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Kamakura's Festivals And Events
The city of Kamakura in Kanagawa Prefecture has many festivals () and other events in all of the seasons, usually based on its rich historical heritage. They are often sponsored by private businesses and, unlike those in Kyoto, they are relatively small-scale events attended mostly by locals and a few tourists.Kamakura Official Textbook for Culture and Tourism, pages 170 to 188 January in particular has many because it's the first month of the year, so authorities, fishermen, businesses and artisans organize events to pray for their own health and safety, and for a good and prosperous working year. Kamakura's numerous temples and shrines, first among them city symbols Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū and Kenchō-ji, organize many events too, bringing the total to over a hundred. January 1, 2 and 3 - at Hongaku-ji: Celebration of Ebisu, god of commerce. Young women dressed in traditional costumes (Fuku Musume) sell lucky charms made of bamboo and sake. Minamoto no Yoritomo made Ebisu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mikoshi
A is a sacred religious palanquin (also translated as portable Shinto shrine). Shinto followers believe that it serves as the vehicle to transport a deity in Japan while moving between main shrine and temporary shrine during a festival or when moving to a new shrine. Often, the ''mikoshi'' resembles a miniature building, with pillars, walls, a roof, a veranda and a railing. Often the Japanese honorific prefix is added, making . Traditional rituals of East Asia Shapes Typical shapes are rectangles, hexagons, and octagons. The body, which stands on two or four poles (for carrying), is usually lavishly decorated, and the roof might hold a carving of a phoenix. Festival and flow During a ''matsuri'' (Japanese festival) involving a ''mikoshi'', people bear the ''mikoshi'' on their shoulders by means of two, four (or sometimes, rarely, six) poles. They bring the ''mikoshi'' from the shrine, carry it around the neighborhoods that worship at the shrine, and in many cases l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Japanese Culture
The culture of Japan has changed greatly over the millennia, from the country's prehistoric Jōmon period, to its contemporary modern culture, which absorbs influences from Asia and other regions of the world. Historical overview The ancestry of Japanese people remains mysterious; however, there are two competing hypotheses that try to explain the lineage of the Japanese people. The first hypothesis proposes a dual-structure model, in which Japanese populations are descendants of the indigenous Jomon people and later arrivals of people from the East Eurasian continent, known as the Yayoi people. Japan's indigenous culture originates primarily from the Yayoi people who settled in Japan between 1000 BCE and 300 CE. Yayoi culture spread to the main island of Honshū, mixing with the native Jōmon culture. Modern Japanese have an estimated 80% Yayoi and 20% Jōmon ancestry. The second hypothesis posits a tripartite model of genomic origin. This hypothesis proposes that co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shinto Festivals
Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shintoists'', although adherents rarely use that term themselves. There is no central authority in control of Shinto, with much diversity of belief and practice evident among practitioners. A polytheistic and animistic religion, Shinto revolves around supernatural entities called the . The are believed to inhabit all things, including forces of nature and prominent landscape locations. The are worshiped at household shrines, family shrines, and ''jinja'' public shrines. The latter are staffed by priests, known as , who oversee offerings of food and drink to the specific enshrined at that location. This is done to cultivate harmony between humans and and to solicit the latter's blessing. Other common rituals include the dances, rites of passag ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shinto
Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shintoists'', although adherents rarely use that term themselves. There is no central authority in control of Shinto, with much diversity of belief and practice evident among practitioners. A polytheistic and animistic religion, Shinto revolves around supernatural entities called the . The are believed to inhabit all things, including forces of nature and prominent landscape locations. The are worshiped at household shrines, family shrines, and ''jinja'' public shrines. The latter are staffed by priests, known as , who oversee offerings of food and drink to the specific enshrined at that location. This is done to cultivate harmony between humans and and to solicit the latter's blessing. Other common rituals include the dances, rites of pass ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Festivals In Japan
This is an incomplete list of festivals in Japan. Traditional festivals Film festivals Music festivals See also * Japanese festivals * Abare Festival Abare Festival is a Japanese festival commonly known as the ''Fire & Violence Festival''. It takes place in Ushitsu of Noto Peninsula and is dedicated to the Yasaka Shrine. The festival takes place every year in July on the first Friday and Satu ... * Matsuri float References {{DEFAULTSORT:Festivals in Japan Japan Japan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Engaku-ji
