The Sun Sometimes Enjoys Mt.Fuji's Slope At Sunset!

From Hachioji City, Tokyo, this phenomenon can be seen few days after "Diamond Fuji" which I introduced on January 9th!

'Diamond Fuji' Requires Perfect Weather

"Diamond Fuji" is a well-known phenomenon in Japan. It is caused by the sun goes down right top of Mt.Fuji at sunset. When it reaches on the top, the sun sparkles like a diamond. Of course it depends on the weather and it can be seen only with very clear sky.

In Hachioji City, Tokyo, "Diamond Fuji" is available in many places between December and January. One of the most popular spots to see it would be the top of Mt.Takao, but you can try to watch it from the downtown, too.

Since this phenomenon requires a perfect weather condition, it is not easy to get a good chance to take photos. This year I tried to record a video of it, but there were thin clouds around Fuji although it looked like a good enough weather, then the sun light was breaking up when it goes down onto the top of Fuji.

If I succeeded it, the view should have been like the photo below. I luckily got a good chance to take the photo several years ago. I hope I can have a perfect condition and succeed to record it next year!

A Special Exhibition About Princess Matsu Was Held During The New Year Celebration

During the first week after New Year, a special exhibition about "Samurai Princess Matsu" was held at Shinshoin Temple in Hachioji City, Tokyo. I kept introducing about Princess Matsu on my website since last April. As I wrote in my previous post on April 10th and April 28th in 2016, she is a daughter of a very powerful Samurai Lord during Japanese Warring States Period in 16th Century.

Since last year, 2016, was the 400th Anniversary of her death, a special festival was held in the April and an old image of her, which was carved in about 1715 and was treasured at Shinsoin Temple, was carried out from the temple building and made a round trip as a parade to Shingenin Temple where Princess Matsu became the Buddhist nun after her family was destroyed.

The image had not been open to the public until last year, so a lot of people came to the 400th Anniversary Festival to see her image. Then, the Shinshoin Temple decided to exhibit the image again during the New Year's celebration this year.

The image was created after about 100 years after her death, but it is said that the image tells her appearance well. When I visited there, there were still New Year's decoration at the temple gate and a small Shinto shrine on the temple ground had Traditional New Year's offering rice cake inside. In the front room many photos of the 400th Anniversary Festival were displayed, then in the inner room the image of Princess Matsu was sitting quietly as you can see in the photos on the lower row above.

The size of the image was almost actual size of human being and the eyes were made of glass which gives her eyes a real sparkle. Her face had a peaceful look mixed with grace and dignity. Many local people were visiting there and putting the palm of their hands together in prayer. In the room there were many historical materials related to her such as her father's portraits, letters addressed to her, and her portrait painted in modern times. It seemed as if Princess Matsu has been sitting there surrounded by her belongings and watching over Hachioji all the time for these four hundred years.

Apparently the temple people are now thinking about having the same kind of exhibition next year during New Year's celebration. Let's hope we can have a chance to meet her again!

How About Asking A Robot To Tell Your Luck For 2017?

The left-hand side photo and the movie above are showing a "Omikuji vending machine" that can be found in Japanese temples and shrines. I wrote about  "Hatsu-moude (The First Visit for Prayer)" yesterday on this blog. When people visit a shrine or a temple for "Hatsu-moude", many of them like to try "Omikuji". "Omikuji" is lottery-style traditional fortune-telling papers. When you pick up a piece of folded paper from a box or a tray at a temple/shrine, there is a message from Japanese gods regarding your luck.  

It is a very common and fun activity that costs only a few hundred-yen (1 or 2 dollars), so many people try it when they visit a shrine or a temple especially for "Hatsu-moude". Usually you can buy "Omikuji" at booths of shrines and temples as same as their lucky charms, but in these days some shrines and temples have installed "Omikuji vending machines" as you can see in the left hand side photo and movie.

In the "Omikuji vending machines", actually a small robot will pick up a fortune-telling paper for you after you insert coins to the machine.  The robot is representing traditional "Shishi-mai (Shishi-dance)" style. "Shishi-mai" is a traditional Japanese custom, which you can see in the right hand side photo, to give a blessing to people. A person wears a imaginary creature, Shishi's mask, and play the role at festivals and new year celebrations. Shishi dances and sometimes bite people. It is said that if you are bitten on your head by Shishi, you would stay healthy for the year. Shishi can bring good health to people.

For the "Omikuji vending machines", Shishi-robots bite an Omikuji paper and bring it to you. However it can be a bad luck because "Omikuji" papers usually contain "big luck, luck, small luck and bad luck. When you try Omikuji vending machines, hope the Shishi-robot brings a good luck to you!

