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Introducing... Temizuya, or Japanese Shrine Purification Fonts

Feb 212010

According to Japanese mythology two deities are responsible for the creation of the Japanese archipelago and its gods. Their names were Izanagi (The Male Who Invites) and Izanami (The Female Who Invites). The myth says they descend to Yomitsu Kuni, the underworld and land of darkness. Stories about Izanagi and Izanami are were written in the Kojiki (Records of Ancient Matters) and the Nihongi (Chronicles of Japan) in around 700AD. As in other culture, myth and history are intricately and misleadingly intertwined in Japanese historical records.

Legend tells that after they were born Izanagi and Izanami stood on the floating bridge of heaven and stirred the primeval soup with a jeweled spear. It is unclear who was in the habit of giving large, heavy weapons to newborn babies. When they lifted the spear, the drop that fell back into the ocean transformed into the first solid island of the Japanese archipelago, called Onogoro.

Izanagi and Izanami descended to the island and lived together as husband and wife. When their first child was born deformed the other gods blamed Izanami for speaking before her husband at their marriage ceremony. This was likely added to the legend later by a historian with a particularly mouthy other half.

Legend says the couple performed another wedding ceremony, this time without the chit-chat and Izanami soon gave birth to eight genki children, who became the islands of Japan. Which has got to be a shock to any parent.

Izanagi and Izanami then created many gods and goddesses to represent the mountains, valleys, waterfalls, streams, winds, and other natural features of Japan. To this day the Shinto religion gives all physical objects their own attendant deities.

Unfortunately, while giving birth to Kagutsuchi, the fire god, Izanami was badly burned… “down there”. It is written that as she lay dying, she continued to churn out gods and goddesses. While she did so other deities were born from the tears of the grief-stricken Izanagi. It was truly one of the most gut-churningly gross scenes from all of fake history.

When Izanami died, she descended to Yomitsu Kuni, the Japanese underworld. Izanagi decided to follow her there and retrieve her. Bringing his beloved back from the land of darkness and death was not to prove easy however. Izanami greeted Izanagi from the shadows as he approached the entrance to the afterlife and said she didn’t want to be seen so could he please keep the lights off. It’s comforting to know that men throughout history have had this problem.

She said that rather than be rescued by him she would try to negotiate with the gods of Yomi for her release. Unfortunately, overcome with desire for his wife, Izanagi lit a torch and attempted to peer at her in the darkness. He was horrified to discover that Izanami was a rotting corpse and fled. I for one do not hold this against him.

Thus the male trait of horniness and the female one of lippiness were enshrined in a cautionary tale forever.

Izanami was apparently furious that Izanagi had attempted to sneak a peek and decided that true love is about one thing… revenge. She sent a hoarde of hideous female spirits, eight thunder gods, and an army of ferocious warriors to chase him.This was the ancient equivalent of throwing dinner at a wall.

Izanagi again managed to escape and blocked the pass between the under and the land of the living with a huge boulder. Thus the staple puzzle from all Zelda games ever was born. Izanami met her deadist husband at the blocked pass one day and they broke off their marriage. I love a happy ending.

Izanagi felt unclean after the close call with the oogy remains of his zombified wife, so he broke out the green tea aroma bath salts took a soak to purify himself. A new spate of gods and goddesses, both good and evil, emerged from his discarded clothing as he soaked the undead right out of his hair.

They say the sun goddess Amaterasu appeared from his left eye, the moon god Tsuki-yomi popped out of his right eye, and Susano-ô came from his nose. Such events do not make for a relaxing bath. With praiseworthy calmness and presence of mind, Izanagi did not overreact to the fact that he had just given birth THROUGH HIS NOSE. Instead, rightfully proud of these three noble children who had appeared from his orifices and crevices, Izanagi did what any sane person would do in the situation and divided his kingdom among them.

