2012年12月26日
Kadomatsu – Gate Pines
Christmas is over and in Japan that means it’s time to bring out the New Year’s decorations. My favorite are the kadomatsu, or “gate pines”.
These are placed one on either side of the entrance to homes and buildings to welcome the toshigami, the gods of the New Year. It also means that the person passing through receives the blessings of the gods.
The photos above show a lovely example I stumbled across yesterday. I also stumbled across a lovely man who was able to explain the symbolism, something a surprising number of Japanese are unable to do. According to him, each part of the kadomatsu is a metaphor, which he interpreted as follows:
The bamboo stands for growth and strength, and also for honesty and uprightness because it grows straight and tall. The hollow tubes serve as a receptacle for the gods during their temporary stay. The evergreen pine represents a long and vigorous life.
“Nanten”, the nandina with red berries, is a play on words, “nan” being the same sound as the word for “difficulties” and “ten” sounding like the verb “to convert” (“tenjiru”), i.e. changing hardship to good fortune. The plum branches stand for hope because they are the first trees to blossom in spring and the ornamental cabbage flowers are white and red (well, almost), colors denoting happiness.
There is a great volunteer group in Kagawa prefecture called Donguri Ginko (The Acorn Bank) that takes care of forests and raises environmental awareness through events for families and children. One of their annual events is making kadomatsu. We joined them years ago and enjoyed a great day tromping through a forest on the south end of Takamatsu and picking out the materials we would use. At the same time, we were culling bamboo, which is essentially a weed that can take over and destroy healthy forests if it is left untended by humans.
Here we are cutting bamboo.
The work in progress.
A break for the local delicacy, shippoku udon, noodles cooked in a soup with miso and vegetables
This delicacy was served in dishes and eaten with chopsticks that we made ourselves from bamboo of course.
And finally, here we are with our creations.
In our area, the kadomatsu are burned on January 15 to release the gods and ensure a bountiful year. So let me end this with best wishes to all for a very happy New Year!
These are placed one on either side of the entrance to homes and buildings to welcome the toshigami, the gods of the New Year. It also means that the person passing through receives the blessings of the gods.
The photos above show a lovely example I stumbled across yesterday. I also stumbled across a lovely man who was able to explain the symbolism, something a surprising number of Japanese are unable to do. According to him, each part of the kadomatsu is a metaphor, which he interpreted as follows:
The bamboo stands for growth and strength, and also for honesty and uprightness because it grows straight and tall. The hollow tubes serve as a receptacle for the gods during their temporary stay. The evergreen pine represents a long and vigorous life.
“Nanten”, the nandina with red berries, is a play on words, “nan” being the same sound as the word for “difficulties” and “ten” sounding like the verb “to convert” (“tenjiru”), i.e. changing hardship to good fortune. The plum branches stand for hope because they are the first trees to blossom in spring and the ornamental cabbage flowers are white and red (well, almost), colors denoting happiness.
There is a great volunteer group in Kagawa prefecture called Donguri Ginko (The Acorn Bank) that takes care of forests and raises environmental awareness through events for families and children. One of their annual events is making kadomatsu. We joined them years ago and enjoyed a great day tromping through a forest on the south end of Takamatsu and picking out the materials we would use. At the same time, we were culling bamboo, which is essentially a weed that can take over and destroy healthy forests if it is left untended by humans.
Here we are cutting bamboo.
The work in progress.
A break for the local delicacy, shippoku udon, noodles cooked in a soup with miso and vegetables
This delicacy was served in dishes and eaten with chopsticks that we made ourselves from bamboo of course.
And finally, here we are with our creations.
In our area, the kadomatsu are burned on January 15 to release the gods and ensure a bountiful year. So let me end this with best wishes to all for a very happy New Year!
Posted by cathy at
10:34
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2012年12月20日
Temple in the Rock
One of the great advantages of Takamatsu is its proximity to the many islands on the Seto Inland Sea. In September, I had the chance to go exploring on Shodoshima, the largest of these islands.
Shodoshima
I set off for a local “power spot” called Kasagataki Okunoin Temple. A local friend recommended it as a strange and mystical place and I would have to agree. It certainly forced me to face my fears anyway: fear of heights, fear of the dark, fear of narrow spaces, and, well, fear of death. An excellent way to put life in perspective!
