Diary....February(2)

                                                                Ebisu Festival to pray for good business

            The festival in Osaka is perhaps Japan's most commercial festival where souvenirs and trinkets for business prosperity are sold. 

                               Approximately one million local people who pray for the success of their businesses flock to the shrine.

         

                              Bamboo is strong and supple, so it's represented as a symbol of business prosperity.
                              "Hukumusume" girls at inner shrine stage hand out a lucky bamboo branch to visitors one by one. 
                                                  　
                                                  These are some photos taken by me at the festival in the crowd.

       

                                                                                                                                                                                                                         January 10

               The atmosphere is something really special. People get the feeling of brightness to forget the prolonged economic stagnation.

                                     　　　　　　　　　　                  My challenge goes on.

                                               　　　　　　     活気あふれる 大坂の今宮戎祭りには圧倒されました。
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　     来年も是非行ってみたいものと思っています。

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　     　 
                                                       

Diary....February(1)

It was fun. 

 This is the first firefighters training for this year,which is conducted in the early part of January.

These kinds of training usually happens in every city once a year,and it is free to go and watch it. 

                                            Many families with their children,they come to watch such an event.

                       

                          As everyone knows, firefighters, they do more than fight fires at the danger.  Yes,they are our town heroes.

                                 
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　出初式に行ってきました。

                                                                                      　　       

Diary..... January(2)

                        On the 15th of January, my husband and I visited a nearby shrine with our shimekazari(decoration for the New Year 
                        holidays). Japanese people decorate shimekazari their houses around New Year holidays. After New Year’s Day, 
                        it's extremely bad taste if they are discarded in the garbage.Many of these items are burned on the ceremony called
                        donto yaki fire. It is  held in the middle of January at Shinto shrines.

                                                          

      This is our Shimekazari for this year.

                                           a twisted straw rope with fern leaves, an orange and shide(paper streamer)

                           It is generally hung on doors during the New Year holidays and served as a charm against evil spirits.

　　　A touching tale of an unlikely friendship with great love and patience, "Driving Miss Daisy" has been my lifelong favorite movie.

　　　I not only watched the movie with Japanese captions again and again 20 years ago, but also I wanted to read the dialog of the film.

　　　Unfortunately, I abandoned this, as it proved too much of a challenge, and I discovered that I would need better English to do it. 
        Soon, the book I bought went missing.

 　　 These days I decided to try it again with the help of my English teacher and bought another copy of the book. I will probably have
        less time to use my computer. Although I will continue posting and enjoy visiting you, my comment is closed for a while.

                                              

                                                              　  新しいチャレンジのため、しばらくパソコンを使う時間が減りそうです。
　　　　　                                                  いつも訪問して下さり有難うございます。コメントを閉じさせて頂きますが
　　　　             　                                     今まで通りポストを続け、訪問させて頂けると思います。


　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　                           　      

Diary.....January(1)

       2019 is the Year of the Boar,which is the last animal in the 12-year Chinese zodiac calendar.

　　　　This shrine(Kashihra-jinguu Shrine) has a tradition now of creating the large votive picture each year to celebrate the New Year.

            It was a very cold morning.I bundled up, and visited the shrine on my own to see the new boar insignia on the 7th of January.

                                                                                                               

              Seeing me clicking around the boar votive picture, this group of people asked me to take a photo of them all together.

              One of the men handed me his camera, and I carefully took a photo of them with the whole boar display shown clearly 
　　　　　in the back ground.

                                                                                                         
                     They said, "Thank you," with big smiles, and unexpectedly, some of them told me, "Next is your turn. 

                     Stand by the boar!"This is the photo taken of me with my camera, even though, I felt a little self-conscious. 
                     Later I found that the photo  the man took was zoomed.  Although he and I released the shutter from the same place, 
                     we took in a different way.

　　　　　　 　Meeting good people at my first outing for the year made me feel that this year is starting off very well.

                             

                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

                                                                                                              

             In Kashihara Shrine, the Emperor Jimmu, who is the first emperor in Japan, is worshiped, 

                　　　　　　　　　 so Kashihara city in Nara prefecture is called "the Beginning of Japan".
                                                 
                                                    　   the entrance of the main building of the shrine

                                                    　   lantern and” Imperial chrysanthemum emblem” on it

                                                           

                                                                                                             
                                                                   This is also a votive picture of this year taken at another local temple on the 15 of January.