Following this legendary bath it was traditional for pilgrims to cleanse their bodies before entering shrines to pray. Nowadays Japanese shrines have “temizuya” at which visitors are expected to cleanse their hands before proceeding to the prayer spots within the shrine proper. Although I’d wager that most people don’t know they’re paying homage to a zombie marriage gone wrong every time they do so.

It is also said that ancient eastern art depicts oni (goblins) opening their mouths and flooding the world with calamity and suffering. Therefore to cleanse the inside of the body a little of the sacred water is taken into the mouth, swilled and then expectorated into the trough beside the temizuya. At the time of going to press this ritual seems not to have prevented me from spewing forth calamity from my big mouth at regular intervals, but it doesn’t hurt to keep trying.

Popularity: 10% [?]

Introducing... Aoi Matsuri

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Feb 152010

Aoi Matsuri takes place in the triangle of land formed by the convergence of the Kamo River and Takano River. The point at which they join is known as the Tadasu River Banks are (Tadasu-gawara 糺河原). This means that Shimogamo is a “River Confluence Shrine”.

In the triangular area of land between the rivers, just north of Imadegawa station there is a forested area known as Tadasu-no-mori. This convergence gives Shimogamo Jinja a powerfully spiritual aura which makes Aoi Matsuri all the more atmospheric. Once you enter the forest glade in the triangle of the rivers the city melts several hundred years into the distance.

The festival consists of two main parts, the shrine rites and a procession, which is led by the imperial messenger behind whom are said to be two oxcarts, four cows, 36 horses and some 600 people wearing costumes based on Heian era clothes, on which are emblazoned the aoi leaves that give the festival its name. The props include these hanakasa (flower umbrellas), portable shrines, traditional food baskets and more.

The aoi is a native Japanese plant which has no common English name and that came to be associated with the Kamo Shrine in Kyōto and through that connection it acquired a sacred significance.

The aoi design has been widely used as a decorative motif or as a family crest or mon. Mon are simple designs much like modern day logos used to signify high class families or clans and then later adopted by the lower classes. Any student of logo design would do well to look into the deep and interesting history of the Japanese mon.

The symbol of the Aoi Matsuri is a plant known as asarum caulescens among botanists and futaba-aoi among the Japanese. It is often mis-translated as Hollyhock, a plant with which it shares nothing in common. The mistake seems to have originally been made because the Japanese word for hollyhock (tachi-aoi) and asarum caulescens (futaba-aoi) both share the same kanji, 葵 (aoi), meaning “mallow” or Asarum Caulescens (a species of wild ginger). Anyone studying Japanese will soon find that a lot of Japanese-English dictionaries are at best long in the tooth and at worst untrustworthy.

Aoi Matsuri was so big that it used to be referred to simply as “the festival”.

Another modern day ritual that has become a popular element of the festival is that of the Saoi-dai. Like the horseback archery display, this too is said to be significantly younger than the festival itself. In that sense she could be considered the Kyoto equivalent of the prom queen. And is probably equally as abstinent.

The Saoi-dai (斎王代 – literally “purified monarch substitute) is a female figure of holiness and abstinence chosen from the unmarried women of Kyoto. She is purified in several rituals before the festival day in order to prepare to devote herself to Shimogamo-jinja as a symbol of purity and a messenger of the emperor. As such she is the least likely to pull at Aoi Matsuri.

If you fancy taking a crack anyway the procession begins at The Imperial Palace at 10.30am and starts to arrive at Shimogamo Jinja at about 10.45am. She’ll be the one exquisitely made up in the long-sleeved kimono being followed by dozens of men dressed like courtiers holding red flower-umbrellas aloft. The 12 layers of her kimono weigh a total of 30kg. You can’t miss her.

The festival takes place on the 15th of May. The procession begins at The Imperial Palace at 10.30am and starts to arrive at Shimogamo Jinja at about 10.45am. We look forward to seeing you there. We’ll be the white guys hanging out with all the old Japanese men with massive lenses (kamera jiichan). You can’t miss us.

