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gurdymonkey
https://www.flickr.com/photos/70104978@N00/sets/72157648503484419/ is of the parade only. I shot the exteriors of Sanjusangendo Temple using internal camera memory - and didn't pack my cable, so I'll have to download them after I get home.
Sanjusangendo is an old Buddhist temple with a main hall so long, the veranda was historically used for archery competitions. Inside (where I could not take pictures as it's an active worship site and a priest was chanting at the main altar), the hall is filled with statues of Kannon, the bodhisattva of compassion. (Japanese Buddhists venerate bodhisattvas other than the historical Buddha.) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanj%C5%ABsangen-d%C5%8D has some information. It's incredibly beautiful, particularly viewed as we did while a service was in progress. I lit a candle. And incense.
Across the street is the Kyoto National Museum, which was exhibiting the restored "Frolicking Animals And Humans" picture scrolls. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ch%C5%8Dj%C5%AB-jinbutsu-giga One of my favorite pieces of art, it features animals aping human behavior.
We stopped for lunch at the cafe near the house, then walked back up towards the parade viewing stands where we had reserved seats. It was raining quite a bit as we got settled, but I managed to keep my camera dry and the rain did abate as the procession got to our part of the street. The Jidai Matsuri, literally, Festival of the Eras, commemorates the founding of Kyoto as Japan's capital in 794. The festival was conceived partly because the capital was moved to Tokyo in the late 19th century. The Heian Jingu shrine was built and the festival has been held annually since 1895, with costumed participants representing various periods and famous figures from the Meiji Restoration (mid 19th century) and going back to 794. I was in costume-geek heaven, needless to say. Though it was a tricky challenge to photograph, with the weather, the people in front of me that I had to shoot around and so forth. While I didn't get pictures of everything I would have liked, I got some I'm pretty pleased with.
Home to dry off and get cleaned up, then we walked back up past Heian Jingu Shrine for our big-splurge dinner at Rokusei. We were escorted into an elegant, modern foyer by a hostess in kimono and into a sitting room where we were presented with descriptive menus in Japanese and English to prepare us for the sort of feast that might have been served to nobles in the capital 1000 years ago. The attached cell phone picture is the tray I received. Morsels included venison, pheasant, fish (broiled, dried, raw), octopus, abalone, fresh fruit, pickled and raw vegetables, even a sort of seaweed pudding. While not everything was to my taste, most of it was amazing, and I couldn't finish it all. It was incredible.
Sanjusangendo is an old Buddhist temple with a main hall so long, the veranda was historically used for archery competitions. Inside (where I could not take pictures as it's an active worship site and a priest was chanting at the main altar), the hall is filled with statues of Kannon, the bodhisattva of compassion. (Japanese Buddhists venerate bodhisattvas other than the historical Buddha.) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanj%C5%ABsangen-d%C5%8D has some information. It's incredibly beautiful, particularly viewed as we did while a service was in progress. I lit a candle. And incense.
Across the street is the Kyoto National Museum, which was exhibiting the restored "Frolicking Animals And Humans" picture scrolls. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ch%C5%8Dj%C5%AB-jinbutsu-giga One of my favorite pieces of art, it features animals aping human behavior.
We stopped for lunch at the cafe near the house, then walked back up towards the parade viewing stands where we had reserved seats. It was raining quite a bit as we got settled, but I managed to keep my camera dry and the rain did abate as the procession got to our part of the street. The Jidai Matsuri, literally, Festival of the Eras, commemorates the founding of Kyoto as Japan's capital in 794. The festival was conceived partly because the capital was moved to Tokyo in the late 19th century. The Heian Jingu shrine was built and the festival has been held annually since 1895, with costumed participants representing various periods and famous figures from the Meiji Restoration (mid 19th century) and going back to 794. I was in costume-geek heaven, needless to say. Though it was a tricky challenge to photograph, with the weather, the people in front of me that I had to shoot around and so forth. While I didn't get pictures of everything I would have liked, I got some I'm pretty pleased with.
Home to dry off and get cleaned up, then we walked back up past Heian Jingu Shrine for our big-splurge dinner at Rokusei. We were escorted into an elegant, modern foyer by a hostess in kimono and into a sitting room where we were presented with descriptive menus in Japanese and English to prepare us for the sort of feast that might have been served to nobles in the capital 1000 years ago. The attached cell phone picture is the tray I received. Morsels included venison, pheasant, fish (broiled, dried, raw), octopus, abalone, fresh fruit, pickled and raw vegetables, even a sort of seaweed pudding. While not everything was to my taste, most of it was amazing, and I couldn't finish it all. It was incredible.
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Date: 2014-10-23 02:09 pm (UTC)