   
                       

                                                                　　     寒い朝でした。沢山着込んで橿原神宮の猪の絵馬を見に行きました。
　　　　　　　　　                   　　　　  　　　　　　　 神宮で出会った人が撮ってくれた写真です。
                                             　　　　　　私もグループの人たちの写真を撮ってあげました…同じ場所から撮りましたが、
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　随分違う写真になるものだと改めて思いました。　　　　　　　　　　　  　　　　 　　
　
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　
                                                                                                 　　　　

Diary......December(3)

I went to Osaka for a reunion tea party. Just for me and my old friend.

We have known each other since our elementary school.

She recently moved  to Osaka to settle down close to her son's house.

It means we can easily meet more often than before!

                                                 The annual Christmas decoration in Osaka station building was begun.

                                                         Both young and old enjoy the bright decoration....so lovely!

Many people from young to seniors snap with their mobile phones.

Now, it is a familiar scene.

My friend  too.

　　　　　　　　　　　　                             　underground walkway in Oasaka...so busy....

                                                                            These photos were taken in Kyoto station(from my archive)
                                                             
                                   ki~~n ko~~n ka~~n ko~~n(we say in Japanese like this)
                                                                 
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　          　Merry Christmas and Happy  New Year!

                                                                                           Thank you for visit


                                                              大坂駅は今年もクリスマスイルミネーションが始まっていました。
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　キラキラ光るイルミネーションは皆ワクワクするのでしょうね。
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　多くのご年配の方々がスマホで撮影されてるのが印象的でした。

Diary....December(２)

I think I would like to share some autumn photos taken in Nara.

A pretty quiet and peaceful.

                                                                                                  the garden of my local temple   

                                                                                                 looking down from the top

                                                                        　　　　　　　　on a beautiful day of November

  　　　　　　　　 My husband and I drove about 20 kilometers each way to Asuka village, which is the ancient  town in Japan.
                         In Asuka village, the first Japanese Emperors established their capitals, and many of the country's oldest shrines,
                         temples and toms can be found.

                                                      　　　　　　　   viewing from the back gate of Asuka Temple.




                                                                                       bronze Great Buddha in Asuka Temple

                                           



                                                       A guide is explaining about the history of the temple and the Buddha statue to tourists.

                                                                         

             

This was taken at the playground near my house.

I walked around there with my backpack.

                                                                The following day, in the early morning, I walked the playground again.
                                                                The slide was wet with morning dew. One fallen leaf on the slide caught my eye.
                                                                                       Looks sad?.......but beautiful......

                                     
                                                                                                             

                                                                                                         Thank you for visit.

                                                                          Have a lovely day filled with smile.

                              　　　　　　                                            紅葉の時期もあっという間に過ぎました。
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　                      　 　  忙しい年末ですが、皆さま風邪などひかれませんように。

Diary....December(1)

Here we are in December already. How fast time is flying!

　　　　　　　　Sometimes, I wonder where the time has gone!The year brought many natural disasters including an earthquake, 

　　　　　　　　typhoon and severely hot summer.Regretfully, these damaged many crops in farming areas. Thankfully, my area, 

                       Nara City was quite calm and there was little damage.

 Noyaki (open burning)was done after rice harvest this year too.

               Noyaki has been traditionally conducted by Japanese people for the purpose of continued use of hills and fields as grass land. 

               However these days open burning is conducted to use the field as semi-permanent farmland (Wikipedia)

                    On one day in October, there was an annual autumn festival held at the local shrine close to where I live.

                    I appreciate seeing the happy children, enthusiastic youth and even the elders having fun at the festival.

                    Together in the festival, and of course the festival programs performed at the shrine garden are too good to miss!

                                                                                                       The programs are here.

                                                                                            Fire dance

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　                                 　　hula dance

                                                                             Japanese Dram performance is highlight.

                      These are the young men from a local youth group who support the event with their stall of BBQ sausages.

 Thank you for your support and allowing me to post of you!! 

                                     　　　　　　　　　　　　今年も近くの神社で秋祭りが盛大に行われました。                       　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　


                                                                                                 Thank you for visit.

                                                                  　Have a wonderful day filled with smile!