Shimenawa, one of New Year's decorations for houses

These are Shimenawa, twisted straw rope and one of New Year's decorations for houses, as well as Shimekazari, Kadomatsu. This usually is decorated on the top of the entrance of houses to keep the evil spirit away and it originally shows the sacred place for gods and often seen in shrines.

Have a happy 2008!!

Basin for tea ceremony, at Koto-in, Daitokuji Temple, in Kyoto

Stepping stones to a tea house, at Koto-in, Daitokuji Temple, in Kyoto

Noren, a cloth hang on at the entrance of a restaurant, near Daitokuji Temple, in Kyoto

Typical fruits in winter

Mikan, Japanese orange, is typical winter fruits in Japan and full of Vitamin C. A mikan in a day will keep the doctor away.

Personally today I received 20 kilo gram of mikans from one of my relatives, making mikan. The fruits, together with oyster, will keep me healthy for some time.

Paper lanterns of baby chicks at Ponto-cho, in Kyoto

The passing-away autumn, at Kozanji Temple, in Kyoto

Happy weekend!!

Ladies in kimono

The rhythm of the nature at Kedashino Nenbutsuji Temple, in Kyoto

Clay and wooden bridge at Katsura Imperial Villa, in Kyoto

Well-designed metal pulls on wooden sliding doors, at Katsura Imperial Villa, in Kyoto

Wooden form for dried sweets

These are wooden form for making Higashi, dried Japanese sweets, made of supreme sugar called Wasanbon.

Most motifs of the sweets are flowers and leaves because we have been enjoying the change of the season and they can express sense of the season very well.

When we eat them, we also enjoy their appearance and appreciate the sense of the season, not to speak of their taste, through the sweets.

By the way, the left in the photo is motifs of chrysanthemum and the right gingko, Ichou(銀杏) in Japanese and both are at their bloom in November.

Tatami mat in a sunny day

On a sunny day in autumn, the modest sunlight comes down onto the tatami mat, made of straw, through low and small trees planted in a south-facing garden. Such a sunny day is best to take a nap in the tatami mat after lunch. The material is not so hard as wooden flooring and not so soft as futon, a kind of Japanese mattress. So the tatami is also so kind to the bare feet and we usually without slippers, not to speak of shoes.

The tatami was originally used as a bed and people used to sleep on it directly. So that's why the mat is better material to take a short sleep.

Anyway, have a nice weekend!!

Amber, a present from the past and nature...at whisky distillery of Yamazaki in Kyoto

Amber is the color of the past.

Clear and colorless liquid hides out in casks and enjoy a good sleep at least for eight years at this distillery. When it wake up, the liquid totally changes in amber.

Amber is the color of the nature.

The burned surface inside cask gradually makes the colorless the amber. The color is the one of cask, wood, and earth.

The amber is full of tenderness of the earth and give us peaceful and calmness moments.

Amber is a great gift from the past and nature.

Anyway, have a nice weekend!!

Paper lanterns

Rhythm of the stepping stones at Katsura Imperial Villa, in Kyoto

Ruffles in a Zen garden, at Zuiho-in, Daitokuji Temple, in Kyoto

Mosses on the wooden roof at Kouzanji Temple, in Kyoto

A part of a garden at Zuiho-in, Daitokuji Temple, in Kyoto

Another bamboo path at Adashino-nenbutsuji Temple, in Kyoto

A small stone in a garden, at Gingakuji Temple, in Kyoto

A bonze on the path, at Daitokuji Temple in Kyoto

The basement of pillars of a gate at Naizenji Temple, in Kyoto

A garden in autumn, in Koto-in of Daitokuji Temple, in Kyoto

A Japanese restaurant, Hyotei, in Kyoto

This is the entrance of a Japanese traditional restaurant. At a first glance, the outlook seems very old and simple. But the restaurant is famous for its delicious dishes of Kaiseki cuisine and there would be no wonder at all if the restaurant gets two Michelin stars.