Date : May 15
Place : Course: Imperial Palace to Shimogamo-jinja Shrine to Kamigamo-jinja Shrine
Access : Imperial Palace: Next to Marutamachi Station on the Municipal Subway Line
Information : Aoi Matsuri Parade Preservation Society 075-254-7650

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Popularity: 15% [?]

Introducing... Valentine's day in Japan

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Feb 142010

In Japan Valentine’s day is a great day on which women worship at the altar of awesomeness that is… dude. The ladies get their turn next month on White Day on which the men buy presents for the girls. The best part is, we only have to buy “giri choco” (duty chocolate) for those who bought it for us.

If you’re anything like the ORAZ team you’ll have a received a tidy pile of obligatory confectionery today, each item a testament to the clear desire in the giver that their relationship to you not be misconstrued in any way. We’re keeping tidy records of who we owe “giri choco” and to whom we owe the new concept of the “kansha choco” (gratitude chocolate).

It seems ironic that Valentine’s Day has traditionally been a day on which the shy finally have a pretext for confessing true love, but in Japan an entire industry exists so that millions of people can say “you will never see me naked” with the latest iteration of the concept of meaningless platitude choco.

You can almost hear the sound of hundreds of thousands of hearts simultaneously breaking all across Japan with every “giri choco” that changes hands. Similarly every “kansha choco” is washed down with salty tears and the throat lump of loss.

In Japan, and some other parts of Asia, unbridled and guilt-free consumerism is the national pastime and so pervasive are national capitalist glee-multiplication fests that non-participation is unconscionable. Such is the stigma attached with not receiving any choco, giri or otherwise, that in Korea a “Black Day” has sprung up for the loveless to commiserate.

Those who didn’t receive gifts of Valentine’s or White day can get together and eat jajangmyeon (White Korean noodles in black bean sauce) to celebrate their singledom. It’s beautifully Japanese that this day has become almost entirely dedicated to saying “I don’t love you”

Valentine’s Day is thought to have sprung up from a saint or several martyred saints of ancient Rome named Valentine about whom almost no information remains. It is widely thought that the festival day came into existence to supercede and replace the pagan festival of Lupercalia which took place on February 15. It was a pastoral festival, and much like Kyoto’s own Gion Matsuri, which was started in order to ward off evil spirits and purify the streets, releasing health and fertility.

It is also believed that Lupercalia took over from an earlier spring cleansing ritual named Februa, from which the month of February takes its name. The only surviving records of Saint Valentine date his martyrdom to between 268 and 273AD. His association with romantic love didn’t arrive for another 1000 years when Geoffrey Chaucer and his circle are said to have created the connotation between the February 14th feast day with romantic love.

When history, ritual and language are as arbitrary and changeable as that it seems churlish to deny the latest interpretation of a day we know next to nothing about. Now enough of this spurious history, it’s time work on that spare tyre in the name of love.

Popularity: 6% [?]

Introducing... the Horse procession at the Kamigamo-jinja during Kyoto's Aoi Matsuri

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Feb 122010

Aoi Matsuri is one of Kyoto’s most famous festivals. It takes places in the height of summer on May 15th. A large procession of participants dressed in traditional costume form a large and incredibly impressive procession and leave Kyoto’s imperial palace at 10.30am before making their way first to Shimogamo-jinja and then Kamigamo-jinja in northern Kyoto.

With the help of what seems to be every last one of Kyoto’s boys in blue the streets are closed and the traffic lights controlled to allow the caravan through. Hundreds upon hundreds of brightly dressed and highly decorated volunteers stun drivers and passers by as they march through the streets carrying large props and traditional festival items.

The festival is thought to have begun during the reign of Emperor Kinmei in the sixth century. A series of natural disasters had destroyed crops throughout Kansai causing the Emperor to send priests and a retinue to the Kamo Shrines in Northern Kyoto to assuage the anger of the Kamo deities who were thought to be responsible for the downturn in Kyoto’s luck.

