Would You Like To Clear Away Bad Lucks From Your Body And Soul?

It's June 30th today, so we can say that the first half of this year 2016 is coming to an end. In Japanese traditional custom, we have cleansing rituals at the end of a half year and a whole year. We can see special events/items for this custom at some of the Japanese Shinto shrines.

The photos are taken at Koyasu Shrine in Hachioji city, Tokyo. It is one of the local shrines in the area and known as a shrine that gives blessings for matchmaking, having babies, and safe births. Right after the entrance, there is a hanging board to present "Ema" (votive wooden tablets for wishes) to find a good partner. The pink tablets are for women/girls and the green tablets are for men/boys. 

Today, on June 30th, annual "Cleanse Ceremony For The Half Year" was held at the shrine and a big circle made by a thick straw rope was places in front of the shrine building for the ceremony. This circle is a special item to cleanse people's body and soul. When visitors walk through the circle three times making an "8" shape tilted 90 degree as you can see in the lower center photo, their body and soul would get cleaned.

On the right hand side of the circle, there is a note on a board that reads "Those who practice this cleansing ritual in June can extend their lives". 

Even if you missed this ritual today, don't worry! You can still go to the annual cleanse ritual for 2016 on December 31st!

To read another post related to the Koyasu Shrine in Hachioji city, please click here!

A Famous Landmark Of Tokyo From Samurai Era Has Returned After 150 Years.

"The Pine Tree Of The Moon" in front of Kaneiji-temple's Kiyomizudo-building was a well-known landmark located in Ueno, Tokyo during Samurai time. It was featured in a famous color woodblock-prints (Ukiyoe) series, "The 100 sights of note in Edo" (Edo is the previous name of Tokyo), by Hiroshige Utagawa.

The pine tree has a circular branch as you can see in the woodblock print shown in the upper left hand side photo. Actually it wasn't a natural shape. The circle was made by horticulture techniques. 

Unfortunately, the original tree was lost because of a typhoon in Meiji era (the early modern era after Samurai time ended). However, it recently reappeared again at the same spot as you can see in the photos above. Apparently it took 3 years to reconstruct the uniquely shaped pine tree.

Visitors can see the tree close from the deck of Kiyomizudo-building after they make a wish at the building. They can also enjoy the whole view of the tree from downstairs since the Kiyomizudo-building is on a high ground. It's fun to see the same view which was in the famous art pieces created hundreds years ago. 

In addition, there are hydrangeas on the slope of the high ground, so it is especially a nice place to visit in June.

Have You Ever Heard Of 'Yuyake-koyake', A Japanese Children's Song?

I introduced a local park named "Yuyake-koyake Fureai-no-sato Park" in my previous post on the June 16th. Actually the park was named after a famous children's song "Yuyake-koyake", and the meaning of the whole park name is "Yuyake-koyake Friendship village".

The song "Yuyake-koyake" was written by Uko Noguchi (1897-1972). He was a school teacher lived in Kamiongata town, Hachioji city. He started writing stories and songs for children's education while he was teaching at school. Yuyake-koyake song is one of his works and widely known today. Therefore "Yuyake-koyake Fureai-no-sato Park"was established right beside his house as a memorial park of this song. 

Apparently he was working at a school in the center of Tokyo, thus he had a long commute everyday and saw sunset on the way to home. It is said that he got the idea of this song from beautiful sunset views from Hachioji city.

"Yuyake" is a Japanese word means "a sunset glow", but "Koyake" was a word created by Uko Noguchi. From the Chinese characters used for the word "Koyake", we can guess it would mean "a small glow", so the title can be "A Sunset Glow, And A Small Glow" as a direct translation.

The sunset photos were taken from Hachioji city, so they may be similar to the views Uko Noguchi had been seeing on the way to his home.  You can listen the song from here (link to Youtube).

