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…
🪷A 1000 YEAR OLD TREAT😋
@kameyakiyonaga's (亀屋清永) 'seijō kankidan' (清浄歓喜団) is one of Japan's oldest sweets, unchanged in appearance since it arrived on these shores.
In the Edo period bean paste replaced the original spiced chestnut, apricot and persimmon filling.
In the Nara period envoys to the Tang dynasty returned with sweet pastries called 'karakudamono' or 'tōgashi' (唐菓子).
At first used as offerings by the esoteric Buddhist sects, in the Heian period the treats became a staple at aristocratic banquets. #京都#唐菓子#wagashi
The earliest recorded pastry is mentioned in an early 10thC dictionary.
Originating in India (there known as 'modak'), the sweet passed through 'China' (as 'huanxituan' - 'balls of joy') to Japan, where they were christened 'kankidan' (歓喜団), 'danki' (団喜) and 'odan' (お団).
There is a deep symbolism behind the shape and ingredients of the kankidan.
👃7 'scents' are kneaded into the bean paste (representing purification)
🪷The sweet is shaped like a money bag (good fortune), with 8 'knots' symbolising an 8-petalled lotus (the path to enlightenment)
High ranking monks from Hiei-zan first passed on the secret method for making kankidan to Kameya Kiyonaga (亀屋清永).
The store sells both seijō kankidan and buto (餢飳), a pasty (or helmet🤔) shaped sweet also brought over to Japan 1000 years ago.
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😮
The chaos of blossom season is upon us, so I thought I'd share some information for guests who have already booked, or are thinking of booking tea ceremony during the busiest time of the year in Kyōto🙇♂️
🗺️🤔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).
To celebrate the 120th anniversary of matcha production in Nishio (西尾市), Aichi Prefecture, the Nishio Tea Trade Association first established "Matcha Day" in 1992.
February 6th was chosen for "Matcha Day" as the date is a play on words...
When the numbers 2⃣ (February) and 6⃣ (6th) are put together they can be pronounced as 'Furo' (風炉).
🔥🍵Furo is portable stove used for tea ceremonies during the summer (from May-October). #抹茶の日
A few days in the year are dedicated to tea...
🍵"Green Tea Day" (May 1st/2nd - est.1990)- 88th day of spring, first tea harvesting.
🍵"Mugicha Day" (June 1st - est.1986)- beginning of the barley harvest.
🍵"Genmaicha Day" (November 1st)- start of rice trading year (米穀年度).