News from
December 2006
December 1st
Kozanji-temple was founded by the famous monk Myoe in the 13th century.
It is renowned for its numerous national treasures and important cultural
properties. You may have heard about a picture scroll called [Chojujinbutsu-giga]
? Light-Hearted Painting of Bird, Beast and Man in English -. There is
the oldest tea field in Japan, where Myoe is said to have planted tea from
seeds brought back from China by the Zen priest Eisai. The temple remains
standing very humble and quiet. Honestly, I so much prefer the Kozanji
to Jingoji. It was registered as part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site,
Historic Monuments of Acient Kyoto in 1994. (Risa)
December 11th
How was your weekend? A big event is held at Kiyomizu Temple annually on
December 12th. The Kanji of the year will be announced, and a monk at the
temple will write it on a huge paper tomorrow. The last year’s kanji was
[AI] which means love in English. (I want to show you the Kanji…but kanji
characters aren’t shown properly on this website…sorry!) I am wondering
what this year’s kanji will be… I will let you know as soon as I find
it out. If you express your year 2006 in one word, what will it be? (Risa)
December 5th
Do you know the character [Hello Kitty]? If not, look at the photo below.
She is Hello Kitty. She was originally created by the Japanese company
Sanrio in 1974. She was given an English name, Kitty White as British culture
was very popular among Japanese girls at that time. Her name came from
one of the cats that Alice kept in the book, Through the Looking Glass
by Lewis Carroll. As you know, Hello Kitty is now a globally well known
trademark. Do you know how it got so popular? Lots of American celebrities
such as Mariah Carey, Cameron Diaz, Christina Aguilera, Paris Hilton and
so on have contributed to the popularity.
December 4th
I can’t believe it’s already December… We have one more month to go…but,
how was your year 2006? Have you accomplished your goal? If yes, congratulations!!!
If not, don’t worry too much. We can try our best until we greet the new
year 2007. We sometimes call December [Shiwasu] in Japanese. If we write
the word [shiwasu] in Kanji, [shi] means monk and [wasu] run. I guess you
can already imagine…yes? It is said monks are super busy visiting the
Buddhist parishioners and reciting a sutra in December…so they have to
run to the parishioner’s houses! (Risa)
December 14th
I guess the three most popular [Hatsumode] spots in Kyoto are Heian-jingu
Shrine, Yasaka Shrine, and Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine. (Hatsumode means
New Year’s visits to shrines). One of the shrines, Fushimi Inari Taisha
Shrine in Fushimi Ward started to make Fukukasane, or packages of good
luck charms, on December 4th. The Fukukasane will be given to worshippers
who will visit the shrine during the New Year season. Female shrine attendants,
who are called Kagurame made the charm by combining talismans such as Mamoriya
(an exorcising arrow), Ema (a votive pictorial plaque) and a spray of sacred
Japanese cedar. I am pretty sure there should be soooooooooooo many people
at the shrine during that time, but it’s worth visiting there!!! (Risa)
December 15th
We finally got some sunshine after long grey days!!! I am a pretty simple person, so beautiful weather can make me happy. I am sure it won’t last long because it’s winter…but I want to enjoy the sunshine as much as possible. What’s your plan for the weekend? Maybe Xmas shopping? I hope you have a lovely weekend!!! (Risa)
December 20th
It’s been pretty cold since Monday this week, and we finally got our first
snow in Kyoto city too. According to the past news Junko wrote, it snowed
on Dec. 6th last year. Maybe I told you before, but I don’t like winter…so
I hope we will have a warm winter as the weather reporters have expected.
The temple lightly dusted with snow is really beautiful though. (Risa)
December 21st
One of my co-workers, Kohei had the set menu for his lunch today. As the
taste is very nice, he seems to go there pretty often. He said the meal
is really of good value for the price. How much do you think it is? It’s
800yen (about US$6.5). What do you think about the price? Would you like
to try? According to Kohei, there are lots of business men (quite a few
business women too! ? I though they may worry about garlic smell) there.
What do you usually have for lunch? And what’s the average price? (Risa)
December 26th
One of my co-workers, Kohei came back to our office with a full smile after
lunch. He had a piece of marriage paper in his hand. Yes, he is getting
married!!! He doesn’t know exactly when it is…but he says it’s really soon. This
is a notification of marriage. Of course, both husband and wife have to sign the
paper, but also they must get signature from 2 people. Everyone can be their
witness, but they are usually their father or mother. Is that similar to your
country? If not, how different is it? Please let us know!!! P.S.
Congratulations, Kohei!!!! (Risa)
December 27th
The TV drama serial [IMOTAKONANKIN] airs on NHK channel at 8:15a.m. every
morning (Mon-Fri). As the drama is set in 1950’s -1960’s, it is pretty
popular among the middle-aged people. What does the title [IMOTAKONANKIN]
mean? Actually it is not one word. We can divide it into three words, Imo,
Tako and Nankin. [IMO] means sweet potatoes in English, [TAKO] octopuses,
and [NANKIN] pumpkins. What do you think they are? It is traditionally
said they are the three most favourite foods of ladies. Maybe they are
changing these days, but I guess it’s still kinda true. I am not one of
them though… What are the most favourite foods of ladies in your country?
