A Sunflower for Xmas

      If global warming deniers need proof that the climate is warming, how about sunflowers in December?

Park and Playground near Okayama Airport

cultivated pine and red camellias

       Christmas day here in Japan was a bright sunny day with comfortable temperatures in the high teens Centigrade. We decided to go walking at a park near the airport in the morning to work up an appetite for a special 7-course Christmas dinner at our favorite French restaurant. 

playing carpet golf

sunflower and rape blossoms

       There were several cars in the parking lot when we arrived at the park. There were many families with children enjoying the weather and the Sunday holiday. As we were walking towards the airport runway we noticed something unusual for this time of year. From a distance it didn’t seem possible. But as we got closer the “something unusual” turned out to be a sunflower—something that one wouldn’t have seen in December in the past. 

narcissus

pampas grass

        It isn't only sunflowers that are blooming out of season. One can also see rape and narcissus blossoms as well. It made me reflect that over the past 20 years the native pine trees that used to dot the surrounding mountains had been turning brown and dying year after year until, now, there are hardly any left.

airport runway -- Okayama City in the far background

take off 

        But, now we have sunflowers for Xmas.

        Who needs poinsettias?

Seasons Greetings -- 2016 - 2017

STILL LIFE

Pale distant sunlight

Long slanting rays of evening

The Winter Solstice

The waning days of autumn

We approach the Winter Solstice 

the colors of autumn 

turn to

the drab of winter 

I take my camera  

try to capture 

the cusp of blue sky 

bright color 

and gray skies 

 drab shadows 

the pale distant sun 

 of a late mid-December

afternoon

Road Trip to the Sea of Japan (3)

Kagura - 神楽

impression of the Japan Sea

     After a roughly two-hour drive from Izumo Taisha along the Japan Sea coast we arrived at our ryokan in the hot spring town of Gotsu for an evening kagura performance at a small theater in walking distance of the hotel. The hotel is unusually laid out. It is built along a narrow river valley. There was a series of long hallways from the front lobby to our room. I estimated some 200 to 300 meters in length. Along the way there was a charming room done up in reds where you were free to taste several different kinds of sake and wine. You could buy a bottle if you wished, but there was no supervision and no compulsion to buy or limit on how many “tastes” you could have. The plum wine was excellent.

one of a series of hallways
in the long hotel

the "tasting" room

back at ya!

kampai!

outdoor bath with cedar wood tub 

        Our smallish room had its own private hot spring bathroom (actually as big as the room). Although much smaller and far less elegant than the rocky pool we enjoyed the previous night in Matsue, the cedar-wood tub was still a pleasant if more confined soak before going down to the restaurant for dinner and then walking the short distance (far less than the distance between the lobby and our room) to the kagura performance venue.

a very small theater

         When we arrived there were already a few people seated on a bench at the back of the small room and on the tatami floor. I started to sit on the mats since the bench was fully occupied but some of the men insisted that I sit on the bench and made a place for me (in deference, I guess, to being a foreigner who might have difficulty sitting on the floor for a long period and consideration for my advanced age)--kind, but not flattering. It was, I admit, more comfortable that way, though.

performance catalog

        So then, what is kagura? Kagura (神楽, かぐら, "god-entertainment") is a Japanese word referring to a specific type of Shinto theatrical dance—with roots arguably predating those of Noh. They were originally ceremonial dances performed at Shinto shrines depicting mythological themes from the oldest chronicles of Japan the ca. 712 CE Kojiki and the ca. 720 CE Nihon Shoki.

5th Grade boy dances the Ebisu dance

        Four different dances were performed on the tiny stage which included the orchestra--traditional drum, flute and percussion instruments (some played by very young children), and the dance floor space. One dance was performed by a 5^th Grade boy. He portrayed the god of plenty called Ebisu, a somewhat rotund and jolly faced character. He ended his dance by tossing wrapped candies, of which I caught quite a few, into the audience.

Gorgeous Costumes and Fantastic Masks

Susano-o and the Yamata no Orochi

Video: Kagura with Yamata and the Old Couple

the Earth Deity and wife (The Old Couple)

Susano-o pouring sake into Yamata no Orochi

        The main dances of this evening concerned the Japanese Deity Susano-o no Mikoto god of the sea and storms (brother of the Sun Goddess Amaterasu) and his battle with the giant 8-headed snake-dragon Yamata no Orochi who was devouring young maidens, who were the daughters of an old couple who had only one daughter left. The old man was an Earthly Deity named Ashi-nadzuchi. His wife's name was Te-nadzuchi. Their surviving daughter's name was Kushi-nada-hime.The old couple pleaded with Susano-o to save their last daughter from the monster. Susano-o agreed if they would give him the girl to be his wife. The snake dance is usually performed with eight snakes (representing the 8-headed monster) if the stage is big enough. Our stage was far too small to accommodate eight snakes and only three were used; but in the small enclosure the final battle was quite impressive and loooong. The battle was touch and go with sometimes the snakes winning and then Susano-o seemed to have the advantage, then the snakes writhing and wrapping him in their snaky bodies; the snakes were plied with buckets of sake until one by one Susano-o severed the snakes heads and, at last, emerged victorious.