, or Engaku-ji (円覚寺), is one of the most important Zen Buddhist temple complexes in Japan and is ranked second among Kamakura's Five Mountains. It is situated in the city of Kamakura, in Kanagawa Prefecture to the south of Tokyo. Founded in 1282 (Kamakura period, the temple maintains the classical Japanese Zen monastic design, and both the Shariden and the are designated National Treasures. Engaku-ji is one of the twenty-two historic sites included in Kamakura's proposal for inclusion in UNESCO's World Heritage Sites. It is located in Kita-Kamakura, very close to Kita-Kamakura Station on the Yokosuka Line, and indeed the railway tracks cut across the formal entrance to the temple compound, which is by a path beside a pond which is crossed by a small bridge. History The temple was founded in 1282 by a Chinese Zen monk Mugaku Sōgen (1226-1286) at the request of the then ruler of Japan, the regent Hōjō Tokimune after he had repelled a Mongolian invasion in the pe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yabusame
is a type of mounted archery in traditional Japanese archery. An archer on a running horse shoots three special "turnip-headed" arrows successively at three wooden targets. This style of archery has its origins at the beginning of the Kamakura period. Minamoto no Yoritomo became alarmed at the lack of archery skills his samurai possessed. He organized yabusame as a form of practice. Nowadays, the best places to see yabusame performed are at the Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū in Kamakura and Shimogamo Shrine in Kyoto (during Aoi Matsuri in early May). It is also performed in Samukawa and on the beach at Zushi, as well as other locations. History Japanese bows date back to prehistoric times – the Jōmon period. The long, unique asymmetrical bow style with the grip below the center emerged under the Yayoi culture (300 BC – 300 AD). Bows became the symbol of authority and power. The legendary first emperor of Japan, Emperor Jimmu, is always depicted carrying a bow. Some Emi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yuigahama
is a beach near Kamakura, a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. The relation between the beach and its neighboring areas is complex. Although Yuigahama is legally the entire 3.2 km beach that goes from Inamuragasaki, which separates it from Shichirigahama, to Zaimokuza's Iijima cape, which separates it from Kotsubo and the Miura Peninsula, the name is customarily used to indicate the portion west of the Namerigawa river, while the eastern half is called .Kamakura's Official Textbook for Culture and Tourism (2008:33) This is the reason why, although the beach gives its name to only the west part of the beachside community, traces of the name Yuigahama can be found also in Zaimokuza (for example in Moto Hachiman's official name, Yui Wakamiya). The center of Yuigahama came legally into being between 1964 and 1965 and was named after the beach. Today's Yuigahama was until then divided between Zaimokuza, Ōmachi, and Hase. There are different theories about the origin of the na ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bonbori
The traditional lighting equipment of Japan includes the , the , the , and the . The is a lamp consisting of paper stretched over a frame of bamboo, wood or metal. The paper protected the flame from the wind. Burning oil in a stone, metal, or ceramic holder, with a wick of cotton or pith, provided the light. They were usually open on the top and bottom, with one side that could be lifted to provide access. Rapeseed oil was popular. Candles were also used, but their higher price made them less popular. A lower-priced alternative was sardine oil. The became popular in the Edo period (1603–1867). Early on, the was handheld; it could also be placed on a stand or hung on a wall. The was most common indoors. Many had a vertical box shape with an inner stand for the light. Some had a drawer on the bottom to facilitate refilling and lighting. A handle on top made it portable. A variety was the . One explanation attributes it to Kobori Enshu, who lived in the late Azuchi-Momoya ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kajiwara Kagetoki
was a samurai and retainer of the Kamakura Shogunate during the late Heian and early Kamakura period. He was a spy for Minamoto no Yoritomo in the Genpei War, and a warrior against the Taira clan. He came to be known for his greed and treachery. He was a prominent eastern warrior and supplied Minamoto no Yoshitsune with a number of ships after the Battle of Yashima. Life Originally from Suruga Province, Kajiwara entered the Genpei War fighting under Ōba Kagechika, against the Minamoto. After the Taira victory at Ishibashiyama in 1181, he was sent to pursue the fleeing Minamoto no Yoritomo. Having discovered him, Kajiwara switched sides, leading his forces in another direction, and turning to Yoritomo's cause. Three years later, Kajiwara would lead the forces of Minamoto no Yoshitsune and Yoritomo into battle against their cousin Yoshinaka, and against the Taira. Attached to Yoshitsune's force, Kajiwara reported back to Yoritomo on Yoshitsune's actions, in order to s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sanmon
A , also called , is the most important gate of a Japanese Zen Buddhist temple, and is part of the Zen ''shichidō garan'', the group of buildings that forms the heart of a Zen Buddhist temple.JAANUS It can be often found in temples of other denominations too. Most ''sanmon'' are 2- or 3- bay ''nijūmon'' (a type of two-storied gate), but the name by itself does not imply any specific architecture. Position, function and structure Its importance notwithstanding, the ''sanmon'' is not the first gate of the temple, and in fact it usually stands between the '' sōmon'' (outer gate) and the ''butsuden'' (lit. "Hall of Buddha", i.e. the main hall). It used to be connected to a portico-like structure called , which however gradually disappeared during the Muromachi period, being replaced by the , a small building present on both sides of the gate and containing a stairway to the gate's second story. (Both ''sanrō'' are clearly visible in Tōfuku-ji's photo above.) The ''sanmon's'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