(Risa)
December 28th
According to the weather forecast, Kinki area (I know [Kinki] sounds very
weird to you…) will be hit by a cold wave during the year change period.
I did feel it on my way to work this morning already. If it snows a lot,
school kids and dogs will be very happy…but, I am concerned about a terrible
traffic jam because of the snow. Quite a few people go back to their hometown
during their New Year holidays, so the snow will have no small effect on
them. I hope we won’t hear any bad or sad news on TV… [Please drive safely!]
? to all drivers from me!!! (Risa)
December 22nd
I can’t believe it’s already Friday. I will have a bonenkai, [forget
the year gathering] with a couple of friends after work today. It is a
Japanese eating and drinking party that takes place at the end of year,
and generally held among groups of co-workers or friends. The purpose of
the party, as its name implies, is to forget the woes and troubles of the
past year. But, I guess not so many people think about the meaning…we
just want to have a party and enjoy eating and drinking a lot!!!! (Risa)
The character was produced for young girls at the beginning…who could imagine she would be loved by people of all age groups all over the world? It’s pretty amazing, isn’t it? P.S. How much do you guess the stuffed Hello Kitty below is? Umm…I can’t believe it’s 100,000yen (about US$900)!!! (Risa)
December 6th
We’ve recently received quite a few inquiry mails for March & April 2007. Actually I was also surprised that lots of ryokans in Kyoto are already booked out especially during the cherry blossom season. Spring is one of the most popular seasons in Kyoto, and so many people come to see the beautiful cherry blossoms from all over the world. Some people prefer quiet and humble autumn, others prefer colorful and bright spring… Which season do you like better? If you are one of the spring lovers and thinking of visiting Kyoto during that time, you have to hurry up! We will try our best to find a place to stay for you!!! (Risa)
December 7th
Lots of confectionary companies have released new products for winter. One of my
co-workers went to a convenience store near our office during his lunch time and
took the photo. Apparently there are quite a few strawberry-flavoured products
there. You might think strawberries are typical spring fruits…yes? I don’t know
why, but we can see and get the strawberry-flavoured items at this time of year.
I guess we have already missed warm spring days. It’s getting colder day by day
here in Kyoto….especially in the morning and evening. YES, I so much miss
spring…I have to go and get the strawberry thing! (Risa)
December 12th
I am getting confused now… I wrote about [Tanuki Udon] last Friday and
told you I would research the origin of the word. Yes, I started to check
it up on the Internet. I have found out there are quite a few versions
of Tanuki noodles. For Kyoto people, Tanuki is either udon or soba (buckwheat
noodle) with bite-sized deep fried tofu in a thickened soup. For Osaka
people, it is soba with a big deep fried tofu in a not-thickened soup.
For Tokyo people, it is either udon or soba with Tenkasu (crunchy bits
of deep fried Tempura batter) in a not-thickened soup. Kyoto is bordered
on the west by Osaka, but the food culture isn’t same… it’s really interesting,
isn’t it? Which Tanuki would you like to try??? (Risa).
December 8th
A bad cold is going around here in Japan. Lots of people have been down…and,
I was one of them. I don’t know why, but it took ages to recover from
the cold 100%. Am I just getting old? Or, is this year’s cold too bad?
One of my co-workers, Kohei didn’t feel really well yesterday and decided
to eat Udon for lunch. In Japan, we are recommended to eat Udon or porridge
when we are sick.
The reason is pretty simple…they warm up our body and digest well. What
do you eat in your country when you are sick? Here is the photo of the
Udon Kohei had yesterday. It’s called Tanuki (raccoon in English) Udon…Sorry
I actually don’t know the word origin. This is my next mission ? please
give me some more time…I will tell you the answer as soon as possible.
(Risa)
December 13th
This year’s Kanji was announced at Kiyomizu-temple yesterday. It was [Inochi]
which means life in English. The top monk wrote the word dynamically on
a big paper. Here are the reasons the word was chosen as this year’s Kanji.
1. The imperial baby ‘Prince Hisahito’ was born in September 2. Lots
of students killed themselves suffering from bullying at school 3. Typhoons
and tornadoes killed many people etc. We’ve noticed how important our
life is after experiencing cruel incidents and accidents. I felt a bit
sad when I heard the news…but I do hope a happy word will be chosen next
year. (Risa)
December 25th
Merry Christmas to you all!!! There are more than 190 countries on the
earth, and we are spending our day differently. Are you having a white
Xmas? Or is it burning hot in your country? I got a phone call from a friend
in New Zealand this morning. He said it’s a beautiful summery day there…and
he just finished Xmas breakfast (BBQ in the garden) with his family. As
it’s not a national holiday here in Japan today, we are working very hard
as usual. You’re lucky if you are having a day off!!! Anyway I hope you
all have a wonderful Xmas Day!!! (Risa)
