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TsukuBlog
A Local Perspective on Life in Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.
The Legacy of the SAKIMORI (防人)-Japan`s Ancient Frontier Guard Conscripts- is their timeless poetry of LONGING- and the colorful SAITOH-SAI Festival ( 祭頭祭 ) at Kashima Grand Shrine on March 9th
8 March, 2021
By Avi Landau
One of the good things about living in the Tsukuba Science City, is that in addition to all the local folk ( JIMOTO NO HITO ), you get to meet the SHINJU-MIN (新住民), the people who have come from ALL OVER JAPAN ( as well as from all over the world) to work at or study at the various research facilities and institutions of higher learning located here. Because of this diversity in geographical background , whenever I make new acquaintance, I always make sure to ask: SHUSHIN CHI WA DOKO DESU KA? (Where are you originally from?), and since I have been to all of Japan`s 47 prefectures, after hearing the answer, I mention that I have been to THEIRS and usually make so
TsukuBlog
A Local Perspective on Life in Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.
Greeting the New Year the Traditional Way, at a Temple or a Shrine Can Be a FROSTY EXPERIENCE at Midnight- Make sure to Bundle Up!- or stay home and watch tv like most Japanese!
1 January, 2020
By Avi Landau
According to the old Japanese calendar, the last day of each month is called MISOKA (晦日). The last day of the year is OH-MISOKA (大晦日), with the preｆix OH (大） meaning big , great or grand. The expression JOYA (除夜） is used for the evening of the last day of the year. Directly translated this means the evening of removal (of the year). Traditionally, by OHMISOKA, Japanese families should have completed their preparations for welcoming their ancestral spirits and the Toshigami-Sama (God of the New Year), by cleaning their houses, setting up proper New Year’s Decorations, pounding mochi rice cakes, and making (or buying) all the other appropriate New Year’s dishes.