Susano-o chopping off one of Yamata's heads

Road Trip to the Sea of Japan (2)

Izumo Taisha  出雲大社  
(the Grand Shrine of Izumo)

main entrance of Izumo Taisha

     After leaving Matsue we drove along the coast of Lake Shinji to one of the oldest and most historic Shrines in Japan—Izumo Taisha (出雲大社), the Grand Shrine of Izumo. The Shrine is associated with Japan's creation mythology and is often considered to have been in existence in the 8^th Century according to the nation's oldest chronicles—Kojiki and Nihon Shocki. The Shrine is also associated with the Kagura (god entertainment) performances we were planning to see in the evening.

Okuninushi no Okami

        The principal kami (god or deity) enshrined in Izumo Taisha is the “gentle-hearted” Okuninushi no Okami. He is said to have created the land of Japan and was the ruler of Izumo and the deity of good relationships and marriage. Consequently, people wishing to obtain a good marriage come to Izumo Taisha to pray and buy good luck charms. If and when Mr. or Ms. Right is found they will often come to Izumo Taisha to celebrate their marriage.

        Perhaps the most characteristic oddities at Izumo Taisha are the shimenawas (sacred straw ropes). There are two of them, the largest of which is 13.5 meters long, weighs about 5 tons and adorns the entrance to the Kagura-den (an enormous hall). The twisted ropes (said to suggest sexual union) are the most easily recognized and distinctive features of Izumo Taisha.

wedding party in front of the Kagura-den and the large 13.5 meter shimenawa

the smaller of the two shimenawas

Amaterasu granting her favors to Okuninushi

        According to the creation myths, when Ninigi-no-Mikoto, the grandson of the Sun Goddess, Amaterasu, descended to earth Okuninushi gave him his country. As a reward Amaterasu gave Okuninushi Izumo Taisha and her favors as well. Shinto is an animistic nature worshiping belief system with a lot of hanky panky among the gods and, presumably, mortals as well.
    

one of two assembly buildings for
the 8,000,000 Shinto deities

        Izumo Taisha is also the meeting place for the annual convocation of Shinto's 8,000,000 deities from all over Japan. There are two long buildings which are said to house these numerous personalities and serve as seating for their convocation meetings. I couldn't quite figure out how they could fit 8,000,000 deities into these two relatively small although quite long buildings.

scale replica

        A record compiled around 950 (Heian period) describes the shrine as the highest building in the land, reaching approximately 48 meters. Evidence of the original sanctuary, part of one of the pillars for the structure has been discovered—three cedar trees with a three-meter diameter at its base. It is on display at the shrine. There is also a small scale model of what the sanctuary is thought to have looked like made by some college students.

        One will see lots of statues of rabbits strewn around here and there in Izumo Taisha. It turns out there is a story about the “White Hare of Inaba”. I had never heard of it, but It's well known among the Japanese. Briefly, the story goes like this:

white rabbits pounding pine nuts

        When Okuninushi was young he and his eighty brother gods wanted to marry one Princess Yakami and were all traveling to Inaba, her country, to court her. Along the way the ran across a poor hare along the seashore that had been flayed of its skin. The hare said that he was from an island and had tricked some crocodiles the line up and form a bridge that he could hop across. As the hare reached the mainland he bragged about having tricked the crocs but the last one heard his boast and tore his skin off.

the inner sanctuary of
Izumo Taisha

        Okuninushi's cruel brothers laughed and decided to torture the hare further. They told him to jump in the sea and he would feel soothed. Of course, the salt water only increased his pain and discomfort. The gentle-hearted Okuninushi took pity on him and told him to bathe in the fresh water of the river and then to gather the flowering spikes of some cattail plants and roll around in them until he was covered with fleece. The cured rabbit then predicted that Okuninushi would win the hand of Princess Yakami.

main Torii (gate) to Izumo Taisha

        After walking through the Shrine's Main Torii (gate) we spotted a Starbucks across the street and went in for a snack before driving the two hours along the coast of the Sea of Japan to Gotsu Hot Spring for an evening Kagura performance. 

the Sea of Japan