#japanese culture

Lunch at “Nishiki Agaru” near Nishiki Market, Kyoto. Nicely arranged tiny colorful cups called “nozoki” are so cute, which I never use at home (…too many to wash, you know).

The restaurant was a renovated Machiya, traditional merchant’s house, and had a beautiful small inner garden deep-inside with fresh green of Japanese maple, which we enjoyed just next to our seats. It was good to make a reservation earlier.

Kyomachiya Nishiki Agaru (Japanese)
https://www.google.co.jp/amp/s/s.tabelog.com/kyoto/A2601/A260201/26025527/top_amp/
You can also bring foods you bought at Nishiki Market in (They will serve them on dish). Better to make reservations especially for weekend lunch.

Machiya
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machiya
Kyoto’s Machiya is especially called “Kyomachiya”.

Nishiki Market (japan-guide.com)
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3931.html

錦市場ちかくの「錦上ル」で昼ごはん。きれいに並べられたのぞきが可愛いらしい、が、家では全然使わない（洗い物が増えるしな；）。

細長い町家の奥座敷には紅葉の青がきれいな坪庭。早くに予約しておいて良かった。

京町家 錦上ル
http://nishikiagaru.jp

京町家
https://ja.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/京町家

Yasaka shrine’s chimaki, a charm for warding off evil (made of only rice reeds and no rice cake inside unlike sweets sold in May). It’s deadly awful, hot and wet July and the arrival of Gion Festival in Kyoto.

Few days ago after celebrating my mom’s birthday at some ryotei (authentic Japanese restaurant) around Higashiyama, I dropped in Yasaka shrine for receiving this year’s new chimaki (you use the word “receive (from god)” instead of “buy” in Japanese for charms and amulets of shrine). Yasaka shrine’s chimaki is sold during the entire month of July and relatively easy to obtain compared to Yama and Hoko floats’, though every float, built and exhibited on the street, starts selling its original chimaki only a few days before the parade day and sells out quickly.

Chimaki will be hanged out at the porch or the gate. The protection lasts for a year and you will take it back to any shrine after a year: since it’s a holy item Shinto priests burn old charms with praying. Appreciate for the protection of the past one year, and wish for another one-year mercy.

Chimaki of Gion Festival
https://www2.city.kyoto.lg.jp/koho/eng/preview/40.html
Strip color and letters differ by float. Yasaka shrine’s is to ward off evil but every chimaki’s mercy differs by float, such as for romantic love, study, and money profit.

Folklore on Somin Shorai
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somin_Shorai
The red strip on Yasaka shrine’s chimaki reads “A Somin Shorai’s descendant”.

Gion Festival
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gion_Matsuri

八阪神社の厄除ちまき（お菓子ではなく中は空）。時は蒸暑くも不快極まりない七月、祇園祭の到来である。

先日東山の料亭で母の誕生日を祝った後、八阪神社へ寄り今年のちまきを受けた（ちまきは「買う」ではなく「受ける」「授かる」）。街中に建つ祇園祭の山鉾のちまきは巡行日の2、3日前から売りに出され、すぐに売切れてしまうが、八阪神社のちまきは山鉾と違い7月中売られており手に入りやすい。

ちまきは玄関の外か門の前に掲げる。御利益は一年間。１年過ぎたらお焚き上げのため神社へ返す。一年間の御守護に感謝。また一年間御加護が有りますように。

ちまきとは
http://www.kyotodeasobo.com/gion/chimaki/
八坂神社の厄除けである蘇民将来の謂われについて。八阪神社のちまきには「蘇民将来子孫也」と書かれた赤い紙が付いている。また山鉾ごとのちまきの御利益一覧表など。縁結びの保昌山（ほうしょうやま）は女子に大人気で毎年速攻売り切れる。筆者も恋する女子友に購入に付き合わされたことが（長蛇の列に並んだ）。

祇園祭
https://ja.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/祇園祭
https://www.kyokanko.or.jp/gion/gyoji.html

My nieces’ play-house set.

姪のおままごとセット。

Japanese tea room Chikusei by Tsubakido, at Fushimi, Kyoto. A purveyor to Fushimi Inari Taisha (shrine). Tea, sweets, the interior design, everything’s great. Surely wanna visit again.

Tsubaki-do 椿堂
http://www.tsubakido.kyoto
Only in Japanese, but has a nice tea company film. Tranquil and worth to watch. “Tsubaki” means camellia FYI.

京都伏見の椿堂竹聲。伏見稲荷大社御用達。煎茶、スイーツ、室礼、どれも良い。また訪れたい。

My nails in the past few years. Mostly wearing single colors fitting my skin, but sometimes decorate (by myself). It’s fun to design and paint.

過去2年分ほどのネイル。たいてい肌馴染みのいい単色だが、たまにデコることがある（自分で）。デザインを考えて塗るのは楽しい。

My first visit of the year to a shrine happened to be Fushimi Inari taisha, Kyoto, which draws the most worshippers in western Japan. It was on our ways home from Kyoto station after countdown concert.

I found a huge, unfamiliar screen by the two-storied gate and it was quite surreal like “Blade Runner” or “Ghost in the Shell”. Is it temporary only for new-year three days?

The approach seemed not crowded as much as new-year daytime, yet before the main hall it was totally stuck and took long time. Further, it was sooooo freezing at three o'clock in the morning to go through thousands of torii gates, back of the main hall, and I decided without hesitation to indulge myself with oden and hot sake as I sooon as I saw at the inner sanctuary. I realized it really worked. Really.

