The Summer Hanabi (fireworks) Season in Tokyo Swings Into Full Gear Tonight with the Great Sumida River Hanabi Festival
By Avi Landau
Today is the 4th Saturday of July, and as all Edo-Ko ( natives of Tokyo`s Shita-Machi district) know, that means tonight there will be FIREWORKS ( hanabi) over the Sumida River near Asakusa Station. Not only is this Tokyo`s largest and most famous annual pyrotechnical event, it is also the oldest, with the tradition having started way back in 1733 ( with only brief interruptions during the war years 1940-1947, and later, because of traffic and crowd related logistical problems, between 1962 and 1977 ).
Considering how close Tsukuba is to that part of Tokyo ( its only about 40 minutes away by the Tsukuba Express), it has always surprised me how few Tsukubans, either native or new resident have ever attended this great event. When I ask friends and aquaintances if they HAVE ever done so the response I get is almost always a strong NO, which seems to imply that I was crazy for even asking.
The reason for this is not simply because The Sumida River Fireworks Festival is always incredibly crowded ( with nearly a million people packed into the area), or that it is too hot ( most Japanese usually DO associate fireworks with summer anyway). It is because the people who live in Southern Ibaraki Prefecture ( where Tsukuba is located), have a special pride in our own great regional fireworks event- The Tsuchiura Fireworks Competition- which is held in the cool of October and can be seen in comfort from the nearby rice fields ( after harvesting of course!) and even from the windows of many homes in Tsukuba.
Still, with the TX`s direct service to Asakusa Station it IS tempting to go check out one of THE great Edo ( Tokyo) traditions that still lives on. I could even say, that for those of us who love the Tsuchiura Fireworks Competition, going to the Sumida River Fireworks Festival could be said to be an act of paying tribute to what in fact is the MODEL for Tsuchiura`s event, which has place over the Sakura River since 1925.
Let me explain how this is so.
The Sumida River fireworks started out ( in 1733) as part of a ceremony to console the spirits of those who died the previous years in a famine ( and subsequent epidemics) which had ravaged the city. The Shogunate planned supplications to SUIJIN, the Water, or River God. Permission was given to a pyrotechnic firm, Kagiya, to launch fireworks, which, like incense, vanished into thin air, as if taken up by the souls of the dead.
The Sumida River Fireworks were a great hit, and were in fact not just a one night event- they were launched nearly EVERY NIGHT over the the course of two summer months each year ( until the Meiji Period when it was scaled down to once a year), set off on demand as ordered by paying patrons who came to the riverside tea houses and restaurants to enjoy the cooler air by the river. The fireworks became an important part of a complex and booming SHITA-MACHI summer economy, and became symbolic of Edo in that season.
In the same way, in Tsuchiura,the Buddhist monk Baiho of the Zenryu-Ji Temple, suggested a fireworks event as a way of consoling the spirits of pilots who had died training over Lake kasumigaura ( this is long before WWII), and of course as way of reviving the local economy ( ala Shita Machi). The reason that the event is held over the Sakura River and not the lake, is that because of the Tokyo event, fireworks were connected in peoples minds with RIVERS.
For more on the history of the Tsuchiura Fireworks event read my article:
And more info ( and logistics) regarding tonight`s event in Tokyo:
http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/indepth/history/traditionalevents/a39_fes_hanabi.html
and some history:
http://sumidagawa-hanabi.com/index_eg.html
With the sultry summer heat, the huge Yukata-clad crowds, the beautiful fire FLOWERS ( the direct translation of the Japanese characters for fireworks) and the lingering smell of the gun-powder wafting in the air- tonight should provide an UNFORGETTABLE Edo experience. You can even join in shouting praise for the fireworks makers- KAGIYA!! TAMAYA!!! along with the locals ( much in the same way that the names of Kabuki actors are shouted out in appreciation!)
I will probably pass, however, and wait for October!
WARNING!
The Sumida Fireworks event will be horribly crowded even by Japanese standards. Also, with all the tall buildings, it is difficult to get a good position for viewing the fireworks. People with money to burnm reserve hotel rooms with a view, or seats on a special fireworks viewing river cruises. For those who dont stake a claim on a good spot early in the day ( a ridiculous thing to do in this heat anyway) it must be remembered that there is NO STANDING in the places from which the HANABI can be seen. The police DO NOT LET YOU STOP, and like sharks, you just have to keep moving! If you have little kids, I would strongly recommend that you DO NOT go to this event with them!
