Camellia Tea Ceremony Profile picture
Feb 28, 2023 7 tweets 8 min read Read on X
🗺️🤔SOUTH OF THE CAPITAL🧭🌸
Second only to Kitano Tenmangū as the go-to destination for plum blossoms, Jōnan-gū's "Spring Mountain" (春の山) reimagines a Heian-period style garden.

even the mean monks
come to eat rice cakes-
God of Jōnan
腹あしき僧も餅くへ城南神
-Yosa-no-Buson.
One of Kyōto's most photographed pieces of scenery is a stretch of garden behind Jōnan-gū's (城南宮) main shrine. Here winter and spring collide with plum blossoms cascading over fallen camellia flowers...bright dots in a verdant green carpet.
#Jōnangū #城南宮 #Kyoto #京都 #Japan
Shōfu-dō's (松甫堂) 'tsubaki-mochi' (椿餅) is sold exclusively on the approach to Jōnan-gu during plum blossom season. The sweet's slight octagonal shape was inspired by the shrine's famous amulet (protecting against unlucky directions).

Amulet image thanks🙇‍♂️-@urahanabi
#Kyoto
Jōnan-gū's origins are hazy at best.

Some say Empress Jingū (神功皇后 ?169-269?), returning victorious from campaigns on the Korean Peninsula, buried her battle pennant and enshrined the god Yachihoko-no-kami (八千矛神) here in 203 in a shrine called Mahataki-jinja (眞幡寸神社).
Rather confusingly, both Jōnan-gū & Fujinomori-jinja (藤森神社) claim to have their origins with Mahataki-jinja.
Fujinomori-jinja likely stands close to where this shrine was founded in 203, but the current incarnation of Mahataki-jinja (真幡寸神社) is located within Jōnan-gū🤔
Old before Kyōto was born, Jōnan-gū stood conveniently to the capital's south west and was thus considered protection against this unlucky direction.
Emperor Kanmu probably established the shrine that we know, and even now people pray here for protection from unlucky directions.
For over a thousand years members of the nobility would pray at the shrine before setting off on important journeys🧭

Ex-emperors Shirakawa and Toba began their pilgrimages to Kumano from Jōnan-gū, and Princess Kazu departed here in 1861 to marry Shōgun Tokugawa Iemochi.
#Kyoto

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
 

Keep Current with Camellia Tea Ceremony

Camellia Tea Ceremony Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

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).


Image
Image
Image
Image
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.


Image
Image
Image
Image
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.


Image
Image
Image
Image
Read 24 tweets
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".


Image
Image
Image
Image
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


Image
Image
Image
Image
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


Image
Image
Image
Image
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😮

#Kyoto #京都 #matcha #抹茶 #icecream #Ninenzaka #二年坂 ImageImageImageImage
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

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Don't want to be a Premium member but still want to support us?

Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal

Or Donate anonymously using crypto!

Ethereum

0xfe58350B80634f60Fa6Dc149a72b4DFbc17D341E copy

Bitcoin

3ATGMxNzCUFzxpMCHL5sWSt4DVtS8UqXpi copy

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us!

:(