A procession of horses that formed part of the festival gradually accrued so much popularity that it threatened to overshadow the festival and eventually transformed into a horseback archery display that wows guests to this very day.

Popularity: 7% [?]

Introducing... Setsubun Festival at Yasaka Jinja

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Feb 032010

the grand entrance

A maiko is a trainee geisha in her final stages of training and here she is led into Yasaka Jinja by her mentor, or “mother, to perform for the Setsubun Festival.

This is a “Komainu” statue outside the main entrance to Yasaka-jinja Shrine in the Higashiyama area of Kyoto.

The word Komainu literally means Korean dog and is thought to derive from the Japanese word Koma that refers to the Koguryo kingdom of Korea.

Over the years they have been placed at the entrances to Japanese shrines to ward off evil spirits and have taken on the open and closed mouth depictions of the “Ah-Un” statues.

“Ah” represents the open, inhaling mouth and”un” represents the closed or exhaling mouth. Together they represent eternity, cyclicality and an unspoken bond between the guardians.

In the early Heian period (9th century) the two statues were clearly distinguished: the figure on the left, called shishi 獅子 (lion), resembled a lion with its mouth open (agyou 阿形); the figure on the right, called komainu 狛犬 (Korean dog), resembled a dog with its mouth closed (ungyou 吽形), and sometimes had a horn on its head like the one depicted here. Gradually the term komainu came to be used for both statues, and their shapes became indistinguishable except for the open and closed mouths (a-un 阿吽).

okay, who brought the dog?

god is in the details

This row of metallic lanterns hangs in Yasaka Jinja in the eastern area Higashiyama in Kyoto. While everyone else is looking at the stage it’s easy to miss the details.

Maiko are trainee geisha in their last stage of training. These Maiko-san making their way to Yasaka-jinja’s stage to perform a rare dance for the common people of Kyoto on February 3rd 2010 for Setsubun Festival. Their names are Miharu, Kanoyumi, Kanoka and Ryouka. They are from the Gion Higashi school, historically one of the two lower tier schools of the 5 main geisha houses of Kyoto. Due some recent resignations they are now, sadly, the only four remaining trainee geisha of the Gion Higashi Hanamachi.

In this shot Kanoyumi is walking in front of Kanoka, which is unusual in the traditional geisha power structure.

little sister leads her big sister to yasaka jinja’s stage

true fans can tell these maiko’s names from their obi

On the 3rd of February 2010 Japan celebrated the Setsubun festival during which roasted soya beans are scattered throughout the house and people call the phrase “oni ha soto, fuku ha uchi” (“demons out, good fortune in”).

Maiko-san usually perform in private ceremonies for rich sarariman on company expense accounts, so public performances such as this one are rarities. As such the people of Kyoto are out in force to get a glimpse of them as they move elegantly through the streets.

The Maiko dance on Yasaka-jinja’s stage before packets of roasted soya beans are thrown out into the crowd. To catch a packet is considered good luck. However, to do so one must put one’s camera, not to mention kidneys, in the paths of people who have sharp elbows and are not afraid to use them.

One is also expected to eat the number of soya beans equivalent to one’s age plus one. Given how dry and powdery roasted soya beans can be, this is a more difficult task than you might expect.

The Of Rice and Zen team have been know to remember Setsubun’s refrain using the following mnemonic: uni ha soto, fuku ha uchi (“the sea urchins go outside and the clothes go inside”). To us this is considered a useful aide de memoire, but to most Japanese acquaintances such devices are considered oyajigyagu (“old man gag”) and are considered deeply uncool.

there are 5 main hairstyles that maiko wear to signify stages of their apprenticeship

lives punctuated by the clatter of camera shutters

Maiko (literally “dance girl”) are apprentice geisha, and this stage can last for years. Maiko learns from their senior geisha mentor and follows them around to all their engagements. The onee-san and imouto-san (senior/junior, literally “older sister/younger sister”) relationship is important. Since the onee-san teaches her maiko everything about working in the hanamachi, her teaching is vital.