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What`s the Buzz About ( yet again!)?- The Cicadas (semi) of Japanese Summer
By Avi Landau
Newcomers to Tsukuba are usually taken aback by the intense and inescapable chirping of cicadas (semi) in late summer. Though some find it thrilling and ALIVE, for many, the pulsating whir these insects whip up can be mind-numbing, or at the other extreme nerve-wracking. For many Japanese, however, who can often differentiate the particular sounds created by the most common varieties, the cicada is a cherished symbol of summer, which not only indicates the season, but also, depending on which type is singing or at what volume, the time of day. Also, along with the cherry blossom, these creatures, who spend but a few above-ground days LIVING THEIR LIVES AT FULL THROTTLE before quickly falling away, represent that most quintessential Japanese concept, MUJO (無常), the passing nature of all things.
Japan’s greatest poets have used these fast-living, short (above-ground)-lived summer icons to evoke the season, as well as sadness or loneliness. A poem that most Japanese know by heart is the haiku by Basho which goes： 閑かさや岩にしみ入る蝉の声 (shizukasa ya iwa ni shimi iru semi no koe), which I translate as “In the stillness, the cry of cicadas permeates the stones”. Besides this classic, there are dozens of other well-known poems which use the cicada or the empty shells of molted nymphs (out of which cicadas emerge) as key words. The empty shells are especially powerful symbols of transformation and rebirth.
There is a charming etiological myth explaining the semi’s incessant crying which is related to the great Buddhist priest Kukai (Kobo Daishi 774-835). It is the story of Hime Haru Zemi, a princess who falls in love with the brilliant monk and wants to be by his side. Since it was impossible for them to stay together, he fashioned an image of himself out of a tree trunk. As he departed, she climbed to the top of this wood carving, clinging to it and straining to see him, crying all the while. She has been clinging to the tree trunks and crying every summer since.
Fascination with semi starts early and strikes deep roots. Japanese children love catching insects. A daytime stroll in any of Tsukuba’s parks or along any of its pedestrian paths during summer vacation will give evidence to that fact. Armed with nets and green insect cages they excitedly search for beetles, dragonflies, or cicadas. Today I watched a security guard leave his post to help some kids snare some semi which were just out of reach.
Because cicada symbolism has become so natural for the Japanese, fans of Japanese film and animation should take special note, as often summer is evoked by inserting cicada sound effects into the sound-track. I have heard that when these films are dubbed into other languages, these sounds are cut, as they have no meaning for foreign viewers and can be misconstrued as static or white noise. Off hand I can name the film Ijintachi to no Natsu (a summer ghost story) or the recent Semi Shigure as examples of films which effectively employ the sound effect.
Today I asked some friends if they could tell the difference between the different cicada calls. All of them said that they could and enthusiastically talked of what cicadas meant to them. These are the types which I found out are most familiar:
MIN MIN ZEMI that go MIN MIN in the daytime and like to cling high up in the trees;
HIGURASHI that go KANA KANA KANA, evoking a sad feeling in the early morning or evening;
ABURA ZEMI that go JI JI JI JI in the daytime;
TSUKUTSUKU BOSHI that go TSUKUTSUKUBOSHI;
and
NI NI ZEMI that go chi CHI chi CHI in the daytime.
If like me , these explanation do nothing to help you identify the different types of cicadas , you can probably make more progress if you check this site.
There is no avoiding the cries of the cicadas, but if you want to have a full SEMI experience, why don’t you start from Doho Park and walk down to Tsukuba University using the pedestrian path.
Avi Landau
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Whats The Deal With All This Eating Of Eel (UNAGI)- A More Comprehensive Look at Japan`s DOYO NO USHI (土用の丑) -again
An Unaju: unagi (eel), steamed, grilled, and basted in a special sauce. Served on rice in a laquer box.
