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2018年1月7日

A God of Wealth, Kyoto Ebisu Shrine

In order to start a happy New Year, we Japanese visit shrines or temples to pray for happiness. Kyoto Ebisu shrine (えびす神社) enshrines a god for wealth, commonly known as Ebisu-san (えべっさん). Along with Nishinomiya Ebisu (西宮えびす) and Osaka Imamiya Ebisu (大阪今宮えびす), Kyoto Ebisu is listed in the top-three Ebisu shrines in Japan. As you ・・・

2018年1月6日

Antique KIMONO

In Kyoto, you’ll often come across antique Kimono (着物) stores in town. Antique Kimono has been very popular in Japan since long time ago, and lately the definition of the term “antique” has been broadened along with the “casual Kimono” boom in these years. Antique Kimono are the ones manufactured before the early Showa (昭和) ・・・

2018年1月5日

Varieties of KIMONO

Happy New Year to you all ! Today, I would like to start this year’s my first post by introducing the varieties of Kimono (着物). For me, the most frequently asked questions are: 1) what’s the difference between “Homongi (訪問着, Kimono for visiting)” and “Tsukesage (附下, less formal Kimono than Homongi)”?, and 2) does “Komon ・・・

2018年1月5日

Zodiac Ema* in Shimogamo Shrine

“Kamo Mioya Jinja (賀茂御祖神社)”, also known as Shimogamo shrine (下鴨神社) is the oldest shrine in Kyoto. Surrounded by the sacred forest called Tadasu no mori (糺の森), the shrine is designated as a world Heritage site of UNESCO. As you go across the forest, the main building in beautiful vermilion red appears. The West and the ・・・

2018年1月4日

Special Day and Regular Day: “HARE” and “KE”

In the old days, Kyoto residents made a clear distinction between special days and regular days as in “Hare no hi (晴れの日)” and “Ke no hi (ケの日)”. Hare no hi are the dates on which people have special occasions such as festivals or seasonal events, whereas Ke no hi are just regular days without any ・・・