There are 5 different hairstyles that the maiko wear, that mark the different stages of her apprenticeship. Maiko learn proper ways of serving tea, playing shamisen, dancing, casual conversation and more. The one-san will even help pick her little sister’s new professional name, choosing appropriate kanji with the fitting connotations.

Some years the maiko arrive early to practice their dance in this sub-building of Yasaka-jinja if their mentors deem the practice necessary. Arriving early on the day of Setsubun can yield a tantalising glimpse through the window at these rehearsals. It’s a privileged and unforgettable sight.

In this shot we see the girl in pink, named Kanoyumi, is helping the maiko in the black kimono, Kanoka, to remove her footwear.

how to read a hierarchy

The geisha world is remarkable for the matronly women in green. In a male dominated society where marriage is often unrelated to love, men have long been expected to seek romantic partners outside of the home and an entire industry has existed to cater to this sizable market. Despite this, geisha training houses, or okiya, have always been run by shrewd and reputedly strict older geisha, who graduate from entertaining businessmen to themselves running the business of training new maiko and maintaining the good reputation of their school.

The system traditionally resembled indentured servitude in that by working the maiko is considered to be paying back the cost of keeping, clothing and training her until she herself can become a fully fledged entertainer and receive her full salary allowance.

maiko are also known as hangyoku (半玉), “half-jewel” because that they are paid half the wage of a full geisha

Popularity: 5% [?]

Introducing... Hatsumoude

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Dec 312009

We at Of Rice and Zen are often asked “just what the heck is Hatsumode?” The phrase hatsumode (初詣) is thrown around a lot on new year’s day and means the first shrine visit of the new year. In a city like Kyoto with hundreds of shrines to choose from the difficulty comes in the form of an embarrassment of riches. Which shrine should one choose? Which shrines will be the busiest? What should I do when I get there? Well fear not, Kyoto dweller, ORAZ is here to give you some tips:

Yasaka Shrine

People go here to pray for protection from evils. This is rather a vague thing to pray for, but we gather it will prevent you from coming into contact with TV shows devoted to the “making” of generic pop stars and prejudice.
Tel : 075-561-6155
Access : City Bus No.206 “Gion”

Jishu Shrine

People go here to pray for a good marriage. If you’re thinking about popping the question to Miss Forever, you might want to innocently stumble upon this shrine at some point on the 1st of January.
Tel : 075-541-2097
Access : City Bus No.206 “Kiyomizu-michi”

Fushimi-Inari Shrine

AKA “the one with all the gates what was in Memoirs of a Geisha”. People go here to pray for success in business. Take a business card with you and schmooze your way up the hill to make your prayers come true preemptively.
Tel : 075-641-7331
Access : JR Nara-line, “Inari Station”

Kitano-tenmangu Shrine

People go here to pray for luck at school or with study. If you’re thinking about switching to the college visa and are wondering if you’ll find the time to pay the rent and get your homework done, this is the shrine for you.
Tel:075-461-0005
Access : City Bus No.50 “Kitano-Tenmangu Mae”

Image by Onihide.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Introducing... Niō temple guardians

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Oct 262009

Niō literally means two kings and refer to the two large guardians either side of Buddhist temple gates. A holds a lightning bolt and Un wields a large sword. Iconographically the pair are thought to represent two sides of one deity name Misshaki Kongō, although there are competing views as to their original identities.

When facing temples gates, the (camera) right hand figure is known as “A” and the left figure is “Un”, which refers to the open mouthed “ah” and closed mouthed “mmm” facial expressions. The two figures, their facial expressions and by extension their names represent inhalation and exhalation, yin and yang, eternal balance, the beginning and end of all things.