A NOBORI advertizing UNAGI (eel)
You may ask what this is all about? Your Japanese friends or acquaintances will probably give you the SIMPLE , STANDARD explanation- that eating nutritious eel helps you beat Japan`s notorious summer heat, and keeps NATSU-BATTE (summer lethargy) at bay. They will also tell you that it is customary to have UNAGI ( usually served on rice and in a distinctive sauce) on a specific day, traditionally said to be the hottest of the year, which is called DOYO NO USHI NO HI (土用の丑の日), and which literally means the Day of The Ox During DOYO.
Buying Unagi for DOYO NO USHI NO HI in Tsukuba
Now all of this is clearly understandable and perfectly correct. But for those you who would like to delve deeper into the roots and significance this extremely popular custom ( you can bet that I had MY eel today), I would like to explain just what DOYO (土用) means, why the Day of The Ox (丑の日) during the DOYO is significant, and then, why it is EEL that has become the most popular TONIC for that day. I will also show you that there are alternative foods for those who have not developed a taste for UNAGI (or its distinctive shape).
Unagi on sale at Seibu Depatment Store in Tsukuba
Let me begin with the basics. The traditional Japanese calendar consists of 4 perfectly balanced, 90 day seasons, with the official first day of each season falling between the solistices (the longest and shortest days of the year) and the equinoxes ( the two days in the year in which daytime and night-time are equal). Accordingly, the first day of spring (RISHUN, 立春) is half-way between the winter solistice (TO-JI, 冬至) and the spring equinox (shunbun no hi, 春分の日), the first day of summer (RIKKA, 立夏), is between the spring equinox and the summer solistice ( GESHI, 夏至), the first day of autumn (RISHUー, 立秋) between the summer solistice and the autumnal equinox (shubun no hi, 秋分の日), and, likewise, the first day of winter (RITO-, 立冬) lies between the autumnal equinox and the winter solistice. As I have mentioned above, there are 90 days between each of these official seasonal changes.
Doyo (土用), according to the traditional calendar, is the 18 (or 19) day period before EACH seasonal change day. And though, as you now know, there are actually 4 DOYO periods in a year, most contemporary Japanese now associate this expression ONLY with the summer.
To understand the etymology and significance of the term DOYO (土用), which contains the Chinese character DO (土), meaning earth, or soil, we have to look at traditional Chinese Yin Yan (陰陽) Theory and more specifically the concept of the 5 elements (五行) which has had such a great impact on Japanese thought. According to this way of thinking, most things in the world can be associated with either YIN (the passive) or YANG (the active), OR with one of the five elements. These are: wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. Each season, of course, is also associated with one of these elements- spring with wood, summer with fire, autumn with metal, and winter with water. As you can see, there are only four seasons, so what about the fifth element- earth? Well, traditionally this became connected to EACH period of seasonal change. That is why this 18 day period, which comes four times a year, is the earth period. According to these beliefs, one should not engage in any projects which upset the earth (digging a well, etc) during these DOYO periods.
Now that we understand what DOYO means ( and PLEASE remember that I am only giving the scantest explanation of EXTREMELY complex traditional concepts), lets look at what The Day of The Ox is, and why that day is considered to be of special significance.
If you look at a Japanese calendar (even today) you often find that printed on it each day of the year has, in order, one of the TWELVE ANIMALS OF THE CHINESE ZODIAC ( junishi, 十二支), just as each consecutive year has. These animals are- RAT, OX , TIGER , RABBIT , DRAGON , SNAKE , HORSE , SHEEP , MONKEY, ROOSTER, DOG ,and BOAR. The characters used to represent these animals as zodiac sign are DIFFERENT from those we use to represent the actual animals. That is why Day of The Ox, is written 丑の日, with 丑、as cow or ox, and not the more familiar (to basic students of Japanese) character: 牛.
Since Doyo periods are usually 18 days long and there are twelve zodiac signs, it is quite common for a DAY of The Ox (ushi no hi) to occur not only once, but twice within that period (Im not good at math, but you can do the calculations yourself).
The questions remains as to WHY the ox would be of special significance during the summer DOYO. OK. This period has traditionally been the hottest time of the year in Japan. Those of you who have experienced this overwhelming heat and humidity know how it can sap you of all your strength and knock you out of action. The ox is significant in that it can act as a COUNTER-BALANCE to the summer heat ! Here is why. Not only each day and year, but also each month is designated its own zodiac sign. The sixth month of the old calendar ( usually July) is Month of The Sheep (未). Directly on the other side of the year , is the frosty 12th month (usually January). The zodiac animal of this, the coldest of months, is the OX ! In other words, the the cold bearing powers of the ox are called forth for assistance when the year is experiencing its hottest days ! In Ying Yang thinking FINDING THE BALANCE is always important, and the Ox help to level out the sheep!
