TsukuBlog
A Local Perspective on Life in Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.
Though Still Dealing With the Effects of the Earthquake and Tsunami of 2011, on Disaster Prevention Day (September 1st) We Take Time Out To Remember Past Tragedies AND Consider Ways of Being Better Prepared For The Future
1 September, 2017
Tokyo`s Shita-Machi burning after the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923- note Mt Tsukuba on the right
By Avi Landau
There used to be a cannon, located in the plaza in front of Tokyo’s Imperial Palace, which since 1871 had been used to announce the arrival of 12 noon. On September 1, 1923 the usual DON (bang!) never sounded. A little more than a minute before midday, a tremendous earthquake, whose epicenter was in Sagami Bay, hit Tokyo with terrific force. Tokyo University’s seismograph, the only one in the vicinity to have survived the first violent spasm, recorded nearly 2000 more shock waves over the next 3-day period. Over that time, much of the Shita-Machi area
TsukuBlog
A Local Perspective on Life in Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.
On Feb.11 Every Year- A Shower of Snacks at Tsukuba`s Venerable Izumi Kosodate Kannon Temple ( Keiryu-Ji) - 泉子育観音 慶龍寺 の 年越大祭 ( 豆まき) -CANCELLED in 2021
10 February, 2021
Last year on the day of the MAME MAKI Festival at the KOSODATE KANNON ( KEIRYU-JI). The silver sheet on the left was put up for protection from the frosty winds blowing on that day.
By Avi Landau
For centuries, when parents and grandparents in the villages and towns of southern Ibaraki Prefecture have wanted to pray for their children`s growth, health, safety, and future success, they have come to a temple associated with the Shingon Sect of Buddhism, located near the banks of the Sakura River, in the neighborhood of Izumi, near the foot of Mt Tsukuba. Though officially bearing the name KEIRYU-JI (慶龍寺) – as it was founded by a priest called KEIRYU-SHONIN back in the year 1618, it is much
TsukuBlog
A Local Perspective on Life in Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.
All Doors are Open, as the Old Town of Makabe gets DOLLED UP for its annual HINA DOLL FESTIVAL (真壁の雛祭り) -until March 3rd
7 February, 2020
Nearly one hundred of the old houses and shops (including this deliciously rustic book store) will be open to the public with antique Hina Dolls and other heirlooms on display as part of the Hina Matsuri Festival in Makabe, Sakuragawa City ( just north of Tsukuba)- till March 3rd
A pair of antique Hina Dolls (from the 19th century) on display at an old shop which in makabe
Like tiny yellow PARABOLIC ANTENNAE, these flowers emerge from the frosty (often snow covered) ground in the first weeks of February- exactly when New Year`s ( O-Shogatsu) fell according to the old Japanese calendar (and the same time the Chinese still celebrate it). It is because of their timely appearance, at what was the most auspicious time of year, that these curious looking, low laying, poisonous plants are considered great symbols of good luck. This is reflected in the name by which they are still called- FUKUJUSO (福寿草), which means the GOOD FORTUNE- LONG LIFE PLANTS. For the same reason they have also been called GANJITSU-SO (元日草), the New Years Day Plant, and during the Edo Period (1600-1868） these stumpy, bright yellow, INDIGENOUS flowers were sold in flower pots, often coupled with other auspicious plants of the season, as New Year`s decorations. Besides the real fukujuso (called Adonis ramosa in English), painted versions also made for a popular decora
TsukuBlog
A Local Perspective on Life in Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.
In Tsukuba`s Old Neighborhoods SETSUBUN can be just as lively as O-Shogatsu ( New Year`s) – or even MORE SO!
3 February, 2021
Most of the houses in my former neighborhood of Hojo, Tsukuba have put these talismans of thorny leaved holly and sardine heads on their doorposts on the occasion of SETSUBUN
By Avi Landau
Setsubun is Japan`s traditional celebration of the first day of spring as it is recognized according to the traditional Japanese calendar (which was imported from China). According to that system, the year is divided into 4 perfectly equal seasons ( of 90 days each) with the equinox days and solstices used as markers for determining the seasonal change days- which were all called SETSUBUN ( though now this term is only used to refer to the eve of the first day of SPRING). The four SETSUBUN, which were also believed to be spiritually unstable days in which the world ( and humanity) wa