The photos and movies were taken at Ueno Kanei-ji temple Kiyomizu-kannon-do in Taito-ku Tokyo, and Koyasu Shrine in Hachioji city Tokyo.

Happy New Year! Did You Already Make A Wish For This Year?

A Happy New Year!!
Traditionally, in the beginning of a year Japanese people visit a Shinto shrine or a Buddhism temple to make a wish for the New Year as a resolution for the year. It is called "Hatsu-moude" and it means "The First Visit for Prayer". 

It might sounds funny, but for this "Hatsu-moude (The First Visit for Prayer) ", most Japanese don't care if they go to a Shinto shrine or a Buddhism temple. I guess it is an act of traditional customs rather than religious visit. People just pick up one place where they want to visit.

There are many major shrines and temples which are popular as tourist spots. These places are packed with people for "Hatsu-moude (The First Visit for Prayer) " every year. It would be fun to visit one of these famous places as an New Year's event, but also visiting a local small shrine or temple is nice for a quiet peaceful New Year's celebration. 

For this year I visited a small local shrine located in Takao-town, Hachioji-city, Tokyo. On January 2nd, shrine maiden's dance performances and a special kind of traditional flute performance took place at the shrine and people in the neighborhood enjoyed them as they visited for "Hatsu-moude (The First Visit for Prayer) ". The photos above are showing the performances and one of the Shinto priests there. 

Hope you will enjoy reading my blogs and seeing many places and things in Japan in this year!

Thank You For Reading My Blogs In 2016

It is December 31st, so this is the last post for this year. Thank you for reading my blogs during 2016! The photo on the right hand side was taken today. Mt. Fuji is also seeing off this year's last day with the clear sky and the crescent moon.

As I wrote in my another blog on December 30th, in Japan there is a tradition at the end of the year to eat one kind of noodle. The noodle is "Soba Noodle" which is made from buckwheat and the dish which is for December 31st is called "Toshikoshi-soba". The direct translation of it is "Noodle for passing over the year", but it is a "Noodle for New Year's Eve". Since ancient times Japanese people eat something long to wish longevity, so people eat Soba noodle at the end of a year. 

Hope you will keep reading my blogs for a long time!

A Big Sacred Circle Can Get Rid Of Bad Lucks From Your Body And Soul?

It's already December 29th, so 2016 is going to end soon! In Japanese traditional custom, we have cleansing rituals at the end of a half year and a whole year as I introduced in my previous post inJune. 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 (4-10-3, Myojin-cho, Hachioji City). It is one of the oldest local shrines in the area and apparently the shrine was originally build in the 8 century. Many local people love this shrine because it’s believed as a shrine that gives blessings for matchmaking, having babies, and safe births.

Now you can try annual "Cleanse Ceremony for The Year" at the shrine. A big circle made by a thick straw rope was placed in front of the shrine building and this circle is a special item to cleanse people's body and soul. When you walk through the circle three times making an "8" shape tilted 90 degree as you can see in the lower center photo, your body and soul would get cleaned.

It is said that the origin of the ritual came from a legendary episode. Long ago, when one of Japanese gods was traveling he asked one night stay at a poor man’s house. The man gave the god warm hospitality, then the god told him that he can escape from the disaster of diseases when he carries a ring made of one kind of grass. Later, he could survive from an epidemic by following the teaching. In ancient time people carried a small ring of the grass to get rid of diseases, but later it changed to the aforesaid ritual going through a big circle.

How about trying this ritual and cleansing your body and soul to prepare for coming New Year?

Now Free Wi-Fi Services Are Increasing In Japan

Until a couple years ago, for most foreign tourists visiting Japan finding free Wi-Fi outside had been a trouble, but finally the services started increasing. 

There is a free app named "TRAVEL JAPAN Wi-Fi, which provides free Wi-Fi service for only foreign tourists visiting Japan as you can see in the photos above. Also there is another service named "Japan Connected-free Wi-Fi" which is provided at shopping malls, airports, stations and inside of trains. In addition, some cities such as Hachioji City in Tokyo, started free Wi-Fi services in the downtown as you can see in the upper right hand side photo.

Why it took so long to have free Wi-Fi services in Japan after smartphones came out? Actually Japanese old types cellphones have had internet connection from the long time before smartphones and tablets came out. The internet services have been provided by cellphone companies and when people bought a cellphone with a phone number and contracted with a phone company, an email address for the cellphone and internet connection were included in the service. 

Of course these old types cellphones didn't have improved functions as good as smartphones and tablets nowadays, but all of them had a camera and a color display, then they were enough to exchange emails/photos and see simple websites of shops and companies in early days. Since the internet accesses were given through the cellphone connection Japanese people didn't have inconveniences outside.  

