You may have heard that I started a YouTube channel. I still have a long way to get before being able to make good videos, but I’m learning. As I can’t go to the islands these days (and it’s also a friendly reminder if you live in Japan, please, don’t […]
Traditional Culture
175 posts
Saimyo-ji is a small relatively unknown temple in Shionoe, in the south of Takamatsu. Its only claim to fame is the fact that most of its grounds are covered with flowers called hagi (Wikipedia tells me that they’re called Japanese clovers in English). And that’s enough for the temple to […]
Not today, but about a year ago. If you don’t know it, Honen-ji is a pretty amazing temple in Takamatsu. It’s not very known and gets close to zero tourists, and it’s a good thing. Oh and, I don’t know if that’s still the case, but at least […]
This Straw Dragon is the main attraction of a summer matsuri in Higashikagawa. I have yet to go, and I promise I’ll tell you more about it when I finally make it there. Meanwhile, you can admire this one in Kagawa Plaza, a very interesting small permanent exhibit about […]
As the title says, I wish you all a very happy new year 2019. Yesterday, on the actual New Year’s Day, I did my favorite activity on that day, that is I stayed at home. Meanwhile, most Japanese people tend to go to the shrine for Hatsumode (literally “the first […]
So, a few days ago, I went to Ritsurin Garden for a very special visit (as a “linguistic consultant” if you like), so I didn’t take any pictures, except from one spot: Kikugetsu-tei, that is Ritsurin Garden’s main tea house. I hadn’t been inside in years, literally (not a […]
How about we resume our Shikoku Pilgrimage? I left you at Konsen-ji and it was a little while ago, right? So today, I’m bringing you to the fourth temple of the Shikoku Henro, that is Dainichi-ji (大日寺 – The Temple of the Big Sun – or is it the […]
Today, we’re going to Tokushima Prefecture, more precisely in the city of Itano (city by name only, a town really) to visit Konsen-ji, Shikoku Pilgrimage’s third temple. It’s located just three kilometers from Gokuraku-ji, its predecessor, and to go from one to the other is a piece of cake, the […]
Barely more than a kilometer after leaving Ryozen-ji, pilgrims on the Shikoku Pilgrimage will encounter their first stop, Gokuraku-ji. There’s some excitation arriving there. This time, it’s for real, the pilgrimage is underway, it’s too late to change one’s mind. This is the second temple, one has now become a […]