February 2nd
In Japan,there
are many kinds of “Donburi”. Donburi is rice served in a bowl, and you can put
anything on rice. Unagi-Donburi (a bowl of eel and rice), Ten-Don (a bowl of
Tenpura and rice), Gyu-Don (beef and rice), and so on…Today, I had Kaisen-Don (a
bowl of seafood and rice ? please see the picture). Donburi is simple stuff,but
a word ”Donburi” has another meaning. Yes, I should tell you a Japanese word
”Donburi-Kanjyo” which means “a rough estimate”. So you have to watch out when
you pay fot Donburi. (Kohei)
February
5th
I
hope you had a nice weekend. I went to Suzumushi-ji temple with a good friend of
mine on Saturday. It is a very popular temple located in Nishikyo Ward, Kyoto,
and so many people come and pray for a wish to come true from all over Japan.
Once you enter the temple, you will be shown to a big room. And, you will listen
to a sermon by a monk while having green tea and Japanese little sweets. As the
stories are quite interesting, you will never get bored during the sermon. Also,
the temple has gained wide renown because your wish is granted easily after you
visit there. It’s not a big temple, but I guess it’s worth visiting. What was my
wish? Of course, it’s secret!(Risa)
February
6th
Ceiling paintings of freehand Yuzen
dyeing for the main hall of Horinji Temple, the Kyoto branch of Houonji Temple
which follows Nichiren Buddhism, were completed and introduced to selected
guests on January 24 prior to public showing. Painted with delicate lines in a
variety of colors, seasonal flowers and trees are depicted in the 38 ceiling
paintings. The paintings are now on public display so that visitors can fully
appreciate the traditional beauty of Kyoto.
Fujii, who created ceiling paintings for the first time, contentedly said, [Paintings at temples remain for generations to come. I worked very hard to show the beauty of freehand Yuzen art in a field different from kimono]. The Yuzen technique is usually used in decorating the cloth for kimono. It’s different but I’m sure you will enjoy the paintings. (Risa)
February
7th
Early Japanese apricot blossoms are now blooming at Ishiyama-ji
temple, which is known as the temple of flowers in Otsu-city, Shiga. There are
three Japanese apricot orchards in the precincts. Four hundred Japanese apricot
trees of approximately 50 varieties, including white-flowers [Natsuka] and
red-flowered [Kogoshimabeni] have been planted there.
February 8th
McDonald’s
Japan has been forced to limit sales of its new Mega Mac hamburger to counter
low stocks resulting from its huge popularity. Customers who have been unable to
buy the 350 yen hamburgers due to a shortage of stocks are being handed coupons
enabling them to buy them next time for 190yen. The company had planned to sell
them until February 4th, but it has extended the sales period because of their
popularity. The Mega Mac hamburger went on sale in Japan on January 12th. It
contains four meat patties ? twice the number of a regular Big
Mac.
February
9th
Today, I’ll give you a Kyoto winter food idea, which keeps you warm
and happy. Deep lemon yellow-skinned yuzu were introduced from China in the 8th
century. The fruits is used for everything from cooking to bathing. In
particular, the aroma of yuzu is considered to have strong calming qualities.
Taking a yuzu bath is good for your skin and overall health, as well as being
able to increase your chances of getting wealthy (or so the belief goes!). Many
people continue to follow the ancient tradition of taking a yuzu bath on the
shortest day of the year. The village of Mizuo, located on the terraced far side
of Mt. Atago, which is the Kyoto’s highest mountain on the west side, is full of
yuzu trees and treats. Check it out by either hiking up Mt. Atago from Kiyotaki
to Mizuto, and then down to Hozukyo. I think it will be a different but
wonderful experience for you!!!! (Risa)
As a result of the relatively warm weather, the blossoms started to bloom around January 10th, about 10 days ealier than in an average yaer. The flowers are expected to be at their best from early February to mid March…so this is the time we should visit the temple. Let’s go!!! (Risa)
February
13th
I will introduce you a famous Chocolatier, Hirofumi Nakanishi today.
His story starts in New York and ends in Kyoto. He worked as a master chef of
French cuisine in the private residence of the Japanese ambassador in New York.
In creating French haute cuisine for so many dignitaries, he felt that something
was missing. He wanted to create a simple, yet elegant sweet to serve as a
dessert or with coffee. After many trials, he succeeded in creating a fresh,
light chocolate, blended with an herb liqueur. The result is perfectly wonderful
in every way. A year ago, he opened an organic tea house in a beautiful 100 year
old machiya house surrounded by gardens. He serves cakes, tarts and light
lunches and his famous chocolate there. Like a truffle, the chocolate is a rich
exquisite taste to savour at the end of a meal or as a sweet on its own.
