If you are puzzled about this cat, well, I was puzzled too. I was walking through a very small shrine just minutes away from my house and tucked away on the grounds was this goofy looking cat figurine beckoning good luck with both paws. It sat at the base of rather serious looking stone tablet which I expect was commemorating some auspicious event or person. It was so unexpected and I laughed when I saw it.
Ah, good-luck cat, I do hope your beckoning does the trick! Bring it on! (^.~)/ (Those are plovers flying across the cat's tummy. Plovers dart through the high waves of the sea and brave strong winds while looking for food. As a result, they are seen as symbols of strength and perseverance.) Top Photo: Original Photo Bottom Photo: I went back on another day and took this to show the larger context. All those animal figurines are Chinese zodiac figurines that are discarded once their year is over. 3/2/2020 Update: The cat is no longer there. It has been replaced with the dancing boar seen in the photo on 1/2/2020. I'm curious as to what happened to it!
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Okay, so I'm a little late with this image but it can't be helped. Life has been a bit all over the place and better late than never, right? (^.~)
This is the bridge at Sumiyoshi Taisha (Sumiyoshi Grand Shrine) in Osaka on January 2nd, 2020. Sumiyoshi Taisha is the head shrine of all the Sumiyoshi Shrines in Japan (there are over 2,000 of them) and was founded in the 3rd century. This makes it one of the oldest shrines in Japan. If you get a chance to visit, make sure pick up an English pamphlet - it will explain the unique layout (the 4 shrines are set up in an unusual configuration) and architecture which is thought to be free of influence from other Asian countries. Personally, my favorite part of this shrine is the bridge. The official name is "Sorihashi" but it is more commonly known as the "Taiko (Drum) Bridge". During the first 3 days of the new year, close to 2.5 million people cross this bridge as they head to pray at one of the 4 shrines on the grounds. While the bridge may not look that steep from here, you need to watch your step as you walk across it - especially if there are thousands of people coming up from behind! And don't be fooled into thinking this is peaceful, quiet scene! The grounds of the shrine are crammed full of food and games stalls during the first few days of the year and there is hardly enough room to move through the crowds. Ah, for me, Sumiyoshi Taisha is what spending the New Year in Osaka is all about - the noise, the people, the bridge, and taking this photo from the same vantage point every year... Happy 2020! \(^.^)/ Wishing you many blessings. Year of the Rat has just arrived so it's goodbye to year of the boar. I'm a little sad to see it go (I'm a boar) but looking forward to seeing what the new year brings.
In Japan, a new year means new Chinese zodiac figurines for your house. The old ones get thrown out or returned to the local shrine where they may have come from in the first place. And that's where I saw these 2 boar figurines. They were tucked under the side of the main shrine joining other discarded figurines from the past. (If you look carefully you can see a monkey and a dog from recent years.) To be honest, we keep ours. In 12 years I'll bring them out again and they'll be as good as new! (^.~) Several years ago, if you had asked me if I liked chrysanthemums, I would have said no. It wasn't until I visited a chrysanthemum exhibition, held at a small city nearby, that I had any idea how beautiful chrysanthemums could be! Wow! I now make a point of going to the exhibition every year and am especially taken with single-bloom chrysanthemums. I continually marvel at the skill required to grow them into such tall, blemish-free flowers. I only have small multiple-bloom chrysanthemums in my garden and have yet to win the fight with the bugs. They love them so... A little research shows that chrysanthemums have been cultivated in Japan since the Nara Period (8th century) and were especially popular in the Edo Period (early 17th to late 19th century). In fact, the Imperial Seal of Japan is a chrysanthemum and is used by the Emperor and the members of the Imperial Family. The exhibition nearby has its roots in the Edo Period and apparently made the city quite famous. The exhibitions used to include shaped shrubbery as well as famous scenes, historical figures, and dolls all decked out in chrysanthemum finery. Sadly, those days are mostly gone since few people have the time and skill to produce these labour intensive pieces. However, much smaller versions are exhibited every year to give a taste of once was, and every year I look forward to seeing what will be on display. The chrysanthemum exhibition just ended last weekend but here are links to 2 blog posts that include pictures of exhibitions in the past: Below is one of the prize-winning single-bloom chrysanthemums from this year's exhibition. The flower head would have been about the size of a slightly flattened, medium-sized cabbage. Despite good intentions, yet another month has passed since my last post. I blame a busy work season, a garden in desperate need of care after a wicked hot summer, and a temperamental tooth. Oh, and a camera that is getting crankier by the minute. I dread having to replace it but... I'm a bit overwhelmed with photos at the moment. I love to take them but finding the time to cull and edit is a real challenge. However, I have managed to edit some from a short trip we took to Obama, a small city in Fukui Prefecture. We weren't expecting much, to be honest, but our visit was fantastic! Although it may be a small city it felt much more like a village - and a very friendly village at that. My kind of place! We certainly plan to return! (These are best viewed on a desktop computer. This is the only option for posting multiple images that can be viewed on a mobile devise but, unfortunately, the images are awfully small.) |
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I'm a photographer based in Osaka, Japan. I love to take photographs. I like to share.
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