New Year is an important and symbolic time of revitalisation. Renewal is of the essence to Shinto, and here is a prime example. The last few days of the old year offer an opportunity to clean up and clear … Read the rest
Category: New Year (Page 6 of 8)
New Year’s Japanese good luck charm, Hamaya
December 4, 2013 The Yomiuri Shimbun
With the arrival of December, attendants at Tsurugaoka Hachimangu shrine in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, are busy making New Year’s hamaya, or evil-repelling arrows. The lucky arrows … Read the rest
It’s a game of the gods. Some say it’s the origins of football. But the way I see it, kemari is an ancient rite in which participants kick a ball to each other with the intention of not letting … Read the rest
In a previous entry I wrote of the mythological significance of the snake. In the Daily Yomiuri, naturalist Kevin Short provides a different angle, focussing on the watery connections in Japan.
In the first part of the article, Short … Read the rest
The town of Uji, south-east of Kyoto, was once a place of aristocratic villas set along the Ujigawa river. A bridge was built across it in 646, making it one of the oldest known bridges in Japan. Battles were … Read the rest
My first shrine visit of the year was to Kamigamo Shrine in north Kyoto, a World Heritage Shrine and set amidst pleasant open grassland and woods. It dates back before Kyoto was founded in 794, but such is its … Read the rest
New Year is such a great time to be in Japan. Apart from all the shrine visits for Hatsumode, there are a number of ‘first events’ to celebrate the beginning of a new year. Here is a small selection of … Read the rest