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2018年1月27日

White Elephant on Cedar Door at Shokokuji Temple

Founded by Yoshimitsu Ashikaga (足利義満), Shokokuji Temple (相国寺) is the largest Zen (禅) temple in Kyoto. It’s close to Gosho palace (京都御所, Kyoto Imperial Garden) and its premises is rich in nature. In a chamber of this temple, there is the famous cedar door painting of magnificent white elephant, created by Hara Zaicyu (原在中), a ・・・

2018年1月26日

HAKAMA and Female Students

In the Meiji (明治) and the Taisho (大正) era, Hakama (袴, divided skirts over Kimono) was a standard outfit for female students.　 The root of Hakama can be seen on Haniwa (埴輪, ancient terracotta figures from the Kofun period) wearing it which are more like broad pants. In the Heian (平安) era, noble women wore ・・・

2018年1月26日

Togetsu Bridge This Morning

Ever since the Heian (平安) period, people were fascinated by the beauty of the moon which lit up the night sky. Though there are many places in Kyoto for moon viewing, the best spot for me is Togetsu bridge (渡月橋). They say that a retired emperor Kameyama (亀山上皇) of the Heian period, once expressed his ・・・

2018年1月24日

JUBAN (Inner wear for KIMONO)

Juban (襦袢) is an inner wear worn in between a Kimono (着物) and an underwear. There are various opinions about the origin of the word Juban, and it’s said to be introduced from Arabian, Portuguese, or Indian. Same as vintage Kimono (着物), antique Juban has a lot of varieties from chic ones to funny ones. ・・・

2018年1月24日

Freezing Cold

Winter weather in Kyoto? It’s freezing, I mean, to the bone. At night of a clear day when there’s no wind, it gets even colder because of the cold radiation. Since Kyoto is a basin surrounded by mountains from three directions, cold air stays at the bottom. “Cold! It’s really cold!”, that’s what you hear ・・・