More glimpses of unfamiliar Japan

Yesterday I posted about the civic matsuri's that are going on right now throughout Japan. The other type of matsuri going on now are t...

Summer matsuri season is in full swing right now. There are 2 types of matsuri held in the summer, civic, and Shinto. The civic matsuris...

These three young Junior High Schoolgirls are Miko, or shrine maidens, and are taking part in the procession of the mikoshi at a matsuri. Be...

When I go walking and exploring I usually follow a route that takes me from shrine to shrine. Sometimes, in remote areas, the maps are outda...

This is not a very common kagura mask, in fact the only time I've seen it used in a performance is with our village's kagura group. ...

The village of Ichiki lies on the upper reaches of the Yato River at the base of a mountain that has a small ski resort on it. The Hachiman...

Yesterday was the Houranenya Matsuri in Gotsu Honmachi, the old town of Gotsu at the mouth of the Gonokawa. Before the procession started a ...

Living as I do in a narrow, steep valley, I rarely get to see the sunrise or sunset, so it was particularly exciting yesterday evening to wa...

Miyoshi is a large town in the mountains of northern Hiroshima that lies upstream of my village in Shimane on the Gonokawa River . Three ru...

This plant is a volunteer in my garden every summer. Known sometimes as Beefsteak Plant in English, but also by its Japanese name of Shiso, ...