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Sep 13, 2022 10 tweets 13 min read Read on X
📿KYŌTO'S SHIKOKU PILGRIMAGE🙏

even in Kyoto-
hearing the cuckoo's cry-
I long for Kyoto
京にても 京なつかしや ほととぎす
-Matsuo Bashō (松尾芭蕉 1644–1694).

Around the New Year I like to complete a small pilgrimage, not particularly well known, on a mountain close to my house.
Are you interested in undertaking the Shikoku Pilgrimage (四国遍路), but find yourself without any real time to do so?🤔

Not to worry...close to our Camellia Garden Teahouse there is a way to complete the pilgrimage without ever leaving Kyōto🙌
#Kyoto #Japan #京都 #四国遍路
Snaking up and down the slopes of Jyōju-san (成就山), a mountain that rises behind Ninna-ji (仁和寺), is a tiny version of the Shikoku Pilgrimage.

Kūkai (空海 774-835), founder of Shingon Buddhism (真言宗), is alleged to have first created the circuit of 88 temples on Shikoku👣
Abbot Sainin of Ninna-ji (済仁/仁和寺) created the 'Omuro 88 Temple Pilgrimage' (御室八十八ヶ所霊場) for those who could not manage the real Shikoku Pilgrimage (四国遍路).
Begun in 1829, it was completed 3 years later.

#Ninnaji #OmuroPilgrimage #Kyoto #仁和寺 #御室八十八ヶ所霊場
Sainin charged the temple custodian (and court physician) Hisatomi Tootōmi-no-kami Fumitsura (久富遠江守文連 1761-1846) with undertaking the Shikoku Pilgrimage in order to collect sand (四国霊場の土) from each of the 88 temples.
This sand was placed in 88 small halls on Mt Jyōju.
For a long time there weren't sufficient funds to undo the damage caused by typhoons over the years, but recently Ninna-ji is working extra hard to revitalize the route.

I'm quite fond of the ramshackle nature of the pilgrimage.
#Ninnaji #仁和寺 #Kyoto #京都 #Japan
It may seem odd to construct a miniature Shikoku Henro (四国遍路) behind Ninna-ji (仁和寺), but the temple has a long connection with the pilgrimage.

From Edo times it became popular to pray for safety at Ninna-ji before undergoing the actual pilgrimage.
#Japan #京都 #Omuro
Together Ninna-ji (仁和寺), Tō-ji (東寺) & Jinkō-in (神光院) make up the 'San-Kōbō Meguri' (三弘法巡り), a pilgrimage to 3 statues of Kōbō Daishi (弘法大師), also known as 'Yakuyoke Daishi' (厄除大師 'Calamity Dispelling Master').
People pray for good luck, health and protection.
'San-Kōbō Meguri' is held on the 21st of each month (in remembrance of Kūkai's 空海 death in 835), with pilgrims journeying to the 3 temples.
A special pilgrimage called 'San-Kōbō Mōde' (三弘法詣) is held on January 3rd in order to pray for health and safety in the upcoming year.
The original 'San-Kōbō Meguri' pilgrimage began in Edo times. Abolished in the anti-Buddhist climate of 1868, it was resurrected in 2012.

Pilgrims would pray at the 3 temples before undertaking the Shikoku Pilgrimage (四国遍路).

#御室八十八ヶ所霊場 #shikokupilgrimage #Ninnaji

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More from @camelliakyoto

May 28
🔔🪨😭THE GREAT BUDDHA'S WONDERS🐂💢👂

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).


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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.


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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.


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Aug 21, 2023
🙊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".


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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


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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').

#Japan #百日紅


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Read 6 tweets
Jun 19, 2023
🎨A MODERN TOUCH🖌️

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 ImageImageImageImage
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) ImageImageImageImage
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… Image
Read 8 tweets
May 11, 2023
🚪😱HAUNTED GATES & DANCING CATS😼👻

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 ImageImageImageImage
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 ImageImageImageImage
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!

Image thanks🙇‍♂️-bakumatsuya.com ImageImageImageImage
Read 23 tweets
May 10, 2023
'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. ImageImageImageImage
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)✨ ImageImageImageImage
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…
Read 4 tweets
Apr 20, 2023
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🍵🍨🙌 ImageImageImageImage
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😮

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Another favourite (though much pricier) way to cool down is with Oimatsu's (老松) cheerful 'natsukan-tō' (夏柑糖 'sugared Chinese citron')🍊🥰

#Kyoto #京都 #夏柑糖 #老松 #oimatsu #Japan #citron #chinesecitron #orange
Read 4 tweets

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