The midsummer season of purification is upon us, and Kyoto today will see several ceremonies involving the chinowa purification circle made of grass. The photo above features a chinowa erected at the entrance to a Japanese restaurant in the heart … Read the rest
Category: Rites and celebrations (Page 5 of 11)
Brook’s Co., Ltd. is a Japanese chain of tea and coffee shops, and they recently opened a Japanese tea room called “Koshuen” at 258 rue Saint-Honoré in Paris.
Prior to the opening, a traditional ceremony “Koto-oe-no-mi-matsuri” was performed by Masa … Read the rest
Cherry blossom has arrived in Kyoto! The trees along the Kamogawa are out in glorious bloom, and people are flocking to the petals in Hirano Jinja, Kyoto’s special shrine for cherry blossom. Yesterday was the first fine day for the … Read the rest
Anyone who has seen kami being moved from one place to another will know it’s an occasion of much pomp and mystery. The kami are shrouded with sheets so as to be kept free from impure gaze, there may … Read the rest
Today being February 11 it’s a public holiday known as Foundation Day. Flags are flying, and people are out enjoying themselves on a crisp sunny day in Kyoto. At various shrines around the country there are special events to … Read the rest
Feb 3 is Setsubun and a time for throwing beans at demons… It takes place at shrines, temples and people’s homes.
Here’s Wikipedia’s succinct overview of the custom and its origins:
Setsubun is the day before the beginning of … Read the rest
Last autumn on Oct. 1, a ceremony was carried out in the UK that was ground-breaking historically as well as literally. It involved the planting of trees under the auspices of a Shinto priest, the first of its type … Read the rest