Now you see why the Ox Days are significant during the summer DOYO. But why has eating eel been so popular on these days? Again, the explanation is not simple.
It seems that there has long been the belief that any food beginning with the syllable U (as in ushi- cow), would bring relief from summers oppressive stranglehold. That is why, to this day, besides Unagi (eel), there are those who eat Udon (wheat noodles), Uri (gourd), or Umeboshi (salted plums), on DOYO NO USHI NO HI. Today, I stopped by at an eel restaurant, and they were serving DOYO UME- plums for DOYO along with their unagi.
DOYO-UME in Niihari, near Tsukuba The man who is credited with having made eel into THE food to be eaten on DOYO NO USHI NO HI is the polymath Hiraga Gennai (1729-1779), one of the more interesting characters of pre-modern Japan. The story goes like this. An acquintance of Gennai who ran an eel restaurant had fallen on slow times. To help whip up business, the well-known and well- loved inventor, writer and artist wrote up a sign for the shop saying that it was the Day of The Ox During Doyo (and a good time to eat unagi, which begins with a U !) The sign was a big hit (as you can now imagine) and thus was begun, along with Valentine chocolates and Christmas cakes and chickens one of the greatest commercial successes linking a particular product with a special day.
Eating eel DOES make sense though, for the Japanese in summer, since it is HIGHLY NUTRITIOUS. In fact, in Japans oldest collection of poems (The Manyoshu) there are two poems on the theme of eating eel to prevent SUMMER WEIGHT-LOSS, by one of the greatest Japanese poets of all time- OTOMO NO YAKAMOCHI.
Something else to consider is that another obvious choice for a nutritious dish on the Day of The Ox would be BEEF. Pre-modern Japanese , however, did not eat animals with legs (mostly) and thus cows were not eaten (eels, on the other hand, are just about as far as you can get from having legs!).
EATING UNAGI
So, there you have it. Today is USHI NO HI, so while you should have no trouble finding eel at supermarkets, you WILL have trouble getting in the better UNAGI RESTAURANTS.
The most popular way to prepare unagi in the Kanto Area ( which includes Tokyo and Tsukuba as well) is called KABA YAKI ( see photo on top), which is steamed and then grilled eel, basted in a special sauce. It it served on rice in a laquer box ( this is called UNAJU) or in a bowl ( UNADON) and most people sprinkle a special condiment called SANSHO ( Japanese pepper, or Shechuan pepper) on top ( somtimes the sanso has a slight numbing effect on the lips and tongue!)
It is interesting to note that in the Kansai Area ( around Kyoto and Nara) the eel is only grilled and NOT steamed. I cannot tell you how it is prepared that way, as I have never eaten unagi in Kansai!
Another way of preparing eel that I would like to try is SHIRAYAKI- which is eel steamed without the sauce. another friend, who is something of a gourmet has told me that UNATORO is delicious. This is pieces of eel mixed into grated yama imo ( a kind of tuber) poured over rice. Sounds deeeeelish!
Avi Landau
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Lightning ! Hide Your Bellybuttons! (Thunder and Lightning in Japanese Culture)- again
By Avi Landau
We just had a terrific thunderstorm here in Tsukuba. For those of us celebrating the Gion Matsuri Festival in the neighborhood of Konda (金田), and probably for those at the various other local Gion Matsuris in this area, the storm was not only notable for the intensity of its rainfall, its strong winds or its terryfying thunder and lightning.
It was the timing of the storm which made it so dramatic. I should even say UNFORGETABLE . At Konda`s Yasaka Shrine, where in the past important rain supplication ceremonies ( amagoi) had often been held, most notably during the Great Famine of Tenmei, and with the Shimada Ishi ( a stone which according to local legend was successfully used to pray for rain) its narrow precincts, the festival drummers were building up into a crazed frenzy. The portable shine( Mikoshi) had just returned from making its rounds and was passing between the onlookers and the drummers. Just at that moment, a stong gust of wind whipped the placed off the tables which had been set up for the post festival feast- and with a flash of lightning- it started to rain.