STANDARD chocolate is slightly sweet, ORGANIC is a little bitter, and MIX gets
you a missed assortment of standard, organic and green tea chocolate. If you
haven’t bought anything for the Valentine’s Day, how about his chocolate?
(Risa)
February
14th
Great news for beer and milk lovers!!! A liquor shop owner in
Hokkaido, Japan’s largest dairy farming region has stopped crying about local
spilt milk and started making beer from it instead. Milk consumption has been
declining steadily in Japan, and Hokkaido disposed of nearly 900 tonnes of milk
last March due to over-production, according to the Japan Dairy Association. The
liquor shop owner, Nakahara’s new brew, [Bilk] ? a combination of miik and beer
? is about 30% milk. It also contains hops, and the production process does not
differ much from that of regular beer, he said. His shop started selling Bilk,
which apart from a slight milky scent looks and tastes like ordinary beer, on
February 1st after spending about 6 months developing the product with a local
brewer. Bilk is only available at six local shops or by mail order, but Mr.
Nakahara is currently out of stock due to heavy media attention. Don’t worry if
you can’t get hold any, though. He also sells beer brewed from another major
Hokkaido product ? potatoes!!! (Risa)
February
15th
Kitano Tenmangu Shrine is one of the most dignified shrines
in Kyoto. The shrine deity is Sugawara no Michizane known for his poetry and
general scholarly genius. He is the only human being deified at a Japanese
shrine. Every year on February 25th, a grand festival to commemorate Sugawara’s
spirit is held at the shrine. The festival is called Baika-sai as he especially
loved the Japanese apricot. In the precinct of the shrine, there is a huge
Japanese apricot orchard with about 2000 apricot trees of 50 different kinds. On
the day of the festival, a ritual is held at the main hall and a grand tea
ceremony is held outdoors. Tea is served by real Maiko and Geiko from
Kamishichiken Flower Town. Tickets (1500yen/person) are sold to the first 3000
people. If you are interested in the festival, be careful not to sleep in!
(Risa)
February
16th
I will recommend Japanese apricot blossom viewing spots in my
hometown, Yamashina today. 1) Zuishin-in temple is one of the most famous in
Kyoto for its Japanese apricot trees. It also has a particularly fine garden
featuring a wide expanse of moss, a pond and a stunning arrangement of rocks. 2)
Kanshu-ji temple is also famous for the old Japanese apricot tree transplanted
from the Imperial Palace in the Edo Period (1603-1868). Its garden has a wide
perspective much like a small park ? the pond alone is 200 metres long ? in the
background looms Mt. Daigo. If you have time on the weekend, how about visiting
the temples? (Risa)
February
20th
Yes, I will talk about Japanese apricot again! Ancient
poets wrote lots of poems about Japanese apricot. Ono no Komachi is one of them.
She is known for her beauty, poetry and madness, lived in the middle of the 9th
century and served as a lady ?in-waiting in the Heian court. Despite her
legendary beauty and obvious passions, she never married. But her poems more
than make up for whatever she may have missed in the way of martial bliss. In
mid life she was sent out of the capital to Yamashina, where she supposedly
resided for some years at Zuishin-in Temple. She is said to have gone mad there
and the temple now honors her every year on March 25th with the Hanezu Odori.
Children dressed in faint pink kimono will perform dance and song. She probably
wrote this poem during her stay at the temple. [The colour of the apricot
blossoms have faded vainly, I age through the rains of the world watching in
melancholy]. What do you think of this poem? Is it beautiful? I will introduce
one more poet tomorrow. (Risa
February
21st
Izumi Shikibu, another great woman writer of
the Heian period, also wrote lasting poetry. She got her name from her marriage
to the governor of the province of Izumi. She divorced him after their first
child and returned to the court in Kyoto, where she had been raised. Soon she
was having an affair with a prince, who died, and then his brother, who also
died. She recorded both of these affairs in her diary, including a number of
passages and poems that clearly indicate how much she loved and how much she had
lost. Her final years were spent on Mount Yoshiya in Toboku-in. And for hundreds
of years, Seishin-in, a sub-temple of Toboku-in, has been celebrating her life.
The temple moved its location to the east side of Shinkyogoku, a little south of
Rokkaku in the Momoyama period. If you have a chance to come to Kyoto, please
try to find the temple. Her famous poem is [Seeing the apricot blossoms I wait
for the song of the warbler. Spring has come veiled in mist]. Which do you
prefer, Ono no Komachi or Izumi Shikibu? (Risa
February
27th
Hello I am back!!! I am sorry I was away
for a while. It’s like a spring day here in Kyoto today. The temperature went up
to 18 degrees. When I went out at lunch time, it was indeed like spring. I can’t
wait to see lovely cherry blossoms to bloom here and there. I guess they will be
earlier in blooming this year. Maybe at the end of March???
(Risa)
