Camellia, tea ceremony in Kyoto

🐚SHELL GAME🎴

To while away those rainy afternoons...a game of 'kai-awase' (貝合わせ).
Traditional or seasonal scenes are painted in elaborate detail on the inside of shells. The aim of the game is to find pairs amongst the shells (each half related in some way).

Clam shells from Ise Bay were considered ideal for 'kai-awase' (貝合わせ) as they fit comfortably in a girl's hand (this pastime was mostly played by women).
Once polished, the interior of the shells were covered with paper and gold leaf, onto which scenes or images were painted.

The half shells were separated into 2 octagonal boxes (桶): 'shells to be played' (出貝), representing earth/yin, and 'shells fixed in place' (地貝), symbolising heaven/yang.
At its most elaborate 360 matched shells (1 for each day of the year) would be in play, with 20 players!

🐚19 'fixed in place shells' (地貝 jigai) were arranged in a circle (representing 12 months/7 days), with the remaining shells placed in 9 lines (the layers of heaven).
🐚1 of the 'shells to be played' (出貝 dashigai) was placed face down and the task of finding its partner began.

Now here's the tricky part. Players do not look at the underside, but rather guess based on the shell's plain top (and memory). Matching pairs would fit perfectly together. A player confirms a match by showing the related images on the underside (cheating was impossible!).

🌊'GIFT FROM THE SEASHORE'🐚

Kameya Norikatsu's (亀屋則克) 'hamazuto' (浜土産) is produced specially for the summertime.
As Kyōto city is far from the sea, the sight of shells reminds us of cool ocean breezes (and has us longing for the coast🥹).

Inside the shell a rich amber jelly encases a dark, pearl-like bean. This miso-flavoured hama-nattō (浜納豆) gives the sweet confection a salty kick🦪😋

Presented in a bamboo basket (fishing net) with cypress sprig (seaweed), hamazuto brings the sea to the tearoom.

In one video Atsuko-san shows us the best way to eat hamazuto...using the shell as a spoon!🐚🥣
It's a little tricky prizing open the shells, but that's what makes them the perfect container for sweets😋

#貝合わせ #和菓子

As Typhoon No.6 (Tropical Storm Jangmi) approaches the weather has become languorous here in Kyōto. Thankfully Oimatsu's (老松) refreshing 'natsukan-tō' (夏柑糖 'sugared Chinese citron') is here to give the afternoon a boost of energy 🍊🙌

Natsukan-tō are made from whole natsumikan.
A hole is cut in the top so the fruit and pulp can be carefully scooped out.
Agar and sugar are added to the squeezed out juice to make a smooth, clear jelly, which is then poured back into the natsumikan as serving dish!😋
(it may look relatively healthy, but do not be fooled!)

Amanatsu (甘夏), aka natsumikan (夏蜜柑), first appeared in Yamaguchi (山口県) in 1740.
It's thought the seeds washed up on the shore, and local people then began to cultivate the fruit. The 'ancestor' of the current natsumikan trees is now a designated natural monument!

Hagi (萩市) is famed for its natsumikan.
After the new Meiji Government abolished the warrior class, the old Mōri clan (毛利氏) encouraged the jobless samurai of Hagi to take up natsumikan cultivation. Many fruit farms still exist today.

#夏柑糖

⛩️⛩️🦊A THOUSAND GATES🦊⛩️⛩️

An afternoon hike amongst the foxes of Fushimi Inari. Kitsune are familiars of the 'rice god' Inari Ōkami (稲荷大神), enshrined here.

Fushimi Inari Taisha (伏見稲荷大社) is perhaps best known for its network of torii (鳥居) that snake up Mt. Inari (稲荷山).
Collectively called 'Senbon Torii' (千本鳥居 'The Thousand Torii'), the gates are a form of votive offering that appeared in large numbers after 1804.

At the beginning of this 'tunnel' of gates, increasingly labyrinthine as you climb, the torii tower over the path.

The shrine popularised vermillion gates, a colour thought to protect against evil and associated with the fertile earth (thus related to Inari, 'god of rice').
This particular red is known as 'akani' (赤丹), and was originally produced using (toxic) cinnabar.

Hata-no-Irogu (秦伊呂具) was inspired to found Fushimi Inari Taisha in 711.
A large rice cake Irogu was using as an archery target changed into a white bird and led him up the mountainside.
When he finally caught up with the bird it transformed into a field of rice!🦢🌾🙏

#伏見稲荷大社 #千本鳥居

Poor Atsuko-san had a 5am wake up call for a photo shoot in Arashiyama.
The early bird catches the worm, and the early morning photographer may well catch the bamboo groves peaceful and empty.