Bonus: Chrysanthemum in Kyoto, again

To Princess Haiku,
Thanks for many interesting comments, though I have little time to reply....

Theme day of December, 2007: A bridge

This bridge is Sanjo-oohashi(三条大橋), one of the bridges connecting the centre with the eastern part of Kyoto. The bridge is historical and the starting point of Tokaido, a road connecting Kyoto with Tokyo. After the capital moved to Edo, a former name as Tokyo in Edo era(1604-1867), from Kyoto, this road became the most important road in Japan, with 53 main towns for accommodating travelers along the road. These towns are now familiar by a series of Ukiyoe paintings, Tokaido-gojusantugi, by a painter in Edo era, Hiroshige Utagawa.



By the way, this paintings show the same place in Edo era.

Just for informatiion, the following is a list of these 53 towns and I uploaded the Ukiyoes of these 53 towns, plus Nihonbashi in Tokyo and Sanjo-oohashi in Kyoto, at the other six posts below. Note that these picture are cited from a book, Tokaido-Gojusantsuzi Fukei Zokuga, Iwanami Shoten, 1918.

53 towns between Kyoto(Sanjo-oohashi) with Tokyo(NIhonbashi):

1.Ohtsu(大津) 2.Kusatsu(草津) 3.Ishibe(石部) 4.Minakuchi(水口) 5.Tsuchiyama(土山) 6.Sakashita(坂下) 7.Seki(関) 8. Kameyama(亀山) 9.Shono(庄野) 10.Ishiyakushi(石薬師) 11.Yokkaichi(四日市) 12.Kuwana(桑名) 13.Miya(宮) 14.Narumi(鳴海) 15.Chiryu(池鯉鮒) 16.Okazaki(岡崎) 17.Fujikawa(藤川) 18.Akasaka(赤坂) 19.Goyu(御油) 20.Yoshida(吉田) 21.Futagawa(二川) 22.Shirasuka(白須賀) 23.Arai(荒井) 24.Maisaka(舞阪) 25.Hamamatsu(浜松) 26.MItsuke(見附) 27.Fukuroi(袋井) 28. Kakegawa(掛川) 29.Nissaka(日坂) 30.Kanaya(金谷) 31.Shimada(島田) 32.Fujieda(藤枝) 33.Okabe(岡部) 34.Maruko(丸子) 35.Fuchu(府中) 36.Ejiri(江尻) 37.Okitsu(奥津) 38.Yui(由井) 39. Kabahara(蒲原) 40. Yoshiwara(吉原) 41.Hara(原) 42.Numazu(沼津) 43.Mishima(三島) 44.Hakone(箱根) 45.Odawara(小田原) 46.Ohiso(大磯) 47.Hiratsuka(平塚) 48.Fujisawa(藤沢) 49.Totsuka(戸塚) 50.Hodogaya(保土ヶ谷) 51.Kanagawa(神奈川) 52.Kawasaki(川崎) 53.Shinagawa(品川)

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More than 100 City Daily Photo blogs participate in this theme day. Do pay them a visit but remember that due to time difference you might not see the proper photo.

