Pix4Japan

2014-02-23

Maioka Hachimangu Shrine (iPhone Shots)

Visited this shrine while taking Dale on her evening walk.

Main torii gate to Maioka Hachimang Shrine

Second torii gate just before the shrine.

The guardian lion-dogs guarding the God and the Shrine from misfortune.

Offertory box where you toss coins prior to offering your pray of thanks. Also, the heavy ropes for ringing bells to announce your presence to the deity.

Heavy ropes attached to bells. A thin rope with white streams of special paper indicating that this is a holy place.

Entrance to the main worship hall with the name of the shrine in Japanese kanji characters.

Inscription on the stone of the water basin near the shrine.

The water basin and dippers that are used to cleanse your hands prior to approaching the shrine.

The water seems to be coming from a well and instead of modern plumbing, they are using hollowed-out bamboo for piping.

A small creek running past the shrine used to water the local rice paddies.

Small waterfall flowing over large rocks placed in the creek to make the water splashing sound.

Signs indicating the different access points to Maioka Park & Natural Wildlife Preserve.

On the way back home, came across a Buddhist site where these small statutes of deities where red caps and bibs to bless and watch over the loss of child.

Dale posing at the park. She had fun running loose after the park was closed (we snuck in illegally).

Always panting and slobbering! :-)

My neighbor had this strange flower blooming in the front yard near the sidewalk.

Pix4Japan by R.D.S. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

2014-02-22

Mishima Shrine - Evening Snow

Mishima Shrine & snow. 三島神社と雪。

Taken with iPhone 5S.

Mishima Shrine & bells. 三島神社と鈴。

Taken with iPhone 5S.

Shimenawa straw rope indicating a sacred site with ritual paper streamers called shide draping from the rope. 三島神社の七五三縄と垂。

Taken with iPhone 5S.

Pix4Japan by R.D.S. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

2014-02-14

Valentine's Day 2014

Dale in a so-called kamakura (igloo-looking snow shelter often made by Japanese kids for playing).

Dale playing in Itachi River in the middle of a snowstorm!

View of Itachi River looking downstream.

Taking Dale on a 6 km dog walk in the snow.

Dale playing in Itachi River.

Snow is coming down hard today.

Pix4Japan by R.D.S. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

2014-02-08

Big Snowfall 2014

Torii gate to Mishima Shrine (三島神社) about 20 minutes from home. First time to visit the shrine during daylight since moving to this neighborhood.

Stone lanterns at Mishima Shrine (三島神社). Love these lanterns when covered with snow or moss.

Mary (Miniature Pinscher) thoroughly hates the snow. Had to bundle her up to prevent hypothermia. She seemed to be in dog heaven!

I wonder why only some Shinto Shrines have the name of the shrine on a sign on the main hall.

Every Shinto shrine I have visited has these folded pieces of paper hanging from straw rope that stretches across main entrance to the main hall of the shrine that house the Kami (God).

One of the things I like about these small neighborhood shrines is that there is often a smaller shrine or even another Kami behind or close to the main shrine.

A shimenawa (straw rope) hung to demarcate a sacred space in front of the inner sanctuary of the shrine. They are usually made with a "left-hand" twist and ritual paper streamers called shide draping from the rope.

Source: http://eos.kokugakuin.ac.jp/

Katsuogi are the log-like sections that are horizontally along and perpendicular to, the ridge line of the shrine structure. Chigi are the poles that extend from the roof's gableboards.

Source: http://eos.kokugakuin.ac.jp/

Wooden tablets with illustrations of horses offered at shrines as tokens of wishes or for offering thanks. From ancient times horses have been been regarded as sacred mounts employed by the kami. So, horses are often painted on ema tablets.

Source: http://eos.kokugakuin.ac.jp/

Bells at the top of the ropes are rung to greet the deity. Bow twice; clap your hands twice to express joy of meeting with the deity and respect towards the deity; with your hands still together, express your feeling of gratitude in your mind without speaking; and finally bow one more time.

Source: https://www.jnto.go.jp/

The first big snow in a long time. Opened the bedroom window to view the winter wonderland we don't often have a chance to enjoy in our part of Japan. Love the contrast of colors blanketed in fresh snow.

Small blossoms signaling the approach of spring while battling the frigid cold. Shot taken on the grounds of a Buddhist temple in the neighborhood.

A local Japanese farmer had these perfectly trimmed trees at the entranceway of his huge home! Many Japanese homes have smaller versions of this kind of tree-trimming in the neighborhood.