Fushimi Inari Taishya 3 伏見稲荷大社

In every day
An endless repetition
sunlight, shadows

毎日
無限の戦い
日光、影

Fushimi Inari hit the world stage when "Memoirs of a Geisha" hit the big screen. Celebrating a chance meeting the lead character is seen running throught the Torii of Fushimi Inari. (Here actually). I tried to recreate the scene using video... but I couldn't keep from laughing, so it ruined the effect!

So why does Fushimi Inari have so many Torii anyway? Many sites on the web mention the presence of all the Torii but don't explain why. A Torii usually marks the entrance to a Shinto Shrine. You may find them at Buddhist Temples and get a little confused. That's because the Buddhist Temple you are at probably has a Shinto Shrine in it as well. The Torii marks the separation between the real world and the Sacred.

The Wikipedia Link mentions that there are often several Torii as you move deeper into the shrine. The Torii signify an increasing level of sanctity. The Torii in Fushimi Inari are purchased by individuals, families, or businesses as an offering for success in business. I remember several stands along the hike where one could buy miniature Torii. I can't imagine how expensive the full sized variety were... I'm guessing one's business must be pretty good to afford one!


All photo's, original works, and comments are my personal property. Please be respectful of the effort I've taken.

Your comments are welcome, be polite:
No throwing pebbles in my pool of zen.

Fushimi Inari Taishya 2 伏見稲荷大社

A sorrowful call
Hails the change of season
Passing through shadows

悲しく鳴く
変わる季節に呼ぶ
影を過ぎる

I believe that this is the start of a long line of Torii that make up Fushimi Inari. There are thousands of them make the path up Inari Mountain. The majority of them are wooden, however, because of the damp climate many are rotting away. The replacements are made of metal.

Many of the Torii are purchased by families and bear their names. Fushimi Inari dedicated to ｔhe kami Inari. Visitors come to Inari to ask for a good harvest, or success in a business venture. Throughout Inari are fox statues. The fox is the messenger of Inari. They are seen holding a key in their mouths. The key belongs to the rice stores.

It is not a difficult hike. That is, unless you've already walked ten miles and still have a baby on your back!

All photo's, original works, and comments are my personal property. Please be respectful of the effort I've taken.

Your comments are welcome, be polite:
No throwing pebbles in my pool of zen.

Fushimi Inari Taishya 1 伏見稲荷大社

Under a blue sky
The first steps are by design
Led down a single path

青い空
最初歩みが意識的
ひとつ道

I think Fushimi Inari is a place few Westerners would think to go. It isn't off the beaten path but there is so much to do in Kyoto that one may not even think to leave. On the train ride to Uji, Inari's station is but a concrete platform. It is easy to miss and far enough out of the way I doubt a large number of Western tourists make the trip.

I for one, will have to make the trip again, as my visit was incomplete. After walking the entire day, I never made it to the top. Which was fine. We ended up meeting some nice Osaka-ites and then eating at a small soup shop on the main street. All in all a successfull outing.

I won't get too deep into the history and significance of Fushimi Inari in this post... since that would spoil my next post! Wikipedia however, is seriously lacking on information on the locale. I can guarantee that about half of the readers will recognize it when they see it.

-This photo is of the main temple at the start of a mountain climb. The giant Torii is but a hint of what's to come.


All photo's, original works, and comments are my personal property. Please be respectful of the effort I've taken.

Your comments are welcome, be polite:
No throwing pebbles in my pool of zen.

Kansai Ben 4 関西べん

Here's another installment of Kansai-ben. A little something for those few readers who care!

Why Kansai-ben? Why not! I'm no wiz kid when it comes to Japanese. If you put a newspaper in front of me I'm completely clueless. In fact when it comes to anything outside a 5 year old's normal topics of conversation... I'm totally lost!

One of the reasons conversational Japanese is so difficult is that no one talks like they do in a textbook. Then throw in a completely different set of vocabulary, sentence endings, and intonation and its a complete zoo! I end up with my jaw dropped being glad that I recognized a particle or two!

Besides, it's just cool to know Japanese that isn't in the textbook.

So here's my latest Kansai-ben that I've 'picked-up'. Enjoy! I hope I'm not selling any Kansai secrets that will get me in trouble with the Kansai Secret Police!