Another Seasonal Viewing Event: 'Hotaru(Fireflies) Evenings' At Yuyake-Koyake Fureai-no-Sato Park

Now it's getting hotter and more humid in Tokyo area. Japanese humid summer is just around the corner. I have just introduced seasonal hydrangeas viewing in my previous posts, and there is another popular seasonal viewing activity this month. It's "Hotaru (fireflies) viewing"!

Japanese people are fond of Hotaru (fireflies), those fantastic glowing creatures. So "Hotaru (fireflies) viewing" is one of the popular seasonal activities since old times. However, Tokyo area has been developed so much and Japanese Hotarus require clean creeks or ponds to hatch, it is rare for people in Tokyo area to have any chance to see Hotarus.

Therefore, nowadays any area with some wildness attracts visitors with an advertisement such as "You can see Hotaru here!" and holds viewing events during summer. 

Yuyake-koyake Fureai-no-sato Park in Hachioji city, Tokyo is one of these places. This park has a huge ground with full of nature and includes many facilities such as a youth-hostel, a campground, a restaurant, a shop for local produce, and a museum. Also a small beautiful creek is running through the park as shown in the second to the upper left end photo, and every year Hotarus appear in this park. 

During the daytime the park charges entrance fees, but after 6 pm between June 11th and 26th they open the gate free of charge for the Hotaru event and people can enjoy viewing Hotarus in the park as you can see in the event poster on the upper center photo.

When I arrived there it was a little after 6 pm, and some people had already started going down to the creak as shown in the upper right end photo, although it is still too bright. Some people set their cameras on good locations and everybody there waited for Hotarus quietly. Finally it got dark around 7:30 pm, Hotarus with green-yellow lights came out here and there as shown in the photos on the lower row.

A little later, Hotarus are flying not only around the creek but over the lawns, around the facilities, and over rice paddies in the park. People welcomed Hotarus with admiration, and children were chasing them around even though it is prohibited to catch them in the park. We had a nice time of an early summer day and returned home.

There is a related post on June 18th in my other blog "Yuko's Japan Guide", please check it, too!

Hydrangea Flower Festival Is Being Held At Takahata-Fudo Temple In West Tokyo

Takahata-Fudo Temple is an old Buddhism temple located in Hino city, Tokyo. According to an old records it was originally build in the 8th century and some of the statues in the temple are designated as important cultural asset by Japanese government. However the temple is not only famous for the long history, it is one of the popular spots to enjoy hydrangea flowers (Ajisai in Japanese) in this season.

On this temple ground, there is a hill covered by hydrangeas besides the temple buildings as you can see in the map on the upper right hand side photo and the photos in the second row. There are trails in the hill, so people can enjoy walking on the hill as they enjoy the views of beautiful hydrangea flowers in June. Therefore every year the temple held "Annual Hydrangea Flower Festival", and this year it will be between June 1st and July 7th.

Apparently the hill have had wild type of hydrangeas called "Mountain Hydrangea" since old times. The "Mountain Hydrangea" may seem rather plain than the gardening types, but you would see the flowers are full of life in the hill and can feel they are really native to Japan. Also nowadays the temple planted various gardening types of hydrangeas in addition to it. Thus many people visit here for "Hanami (Seasonal Flower Viewing)" of hydrangeas!

There are more about this place on my "what's in West Tokyo" page and "Tours and Fees" page!
Also if you need any assistance to visit this temple, please feel free to contact me!

A Free App Revives Takiyama Castle From The 16th Century In Virtual Reality

Takiyama Castle Ruins, which is a historical site from the Japanese Warring States Period of the 16th century located in Hachioji city, recently started a very interesting service. A free app was created and released where people can enjoy seeing revived structures of Takiyama Castle in a world of virtual reality with their smart-phones and tablets. 

The information boards interspersed on Takiyama Castle Ruins now has "AR markers" for the app. After opening the downloaded app, click the "AR" on the lower left corner of the display, then the guide app starts. When people bring their device closer to a "AR marker"on any information boards, they'll get the virtual view of the structures of Takiyama Castle at the spot as shown in the photos on upper row. 