We had enough time, before the drizzle turned to a downpour, to get into the car and drive home. But after the 2 minute drive, the rain had become so intense and the lightning so terrifying that we just waited it out IN THE CAR, for about an hour.
I realized that the festival had gone well, celebrated with true spirit- because the God enshrined at all the Yasaka Jinja`s at which the Gion Festivals are held are all dedicated to Susanoo-no-Mikoto- GOD OF THE STORM!
Before of this amazing experience I am reposting an article I have written and posted before:
HIDE YOUR BELLYBUTTONS!
These days electrical storms have been occurring so regularly around Tsukuba that you could almost set your watch by them. The lightning flashes begin just after dark and sometimes continue, with remarkable frequency, for hours. Though these nocturnal pyrotechnics can be beautiful to watch from your window, these storms are also quite SCARY (especially for children and dogs) and dangerous. A few years ago as the thunder roared and the lightning seemed to be singling out my neighborhood for special attention, my house filled with acrid smoke. Certain that a thunderbolt had struck and started a fire, I FRANTICALLY ran from room to room searching for the flames, with my dog barking hysterically at my heels. What I found, however, was that smoke was pouring out of my lightning-surge fried computer, which of course had to be trashed. I now run to unplug my computer and television at the first sign of a storm.
Most Tsukubans these days are quick to attribute the nightly KAMINARI (thunder and lightning) to global warming. In past ages, however, the Japanese would have asserted just as quickly, and with even more confidence, that the thunderclaps and lightning bolts were the work of RAIJIN (the god of thunder and lightning) and his companion RAIJU. You have probably seen some of the famous art works depicting Raijin, an ogre in a tiger-skin loin cloth, holding the sticks to beat his drums, which create the thunderous roar. Raiju on the other hand is usually imagined as a small mammalian hybrid, part tanuki, part cat, part mole. According to folk beliefs, these usually sedate creatures, prefer to sleep within the safe confines of the human bellybutton! When Raijin wants to summon his companion for a storm, he shoots arrows to arouse the little fella and get him out of his warm and snuggly resting place.
That is why, to this day, when a storm starts up anywhere in Japan, you might hear parents warning their small kids: “Cover your bellybuttons! He’s gonna get your bellybutton! O-heso kakushitoki na! Torarechau kara ne!” I’ve certainly been hearing this curious expression a lot these days! I’ve even heard that older people turn over on their stomachs if there is a storm while they are in bed at night, just to be on the safe side.
When I asked parents about this expression, besides telling me about Raijin and Raiju, they also explained the practical sides of this belief. One, that after lightning the air cools down (is this true?), so it is better to cover up, and two, that it’s better to stay low during a storm, and crouching down to conceal your belly is a good precaution to take. The efficacy of this second point was actually confirmed when I checked the established lightning safetey tips here:
http://www.lightningsafety.com/nlsi_pls/lst.html
It is also very interesting to look at the Japanese words for thunder and lightning. They reveal a great deal about how these phenomena were traditionally viewed. The word for thunder is kaminari, which literally means Kami (god(s)) nari (resounding). Simple enough. More interesting is the Kanji character for that word (雷). Rain over a rice field. This surely implies the belief in the importance of thunder in its connection to the coming of rain and watering of the fields.
The word for lightning itself is even more interesting. Inazuma (稲妻) literally means ”rice plant’s wife”! The ancient East-Asian rice cultivators must have believed that lightning was a necessary element in the bringing about of rice. As if the gods, like Dr Frankenstein, used electric bolts to instill life into the inanimate!
There are numerous shrines throughout Japan dedicated to Raijin. I have written about one shrine in Tsukuba, the Inaoka Kaminari Jinja, which had been used for generations as a place to make supplications for rain.
Some people might remember how YEARS AGO in Tsukuba, a group of teachers (was it 3 or 5?) had called in sick at school and went off to play golf (in the days when that was a real luxury). When the rain started they took refuge under a tree. When lightning struck they were all killed. That’s why I always get an uneasy feeling when I’m outdoors during this season’s storms. It is then that ISSA`s haiku comes to mind-
稲妻を浴せかけるや死ぎらい
INAZUMA O ABISEKAKERU YO SHINIGIRAI
Lightning flashing all around
I don’t wanna die!
