Friday, May 15, 2009

Kagura dancer

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One of the things that attracts me to Iwami kagura is the sheer dedication and professionalism of the dancers, though in fact there are no professionals, they are all amateurs.

These shots are of my friend Tetsuhide dancing the purification dance as part of last years Omoto Kagura at Ichiyama.


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He's been dancing kagura for over 40 years, and all three of his sons are also kagura dancers. During the week he is a travelling salesman, and on the weekends he helps out in his families business, the village liquor store.

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Kagura is performed primarily as entertainment for the kami, but in one sense the dancer also becomes the kami. The dancers hold various kinds of torimono, objects into which the kami descend. For this dance he is using a fan and a large nusa, a type of ceremonial wand.

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The regular purification dance with 4 dancers was performed before this one, which is specific to Omoto.

Outside of my local area, Iwami, it is rare to find anyone who knows what kagura is, and yet it is the root of Noh, Kabuki, and other performing arts in Japan.

Thursday, May 14, 2009

My back yard.

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Nothing much exciting this post, just some views of my backyard! Actually we don't have a backyard, our house backs directly on to the mountainside and forest. The mountain is 254 metres high, and no-one knows if it has a name. There is supposed to be an old charcoal-makers hut on the top, but as yet I havent made it up that far.

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There is a small graveyard/cemetery immediately behind the house, and this section is planted in cedar, but the rest of the mountain is mixed forest. I havent gone up there much simply because it is very steep. Its the domain of the bear, wild boar, monkey, badger, weasel, marten, civet, among others.

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The mountain belongs to the local shrine, but in the years I've been here there has been no work done on or in the mountain, no thinning or planting etc. I plan on talking to the priest and some of the old guys in the village and see if I cant go in and tend the forest a little and get some firewood in the process.

Saturday, May 9, 2009

Hakusan Shrine, Tenri.

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This small wayside shrine is located just of the Yamanobenomichi a little south of Isonokami Shrine in Tenri. I believe it is a Hakusan Shrine, sometimes read as Shirayama Shrine. Shirayama is the older reading. The head Hakusan shrine is up in Ishikawa Prefecture. Nowadays the main kami is said to be Kukurihime, a kami who mediated between Izanagi and his dead wife Izanami, so sometimes eithe of these two are claimed as the main kami.

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The shrine may well have been part of a huge temple complex that existed near here before being destroyed in the early years of Meiji when the government dramatically altered the religious landscape of Japan.

Thursday, May 7, 2009

The views from Kaikyo Yume Tower

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The 360 degree views from the tower are well worth the 600 yen entrance fee.
To the NE the Kanmon bridge connecting Honshu with Kyushu

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To the NW, Ganryujima Island

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To the south, Kitakyushu.

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Below, a fairly typical Japanese urban scene.

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Kaikyo Yume Tower

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Kaikyo Yume Tower, 153 metres in height, is located in the port of Shimonoseki as part of a complex including convention and exhibition areas.

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Finished 1n 1996 and designed by NTT Power & Buildings, fast elevators whisk you up to the observation platform inside the towers sphere at 143 metres.

One day in Shimonoseki

The tower is covered with more than 8,000 panes of glass, and at night is illuminated by more than 600 lights.

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Kaikyo Yume Tower is open 364 days a year, closing only on the 4th Saturday in January. It opens at 9:30am and closes at 9:30pm

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Entrance is 600yen for adults and 300 for kids. The tower is a short walk from Shimonoseki Station.

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Children's Matsuri



Today, May 5th, is Children's Day in Japan. In Kawado, the village across the river, it is also the day of the year's most important ceremony and matsuri, the Suijin Matsuri, and in the morning the kids have their own parade.

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It begins in the local shrine, where a longer ceremony will take place this afternoon.

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The kids are purified and the Kami invited to attend.

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The float pulled by the kids has a family of Kappa, or Enko as they are known locally. Soon I will get around to posting the local story about Enko.

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The kids taking part are young as the local schools have baseball matches today, and for many young boys baseball is more important.

The birthrate in the countryside is fairly healthy. It's the people of the cities who are having few babies. Hardly surprising.

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After the ceremony the lightweight "mikoshi" is carried down to where the float waits and the procession heads off around the village.

Monday, May 4, 2009

Gaijin Hanya

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It's been a while since I finished any new masks, but a couple of recent sales has prompted me to get off my butt and finish some.

With an extra long nose, wonky eyes, wrinkles, and brown hair, this must be a Gaijin Hanya.

It is of course for sale, as are all my masks :)

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Sunday, May 3, 2009

Wabi Sabi signage

The Japanese aesthetic concept of wabi-sabi has associations with impermanence and transition, expressed well I think by the action of the weather on metal signs, when the figurative begins to transform to the abstract.

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Bridal attire rental service, Hamada.

A walk from Tsuwano to Masuda 7065

A sign warning of pedestrians crossing. I think. (or a company making lower-body prosthetics)

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Beware of children on the road

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Corporate Oil

A  walk from Tsuwano to Masuda 7133

A business school in Masuda.

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Clear enough.

Isonokami Shrine, Tenri.

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Isonokami Shrine is located in the hills east of Tenri, Nara Prefecture. In the early days of the Yamato State it was a center of power as at least 2 emperors lived in the vicinity, and 2 princes hid here during the succession disputes that occurred after every death of an Emperor.

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It was the treasure house of the Mononobe clan, one of the king-making powerful families, along with the Soga, Nakatomi, etc, whose support determined which prince became Emperor. Often described as Armorers or Imperial Guards, the Mononobe looked after ritual/political "treasures", many of which were swords.

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The main kami of the shrine is Futsunomitama, a divine sword used by the mythical first emperor Jimmu. Another sword, the Shichishito, in the shrines treasury was made in 369 by the King of Paekche and given to the Yamato. Legend has it that the sword used by Susano to slay Orochi is also stored here. Amenohiboko, according to the ancient Yamato myths was a prince from Korea who settled in Japan. He brought with him ten "treasures" that are also thought to be stored at isonokami.

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There is a secondary shrine to Izumo Takeo here that unusually for a secondary shrine is on higher ground than the main shrine leading some historians to suggest that maybe the Izumo shrine was here first.

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Isonokami is at the northern end of the famous Yamanobe no michi, the oldest road in Japanese recorded history, and the shrine is a good starting point to walk the patyh south to Sakurai.

Saturday, May 2, 2009

Kyoto Solstice

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Kyoto Solstice
2001
acrylic on paper
36cms x 36 cms