The sun rising beyond the bamboo was worth the sleepy start.

In Japanese the phrase "hayaoki wa sanmon no toku" (早起きは三文の徳 "waking up early gets you 3 mon") has the same meaning as "the early bird catches the worm"🪱🐦
Mon (文) was a unit of currency used in the Edo period (a bowl of simple soba was about 16 mon)🪙

It is a rare day indeed when you get to walk the Sagano "Bamboo Road" without crowds busily trying to catch that golden photo.

#嵯峨野竹林の道 #竹林の道

💦👁️WATER TO HEAL THE EYES👁️🙌

In 811 Kūkai (空海) left his post at Otokuni-dera (乙訓寺) to visit the nearby temple of Yōkoku-ji (楊谷寺).
Whilst on retreat he noticed monkeys returning each day to a spring. Rather than drink, they washed the eyes of a blind infant🙈💦🤔

On the 17th day observing the monkeys Kūkai was shocked to see the infant's eyesight restored!
He took his tokko (独鈷), a single-pronged vajra used in esoteric rituals, and touched it against the spring's rock. It cracked and the trickle of water grew to fill a generous pool.

Just like nearby Yoshimine-dera, Yōkoku-ji is famed for its pure waters.
Above the inner shrine is a small spring known as 'Minori-sui' (神徳水 the 'Water of Divine Virtues'), once thought to be the key to perpetual youth (or at the very least a long life).

Nowadays the spring is more deeply associated with beauty, thanks to Yodo-dono (淀殿 1567-1615), the 2nd wife of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. During a visit to the temple she washed her face in the small pool, and almost immediately her beauty became linked to the waters.

Visitors to the spring nowadays purchase a towel before praying.
Just as Yodo-dono did all those years ago, pray (typically a beauty-themed wish), splash your face, and dry yourself off. The effect on the skin is said to be instantaneous🧐

When troubled by a disease of the eyes, Emperor Reigen (霊元天皇 1654-1732) visited 'Tokko-sui' (独鈷水), the older of the temple's 2 sacred springs.
He was cured, and for a long time afterwards the temple sent regular water offerings to the palace (even when it moved to Tōkyō).

For Tokko-sui to actually work, worshippers must follow a strict set of rules.
Begin by praying at the main hall, then travel up the 'Ajisai-no-michi' to the inner sanctuary to pray again. Return to the main hall to pray for a final time, and only then should you drink.

#楊谷寺 #紫陽花

Portals to a world of green🪟🤔🍃🥰

The 150-year old Yūsai-tei (祐斎亭) overlooks the Ōi-gawa in Arashiyama. Once a 'ryōri ryokan', a traditional inn priding itself on its cuisine, the buildings are now a workshop and exhibition space for 'yume kōro' dyeing.

The famed novelist Kawabata Yasunari (川端康成 1899-1972) wrote the book 'Sound of the Mountain' (山の音 'Yama-no-oto' 1949-54) at Yūsai-tei. It's not difficult to see why he was inspired to write whilst staying here.

#祐斎亭 #京都

There has been a recent trend for enjoying sparkling matcha (yes, you did read that correctly)🤨

Naturally we got Nao-san to try some😅🥤🍾🍵✨

The verdict?
Well keep watching until the very end. Nao-san struggles to keep her poise...🤣

#京都 #スパークリング抹茶

⏰🙏HŌNEN-IN😯🎶

Banbukyō-ji (萬無教寺 aka Manmukyō-ji) sits on the Philosopher's Path beneath Zenki-san (善気山).
Thanks to its links to Hōnen, it is better known as Hōnen-in, and because of the many camellia that grow here it's nicknamed Tsubaki-no-dera (椿の寺).

Hōnen-in (法然院) was built close to the site of a simple hermitage where Hōnen (法然 1133-1212) and his disciples (Jūren 住蓮 and Anraku 安楽), worshiped the bodhisattva Amida (阿弥陀仏) 6 times each day and night on Shishigatani (鹿ヶ谷).

The 'Rokuji Raisan' (六時礼讃) was a service of hymn-like songs performed six times in a day by Hōnen at...
😮🎶daytime (日中-sometime after midday)
😮🎶sunset (日没)
😮🎶first watch of night (初夜)
😮🎶midnight (半夜)
😮🎶4am (後夜)
😮🎶dawn (晨朝-6am)

As visitors enter Hōnen-in they pass through the Byakusadan (白砂壇), 2 terraces of white sand (roughly 7m long, 3m wide and 10cm high).
Said to symbolize water, the sand purifies the body and soul. Every 4 or 5 days a priest rakes new patterns, reflecting the weather or season.