A standard greeting:　ｉｎｓｔｅａｄ　ｏｆ　ｏｈａｙｏｕ．
ｍａｉｄｏ
まいど

Ｔｈａｎｋ－ｙｏｕ；　ｉｎｓｔｅａｄ　ｏｆ　ａｒｉｇａｔｏｕ．
Ｏｏｋｉ　ｎｉ
おおきに

Ｑｕｅｓｔｉｏｎ　ｍａｒｋｅｒ；　ｉｎｓｔｅａｄ　ｏｆ　ｄｅｓｕ　ｋａ　ｅｎｄｉｎｇ　／　ですか。
ｄｅｋｋａ
でっか。
ｉｅ－なんちゃらかんちゃら　でっか。

Ｌｅｔ　ｍｅ　ｓｅｅ．．．
Ｎａｎｉｙａｒｏｕ．．
なにやろう。

Ｎｅｇａｔｉｖｅｓ；　ｉｎｓｔｅａｄ　ｏｆ　ｎａｉ　ｏｒ　ｍａｓｅｎ　ｅｎｄｉｎｇｓ．
ｔｏ　ｇｏ　／　ｉｋｕ　／　ｉｋａｈｅｎ　～　行く　／　いかへん
ｔｏ　ｋｎｏｗｎ　／　ｗａｋａｒｕ　／　ｗａｋａｒａｈｅｎ　～　分かる　／　わからへん
ｔｏ　ｅａｔ　／　ｔａｂｅｒｕ　／　ｔａｂｅｒａｒｅｈｅｎ　～　食べる　／　たべられへん
ｃａｎ　ｄｏ　／　ｄｅｋｉｒｕ　／　ｄｅｋｉｈｉｎ　／　できる　／　できひん　
ｔｏ　ｄｏ　／　ｓｕｒｕ　／　ｓｈｉｒａｒｅｈｅｎ　／　　する　／　しられへん
ａｎｄ　ｓｏ　ｏｎ

Ｈｅｒｅ　ｉｓ　ｓｏｍｅｔｈｉｎｇ　ａ　ｌｉｔｔｌｅ　ｆｕｎ．　　Ｈｅｒｅ　ａｒｅ　ｔｗｏ　Ｊａｐａｎｓｅ　ｔｏｎｇｕｅ　ｔｗｉｓｔｅｒｓ．
かえる　ぴょこぴょこ　みぴょこぴょこ　あわせてぴょこぴょこ　むぴょこぴょこ
Ａｎｄ
となり　の　きゃく　は　よく　かく　くう　きゃくだ。

－Ｉ　ｔｏｏｋ　ｔｈｉｓ　ｐｈｏｔｏ　ｏｆ　Ｋｙｏｔｏ　ｔｏｗｅｒ　ｊｕｓｔ　ｏｕｔｓｉｄｅ　ｏｆ　Ｋｙｏｔｏ　Ｓｔａｔｉｏｎ．　　Ａｎ　ｉｎｔｅｒｅｓｔｉｎｇ　ｐｏｉｎｔ　ｔｏ　ｎｏｔｅ；　　Ｅｖｅｎ　ｔｈｏｕｇｈ　Ｋｙｏｔｏ　ｉｓ　ｄｅａｄ　ｃｅｎｔｅｒ　ｉｎ　Ｋａｎｓａｉ　ｔｈｅｙ　ｓｐｅａｋ　ａｎｄ　ｅｎｔｉｒｅｌｙ　ｄｉｆｆｅｒｅｎｔ　ｄｉａｌｅｃｔ　ｏｆ　Ｊａｐａｎｅｓｅ　ａｐａｒｔ　ｆｒｏｍ　Ｋａｎｓａｉ　ｂｅｎ．　　

Ｉｆ　ｙｏｕ　ｗａｎｔ　ａｎ　ｉｎｔｅｒｅｓｔｉｎｇ　ｌｏｏｋ　ａｔ　ｓｏｍｅ　ｏｆ　ｔｈｅ　ｄｉｆｆｅｒｅｎｔ　ｓｔｙｌｅｓ　ｏｆ　Ｊａｐａｎｅｓｅ　ｗａｔｃｈ　ｔｈｅ　ＮＨＫ　ｄｒａｍａ　Ａｔｓｕ－ｈｉｍｅ　篤姫　（Ｉ　ｔｈｉｎｋ　ｔｈｅｓｅ　ａｒｅ　ｔｈｅ　Ｋａｎｊｉ）．　　Ｆｒｏｍ　ｔｈｅ　ｓｈｏｗ　ｏｎｅ　ｃａｎ　ｇｅｔ　ａ　ｆｅｅｌ　ｆｏｒ　ｈｏｗ　ｃｏｍｐｌｉｃａｔｅｄ　ｔｈｅ　ｄｉａｌｅｃｔｓ　ａｒｅ．　（Ｓａｔｓｕｍａ，　Ｋｙｏｔｏ，　Ｋａｎｔｏ　Ｅｔｃ．）．　



All photo's, original works, and comments are my personal property. Please be respectful of the effort I've taken.