With the app, plain fields in the castle ruins transform to forts and watchtowers, and paths reveal gates. The app also shows fighting Samurai soldiers. Although the audio guide of the app is all in Japanese, seeing the views of the 16th century is good enough fun to try. People can even take photos of the virtual views including themselves with the camera function.

Takiyama Castle Ruins has a nice atmosphere since the old times because the area is well shielded by dense woods and bamboos as you can see in the photo on the lower right corner. Now this app adds additional attractiveness to this historical spot!

To download the free app, click the link below!

http://hachioji-kankokyokai-hachiani.jp/takiyama_ar/app/

Free Hachioji Castle Tours For English Speakers

Are you and your family interested in Japanese Castle Ruins or Samurai lords? I'd like to introduce an exciting free tour in Hachioji City here!

【Hachioji Castle Ruins & Samurai Armor Dress Up】

 In the 1580s, Hachioji Castle was built on Mt.Fukasawa (near current Takao town, Hachioji city) by the Samurai lord Ujiteru Hojo. The location was naturally impregnable so Ujiteru believed his castle was safe against enemies. However, just few years later the most powerful Samurai lord at that time attacked the castle during Ujiteru’s absence, and it fell in only one day. Although the castle buildings were completely destroyed, with its well preserved ruins Hachioji Castle was chosen as one of The 100 Best Castles by the Japanese government and now it is one of a castle fans’ must-see-spots. Also it is a nice place for nature lovers due to its mountainous locale. 

We, Hachioji Castle Mitsu Uroko Club, would like to invite you to participate in a trial tour in preparation for some future events. An English speaking guide will take you to look around Hachioji Castle Ruins. After the tour you can try out Samurai armor replicas (adult and kids sizes available) and feel like a Samurai!At the end of the tour, we would like to ask you to give feedback by completing a survey. 

Duration: 60-90 minutes plus ‘Dress Up’
Group size: max 5-6 people
Please contact in advance to arrange the schedule.

If you want to apply to the tour or have any inquiries about it, please feel free to contact from the contact page on this website! (You can also use my gmail address:  yokatakayama0110@)
(There is another article about Hachioji Castle in my previous post.)

In addition, you would be able to find more info written by a native English speaker at this site "Jcastle-The Guide to Japanese Castle"!


Also, The website of "Hachioji Castle Mitsu Uroko Club" is here!

How Many Stories Did Silk-Raising Farm Houses Have In Samurai Time?

In connection to "Japanese Silk Road" from my previous post on May 31st, today I'd like to show an old silk worm-raising farm house from a late Samurai era. It seems like a small plain one-story house from the outside as you can see in the upper left hand side photo. However, it actually has three stories. Since this house kept the typical style of silk worm-raising farm houses in old times, it was registered as an important cultural asset by Akiruno city in West Tokyo in 1998.

Let's take a look at inside of the house. After the front door, there is an un-floored space which is a typical style of Japanese kitchen in old times. Next to the kitchen is a living room on a raised floor and this is the ground floor of this house. The living room has a sunken fireplace as shown in the upper center photo. The fireplace was used to boil water for tea and to cook hot pot/soup, and to make the room warm. The sunken fireplace had one more important function. Since these old houses have straw-thatched roofs, smoke from the fireplace prevented the thatched roof from getting worse. Maybe one of the reasons we don't keep the sunken fireplaces in our modern houses is the fact that we don't have thatched roofs anymore.

Anyway, we will explore other floors. At the edge of the living room there is a staircase as shown in the upper right hand side photo. When you go up 7 to 8 steps, there is a wooden floor as you can see in the second left photo on the lower row. The ceiling of the room is too low to live here and this room was probably used as a storage.

From the storage room, there is another set of stairs to go higher. About 5 to 6 steps on the stairs, it is the top floor of this house. It looks like an attic, but this was the work room for silk worm-raising farmers. They raised silk-worms here because the materials of the upper floors is breathable and the smoke from the sunken fireplace on the first floor prevented molds, then it provided a suitable place for silk worms to grow. It's really a small farm house, but constructed very efficiently with three floors.