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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 yea ....
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 ....
TsukuBlog A Local Perspective on Life in Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan. KAGAMI BIRAKI (鏡開き)- Breaking Open the Mirrors – a closer look at how and why the Japanese break open and eat the New Year`s Kagami Mochi rice cakes on January 11th (again) 11 January, 2021 A Kagami Mochi consisting of three rice cakes, an orange, skewered dried persimons, kelp, and various leaves (sakaki, yuzuriha, and urujiro)
And another KAGAMI MOCHI- in its purest form- two plain mochi rice cakes (at a home in Sasagi, Tsukuba- January 9, 2021)
By Avi Landau Ten days have passed since GANTAN (元旦), New Years Day. The round mochi rice cakes, which have been set in the family’s Shinto altar (kami-dana), in the alcove (toko-no-ma) of the Japanese style tatami room, or these days, on a book shelf, dresser, or counter-top, have become hard and dried out, cracked, and maybe even, if you check underneath, a little moldy. After all this time, (according to traditio ....