See that cliff in the back of the photo above? The temple is in a cave near the top. A wooden façade hangs in front of it, built I assume by Buddhist priests who loved rock climbing and really wanted to get away from it all.
The way up starts by the main temple below. At first, it’s a road but soon branches off onto a steep and winding path of stairs, stairs and more stairs.
It only takes about 10 minutes but it feels like much longer. If you have bad knees or a bad heart, you can get to the top of the stairs by car, although driving hairpin turns can be a bit hard on the heart, too. To go any further, which I highly recommend, you need to do some climbing. Fortunately, there is a chain to help.
Waiting to greet you at the top of the first rock climbing stage is Kosodate Jizo, the guardian of children, especially those that have died.
After that, there’s more climbing I’m afraid.
Finally, you have reached the entrance to the temple.
Whoever built this temple really loved climbing around on the cliff, perhaps as a form of meditation. The rock wall is dotted with statues carved in impossible looking places.
You enter the temple via a tunnel that winds through the rock into the inner sanctuary. It’s dark and claustrophobic; a metaphor I thought for a spiritual birth canal through which the soul is reborn pure on the other side.
In the sanctuary, you can buy charms to make sure your wishes are granted. But you can’t take photos there so I’ll leave the rest to your imagination. Once you exit the temple, if you are feeling very brave, you might try scaling the rock wall via the chains to get further up the cliff. I’m sure the view would be worth it.
However, it took most of my courage to get this far and I needed to save some for getting back down!
Please note that temple hours are from 8:30AM to 14:00PM only.
Access:
The start of the trail is about 20 min. drive from Tonosho Port. You can park at the main temple or you can drive up the hill and park at the first level. There is a bus from Tonosho Port that stops near the main temple but you will need to check the times and name of the bus stop when you are at the port.
Address: Kasagataki, Tonosho-cho, Shozu-gun, Kagawa
Phone: 0879-62-1017
Shodoshima
I set off for a local “power spot” called Kasagataki Okunoin Temple. A local friend recommended it as a strange and mystical place and I would have to agree. It certainly forced me to face my fears anyway: fear of heights, fear of the dark, fear of narrow spaces, and, well, fear of death. An excellent way to put life in perspective!
See that cliff in the back of the photo above? The temple is in a cave near the top. A wooden façade hangs in front of it, built I assume by Buddhist priests who loved rock climbing and really wanted to get away from it all.
The way up starts by the main temple below. At first, it’s a road but soon branches off onto a steep and winding path of stairs, stairs and more stairs.
It only takes about 10 minutes but it feels like much longer. If you have bad knees or a bad heart, you can get to the top of the stairs by car, although driving hairpin turns can be a bit hard on the heart, too. To go any further, which I highly recommend, you need to do some climbing. Fortunately, there is a chain to help.
Waiting to greet you at the top of the first rock climbing stage is Kosodate Jizo, the guardian of children, especially those that have died.
After that, there’s more climbing I’m afraid.
Finally, you have reached the entrance to the temple.
Whoever built this temple really loved climbing around on the cliff, perhaps as a form of meditation. The rock wall is dotted with statues carved in impossible looking places.
You enter the temple via a tunnel that winds through the rock into the inner sanctuary. It’s dark and claustrophobic; a metaphor I thought for a spiritual birth canal through which the soul is reborn pure on the other side.
In the sanctuary, you can buy charms to make sure your wishes are granted. But you can’t take photos there so I’ll leave the rest to your imagination. Once you exit the temple, if you are feeling very brave, you might try scaling the rock wall via the chains to get further up the cliff. I’m sure the view would be worth it.
However, it took most of my courage to get this far and I needed to save some for getting back down!
Please note that temple hours are from 8:30AM to 14:00PM only.
Access:
The start of the trail is about 20 min. drive from Tonosho Port. You can park at the main temple or you can drive up the hill and park at the first level. There is a bus from Tonosho Port that stops near the main temple but you will need to check the times and name of the bus stop when you are at the port.
Address: Kasagataki, Tonosho-cho, Shozu-gun, Kagawa
Phone: 0879-62-1017
Posted by cathy at
23:06
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