TsukuBlog
A Local Perspective on Life in Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.
The Bamboo Shade is Lifted Once a Year- on January 28th – Revealing the 12th Century Buddhist Cliff Carving in Oda, Tsukuba (小田の磨崖不動明王立像),
26 January, 2021
For 364 days a year (365 in leap years) the cliff carving looks like this- covered with a bamboo shade
On January 28th each year the curtain is removed- and while a new one is being made, the rock-carving in the cliff remains in view (January 28th last year)
By Avi Landau
Halfway up a wall of sheer granite in the old village of Oda in what is now Tsukuba City, there is a Buddhist-cliff-carving (MAGAI BUTSU) which experts believe to have been created sometime in the 12th century. It is listed as one of Tsukuba City`s CULTURAL ASSETS, and I have also read about it in books on local history and seen it indicated on a HISTORICAL WALKING TOUR map of Oda (小田), a quiet backwater of a neighborhood which from the 12th
TsukuBlog
A Local Perspective on Life in Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.
Watching the First Sunrise of the Year ( HATSU HINODE, 初日の出) From the Seashore or High Up on a Mountain
31 December, 2020
Hatsu Hi no De ( the First Sunrise of the Year) as seen from near the top of Mt. Tsukuba
By Avi Landau
It probably should come as no surprise that here in The Land of the Rising Sun, a land in which a myriad gods and natural phenomena are looked upon and treated with religious reverence, it is considered highly auspicious to greet the first day of the new year by WATCHING THE SUN RISE. The most outstanding of the heavenly bodies, the sun is connected with what is probably Japan`s most famous deity- AMATERASU – the sun goddess and divine ancestor of the Imperial family (according to myth). So it seems only natural that along with listening to the bells at a Buddhist temple, a visit to a Shinto shrine and the acquisition of a new amulet and/or lucky objects ( ENGI MONO)
TsukuBlog
A Local Perspective on Life in Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.
Ringing Out the Old Year, Ringing In The New- Joya no Kane (除夜の鐘) – Japan`s New Year Bells (again)
31 December, 2020
The bell at Hannya-Ji (just off the Tsuchiura-Gakuen Road) dated 1275 was designated a National Treasure during the war years to save it from being melted down to make ammo. After the war it was demoted to an Important Cultural Property.
By Avi Landau
When it comes to praying for health, safety and prosperity, the Japanese do not put all their chips on one hand in terms of religious tradition. This is most evident and interesting in the week or ten day period beginning with Christmas Eve, on which many (non-Christian) Japanese attend midnight masses, or other church services, or pray for family well-being, success and spiritual growth at a family Christmas dinner.
TsukuBlog
For the Winter Solstice (冬至)- Yuzu Baths, Pumpkin, and Fire-Walking (火渡り) – on Sunday December 22, 2019
20 December, 2020
By Avi Landau
Up here in the northern hemisphere, we have been watching our daylight hours grow shorter and shorter by the day. It can be startling to leave work at the usual time and find ourselves immersed in complete darkness where just a few weeks ago it was perfectly bright. For the ancients, this gradual waning of daytime was the cause of great apprehension, and a wide assortment of rituals and ceremonies (including human sacrifice!) were conceived of and performed by various peoples around the world to make sure that the sun didn’t continue to weaken and ultimately disappear altogether.