All about a beautiful path in Kyoto with cherry trees along canal like a stream from Lake Biwa. You can enjoy Japanese great landscape when walking on the path called "Philosopher's Walk".
 
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【2005.12.20 Tuesday 】 author : スポンサードリンク
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Nashinoki-jinja is on the east side of Imperial Palace
11月13日梨の木神社その1

Nashinoki-jinja is on the east side of Imperial Palace, so it is very easy to access it.
I saw Hagi,Japanese bush clover or lespedeza turn yellow.
It is famous for its Hagi and they have Hagi festival the third of Saturday in Sempember every year.

Like in photo, they hung lots of "Tanzaku" or Japanese paper called "Washi" which "Haiku"was written.

Haiku is the shortest form of poetry in Japan.
It tells a story or makes a picture in your mind of something that happens in nature.
Many descriptive words are used in this seventeen-syllable poem. Usually haiku is written in three lines.
There are five syllables in the first line, seven in the second,
and five in the third.
It does not rhyme.
from this HP"Japanese Haiku"

If you have some more interest in Haiku, please take a look at this fine site.

I guess we don't study poem as hard as you do in the U.S.A at school.
We study Japanese classics a lot like Genji-monogatari,or Tale of Genji and Heike-monogatari.("monogatari" means a story.)
Both are written in Heian period. I studied twice a week at high school. The reason which I guess is below.
It was not until Heian period that Japanese had our own culture in ourselves.
Before Heian period, we had great influence from China and Korea. We wore clothes from China and Korea, and have our hair style like Chinese did. We also have Kanji borrowed from China in writing system.
But in Heian period, some Japanese women start writing by using their own letters called Hiragana, while men with power ignored them and insist on using Kanji borrowed from China when writing on public document.

Tale of Genji or "Genji monogatari" is written by Japanese own letters called Hiragana created by women. It tells us how fragile love is and how sad women's lives are because even women born in powerful aristocrat family and married high ranked aristocrat had no choice but to obey men's order.

I suppose women today like Genji monogatari rather than men today does. So boys at high school have difficulty studying Genji monogatari with litte interest in it.

I like reading novels and comic books of Genji monogatari, the original is too difficult to read for fun.





【2004.11.13 Saturday 16:07】 author : walking
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Spring water from well at Nashinoki-jinja
11月13日梨の木神社湧き水

The picture shows a few people line up for spring water called "Somei-no-mizu" ("mizu" means water). It is drinkable.

We can pour water into pet bottles brought from our home. Sign says the limit is 6 litters a day. There is a small box for us to put money. It doesn't say how much money we have to put in, but I always put a couple of dollars at a time for 1〜1.5 litters.

Somei-no-mizu is the only one we can still drink in Kyoto city.
There were three famous spring water for its great taste, but now 2 of them are run out.

One is inside a park around Imperial Palace and the other is now rebuilded at famous Japanese-style confection store at Rokujyo-dori in Kyoto city.

Nashinoki-jinja is very close to Imperial Palace, so I recommend you to visit Nashinoki-jinja and have some spring water to moisten your throat.
【2004.11.13 Saturday 14:54】 author : walking
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New Torii, the gate of Heigan jingu shrine
1023newtorii
This is new gate of Heianjingu shrine(Official site in English)

It was under construction for renovation till 10 13th.

It is how it looked before.

They say that all gold parts are redone and they make it safer.
【2004.10.28 Thursday 19:18】 author : walking
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One of the three big festivals in Kyoto
1023

People are getting prepared for a big festival called" Jidai Matsuri". Kyoto citizens are wearing costumes from each period like Edo period or Heian period raging from A.D 1200 to now.
I took it around 8:30 on Octover 22th, Friday.

2000 people line up and walk from Imperial Palace to Heian jingu shrine. It starts at 12:00.

It is the route map.(in English.)

I think it is very hard work to prepare costumes and other goods for 2000 people. I wonder where they keep them for a year.

This is the 100 times from the start.
It ig something to keep doing for 100 years.

Click here if you want to watch a short movie for 3 minutes by real player. It is the one just below the picture.

citizens are doing this as volunteers or a part time job.
【2004.10.23 Saturday 21:29】 author : walking
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