Sumadera (須磨寺) is a unique #temple full of iconographic #arts, at the western end of Kōbe (神戸). Perhaps because it's not in Kyōto or Nara, there is little information available online about Sumadera, even in #Japanese. It was founded in 886 and has its own branch of Kūkai's #Shingon#Buddhism: Sumadera-ha (真言宗須磨寺派). It is internationally active, and a place for #religious practices rather than an outdoor museum. By the same token, it's free to enter.
Suma appears in ancient waka poetry (和歌) of 5-7-5-7-7 syllables, and is associated with the Heike Monogatari (平家物語). I was determined to go, despite the rain, because I'd read an article clarifying wabi and sabi with a #waka coincidentally about Suma. The first photos show Sumadera's exchanges with #Nepal resulting in a display of Tibetan #Buddhist and #Hindu#iconography. Although there was light rain on the beach at first, later up at Sumadera the day turned bright.
Documented 100th different #presentation topic, this time the format and content completely unlike anything before, drawing from my familiarity with Kyōto #Buddhist temples (first photo), Shintō shrines, and festivals reenacting the Heian Period of over a thousand years ago. The slideshow is at at https://www.researchgate.net/publication/379221428
The pechakucha (third photo) rapid-fire presentations were also a social event in Nishinomiya, between Ōsaka and Kōbe, involving Kōnan University students, teachers, and other English users. The editor of our book A Passion for Japan gave me a cameo in his presentation by discussing my chapter (last photo).
The large temple complex Ninna-ji (仁和寺) in Kyōto was founded by Emperor Uda in 888 in the early Heian Period, and for most of its history its head priest was an Imperial family member. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site. It has its own school of Shingon Buddhism and brand of sakura cherry trees (see photos). The stone Buddhas are off by the east entrance and missed by most visitors. The violet azaleas go well with the white cherry blossoms.
“Some scholars have suggested that the Shakyas, the clan of the historical Gautama Buddha, were originally Scythians from Central Asia, and that the Indian ethnonym Śākya has the same origin as “Scythian,” called Sakas in India.”
The 7-5-3 festival (七五三) started in the Heian or Muromachi Period to pray for the survival of #children, and, like many practices, spread from the aristocracy eventually to all citizens.
Age three for #girls is especially adorable, and our 3/4 #Japanese granddaughter just went through that rite of passage, posing in a #festival kimono.
With deaths in both families this year, it was moved from a Shintō shrine to a #Buddhist temple, reflecting the division of labor served by the two #religions in Japan. We could thus do it up on a mountain in our city (between Ōsaka and Kyōto) and see changing leaves of #autumn early.
All major ceremonies are finally accompanied by a restaurant meal, and the Japanese-style food and service, by normal standards in Japan, were superb.
Our granddaughter, nearly three, also seemed to start realizing that my English and the usual Japanese were different languages (technically, nascent metalinguistic awareness and bilinguality).
Dear family friends here in #Japan, a sumi-e (墨絵) ink painting artist and a Paris chanson singer invited Chisato and me to a unique event in #Osaka. An iemoto of #Japanese dance Nihon buyō (日本舞踊の家元), renowned for onna-gata female roles, led a tribute to #Ukraine, with the heads of lettuce representing skulls, a stark demonstration for #peace. Then singers performed a variety of genres in Japanese, French, English, and Italian, with a skilled electric piano accompaniment - bravo!
It is typically Japanese to combine the traditional with the modern, European with Japanese artistic sensibilities. Many venerable cultures have a sense of time that is more cyclical than linear. In Japanese religion the tendency to agglutinate rather than to choose and exclude is seen in #Buddhist syncretism.
Did you know that the place with the most "#qi" in #Korea is a #mountain?
Qi translates to "breath". It is a force within the body that keeps one healthy. It is a prominent concept in many #Asian#belief systems & underlies #Chinese#medicine.
Gyeryongsam is an 845m high mountain in Chungcheongnam-do, South Korea.
Doseon Guksa, a #Korean#Buddhist#Monk from the 9th c. saw the mountain as perfectly positioned for Feng Shui.
There's a flowering tree outside my kuti (at Nandaka #Buddhist Vihara, Bukit Mertajam), and whenever it rains, about 10ish of these flower blossoms will fall. #Malaysia#Buddhism#Theravada