Boston (MA), USA - San Diego (CA), USA - Stayton (OR), USA - New York City (NY), USA - Portland (OR), USA - Montego Bay, Jamaica - Inverness (IL), USA - Singapore, Singapore - Stockholm, Sweden - Setúbal, Portugal - Brussels, Belgium - Phoenix (AZ), USA - Seattle (WA), USA - Hyde, UK - Manila, Philippines - Fort Lauderdale (FL), USA - London, England - Austin (TX), USA - Toulouse, France - Weston (FL), USA - Sesimbra, Portugal - Selma (AL), USA - Silver Spring (MD), USA - Saarbrücken, Germany - Cleveland (OH), USA - Crystal Lake (IL), USA - American Fork (UT), USA - Seoul, South Korea - Kyoto, Japan - Tokyo, Japan - Norwich (Norfolk), UK - North Bay (ON), Canada - Arradon, France - Paderborn, Germany - Durban, South Africa - Philadelphia (PA), USA - Cypress (TX), USA - Cottage Grove (MN), USA - Prague, Czech Republic - Portland (OR), USA - Greenville (SC), USA - Boston (MA), USA - Port Angeles (WA), USA - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - Wichita (Ks), USA - Saint Paul (MN), USA - Petaling Jaya (Selangor), Malaysia - Grenoble, France - New York City (NY), USA - Nottingham, UK - Hobart (Tasmania), Australia - Arlington (VA), USA - Minneapolis (MN), USA - Miami (FL), USA - Cheltenham, UK - Albuquerque (NM), USA - Saratoga Spgs. (NY), USA - Las Vegas (NV), USA - Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina - Nashville (TN), USA - Toruń, Poland - New Orleans (LA), USA - Port Elizabeth, South Africa - Melbourne, Australia - Moscow, Russia - Trujillo, Peru - Château-Gontier, France - Quincy (MA), USA - Melbourne, Australia - Port Vila, Vanuatu - Joplin (MO), USA - Bellefonte (PA), USA - Brookville (OH), USA - Chateaubriant, France - Chandler (AZ), USA - Stavanger, Norway - Baziège, France - Auckland, New Zealand - Wellington, New Zealand - Ocean Township (NJ), USA - Subang Jaya (Selangor), Malaysia - Detroit (MI), USA - Riga, Latvia - Nelson, New Zealand - Budapest, Hungary - Cape Town, South Africa - Sydney, Australia - Dunedin (FL), USA - Sofia, Bulgaria - Radonvilliers, France - Turin, Italy - Montpellier, France - Kansas City (MO), USA - Minneapolis (MN), USA - Haninge, Sweden - Wailea (HI), USA - Lubbock (TX), USA - Rabaul, Papua New Guinea - Terrell (TX), USA - Mexico City, Mexico - Saint-Petersburg, Russian Federation - Budapest, Hungary - Montréal (QC), Canada - Sharon (CT), USA - Le Guilvinec, France - Jefferson City (MO), USA - Saigon, Vietnam - London, UK - Crepy-en-Valois, France - Orlando (FL), USA - Maple Ridge (BC), Canada - Paris, France - Mainz, Germany - Newcastle (NSW), Australia - Wassenaar (ZH), Netherlands - Menton, France - Monte Carlo, Monaco - Darmstadt, Germany - Naples (FL), USA - Torino, Italy - Saint Louis (MO), USA - Bogor, Indonesia - The Hague, Netherlands - Minneapolis (MN), USA - Anderson (SC), USA - Melbourne (VIC), Australia - West Sacramento (CA), USA - Christchurch, New Zealand

Bonus: Ukiyoe paintings of Tokaido Goju-santsugi(東海道五十三次) 1/6

1.Ohtsu(大津)




2.Kusatsu(草津)




3.Ishibe(石部)

Bonus: Ukiyoe paintings of Tokaido Goju-santsugi(東海道五十三次) 2/6

4.Minakuchi(水口)




5.Tsuchiyama(土山)




6.Sakashita(坂下)




7.Seki(関)




8.Kameyama(亀山)




9.Shono(庄野)




10.Ishiyakushi(石薬師)




11.Yokkaichi(四日市)




12.Kuwana(桑名)




13.Miya(宮)

Bonus: Ukiyoe paintings of Tokaido Goju-santsugi(東海道五十三次) 3/6

14.Narumi(鳴海)




15.Chiryu(池鯉鮒)




16.Okazaki(岡崎)




17.Fujikawa(藤川)




18.Akasaka(赤坂)




19.Goyu(御油)




20.Yoshida(吉田)




21.Futagawa(二川)




22.Shirasuka(白須賀)




23.Arai(荒井)