Even after smartphones and tablet came out, people still used the same system so that they had internet connection included in their phone-number contracts and didn't need Free WiFi services separately. However, it had been really inconvenient for visitors from foreign countries and there was a deregulation for the Japanese cellphone business. At last Free WiFi services for outside started spreading in Japan. 

I think it is interesting to see that even the circumstances of high-tech gadgets which seems like global items today are different in each country. It can be a part of cultural gap experience for your travel!

Here is information for outside Free WiFi service especially in Tokyo area!
Travel Japan WiFi
Japan Connected-free Wi-Fi
WiFi HOTSPOT GUIDE / Official Tokyo Travel Guide Go Tokyo

A Fall View Of Shingen-in Temple Where Refugee Samurai Princess Matsu Finally Found Herself At

This temple is located in Hachioji City, Tokyo. There are many Japanese maple trees (Momiji) around the temple building and they turn into beautiful red color in fall season. The ground were covered by lots of red maple leaves, golden ginkgo leaves and Japanese camellia (Sazanka) petals, so it looked like a natural potpourri spread by trees.

According to the temple's record, this Buddhism temple is the place where the refugee Samurai princess, Matsu, whom I introduced several times on last April 10th and April 28th. (Please click the date to read the previous posts). 

She was a daughter of a powerful Samurai lord who ruled Kai State (current Yamanashi prefecture) during Japanese Warring States Period (14th-15th Century). Although her father's troopers, Takeda Troopers, were famous as "The strongest troopers" at that time, after the father collapsed by a sickness the Takeda clan weakened and were defeated by other powerful Samurai lord. 

Princess Matsu managed herself to escape from the downfall of the clan, and reached Hachioji at the end of a long runaway trip over mountains. Later she established her own temple as I introduced in my previous posts, but apparently this "Shingen-in Temple" was the first place she arrived at and became a nun with a help of monks at the temple.

Actually "Shingen" is her father's name. Even though the written Chinese characters (Kabji) are different, it is a completely same pronunciation. After fearful runaway trip, she found a temple with her father's name. Maybe, that was one of the reasons she became a nun here? Anyway, it was hundreds years ago, and now the temple stands quietly surrounded by beautiful trees.

Were Historical Shoguns During Samurai Era Powerful Enough To Be Able To Do Anything As They Wish?

I wrote about a Samurai princess whose family was ruined during the Japanese Warring States period in my previous post on November 24th. Her name is "Kenshoin", and in her later years she was entrusted a illegitimate child of the second Shogun of Tokugawa Shogunate period. 

"Kenshoin" wasn't a relative of Tokugawa Shogun family at all. Tokugawa family was even one of the enemies who ruined her family at the end of the Japanese Warring States period. Then why she was offered such an important task?

After the Japanese Warring States period ended, a couple of powerful Samurai lord became the top of military power and ruled Japan, yet they could't hand down their position to their sons, so their domination periods ended with one generation. Finally, in 1603, Ieyasu Tokugawa (1542-1616) became the first Shogun and established a stable Shogunate government which continued until 1867. Thus "Shogun" position was technically the most powerful position of the country and the ruler of Japan during Tokugawa Shogunate period. 

However, it seems like even "Shogun" had something they couldn't control. You might think "Shogun" was like an autocrat who had all power to rule the country and many wives as he lived in a huge castle. Partially it was true, "Shogun" was the top of Samurai and lived in magnificent Edo Castle which is now lost and became Emperor's Palace, also they could have many concubines beside their formal wife. However, they weren't absolute rulers since they also had to follow many rules and needed to get permissions to do what they want.

Apparently, the second Shogun loved a lower positioned woman and he wanted to make her his concubine, but it wasn't approved by his formal wife who came from a very powerful family. So he hid the girlfriend even after she had a baby. Although the baby was truly Shogun's son, the second shogun thought it wasn't safe enough to raise him in Edo Castle. Therefore the shogun picked up a lady who didn't have any connection to Shogun's family nor vassals, to entrust his secret baby and the mother. That was the "Kenshoin" whose family had been ruined many years ago. 

Later the shogun secretly gave the son to one of the minor Samurai lord as his hair. The domain of the lord was small area called "Takato-han" in current Nagano prefecture. Surprisingly the son never acted as Shogun's son even though it was a tacit understanding among the upper class. He even refused to use the family name of "Tokugawa" which was Shogun's name and kept his adoptive father's family name. With his modest behavior, he was loved by his half brother who was the third Shogun.

Actually, a popular landmarks in Tokyo, "Shijuku Gyoen National Garden" is a former property of the "Takato-han". It is now one of the biggest green area in the center of Tokyo same as Emperor's Palace which is the former property of his brother, the third Shogun. You can visit both gardens within a day!