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Camellia Tea Ceremony

8 Oct, 10 tweets, 14 min read

🐈FRIDAY FELINES AND REFRESHMENTS🍬

Golden hour at Ginkaku-ji's (銀閣寺) Kōgetsudai (向月台) and Ginshadan (銀沙灘), representations in white sand of (possibly) Mt. Fuji (富士山) and China's Lake Xi (西湖 'West Lake').

#Ginkakuji #銀閣寺 #Jishōji #慈照寺 #Kyoto #京都 #Japan

@tawaraya_unryu

And what better sweets to enjoy with a trip to the 'Silver Pavilion' than Tawaraya Yoshitomi's (俵屋吉富) 'ginshadan' (銀沙灘).
Flavoured with hama-natto (浜納豆), the higashi (干菓子) have a sweet and salty taste that pairs perfectly with matcha🍵🙌

➡️@tawaraya_unryu
#matcha

The sand mound has a small depression at its summit to give it an even more Mt. Fuji-like appearance, and indicating that the garden was best viewed from the upper floor of the pavilion. White Shirakawa sand (白川砂) was chosen to best reflect the light of the full moon.
#Japan

Impromptu tea beside the The Path of Philosophy (哲学の道 'Tetsugaku-no-michi') brought a friendly face.

Following the course of an irrigation channel fed by the Lake Biwa Canal, the narrow, cherry-tree-lined path was first opened in 1890 (further extended in 1912).
#哲学の道

A rotund little cat joined Nao-san for tea and to catch the last rays of the day🌞🙌🐈🍊

#哲学の道 #kyotocats #京都 #Japan #Kyoto #ThePathofPhilosophy

I already have 2 cats waiting for me at home, but I was sorely tempted to put this gorgeous beastie in my backpack.

Oh to have a cat that would be happy to ride around on my bicycle.
#Kyoto #京都 #kyotocats #京都の猫 #猫 #PhilosophersPathCat #Japan

The Path of Philosophy is a haven for cats, and most have grown increasingly friendly around humans (and the food they bring).

By coincidence Nao-san's furoshiki had a cat theme!😺😽💕

A teatime speciality all the way from Yamanashi Prefecture (山梨県)...'kikyō shingen mochi' (桔梗信玄餅).
It's a little messy, so it comes with a plastic furoshiki to keep everything together whilst pouring the kinako and brown sugar syrup over the chewy mochi.
#桔梗信玄餅

Legend has it that the sweet was inspired by a similar snack used as an emergency food by daimyō Takeda Shingen (武田信玄 1521-73) during campaigns. Takeda's 'snack' was in turn inspired by abekawa-mochi (安倍川餅), a kinako covered rice cake eaten in Yamanashi at Obon (お盆).

The Path of Philosophy (哲学の道) runs between Nanzen-ji (南禅寺) and Ginkaku-ji (銀閣寺). It came to prominence after the philosophers and Kyōto University professors Nishida Kitarō (西田幾多郎 1870-1945) and Tanabe Hajime (田辺元 1885-1962) used the trail as an exercise route.

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1) SHIKIGAMI (式神)

Shikigami are somewhat unruly spirits summoned by onmyōji (陰陽師) to serve them. Invisible to almost everyone but the summoner, they would -for the most part- act like normal servants, performing household chores or secretarial duties.
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Fearsome in appearance, the shikigami's powers were connected to the strength of their master. Thus it is of no surprise that Seimei (安倍晴明) was said to have had 12 'shikijin' (式神), mostly performing simple tasks such as guarding his residence or opening gates.
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Celebrated as Japan’s most successful onmyōji (陰陽師), Seimei served 6 emperors, & thanks to a prominent career and long (sickness free) life came to be viewed as a magical figure.

Long after he had died, Seimei was the subject of countless stories and miraculous legends.

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The lady herself.

Murasaki Shikibu (紫式部 ?973-1031?), for some reason rendered in gold.
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Rozan-ji's (廬山寺) 'Genji-no-tei' (源氏庭) was designed in 1965, inspired by Heian period gardens. Kikyō offer the only real colour.
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