Early each morning at Hōnen-in 25 flowers (commonly camellia) are dedicated to a statue of Amida carved by Genshin (源信 942-1017). This ritual offering of flowers is known as 'Sange' (散華).
The flowers represent the 25 bodhisattva who help Amida take the souls of the dead to paradise.

The Hōnen-in we know today was founded in 1681, long after Hōnen's death.
Following Hōnen's exile and the persecution of "The Pure Land School" the original hut was abandoned, but local villagers kept the statue of Amida safe until a new temple was built hundreds of years later.

#京都 #法然院

⛈️🙏🐎THE AOI FESTIVAL🐎🎎🌿

The Aoi Matsuri (葵祭) is one of the oldest festivals in the world.
It dates to the the reign of Emperor Kinmei (欽明天皇 509-71), when a series of crop-destroying storms were attributed to the Kamo deities (賀茂の神), angry at the lack of respect shown to them by the people.

In response the emperor had special rites performed at the Kamo shrines (賀茂神社), the current Kamigamo-jinja and Shimogamo-jinja, and miraculously the crisis abated.
Over time the rituals grew into a larger, two-week celebration, including horse races and a sumptuous parade🏇

Following the Ōnin War (応仁・文明の乱 1467-77) the festival was suspended for over a century and a half.
The Tokugawa shōgunate helped revive the Aoi Matsuri, and it's believed that at this time the Tokugawa first adopted an aoi (wild ginger) leaf motif as their crest (三つ葉葵).

Interestingly it was only after the Tokugawa’s assistance in reviving the festival that it became known as the Aoi Matsuri (葵祭).
Until this time is was known as the 'Kamo Matsuri' (賀茂祭), or simply as 'The Festival' (祭).

On May 15th a grand procession of men, women and children dressed in Heian period clothing leaves the imperial palace.
An imperial messenger on horseback leads 600 people (including 4 cows, 36 horses and 2 ox-carts) to Shimogamo-jinja (下鴨神社) and then Kamigamo-jinja (上賀茂神社).

The other notable figure in the procession is the Saiō-dai (斎王代). Once an unmarried imperial princess (that acted as priestess), the Saiō-dai is now chosen from a respected local family. She participates in a handful of festival rituals.

There are now two main parts to the parade day: the procession, known as 'Rotō-no-gi' (路頭の儀 lit. 'Roadside Ceremony'), and the shrine rites, known as 'Shatō-no-gi' (社頭の儀 'Front of Shrine Ceremony’).

The parade begins at 10:30am from the southern part of the Kyōto Gosho (imperial palace park). In total the 700m-long stream of participants will walk 8km.
It's estimated that this one event costs around 35,000,000 yen (about 320,000 dollars, 245,000 pounds and 284,000 euros).

#葵祭

🌞💜THE EMPEROR'S IRISES🍵🐸

Heian Jingū's (平安神宮) sprawling 33060m2 'Shin-en' garden (神苑) is divided into 4 parts: Higashi (東神苑 - East), Naka (中神苑 - Middle), Nishi (西神苑 - West), and Minami (南神苑 - South).
Beginning in 1895, it took Ogawa Jihei VII (小川治兵衛 1860-1933) 20 years to finish the first 3.

In 1968 Nakane Kinsaku (中根金作 1917-95) began work on a new garden, inspired by plants mentioned in a variety of Heian period works. After years of planning, 'Minami Shin-en' (南神苑), known also as 'Heian-no-en' (平安の苑), was landscaped and fully planted in 1981.

Work began on the Naka Shin-en in 1895. Originally it was known as 'Higashi Shin-en', but in the early 1910s Ogawa began work on a new 'East Garden', and it was renamed.
When the Sōryū-ike (蒼龍池) pond was finished irises raised by Emperor Kōkaku were donated to fill the shallows.

Close to the Naka Shin-en's 'Garyū-kyō' (中神苑/臥龍橋) is a small rest-stop run by our friends at Chikiriya (六角ちきりや茶舗).
An iced matcha float is absolutely the best way to sit out the midday sun.
Ogawa Jihei created the 'Reclining Dragon Bridge' (臥龍橋 'Garyū-kyō') by using 14 stone pilings recycled from the old Sanjō Ōhashi (三条大橋 - built by Toyotomi Hideyoshi).
In total Ogawa incorporated 50 stones salvaged from the rebuilding of Sanjō and Gojō Bridges into the garden.

#平安神宮