Sunday Kimono - The Finale

Two halves, two different kimono styles modern and traditional, spring and autumn, peonies and chrysanthemums, social and formal, both divine. Kimono style and kimono love!!

Senso-ji Shrine

Senjo-ji is Tokyo's oldest temple.  Normally thriving with crowds of visitors -tourists and locals, it was incredibly empty on my last visit.  The lanterns were still glowing.

Neat Pruning

Spring means spring growth and therefore pruning and tidying .  The azaleas in Yoga had barely finished flowering and the Setagaya ward (council) team were  out with pruners and brooms making sure everything was neat and tidy.

Iris in the canal

My favourite Sakura lined canal is now full or yellow iris.  Still beautiful - and recently whipper snipped.

Monday Manhole Covers 6 - The Forest

Karuizawa is in the foothills of the Japanese Alps, surrounded by birch and pine forests.  The manhole covers reflect this location. When I visited early March pine needles added to the texture of the covers.

Sunday Kimono 29- A myriad of kimonos

Back in pre-social distancing times when I visited Kawagoe (old Edo) so many young girls were dressed in colourful kimono.  It was graduation season, so  not sure if this was normal or part of  special celebrations. 

Taxi for Indi

Stacks of orange taxis - perfect for the Orange Army of Indi.

Raindrops on Roses

The Sound of Music and the song "A few of my favourite things" came to mind as stopped to photograph roses in Kinuta Park yesterday.

Monochromatic houses and cars

Do people choose their car to match the house or paint the house to match the car? Typical Japanese houses in my neighbourhood.

Monday Manhole Cover 5 - In the Snow

Nagano hosted the 1988 Winter Olympics.  Nozawa-Onsen hosted the biathalon competition. This is commemorated in their Manhole Covers.

Sunday Kimono 28 - Kimono and Facemask

This photo of a lady wearing a face mask with a fabulous green kimono is timely.  Everyone in Tokyo is wearing a face mask at the moment, but many like this woman wore them as a matter of course in non COVID times.

Quieter in Shibuya

Shibuya is a major commercial and retail hub in Tokyo.  The Shibuya Scramble is an iconic crossing.  Normally 1000 people would be crossing at a time, but it was nearly empty today.  Much quieter but as the video shows still noisy.

111 places in Tokyo that you shouldn't miss.

An unfinished challenge.  111 things that you shouldn't miss in Tokyo - a book with interesting ideas  and unusual places to visit across Tokyo.  An unfinished challenge.  Kaminoge station (near school) is one of the places described in the book and one I visited this week.  The smooth round roof and circular hole over the road make it an iconic building - one designed by one of my favourite Japanese architects Tadao Ando.

Ando explained in an interview that he believes “architecture is something to be experienced with all five senses – not just the eyes.” His work is iconic and recognizable, but at the same time, it never feels cookie-cutter, and there’s plenty of conscientious reasoning behind this. Ando’s work has a strong foundational ideology, which he calls pure geometry. While imagining each piece he creates, attention to the detail of the building’s natural surroundings dictate the shape of the outcome.
https://japanobjects.com/features/tadao-ando

Past Olympics Komazawa Park

 Komazawa Park was used for volleyball, football (soccer), wrestling and other competitions in the 1964 Olympics. The architecture still looks futuristic. The tower is an iconic landmark in the park and is designed with reference to traditional Japanese wood architecture. The park is in my neighbourhood and provides an open (but busy) space for walks in social isolation. In 2018 it was great to attend the Ramen festival there.  in 2019 the festival was cancelled due to a Typhoon.

Manhole Cover 4 - Ryokudo

Ryokudo are greenways, city parks in Tokyo  that trace the course of a culverted urban river.  I love walking and cycling along the sakura covered and shrubbery lined walkways. The Kitazawagawa Greenway runs from Gotokuji (home of the cat shrine)  to Naka-Meguruo (my favourite hangout neighbourhood).  So glad to have discovered this walkway and impressed with the manhole cover and drain cover.

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Sunday Kimono 27- Wedding Guests

More wedding guest in kimono at Kitaguchi Hongu Fuji-Sengen shrine. Taken during my visit in March. Love the gold handbag, shoes/thongs (zori? ) and obi.

Maples and Dogwood

Spring means dogwoods are blooming and maples have new leaves.

Jizo and Spring Maple

A Jizo statue with new maple leaves at Okusawa shrine earlier in April. The red of the cap and bib is the colour of life, death and protection in Japan. 

Spring Maples

Spring means new green leaves.  A ceiling of green maple at Okusawa shrine.

Monday Manhole Cover 3 Atami

Sunday Kimono 26 Shiromuku Wedding Kimono

 When visiting a shrine near Mt Fuji last month I was lucky enough to witness the arrival of bride and her wedding party.  The white kimono was beautiful. The fabric had an intricate crane pattern.  See below for an explanation of white bridal kimonos.

Shiromuku is a wedding kimono originally worn at weddings in samurai families, the shiromuku has become one type of wedding kimono worn by brides in Japan. White has symbolized the sun’s rays since ancient times, and from the Heian period, pure white bridal kimonos became prized. The shiromuku stands out due to all its parts — over-robe, under-robe, obi sashi, etc.. — being pure white. Brides at the wedding in shrines always wear white clothes. Why Japanese brides have such custom to be covered with only white things on a day of wedding ceremony? It’s because “white” has been regarded by Japanese people as a symbol of pureness, cleanness or virginity. “White” can be dyed with any color, so shiromuku means that brides are ready to be dyed with color of groom. “White” has also been regarded as a sacred color for many years, so Japanese people have believed shiromuku to be suitable for the wedding ceremony held at sacred and religous places.

Wisteria with Effects

Having fun playing with Lightroom effects with wisteria.