Santa Travels in Japan

You know...in the states I realize that Santa travels by reindeer. However...in Japan anyway...he travels by dragon!

Magic in the Air

Once upon a time there was magic in the world, and all enjoyed the marvels it could produce. Sadly, we now must rely upon those people who have managed to retain a tenuous grasp of it, whether it be through art or music, storytelling or light. Fortunately, light magicians live in Nagoya and present the world with a fabulous view of their craft.

It’s truly a wonderland to visit Nagoya Station during the Christmas season – and this year especially since it centers on the wonderful world of children’s books! The walkway rivals the zoo, though on a much smaller scale. This year the bears, the holders of the magic, frolic and play all around the station.

Reflections

Not only were the lights spectacular in person - the reflections found around the building offered a different, delightful scene as well.

Magical World of Books

Meanwhile, a huge book appears on the mammoth station display, opening up to a wonder filled world of dancing bears, fireworks, toy makers and more. When the tale s finished, the book closes, ready for the next reading

Christmas in Nagoya....Books

 

 We all cherished the dreaming world

of picture books

We never forget the dream

We always remember the dream

We surely pass on the dream

Welcome to the brilliant world of picture books

I think it is totally cool that they have dedicated the entire display to the world of picture books!

Christmas in Nagoya

Nagoya Station is a spectacular place to pick up your Christmas spirit. Even though there are very few Japanese who celebrate Christmas, the station is known for its elaborate Christmas displays. This year the theme is Children’s Books…

We wandered through the wonderland, checking out the playful bears with their packages and toys and…books!

Forbidden City Rooftop flashback

Flashback…time to return to the Forbidden City. I had forgotten all about the roofs. Now what, you might ask, is so darn important about the roofs?

First, most of the roofs were yellow because that is the color of the emperor. They’re almost all done with glazed yellow tile. The library, however, had black tiles because black was associated with water and thus provided fire-prevention. Gee…if that’s all you need to do…

Forbidden City Rooftops

Second, the whole design of the Forbidden City was to symbolize the majesty of the Imperial power so things were designed meticulously to reflect power as well as the current philosophical and religious principles. With that in mind, roofs were decorated with a line of statuettes. The number of statuettes on a given building would vary, depending upon the status of the given building. The Hall of Supreme Harmony has 10 (the ONLY building in the entire country that was permitted to have 10). Other buildings might have 3 or 5 statues.
Various reasons have been given for the statuettes, from prestige to lighting protection. They often included monsters and even an evil prince to chase away evil spirits to prevent them from entering the building. Sometimes they were considered to bring good luck. Whatever the reason, they were everywhere.

Hashiya (Chopstick Store)

The wonders of Japan…I am always amazed at the things I find in the most unexpected places. Roaming round a rather exclusive building here – the shops on the upper levels were Dion and Louie Vitton type shops – I was amazed to find a sea of modest, chic shops on the lower levels, yes, the basement. Nestled between the trendy eateries and unique boutiques, I found a chopstick store. Yes, you read it right…they sell nothing but chopsticks. One might wonder just how many variations on chopsticks there could possibly be.  Let me tell you….

The shape is pretty standard…two sticks after all…but the variety is infinite. While bamboo is traditional, they can be made out of sandalwood, teak, pine, bone, jade, gold, bronze, brass, agate, coral, ivory, and silver. The shape can vary and the designs are limitless. You can also get chopstick rests (sets of 5, after all, 4 is an unlucky number). They also have fancy chopstick sleeves for each set for your special party – and personalized, if you so desire – the chopstick and/or the sleeve! Not enough…can’t find what you want…they also carry chopsticks to go in personal carrying cases and how about the kind that are screwed together so that they take up less room.

Now…that’s just for the adults…add REAL cuteness to them for the kids. They even make them dishwasher safe.

Kyoto in the Fall....

Kyoto in the fall…well, let’s say Kyoto in fall weather at least.  We had crisp and cool days, and cooler nights. The gentle rain, not so gentle at times, flowed around a sea of pink umbrellas (I must admit, I had forgotten how much little girls like PINK!). The variety and beauty of Kyoto is there, though, no matter what the weather might be doing.
We had a spectacular time, visiting Kinkakuji, meeting other teachers, roaming around town, trying out new food and, for the Dodd family anyway, taking their first shinkansen trip. Memorable for all of us!

