New Year's Breakfast

Photos: (Niigata) Tokyo Gakkan High School Calligraphy Club New Year's Message

It's the Year of the Horse in the Chinese Zodiac Local HS Gakkan has a nationally famous calligraphy club and regularly collaborates when large- scale 書道 is required. Check out this video, "新潟東京学館書道部" https://share.google/ylGETcaNb2lp5ckv9

白山神社、新潟市

There are numerous shrines named Hakusan in Niigata City; we are concerned with the main shrine, located downtown in Furumachi. Before continuing, it should be noted that this shrine, like all others by the same name, traces its roots to 白山比咩神社 in Ishikawa Prefecture. 白山 (also known as Shirayama) is one of Japan's three holy peaks, the others being Fuji and Tate. The photo shows the main shrine gate, or torii (鳥居). Now, some authorities have averred that fowls were provided a perch at shrines from which to announce the sunrise, hence 鳥居, while others have maintained that the characters simply refer to a gateway. Whatever the case, let us consider Hakusan's torii:

The pendent banner urges the faithful to offer up their prayers for the coming year at 初詣、the New Year's shrine visit. The white board to the right suggests prayers for success on school entrance, employment, and qualifying exams will be answered.

To return to the gate itself: notice the plaque attached to the two horizontal crosspieces:,扁額 (hengaku), it's called. On the board are inscribed the name of the shrine (true at all shrines) and, in this instance, the following characters: 来客山人鎮守。 Hakusan Shrine's homepage doesn't elucidate, but the internet offers 山 (the natural world), 人 (humanity) and 鎮守 (the Shinto deities), the idea being, I think, a holistic vision of Japanese society: the Shinto gods, the land (including seas), and the people. It is now January first' Happy New Year. 新年あけましておめでとうございます。良いお年を。

Phrase of the Year

Notice board at the entrance to 超願寺 temple, Niigata City: 自分フ-ァストという貧しさ。"The poverty of ME ME ME."

Ryokan-sama: Zen Monk, Gentle Soul, Poet, Children's Favorite Children's

Ryokan-sama (1758-1834) is beloved in Niigata (He was born in Izumozaki). I recently met an elderly woman (at the neighborhood park where the first photo was taken) who explained that she often viaits to commune with Ryokan. The monk was an accomplished poet, some of my favorite lines being: One morning death comes before They can use even half their money. Others happily receive the estate, And the deceased's name is soon lost in darkness. For such people there can only be great pity. href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS7gM7wXqwoRH6mKoq5RO655wuWzoOugrIVmEAMZQZWCbmDpjGxrdjHZUN7Ymw1J3EA1WfqzBh4SuvLKMqseFbjYAiyNXXmHT3ybbRWGzd5lqobzaVmyqYdjRmYtRPP30RF88IvKFK80glVCC6KeOlwNuhYk1P2snmPLU39dulzpyeFHwqM3Su/s4032/1000010155.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; ">

Not Your Typical Mochi

This shrine in Tochigi has a 700 kg kagamimochi to celebrate the New Year.

Cold Cases: 未解決事件

National broadcaster NHK is airing a special on cold cases, starting with the unsolved murder of a family of four in Tokyo 25 years ago. Delving into why certain murders are so difficult to solve, the program considers the 1999 killing of a housewife in Nagoya and arrest of a suspect 26 years later.

Matsue and Lafcadio Hearn: Former Residence and Memorial Museum

Beautiful Lake, Obscure Kanji

On a recent trip to Izumo Taisha and Matsue, Shimane Prefecture, I traveled from the former to the capital city by train on the Sanin Line (山陰本線), which follows the western shore of Lake Shinji, 宍道湖, a beautiful lake (湖) with a most baffling name. Let us consider the first two characters, 宍道: the second, 道、extremely common, signifies road, street, path, etc. and is pronounced michi (not ji). The first, 宍, shin, is exceedingly rare, means meat, flesh, and no doubt few outside the local area have ever seen the character, let alone know its reading or meaning. So, wherefore the unusual and obscure name for this body of water? Long, long ago, when Izumo (as Shimane was once known) was ruled by Ookuninusihnomikoto, the deity would go out hunting inoshishi (猪), or wild boar, with his favorite hound. The locals called the path along which the dog chased the boars 猪の道、or shishichi (ししぢ), which later became shinji. An interesting site about matters 宍道湖: https://shinjiko-shijimi.com/topics/1545 And, allow me to suggest that Hearn's Japanese language limitations should be considered when evaluating his contributions.

Niboshi Ramen

The dashi soup used in the niboshi ramen at Ramen Kurai (倉井), Niigata City, incorporates the following: 伊吹, full name ibuki iriko, a type of sardine; 鯵、aji, or horse mackerel; and 鯛、tai, sea bream in English. The soup thus contains no meat, only fish, and those who prefer can request the staff hold off on the チャーシュー。

Ye Olde Curiosity Shoppe, Kurashiki

Trains, a Bus, and a Daihatsu

割る: to break, crack; to discount

Of glass, or in this instance, of cookies; the sticker informs the potential customer of a 3割引、or 30% discount, though the cookie is in fact broken roughly in half. (One can readily see the potential for a comedy sketch between store manager and customer, the latter complaining 半分割れたのに5割引しろよ。

Falling Births, Curbs on Immigration

The Takaichi government has announced a limit on the number of technical trainee visas it will issue in 2027-28: 1.23 million. This even as the birthrate continues to contract, with The Asahi reporting: 　少子化の進行が止まらない。2025年の出生数は66万8千人程度になる見通しで、過去最少を更新することが確実となった。政府は少子化傾向を反転させる「ラストチャンス」として年3.6兆円の少子化対策を進める一方、人口減に社会をどう対応させるかの議論も本格化させる。

The Rice Price Just Keeps Pricing People Out

米騒動😯 高市場😡 The cost of a 5kg bag of rice just keeps rising, with more shoppers foregoing the staple for bread and noodles. Thr current government has declined to intervene, by, say, releasing rice stockpiles, as was done under former PM Ishiba mere months ago. It's on you now, PM Takaichi.

出雲大社 by Train

I traveled from Osaka to 電鉄出雲市駅 by highway bus, from there by 一畑電車、or ばたでん。The rolling stock includes new carriages as well as refurbished trad cars.

The station us on the national historic register.

Izumo Taisha and Takeno Ryokan

It took 15 hours by bus and an additional 30 by train to reach Izumo Taisha eki-mae. (It's just difficult and time-consuming to travel overland from the north of Niigata to the Sanin-山陰- region of Japan). In Izumo City, recommend the 宿 Takeno, located across the road from the main entrance to the shrine, Izumo, second only to Ise. True to its name, the clouds were out.

Izumo Taisha, Shimane, the Shinto shrine second only to Ise Jingu. Izumo shrine's shimenawa is the largest in Japan. More detail: the plate below the rabbit informs us that Japanese sake, or 日本酒、originated here.

Fresh Flowers of the Week, Highway Restroom

Marigold, woolflower, mum, and carnation, as identified. (On a multi-day trip to western Japan, highway bus the cheapest way to get around-if somewhat grueling-, hence the photo.)

Anti-foreigner Hysteria

40% of Japan local gov'ts received complaints over foreigner policies: Mainichi survey - The Mainichi https://share.google/9DoiC3h1LkwpnEzUH

Friday Fish Fry