If you’ve got a surge protector, it can also be fun to watch the lightning monitor at Tokyo Electric Power Company’s (TEPCO) website.
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Closer Examination Of My Local Yasaka Jinja (Yasaka Shrine) Reveals Beautiful Carvings Detailing The Yamata no Orochi (八岐の大蛇) Myth
By Avi Landau
A detail from the carvings at Konda`s Yasaka shrine - note the multi-headed beast drinking from jars ( July 24th 2010)
Like so many other neighborhoods across Japan in July, Konda, in Tsukuba City ( where I live) holds a summer festival ( NATSU MATSURI). Unlike Japan`s spring and autumn festivals which are usually agriculture related and traditionally carried out with the aim of helping to ensure ( with divine assistance) good harvests, summer festivals have been held in the belief that they prevent epidemics , natural disasters and even summer lethergy. They also often involve prayers for rain.
It is typical for these summer festivals to be centered around a type of shrine now most commonly referred to as Yasaka Jinja ( 八坂神社) in which the God Gozu-Tenno ( who came to Japan from India via Korea) and the popular God of Japanese mythology, Susano no Mikoto, are enshrined ( now intermingled as one). The reason for this is that both of these deities are believed to be related to disease prevention.
When summer festivals ARE held at Yasaka Jinja shrines they are most often called Gion-Sai, or Gion Matsui ( in fact, until 1868 and the official separation of Buddhism and Shinto, these same shrines were all called Gion Shrines!)
Since the year 869, when the first Gion Matsuri was held in Kyoto with the aim of driving away an epidemic which had been raging, these shrines ( formerly Gion-Sha, now Yasaka Jinja) have spread throughout Japan ( there are approximately 3,000 of them, with dozens right here in Tsukuba), and of course still enshrine the spirits of the disease preventing deities Gozu-Tenno and Susanoo-no Mikoto. And, just as in Kyoto more than a millenium ago, these shrines still hold their NATSU MATURI ( in these cases Gion Matsuri, Gion-Sai or Tenno Matsuri) in July, with the aim of keeping their neighborhoods healthy during Japan`s brutal summers.
( There is also a type of Shrine called Tsushima Jinja ( 津島神社), of which there about 3,000 around Japan, in which the SAME DEITIES Gozu Tenno and Susanoo-no Mikoto are enshrined. The Main Shrine of this group is in Aichi Prefecture and their Natsu Matsuri is called Tenno matsuri- on the 4th Saturday in July)
The torii gate in front of Konda`s Yasaka Shrine in Tsukuba
Since my neighborhood`s summer festival is a Gion Matsuri type festival, and is based at our local Yasaka Shrine, AND will be held THIS WEEKEND, I figured I`d mosey on down to the shrine, have a long, close look, and try to get into the right frame of mind for the festivities.
In the process, I ended up making an exciting discovery ( for me at least!)
A rustic plaque gives the history of the shrine
Standing just outside the torii gate ( which one Shinto priest once told me was a gate to the sacred which was always open) and looking in at the shrine and its grounds, things did not look very impressive. Neither imposing nor beautiful, nor even rustic, it seemed to lack the charm that I so often feel when visiting a shrine.
A rusty old sign explained explained that Susanoo-no-Mikoto was enshrined there, and that the shrine had been re-established on that site in 1731 ( though there is no mention of when it was FIRST established!)
The sign then goes on to explain that the Shimada Ishi Stone, of local legend, can be found on the grounds of the shrine, and I saw it just to my left as I passed under the Torii gate.
( Before the idea of museums was introduced to Japan, object deemed important, and which had no proper home, were often brought to shrines- especially stones)
This stone, which is quite famous in my neighborhood, was probably once the lid of an ancient tomb. Later, it was believed to help women concieve and then safely bear children. Some families still have chips of the rock on their Shinto altars ( Kami Dana), having been placed their originally generations ago by mothers who had successfully given birth.
The Shimada- Ishi stone- so called because of its resemblance to a popular Taisho Period hairstyle
I have heard that this hour-glass shaped stone was later used for rain supplication rites, in particular during the Great Tenmei Famine (1782). It is said that fires were lit on top of the stone in the hopthat the smoke would form, or summon rain-clouds.