Nijo Castle

Nijo Castle was, of course, built by Ieyasu Tokugawa (VERY famous Shogun in Japan in the 16^th-17^th Century. The primary purpose of the castle was to be a symbol of power – to impress his allies and worry his enemies. It was successful…this castle is exquisite and filled with the carvings and paintings that are nothing short of spectacular. Sadly, you can’t take pictures inside but I did get some cards to  give you a bit of a glimpse.

Shoguns were really into being top-dog in the social hierarchy – and it was a big deal during the feudal period of Japan. The higher ranking or distinguished a person was, the further they were allowed into the castle compound. Not only that, the higher their position, the higher the floor level they were allowed to stay in. Then, on top of that, there was always a raised platform in any room where the shogun would be seated so that no one’s head was higher than his.

Nijo Castle

The entrance to the Ninomaru Palace is beautiful. It’s called the Kara Mon (Chinese Gate) and is decorated with gorgeously carved cranes, flowers, and butterflies as well as lions, tigers and dragons.  It is aesthetically gorgeous, making it difficult to imagine it as a fortress, yet that’s exactly what it was.  It has been speculated that either the Shogun was extremely cautious – after all, attacks were common in those days, or he was paranoid. The castle sports towers, moats (Honmaru Palace has its own inner moat), and high walls surrounding all as well as secret passageways (including a closet in the shogun’s personal bedroom so that someone would be on guard at all times) and the famous squeaking floors.

The famous Nightingale Floors were designed to creak and squeak any time anyone walked on them, whether they were barefooted or wearing padding of some sort (shoes, of course, were never worn inside anyway). Hmmm…that leads to a question…a  BIG question… I wonder what raiding samurais did when they entered a castle???

The creaking boards were created on purpose. They set the clamps in such a way that the holes in the floorboards would rub against the clamps. He actually could have saved a lot of time and money – boards exposed to wind and rain and lots of people walking on them naturally warp and start to squeak. Oh well…guess he didn’t want to wait.  It actually still squeaks to the very day, whether by design or age but still….those samurai must have been very light sleepers.

Not the Wii Generation… The WE Generation:My children and the Children we teach!

Time out, Time out. This is a brief educational announcement about our future. I don't share many YouTube videos, heck, I've never done it before, but I believe this one is important and worth sharing. It sends a clear message about the methodology of education this generation needs to be successful. They will be facing a whole different world. How can we help them shape the future?

Okuyama Temple

We had the chance to take a trip out to Okuyama over the October break. A crew of us, with Finbar as our fearless leader, took us out to Shizuoka prefecture, up into the mountains, until we finally reached the small temple area in Okuyama. The autumn air was upon us and the colors were just teasing us but the brilliance was yet to come.

Okuyama Reader

The temple, however, was delightful. We wandered through the grounds, checking out the myriad of statues all around, crawling up the hills, snaking through the small valleys and along the creeks. It really is in a pretty setting. I have to admit, this particular statue caught my eye….

Covered Bridges

We climbed up to the top…all temples and shrines are always found at the top of the hill though I must admit I don’t know why…perhaps because there are so many mountains in Japan? Nevertheless, this one was no different so up we climbed. I particularly liked the covered bridge that spanned the small canyon.

Rock Gardens

The shrine itself is very picturesque. The buildings are old and meander along the mountainside, giving you a glimpse of old Japan. Within the gardens are gardeners, carefully sweeping up the fallen leaves with tiny brooms and plucking the weeds that have grown within the moss. The raked sand gardens are delightful – the care and attention needed to make it just so!!! Amazing.

Kasugai shrine

While there are thousands of shrines around Japan, the majority of them consist of a small building with small figures - foxes, cats, dogs, horses, all are popular. Th other day I came across an unusual one - a HUGE golden state, set in a small shrine in the middle of Kasugai. It was quite striking and beautiful.

CONTEST!!!

This is your chance... your turn to truly interact with a web page. I have posted here a sign, a real live, honest-to-goodness sign, posted on a drink machine in Kyoto. We read the sign. We read it again. We scratched our heads. We called everyone over and read it yet again. We suggested ideas, talked about it, puzzled it over. We came up with no definitive answer so now it is your turn. Give it your best shot. What do YOU think it might mean? Post your ideas under the "comments". Winner gets a good laugh.