After that, I dropped by the local shrine (ujigami-san: the guardian god of the community) in my neighborhood, obtained new “ofuda (talisman or amulet for home to reach a certain god)” to replace (we do once a year) and got home at five. I have never visited shrines in such early hours of January first. I’ve seen such people only on TV. Unusual fun experience. And I knew myself so tired.

Fushimi Inari shrine
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3915.html
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fushimi_Inari-taisha

If it’s daytime, I recommend hiking up to the top of Inari yama mountain (233m above sea level, takes one-two hours to reach as taking photos, reading signboard’s English explanations and having a break at tea house). You will see many little shrines “tsuka” and thousands of torii as enjoying beautiful mountain air and greens. Actually, Inari god (harvest god) was not enshrined at the foot originally and it’s said it still resides in the mountain. So when you go up, be careful of your words and behavior; believe or not, it’s been said the spiritual subordinates here “kitsune (foxes)” to Inari god are very strict to the culpable while they are the most capable and powerful among other kinds.

初詣はたまたま伏見稲荷大社になった。京都駅のカウントダウンライブ後、ちょうど帰宅途中にあったのだ。

行くと楼門前に見慣れない巨大なスクリーンがあり、「ブレードランナー」か「攻殻機動隊」みたいにシュールなことになっていた。あれは正月三ヶ日限定なんだろうか。

参道は正月の昼間ほどには混んでいなかったが、本殿の前は流石に満杯でびたっと詰まっていた。さらに真夜中3時の本殿裏の千本鳥居は無茶苦茶寒くて、奥社奉拝所（おくのやしろほうはいしょ）ではもう、いつもなら食べないおでんと熱燗を目にするや即決で食べていいことに。寒いときのおでんと熱燗はあったまる。それはもう本当に。

その後は家の近所の氏神さんへお詣りして、新しいお札を貰って、朝5時に帰ってきた。夜中のうちに初詣を2件も済ませたのは生まれて初めてだ。そういうのはTVでしか観たことがなかった。なかなか珍しい経験をした。そしてやっばりものすごく眠かった。

伏見稲荷大社
https://ja.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/伏見稲荷大社
昼間であれば稲荷山の頂上まで登って参拝するのがおすすめ（海抜233m、写真を撮ったり立て看板の説明を読んだりお茶屋で休憩したりしながら登って頂上まで1〜2時間）。元々平安時代の頃は麓に社殿はなく稲荷神は山に居ると言われている。道中千本鳥居を始め様々なお社（＂お塚＂）があり、空気も清く景色も美しい。地元伏見では頂上の一宮へお参りすることを「お山（やま）する」と言う。・・・お山では狐さん（←厳しい）が見ているのでマナーには注意。

牛丼でっせ

Parts of kimono– transparent version!

(image from Wikipedia)

How to fold your kimono– very important to keep it absolutely flat and crisp while in storage!

Always fold it on the existing seams and keep it away from direct sunlight and damp, and it will stay perfect for decades to come.

五箇山の相倉　（富山県南砺市）

Ainokura Village in Gokayama (Nanto-shi, Toyama Prefecture)

While lesser known than it’s ultra famous neighbor Shirakawago in Gifu Prefecture, Gokayama offers a bit more of a relaxed atmosphere with arguably just as beautiful scenery. Like Shirakawago, Gokayama was also certified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995 for it’s well-maintained gassho zukuri houses. Gokayama has two villages of gassho zukuri houses, the larger being Ainokura and the smaller Suganuma.

I found out about Gokayama through an advertisement on a train in Tokyo (in Japanese). Since I had known about Shirakawago for a while, I was intrigued as to why Gokayama wasn’t as popular. While still somewhat of a tourist destination, Gokayama has received less media exposure and tourism resources geared to foreign travelers are still more limited compared to Shirakawago.  After some research I found that this is mostly due to the fact the gassho zukuri villages of Gokayama are significantly smaller than Ogimachi, the village in Shirakawago popular with tourists. Gokayama also offers less in terms of accomodation, restaurants, and things to do in general. 

Despite its smaller size compared to Shirakawago, I prefer the atmosphere of the Ainokura village in Gokayama. Don’t get me wrong. Shirakawago is breathtaking and I would argue the panoramic view of Ogimachi is far more superb than the one in Ainokura. However, Shirakawago can get congested with tourists taking photos which can take away from the natural atmosphere. If you have more than a day to spend in the area, I would recommend visiting both because the villages of Ogimachi in Shirakawago and Ainokura in Gokayama are within an hour’s bus ride. Thankfully my fiance and I had a weekend to spend and we got to enjoy both areas in all their beauty. 

Let me know if you have been or are planning to go to either Shirakawago or Gokayama and what you think!

For more info and pictures of Shirakawago check out my Shirakawago post.

Traditional Japanese Wedding Dress by Wow Japanese

Brides host their wedding ceremony at a shrine wear a shiromuku, a white wedding kimono, which represents “the purity and sacred of the bride,” and a wataboshi, a white hat (acts as a veil), is often worn, too. 

While western style of wedding and bridal gowns have become quite popular among Japanese brides over the years, Shinto Wedding remains significant as:

Shinto Wedding is often held on a small scale involving the couple, immediate family members and close friends. So not only it is more convenient but more affordable to hold a reasonably extravagant traditional Japanese style wedding.