The celebration was created by the Tōkyō Ice Cream Association (now Japan Ice Cream Association) in 1964, to remember the day in 1869 that ice cream was first sold in Japan (in Yokohama)🙌 #Japan
In 1860 Machida Fusazō (町田房造) was part of an official delegation sent to the United States from Japan aboard the Kanrin Maru (咸臨丸).
Whilst in San Francisco the group tasted ice cream for the first time & Fusazō determined to recreate this delicious dessert back home.
Back in Yokohama, Fusazō marketed his creation as 'aisu kurin' (アイスクリン). Containing milk, eggs and sugar, it was more like frozen custard than the ice cream we’re now familiar with.
On May 9th 1869 he began selling 'aisu kurin' from his store "Hyōsuiten" (氷水店). #icecream
For the store's first 10 years Fusazō had to bring natural ice all the way from Hokkaidō to produce his 'aisu kurin', making it a luxury item that, at 25 yen per serving, was too expensive for most people. But by 1901 the price had tumbled to 1 yen, and its popularity exploded.
Sadly Fusazō's store in Bashamichi (馬車道) is long gone, but his legacy lives on.
From the moment ice cream arrive in Japan, people began to experiment with new flavours. There's an early record of matcha ice cream (in the shape of Mt Fuji) being served at an imperial banquet.
Nao-san is our resident parfait (パフェ) expert🍨😋🙌
It's a little chilly in Kyōto for ice cream today, but that gives us plenty of time to plan what stores to visit when it gets warmer👍
Kyōto was once home to the greatest statue of Buddha in all Japan.
4m taller than Tōdai-ji's Daibutsu, the statue stood in an immense hall in precincts now taken up by Toyokuni-jinja and Hōkō-ji (remnant of the original Buddha's home).
The great hall and last (vastly smaller) incarnation of Kyōto's Daibutsu are sadly lost, but within the neighbourhood (where once the temple precincts sprawled) are a series of wonders.
They include a great bell that brought down a ruling clan, an exploding cow, & a tomb of ears.
1) THE CHIMES OF DOOM🔔
Having seized control of the country after the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, Tokugawa Ieyasu calmly waited for an excuse to destroy the rival Toyotomi clan.
His chance came with the forging of a new bell and an inscription that could be read as a threat.
🙊THE MONKEY'S SLIDE🛝
At first glance the teahouse garden appears to be made up of mostly moss, pine & camellia...but if you look more closely the borders are packed thick with dozens of varieties of plants.
One of the most beautiful at this time of year is the "Monkey's Slide".
More commonly known as crape myrtle (百日紅), older generations in Japan fondly call the tree 'saru suberi' (サルスベリ the "monkey's slide").
The bark of the tree is so smooth that even monkeys struggle to get a foothold!
#Kyoto #京都 #Japan #百日紅 #サルスベリ #IwataMonkeyPark
Crape (also crepe) myrtle gets its name from the appearance of its flowers, which look very much like crepe paper.
Blooming from mid-summer through to autumn, the flowers (commonly bright pink) are also known in Japan as 'hyakujitsukō' (百日紅 'red for 100 days').
One of the Shōren-in's (青蓮院) most striking features greets you as you enter the drawing room...a series of bold coloured lotuses, blooming across 60 panels.
Begun in 2005, the work was created by the artist 'Ki-yan' (キーヤン/Kimura Hideki 木村英輝). #Japan
When visiting Shōren-in, Kimura was suddenly inspired to fill the drawing room's plain fusuma with colour.
It took him two years to complete the 3 sets of lotus paintings (蓮三部作)...
🪷"Blue Illusion" (青の幻想)
🪷"Amitabha's Pure Land" (極楽浄土)
🪷"Hymn of Life" (生命賛歌)
Why all the blue lotuses?🤔
Shōren-in was originally constructed atop Mt Hiei as a lodging facility for monks serving at Enryaku-ji.
Shōren-bō was named after a nearby pond in which blue lotus flowers bloomed ('shōrenge'). Many famous monks, such as Saichō & Ennin, lived here. twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
It's been a while since I've done a #folklorethursday, so here's some local, rather less well-known tales.
Demizu was once home to Toyotomi Hideyoshi's lavish palace 'Jurakudai' (聚樂第), and the area has many strange wonders. #Kyoto#京都
Kannon-ji's 'Gate of 100 Lashings' (観音寺 百叩きの門) belonged originally to the prison at Fushimi Castle (伏見城). When the castle was dismantled the doorway was gifted to the temple🏯🚪🩸😰👋
The gate is just 1 of the '7 Wonders of Demizu' (出水の七不思議). #Kyoto#京都#出水
Before prisoners were set free they underwent a final punishment at the prison gate...a warning to stay on the straight & narrow.
They were lashed 100 times with a piece of split bamboo across the back. It was agonizing, & sometimes deadly!
'May Sickness' (五月病 'gogatsu-byō') is a term for a seasonal disorder that strikes just as Golden Week comes to an end.
After the flurry of changes that take place each April, it may seem like May should be smooth sailing, but returning to work/school after the break is tough.
It may seem like a small thing, but sweets absolutely help lift a gloomy mood...
🌫️🌩️☁️😶🌫️🌥️🌤️🌞
Kameya Yoshinaga (亀屋良長) has done the impossible and perfectly captured the blue skies & cotton puff clouds of May in sweet form☺️
The wonderful 'hikōki-gumo' (ひこうき雲)✨
While 'May Blues' doesn't sound particularly serious, in some cases it can lead to depression, anxiety & insomnia.
In April the new school/work year begins, and there's a feeling that Golden Week only helps exacerbate feelings of disorientation, mental exhaustion, & apprehension. twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
Astonishingly the temperature will soar close to 30 degrees today...the hottest day of the year so far😓
As this heat is a little unexpected we swooped on Ishidatami (石畳) for their famous matcha soft serve (抹茶ソフトクリーム). Fresh matcha is kneaded into the ice-cream🍵🍨🙌
Fresh matcha as an ingredient in cooking and baking tends to lose its flavour quickly, and so Ishidatami doesn't serve ice-cream older than 3 hours, preferring instead to make new batches throughout the day😮