Your comments are welcome, be polite:
No throwing pebbles in my pool of zen.

Kansai Ben 3 関西べん

Here's just a quick supplement to my postings on Kansai-ben and its differences from Tokyo (Kanto) Japanese.

To throw something away in Kanto-ben is
X wo suteru. X をすてる

In Kansai ben you would say
X wo hokasu. X を ほかす。

If you were having a conversation with someone and you wanted to either
A-give in to their request... (I give up!)
or
B-give up trying to gain compliance.... (I give up!)

In Kanto ben you would be justified in throwing your arms up and saying
-shikattaｇanai! しかったがない

But, if you find yourself in the same situation in Osaka, you should better be prepared with
-shya anai! しゃあない！

So, there! Just a little bit more Kansai ben for you to chew on.　　Were you to drop these in Tokyo you may get that sideways puppy look of complete misunderstanding. (Similar to the look I get anytime I try speaking Japanese!!) Naturally if you have any more Kansai ben I'd love to post it and practice it.

I'm glad I didn't start with Haiku on my Kansai ben posts.... Do you know how hard a haiku about a gold fish eating a roof tile is? This photo was taken at the top of Osaka Castle. The gold fish is a mainstay of the city.

For those of you who aren't aware. Osaka Castle is a concrete replica of the original. The castle (Osaka-Jo) was bombed during WWII. The inside had been turned into a musuem with video footage of the bombings, various samurai garb and swords. The outside and surrounding moat / gardens are very cool to walk through. Even the ten city for homeless was an interesting sight.

For those of you in Japan, enjoy Sakura-Matsuri... save some for me!

出る杭は打たれる！


All photo's, original works, and comments are my personal property. Please be respectful of the effort I've taken.

Your comments are welcome, be polite:
No throwing pebbles in my pool of zen.

Tale of Genji Museum 源氏物語 ミュージアム

Silently waiting
Gazing up from the depths
Red leaf submerged

So last year was the '1000th' anniversary of the writing of the Tale of Genji. I won't go in to too many details about the book. Wikipedia actually has a very good site on it. It seems very consistent with the other information I have come across. As with anything of any greatness there is always some controversy; who wrote what, when was it really written, was it really the 1st 'novel'? Does it really matter?

Genji Monogatari was written by Murasaki Shikibu in the early 11th century. The current belief is that the book was started in 1008 and finished in 1021. It's funny because I can barely keep focused on a project for more than a week, let alone 13 years!　　The rough and tumble of the plot is this; Genji is a son of the Emporer, but not in the line of succession. So he has all the money with none of the responsibility. He spends his days wooing women and composing poetry.

The book is tremendously long and even in the abridged form is a fairly grueling read. The abridged version contains a few key chapters spead out in the story. The original was 54 chapters I think.

While in Uji my friends took me to the Genji Museum. It was pretty interesting. If you have the option of Japanese or English for the movie portion of the tour.... Go with the English. I didn't understand a word! The tour is self guided with a pair of headphones. And if you happened to driver there, parking is easy, either in the lot or on the street. The museum is across the foot bridge from Byodoin, (for those of you heading that way.)

My favorite part about the Tale of Genji was the poetry. I think you can buy books that just have the poems. From the story, the characters recite poems to each other as a way of showing their wit, cultural accuity, and affection etc. Oftentimes the characters would be using references to other popular poems of the day, (either Chinese or Japanese), a historically accurate past=time.

The photo is of a display of Genji sitting in his wheeled carraige. Many thanks to Marika S. and Yoshie M. for making the photo possible!

Also check out a previous post on Byodoin here.



All photo's, original works, and comments are my personal property. Please be respectful of the effort I've taken.

Your comments are welcome, be polite:
No throwing pebbles in my pool of zen.