A famous local legend tell how a dragon appeared in the smoke which rose out of the fire on the stone , which then headed towards Mt Tsukuba. It soon started to pour.
There was a price to pay for this success, however, according to the story: the stone would no longer help women have children.
Eventually the stone was laid within the precencts of the Yasaka Shrine ( which by the way, the locals affectionately call Tenno-Sama).
An unusual sacred stone combining the male and female organs to form a human head!
There are some other unusual stones laying about on the perimeter of this shrine. Many seem to have been used ( probably in pre-historic times) to make fires.
The protective covering (saya) built over the old shrine structure ( Konda, Tsukuba 2010)
Continuing to explore I admired the beautiful old trees, probably about 300 years old, all gnarled and hollowed out. The shrines buildings, however, just did not seem very interesting at first.
I then noticed that in the back of the shrine, the large and boring structure was merely a protective cover for a much older and much more spectacualr structure. peeking through the planks I found fantastically elaborate carvings- better work than most shrine carvingsI have seen in this part of Japan.
There were imaginary beasts and other, apparently non-figurative designs. On the back wall I came across a complex scene, but it was difficult to make out exactly what it was. I quickly sensed,however, that it was something special!
Letting my eyes adjust to to dark and trying to find the best space with the best angle to look through, I finally made out the forms of what appeared to be- DRAGONS DRINKING FROM JARS!
Then it hit me! I knew what the scene was! One of the more famous episodes from Japan`s oldest extant written text The Kojiki ( early 8th century), and one which involved none other that Susanoo-no Mikoto, who of course was enshrined in that building.
The panel depicted the story of the YAMATA NO OROCHI (八岐の大蛇) !
Carvings at the back of Konda`s Yasaka Shrine in Tsukuba. It depicts the story of Susanoo-no-Mikoto slaying the Yamato Orochi ( as described in the Kojiki)
Let me tell it to you in brief ( if you dont already know it).
Susanoo was expelled from the realm of the Gods and descended to earth at Izumo ( now in Shimane prefecture). He saw a pair of chopsticks floating down the river and realized that there must be people around.
Searching for them he came upon an 3 people, an old couple and their daughter. They were highly distressed and needed help. That is because an eight-tailed and eight headed dragon which had killed their other daughters was coming back again for another of their daughters.
After having gained a promise of the daugher hand in marriage, Susanoo-no-Mikoto agreed to slay the monster- the Yamata no Orochi.
He order that sake ( rice wine) be brewed and then poured into into eight jugs. These would then be placed on 8 platforms, each with a gate built around it.
When the monster came, it drank simultaneously from each jug, with its eight heads.After becoming intoxicated the beast fell asleep, and was easilly slain by Susanoo-no-Mikoto.
From the Yamata no Orochi`s body, Susanoo pulled out an extraordinary sword, which later it is said became one of the three-treasures of the Japanese Imperial Family.
===================================================
Looking closely at the carvings, I found them to be a sublime depiction of the story, hewn into the wood. Trying to get my arms through the spaces between the planks to take pictures with my cell phone, made me feel a bit like the Yamata no Orochi, with its heads put into the tight gates.
Because the shrines most beatiful aspect was hidden away, I was also reminded of the Edo Period`s famous aesthetic of cool, known as IKI ( which actually had its adherents until the Second World War). According to it precipts, beauty should be HIDDEN AWAY. For example it was usual for the LININGS of coats to be very extravagant, or to have fine carving or paintings in places where they could not easilly be seen.
These carvings, so beautiful, elaborate, and HIDDEN AWAY are truly IKI!
I will try to take better pictures soon
and will try to let more people know about the existence of these works.
more detail- the multi-headed monster drinking the sake from jars
In the meantime, dont forget that the festival will be tomorrow and Sunday.
You can read more about my local Gion Festival here:
Drinking the sake
And more about why Susanoo-no-Mikoto is connected with disease prevention:
http://www.alientimes.org/Main/ChinowaKuguri
More interesting carvings
A plaque over the donations box ( saisen-bako) reading- YASAKA JINJA
for more on the Yamata no Orochi:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yamata_no_Orochi
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