetrapod in sight!

The inner harbour was much calmer.

I spent a winter living not too far from St Ives, but it had been many years since I had been back.

Not much had changed, the same narrow streets and alleys with stone buildings that will in all probability still be here in another hundred years.

The one addition, and the only really modern building in the town was the Tate West, a gallery of contemporary art that I had never been to. The art and the architecture were OK.

On the hillside above the gallery a huge cemetery provided its residents with a great view.

Next was a revisit to Barbara Hepworths old house and studio, now a museum and sculpture garden to the world famous sculptress who lived and died here.

A little bit of wabi sabi that you are unlikely to find in Japan.......

Hatsumode, January 2nd, Kyoto, Part 2

We wanted to visit Okazaki Shrine, but even on the afternoon of the 2nd the line waiting to get in was several hundred meters long. The reason is that the shrine has a famous statue of a rabbit. It is connected with fertility, so maybe we will see a spike in births in Kyoto in about 9 months.

Next up was Kumano Wakaoji Shrine, located at the southern end of the Philosophers Walk.

Here we were given some Amazake, a delicious warm sake drink with masses of ginger added.

Just behind the shrine were several small shrines and a nice little waterfall. The offerings here were less ostentatious.

You cannot go far in Kyoto without coming across Japanese umbrellas used in front of shops and restaurants.

Then on to Awata Shrine, a nice neighborhood shrine in the hills above Gion that seemed to be only visited by locals, and not tourists.

I lived in Kyoto when I first moved to Japan, but I didnt really explore it much. It is nice to come back and play the tourist and see it with different eyes.

The giant torii of Heian Jingu with snow falling on the mountains to the north.

Last stop was Yasaka Shrine, and even as evening approached on the second day of the new year it was still very crowded.

Hatsumode, January 2nd, Kyoto

Though technically Hatsumode refers to the first shrine visit of the year, and of course there can only be one first, many people, myself included, take the opportunity to visit more than one.

The first place we went in Kyoto was Yoshida Shrine where there were no lines of people.

There are quite a few sub-shrines scattered around the hillside, all with offerings laid out in front of the honden.

Omota Sha is a shrine I have been wanting to visit for a long time, but is usually closed, it only opens a few days a year. It features a unique octagonal building.

Omoto Sha also features shrines for all of the provinces of Japan.

The sunny day caused the snow on the roofs to constantly melt and drip.

Nearby is Munetada Shrine, again not so many visitors.

Here we were given Omiki.