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Introducing... Sagicho

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Oct 052009

Sagicho is a festival that takes place near Kyoto in the neighbouring prefecture of Shiga in a town called Omi-hachiman. Omi-Hachiman (近江八幡市; Omi-Hachiman-shi) is a city in Shiga Prefecture on the east shore of Lake Biwa.

A former castle town and merchant town with many remnants of its historical past, especially at Hachiman-bori canal at the foot of Mt. Hachiman-yama where the castle, built by Hideyoshi’s nephew Hidetsugu, once stood. Locals just call the city “Hachiman” for short.

Omi-Hachiman is also a lake city fronting Lake Biwa as well as Lake Nishinoko where Suigo boat rides are a major attraction. In fact, this Suigo area of waterways and tall reeds has the distinction of being Japan’s first “Important Cultural Scenery” (重要文化的景観). With all these attractions, Omi-Hachiman is quite tourist-oriented with tourist info offices in the train station and Hachiman-bori, as well as signs in English explaining the various sights.

The Sagicho Matsuri festival held in mid-March is also one of Shiga’s most famous festivals climaxing in the burning of floats. At least two other festivals also feature fire: The Hachiman Matsuri in April and Shinoda Hanabi Fireworks in May.

Omi-Hachiman will also be merging with the neighboring township of Azuchi on March 21, 2010. Sagicho is a fire festival observed at Himure Hachimangu Shrine on a weekend in mid-March. On Saturday afternoon, more than a dozen floats leave the shrine to parade the streets, accompanied by young men dressed in the same lively coat and make-up. On Sunday morning, too, they parade through each town. The two-day festival reaches its climax when they set fire to the floats around 8 pm in the temple precincts. Designated an Intangible Folk-Cultural Property by the national government.

Traditionally young men taking part in this festival would’ve dressed up as ladies. But recently, due the incredibly dangerous and violent way in which the floats are made to collide with each other, most of the participants are chinpira (low class, wannabe gangster types) who eschew that tradition while embracing

Popularity: 2% [?]

Introducing... Butsudan

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Oct 032009

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A Butsudan (佛壇 or 仏壇) is a family shrine kept in the Japanese family home at which one prays to and leaves offerings to one ancestors. Although the word “shrine” is commonly associated with the Japanese Shinto religion, the Butsudan is a Buddhist object. The Japanese joke goes at that you are born into the Shinto religion, married as a Christian and die a Buddhist.

The Butsudan typically has closing doors that are left open during religious observances and may contain a statue or mandala scroll, incense, candles, perhaps a memorial tablet or small platforms on which one may leave offerings.

Although these shrines and alters would once have been used (in India and Asia) as places in which to pray to Buddha and his teachings, they have taken on the character of personal possessions in Japan.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Introducing... Daigo-ji Sakura

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Oct 022009

Daigo-ji in Kyoto is one of the city’s most city’s most celebrated temples when is comes to cherry blossom and autumn leaf viewing.

More than seven hundred years after Daigo-ji was founded, in 1598, Toyotomi Hideyoshi held a hanami (“cherry blossom viewing party”) at the Sambō-in sub-temple of Daigo. It passed into legend and causes the temple to be flooded with hundreds of families every April when the sakura blooms.

The reason for its fame is no longer clear but if modern Japanese hanami parties are anything to go by presumably everyone got bombed, then Hideyoshi got his waps out and started dancing on something high before falling off of it.

In the Autumn season the Japanese maple explode into too-good-to-be-real shades of flame. But the photos in this post were taken in the spring of 2009.

Daigo-ji’s located in the Fushimi-ward of Kyoto on the Tozai subway line and belongs to the Shingon Buddhist sect. Rigen-daishi founded the temple in 874. Its five story pagoda is a national treasure of Japan. This means that athletic nerd Nicholas Cage is constantly clambering over it while being chased by less respectful, more mercenary nerds with guns.