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Kiyomizu Dera Fukuoka

1/22/2017

~~~ NOTE: I write captions on many of the photos. Please click on them to view them in full screen to read the captions. ~~~

Name: 清水寺 - Kiyomizu Temple
Enshrined Deity: Guanyin
Address: Setakamachi Motoyoshi, Miyama City, Fukuoka Prefecture, 〒835-0003
Accessibility: You can drive to the top, but it is strongly recommended to park further down the mountain and walk up. The path is quite beautiful if you're ready to walk for 20 minutes.

If you know anything about temples in Japan, you've probably seen or heard of Kiyomizu Dera. It's one of the most famous temples in Japan.

It was built in 780 CE over the Otowa waterfall in Kyoto. But, do you know the history and the sister temple in Fukuoka prefecture?

The founder of the Kyoto temple, Saichō, went to China in 804 to study Tendai Buddhism. When he returned to Japan in 806, he was guided to Mount Kiyomizu by a bird and found nemu trees in the mountain. He then made a pair of Bodhisattva Kannon statues from that tree. He put one of the statues in Kiyomizu Dera in Kyoto. And the other statue is now held at the Kiyomizu Dera in Fukuoka prefecture.

Kiyomizu Dera in Kyoto

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Yatsushiro Myoken Festival

1/11/2017

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~~~ NOTE: I write captions on many of the photos. Please click on them to view them in full screen to read the captions. ~~~
~~~ Unless stated otherwise in the caption, all photos belong to me~~~

On November 23rd, I went to Yatsushiro City for their annual Myoken Festival (妙見祭). This large festival is one of the three great festivals in Kyushu. In fact, it's designated as an intangible folklore cultural asset by Kumamoto Prefecture. The festival was started almost 400 years ago in 1636.

Official festival poster.

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Na Na Na Nagoya!

1/10/2017

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~~~ NOTE: I write captions on many of the photos. Please click on them to view them in full screen to read the captions. ~~~

On November 4th, 5th, and 6th I was in Nagoya for a Ogura Hyakunin Isshu Kyougi Karuta tournament (or as we call it in the west, Karuta). It was part of the Aichi National Cultural Festival. Full Japanese title: 第３１回小国民文化祭あいち2016小倉百人一首競技かるた全国大会.

I was lucky enough to get to go with a mixed team of foreigners thanks to my karuta teacher in America! It was such an excellent time, even if I was completely destroyed by the competition.

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My New Year's Celebration

1/1/2017

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~~~ NOTE: I write captions on many of the photos. Please click on them to view them in full screen to read the captions. ~~~

To celebrate the holiday, I invited one of my ALT friends to come over for a proper Japanese celebration. We started off the night with Toshikoshi Soba and watching the NHK Kouhaku Uta Gassen. I've also added my photos here of the zenzai soup and traditional new year's sweets that we ate on January 1st.

We woke up really early the next morning to watch the first sunrise of the new year, hatsuhinode. Unfortunately, with the cold weather comes incredibly dense fog. So we couldn't really see the sun at all. So we ended up visiting a shrine that was near by where we parked. It was a surprise first temple visit (hatsumode).

So here are pictures of Bundahachimangu (分田八幡宮), with the inshrined kami Homudawake no Mikoto (3rd century emperor Ōjin).

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Author

Ara is a kimono enthusiast and student of Japanese culture and history. Currently they're working as an English ALT in Yamaga City, Japan. Follow along for a window into daily life in a small rural town in Kyushu.

Kiyomizu Dera Fukuoka

Yatsushiro Myoken Festival

Na Na Na Nagoya!

My New Year's Celebration

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