In Ibaraki Prefecture, lovers of traditional Japanese culture usually look forward to the period between mid- April and early May. First there is the excitement of HANAMI ( Cherry blossom parties) and then there are the amazingly extravagant carp streamers ( koi nobori), which are raised up at the homes of families with boys, to be admired- and photographed.
Carp streamers fly over the nanohana and peach blossoms in Koga, Ibaraki Prefecture
Sure, you can see plenty of carp streamers ( of a more modest scale) and other childrens Day decorations anywhere you go in Japan in this season. But before May 5th, there could be no better way of savoring this season than taking a drive or a bike-ride in the Ibaraki countryside. You are sure to see plenty of this area`s abundant, breathtakingly large and colorful koi nobori waving proudly against the blue sky. It is quite a spectacle!
TsukuBlog
Wisteria Hysteria- a PURPLE HAZE Over Tsukuba (and most of the rest of Japan)
15 April, 2021
Wisteria at Matsushiro Park
Under a wistaria trellis, thick with the smell of its nectar and a buzz with the droning of bees
By Avi Landau
From my old house in Konda, Tsukuba, I had a clear view of the Woods. I spend some time each day gazing out over these last remaining wilds of Tsukuba, trying to savor their beauty as often as I could before the bulldozers showed up and cleared them all away. From my window I used to able to observe how , what were at first small patches of light violet, would almost completely take over the thickly foliated forest canopy, which seemed to be enshrouded in a purple haze. This morning, having some time to spare, I took a 3 hour hike in the some of the last remaining Konda woods, those on the site of the ruins of the old Konda Castle ,and most of the time, whether I looked up towards the sky or down on the gro
TsukuBlog
A Local Perspective on Life in Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.
Genitalia-Shaped Rice-Cakes at the Takasai Jinja Shrine`s (高道祖神社) SAYARIBO Festival (塞り棒祭）on March 7, 2021 – NOT TOMORROW (Feb. 25th)
24 February, 2021
Sticky rice cakes in the shape of male and female genitalia (called SAYARIBO) are made by local parishioners and sold (to be eaten) as good luck charms on the day of the day before Little New Year’s (KOSHOGATSU) at the Takasai Jinja Shrine in Shimotsuma. They are now believed to be good for marital harmony, conceiving a child, easy delivery, sexual health- and fertility in general! Before the Meiji Restoration of 1868, though, and these MALE and FEMALE symbols were connected to Mikkyo (Esoteric Buddhism) which stressed the importance of balance between the male and female forces. Though the Koshogatsu festival has long been held according to the lunar calendar (which is tomorrow Feb. 25th) it has been permanently changed to the first Sunday
TsukuBlog
A Local Perspective on Life in Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.
An Exhibition of Early Buddhist Funerary Urns (now finished) and a bit on the complicated history of burial and cremation in Japan
20 August, 2020
A 9th century funerary urn unearthed near the shores of Lake Kasumigaura. During the previous centuries, in the very same area, men of importance had been buried in large tumuli filled with symbols of the deceased`s status and surrounded by a lively cast of animal and human shaped figurines– with the spread of Buddhism, local elites eventually came to have themselves cremated after death and their bones and ashes buried in simple urns
TsukuBlog
Teshirogi`s O-Washi Jinja (手代木の大鷲神社)- Its Tachibana（立花) Fireworks Festival and its Mysterious Straw Snake (大蛇)
15 September, 2010
By Avi Landau
The curious straw snake which can always be seen hanging atop the torii gate at Teshirogi`s O-Washi Shrine in Tsukuba
Thanks to their excellent public elementary and junior-high schools, as well as their convenient location, the Teshirogi and Matsushiro districts have long been among THE most sought after addresses for families thinking of building a home in Tsukuba. The abundant government housing established there more than 20 years ago, also means that this part of the city has a fair share of researchers and professors ( both Japanese and foreign) who work at Tsukuba`s national institutes and universities. Thus, one of the oldest enclaves for new residents(shin-ju-min), those who have moved to Tsukuba from other parts of Japan or from abroad, can be found in this part of the city, a