宮島 Miyajima (The Island of Miya), 30/04/2012

Straw barrells of sake, Itsukushima Shrine, Miyajima

During the Golden Week (ゴールデン・ウィーク, gouruden uiiku - a series of consecutive holidays lasting from the end of April till mid-May) I joined my mostly Italian circle of friends (plus one German and one Peruvian) on the trip to Hiroshima. Having probably one and only chance in the world to actually go and see the famous picturesque floating torii of Itsukushima Shrine, the shrine build directly on the sandy beach of Miyajima, how disappointed were we to discover that: a/ the torii itself currently undergoes some maintenace, and is planned to stay covered... till mid-June; b/ the weather couldn't have been more ugly, unwelcoming and picture-spoiling than that very day, as we were all well soaked by the freezing streaks of continuous rain, and c/ there were maintenance teams all over the place to spoil the experience even more, should it even be possible. At some point even the flash of a neon-coloured tractor failed to really surprise me. To make matters worse, the afternoon tide didn't want to rise high enough to even partially make up for the disappointment, and actually make the 'floating' buildings float! We left Miyajima absolutely soaked, feeling cheated. 

That makes one place in Japan that probably neither of us would ever miss!

Awaiting a ferry from Miyajima-guchi.

The ferry itself. There are two operating companies, both with ferries leaving every 7-10 minutes.

Famous floating torii... barely visible through the scaffolding.

Maybe changing the angle of the camera would make the scaffolding less visible...?

Lovely tame deer munching on the pine needles in the square nearby the ferry quay.

Soggy Miyajima shore... Looking at the crowds, I wonder how the area looks like when it's actually sunny...

Miyajima torii... still unflatteringly covered and less than photogenic.

Deers bothering the crowds for snacks. They were surprisingly brazen and smart at the same time, heading for the most obvious locations - bags and pockets.

Before the tide - people 'enjoying' the torii view from the beach level... or maybe just crossing?

The true size of the torii... On the picture - my two friends who decided they were already wet enough to try to walk along the underwater sand passage leading to the gate.

Steaming mountain after the first minutes of rainfall.

The pagoda of the nearby buddhist temple; viewed through the buildings of Itsukushima Shrine.

The iteriors of Itsukushima shrine. When the tide rises, the water fills the prepared areas creating ponds. Reminded me of the ponds one was digging on the seaside with their plastic shovels, waiting for the water to fill them.

Floating buildings of Itsukushima Shrine... plus the workers.

Barrells of sake, Itsukushima Shrine.

A stage for special Noh theatre performances.

And THAT'S how the main attraction of Miyajima was supposed to look like...

image source

Interested in torii? Check this out! I think it's one of the most informative articles on the subject.

In Our Time: Shinto

Browsing through the BBC iPlayer (http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/radio) that I definitely like too much (unfortunately, outside the UK only the radio programmes are available... <covers face with a kimono sleeve to hide the running tears... ok, just kidding>), I came across this very interesting audition about shinto:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b014qnld#synopsis

It's really informative, and presents shinto in historical, mythological and religious context, juxtaposing it with other religious systems. Program is free to listen, and available from any country in the world - just click the 'listen now' button on top of the synopsis. Podcast lasts about 45 minutes. Oh, needless to say: it's in English.

One of the guests is Ms. Lucia Dolce - Senior Lecturer in Japanese Religion and Japanese at my home university - the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London!

Enjoy!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/

松尾大社 － The Great Shrine of Matsunoo, 18/09/2011

The view from the 松尾橋 (Matsunoo hashi), the bridge leading to the shrine over 桂川 (katsura gawa), River Katsura. In the background - the omnipresent mountains that surround Kyoto from all sides.

Front 鳥居, torii, a gate marking a sacred space of the shinto shrine.

手水や, temizuya, a purification pavilion in which a visitor is supposed to wash their left, then right hand, and then rinse their mouth. This shinto shrine was built in the place where a turtle was spot bathing in the mountain brook at the foot of the waterfall, so the motif of the turtle is repeatedly used.

The area of kamidana - in this case small 'houses' provided for 神,kami, sacred spirits of shinto. The kami can live in places, things, areas, but they can also travel and visit other shrines. In that case they use the hospitality of specially purified and evil-protected places (marked with an enclosing shimenawa, sacred rope, with attached shige, paper streamers).

絵馬 (ema), small wooden placks on which people leave their wishes and prayers to the 神.By leaving them attached in close proximity to the 本殿 (honden), main building enshrining the main 神, they make sure the prayers will be read. Instead of ema, the wishes can be also written on the rice spoons.

The 本殿, honden. In order to attract the attention of the kami, you need to offer them some money, then pull the rope till the bell rings 2-3 times, and then clap your hands twice. Then in silence you can tell them your wishes or express gratitude. In this shrine there are 3 enshrined dieties: Oo-yamagumi-no-kami (male), Nakatsu-shima-hime-no-mikoto (female) and Tsukiyomi-no-mikoto (male).

亀の井 (Kame-no I), The Turtle's Well in the First Garden. The water is supposed to be very tasty and beneficial, curative even. One can bring their own bottles and take it home, should they wish to.

霊亀の滝 (Reiki-no taki), The Waterfall of the Mysterious Turtle. Very beautiful, quiet and incredibly tranquil place.

An example of an 石灯籠, ishidooroo. stone lantern. Their shape is supposed to embody all 5 elements of the universe. Initially used only in Buddhist temples to light the pathways, in Heian period (794-1185) they started to be used as decorative items in shrines and private dwellings. 

曲水の庭 (Kyokusui-no niwa), The Garden of the Bent Water.

A view from the tea ceremony pavilion.

Time for a treat!A teacup of freshly 'beaten', bitter 抹茶 (matcha),and some local sweet treats, all with the great view over the second garden. The dumpling with red bean paste was sake-flavoured, the green one reminded me of sour Haribo jelly, and the pink one tasted like pink powder candy :-)

Another sacred space in the enchanted forrest.

The Turtle's Well from behind. I simply adore the mystical atmosphere of this picture.

No Japanese pond would do without some 鯉 (koi), Japanese carps. These certainly knew how to beg for food!

First autumn leaves of 紅葉 (momiji), Japanese maple. Perfect marking of today's 秋分,shuubun, the first day of Autumn!