More glimpses of unfamiliar Japan

  Kakinomoto Hitomaro is the greatest of the ancient poets and is worshipped as the kami of poetry. He was a low-ranked bureaucrat from Yama...

    Today was the matsuri at Tsunozu. Last night was the all night kagura, but I was feeling a bit under the weather so didn't make it, ...

The earliest form of Tengu in Japan was a half-bird half-man creature, the Karasu (crow) Tengu, but the commonest form is the red faced, lon...

Tsunozu's Otoshi shrine is in the old part of the village where a maze of alleys and narrow roads and traditional houses are still maint...

The annual matsuri for a shrine will usually include a procession. The details differ a little from shrine to shrine, but the format is basi...