Last summer I happened to be up in Kamigyo-ku Ward in north-west Kyoto and took the opportunity to visit Seimei Jinja Shrine. This is a little shrine, and easily missed, but it has a very special character and history, and I had long wanted to take a look at it. You will notice as soon as you arrive here the ubiquitous design of the five-pointed star or pentagram. This … [Read more...]
Toka Ebisu Festival Schedule – January 8th – 12th 2016
The first big event of the year in Kyoto is the Toka Ebisu Festival which starts this week. Ebisu is the god of good fortune and prosperity in business, so thousands of local people will descend on Ebisu Shrine this week to pray for success in this year's work and business endeavors. The streets leading to the shrine will be packed with food stalls selling typical … [Read more...]
Exploring Daitoku-ji on Inside Kyoto
Last month I spent a couple of days exploring the Zen gardens of the Daitoku-ji Temple complex, and the results are now up on Chris Rowthorn's Inside Kyoto website. Daitoku-ji was originally built as a small Zen temple in 1319. Like many historical sites in Kyoto, it was repeatedly destroyed by war and fire before being rebuilt on a grander scale by Zen master Ikkyu Sojun … [Read more...]
Deep Kyoto on CNN Travel
In case you missed it, my recommendations for what to see, do, buy, & eat when in "Japan's most photogenic city" are now up on the CNN Travel site. Everyone should visit Kyoto at least once. It's Japan's best preserved ancient city. Shrines, temples, palaces, gardens ... the city is home to thousands of architectural wonders, including 17 UNESCO World Heritage … [Read more...]
Fujinomori Festival & Kakeuma Shinji – Acrobatic Horseback Riding
Mewby and I caught this festival last year and for sheer excitement it can't be beat. I highly recommend you catch this event on May 5th. Earlier that morning (from around 10.30) we saw mikoshi (portable shrines) from Fujinomori Shrine carried in a parade to Fushimi Inari Taisha. It was raining but that did not dampen the spirits of the people carrying the mikoshi - they … [Read more...]
Kerria at Matsuo Taisha
After the cherry blossoms fall, successive waves of spring flowers vie for our attentions. At Matsuo Taisha bright gold kerria, known as "yamabuki" in Japanese, are in full bloom right now. We went to see them last year, but for some reason I never got around to posting the pictures - until now. Matsuo Taisha, (formally called Matsu-no-O Taisha), is said to have been … [Read more...]
Ancient Football at Kamigamo Shrine
Tomorrow, 紀元祭 - Kigensai (National Foundation Day), will be celebrated at shrines all over Japan with prayers for peace and prosperity. This is said to be the day when the legendary first emperor of Japan, Jimmu ascended to the throne. If you go to Kamigamo Shrine tomorrow, it is also a good opportunity to see a Heian era game resembling an early form of football called … [Read more...]
Maiko at Yasaka Jinja
Maiko, Kyoto's apprentice geisha, at Yasaka Jinja today celebrating Setsubun. Setsubun is celebrated at Yasaka Jinja every year in both the 2nd and 3rd of February, though the festival proper is on the 3rd. To learn more about the traditions associated with Setsubun read John Dougill's marvellous blog: Green Shinto. … [Read more...]
Toka Ebisu on Inside Kyoto
My article on the recent Toka Ebisu Festival is now up on Chris Rowthorn's Inside Kyoto site. Toka Ebisu is the first big festival of the year in Kyoto, and in my report I take an in-depth look at some of the traditions and rituals that are associated with it. I also explain why Ebisu, the god of good fortune, is such an excellent role model for the good citizens of Kyoto. With … [Read more...]
Toka Ebisu Festival Schedule – January 8th – 12th
Kyoto's first big festival of the new year is Toka Ebisu and it starts this week! Ebisu being the god of good fortune and prosperity in business, thousands of local people will descend on Ebisu Shrine to pray for success in their work and business endeavors. The streets leading to the shrine are crowded with food stalls selling typical festival foods like taco-yaki, kara-age, … [Read more...]
Snow on Shimogamo Shrine, Kyoto
The past couple of days in Kyoto have seen the city's heaviest snowfall in over 50 years - which of course makes for a lot of splendid photo opportunities. One of my essential visits each January is to Shimogamo Shrine, a shrine older than the city itself and my personal favorite. I make a point of coming here for hatsumōde (初詣 - a first shrine visit) every year. Here are some … [Read more...]
Greeting the New Year in Kyoto
For the last post of 2014, let us return to a piece first written by our good friend, John Dougill in 2010. That year I followed John's advice by paying a visit to both Kurodani and Shimogamo Shrine on New Year's Eve, and so I am reposting some photos from that night too. It had been snowing quite heavily on the 31st, so Kurodani in particular was really beautiful; all dressed … [Read more...]
World Heritage Kyoto by John Dougill
Our good friend, John Dougill, recently published a wonderful (and beautifully illustrated) book on Japan's World Heritage Sites. Today he has been good enough to write a guest post on the many World Heritage properties of Kyoto, with some excellent personal recommendations. To research my book on Japan's World Heritage Sites, I travelled the length of Japan from … [Read more...]
Wisteria at Sandai Shrine, Shiga
Sandai Shrine (三大神社) is a small shrine near Kusatsu in Shiga Prefecture, with a very impressive garden of trailing wisteria. If you want to see them for yourself then you had better go soon. They were pretty much peaking when we went a couple of days ago. To get there, take a JR train from Kyoto Station to Kusatsu (410 yen for a 20 minute journey - see Jorudan for … [Read more...]
