Japan Society Educator's Tour - Day 2 (Morning - Kyoto)
Our second day was once again, all about shrines.
First, we went to the Kamigamo Shrine where we were to meet Reverend Inui. Rob and Kazuko were both a bit nervous about time, because we had a strict appointment to meet up with him by a certain time. So, to expedite the process, we all took cabs to the destination. We were all split up into 4 cabs total, and there was a little nervousness about the trip because our drivers only spoke Japanese. However, I pointed out that we were all going in the same direction, so there was no need to be nervous.
Arriving at the shrine, we did a couple of poses at the main gate.
Then we walked inside. There were several open platforms at the entrance, including a huge “wall” of sake barrels and these two huge mounds of conical sand. It was the oddest thing I’d ever seen, but I forgot to ask the significance of them. ^_^;;
Rev. Inui came out, and he was dressed in white with a teal blue hakama. It was like I was looking at an Aikido teacher, because back when I was studying Aikido, we had to wear black ones just like it. And he wore Harry Potter glasses.
First, before entering the grounds, we had to “purify” ourselves. There was a trough of running water with bamboo-like ladles laid out for our use. He demonstrated by showing us we had to pour water over first the left hand, then the right hand. Next, we had to pour a little into our hand to bring to our mouth to clean it. Then once again, left and right hand. Finally, whatever was left inside the cup was tipped in such a way that it dribbled down the handle, thus cleansing it for the next person.
From left to right, you can see: Rev. Inui, Heather, Jason, Liz, hidden Valerie and Kazuko, Karin, Robert, and George. We crossed over a bridge into the main area where we were shown a special place for folks to “pray” for good matches. Basically, you’d throw money into the container, ring the bell, clap your hands twice and then pray for your request.
Further in, we saw another priest wearing the infamous crow hat. Rev. Inui explained the various trappings he wore, but the only thing I remember clearly is the crow hat, because as he explained it, he pointed out that we could always hear crows cawing on the grounds, and sure enough, we could hear one quite clearly at that moment.
I also remember him talking about the stick, and I think it was supposed to be like a "cheat sheet" for the priests to use for certain ceremonies, where they would have specific rituals and/or names written on it. Of course, there was a tanabata tree too (the festival which is one day away!)
In order to enter the temple, we had to don "robes" but instead of a full piece of clothing, we only had to put on a top covering, as you can see below.
We all filed into a room where we learned about the background of the shrine and then we received a blessing from a senior priest who waved what I can only call a long white pompom in our direction.
I have one shot from inside the room of one of the paintings that helped to explain the origins of the shrine. An arrow fell from heaven and the priestess found it and I assume became pregnant because of it. Her child eventually grew to become a kami or god that could control the elements, specifically lightning, and was brought back up into the heavens. There's more details to it, but I forgot them.
We were then allowed inside the interior of the shrine, but we were not allowed to take any pictures there. The most interesting aspect, in my opinion, was a platform with a door and 2 painted reliefs of a blue/silver lion and a gold/green one guarding the door on either side. Matching statues were also on either side. Afterwards, we went into the museum where Rev. Inui showed us the various implements that were created for the kami of the shrine, including over-sized clothing and food utensils. There was a beautiful montage of the seasons at the Kamigamo Shrine, so I snuck a quick picture of it. At the end of our visit, were greeted by the head priest himself, which we found out later was a rare thing, and so we were more impressed that he chose to meet us.
Unfortunately, we were in a rush, so we couldn't stay at the shrine too long. We ended up having to grab taxicabs again because we had a lunch reservation at Izusen which was a vegetarian restaurant in Daitokuji Temple. I'll have to post about it later, though, because I'm currently in Kochi, it's late, and I have to get up early tomorrow for a school visit.
First, we went to the Kamigamo Shrine where we were to meet Reverend Inui. Rob and Kazuko were both a bit nervous about time, because we had a strict appointment to meet up with him by a certain time. So, to expedite the process, we all took cabs to the destination. We were all split up into 4 cabs total, and there was a little nervousness about the trip because our drivers only spoke Japanese. However, I pointed out that we were all going in the same direction, so there was no need to be nervous.
Arriving at the shrine, we did a couple of poses at the main gate.
Then we walked inside. There were several open platforms at the entrance, including a huge “wall” of sake barrels and these two huge mounds of conical sand. It was the oddest thing I’d ever seen, but I forgot to ask the significance of them. ^_^;;
Rev. Inui came out, and he was dressed in white with a teal blue hakama. It was like I was looking at an Aikido teacher, because back when I was studying Aikido, we had to wear black ones just like it. And he wore Harry Potter glasses.
First, before entering the grounds, we had to “purify” ourselves. There was a trough of running water with bamboo-like ladles laid out for our use. He demonstrated by showing us we had to pour water over first the left hand, then the right hand. Next, we had to pour a little into our hand to bring to our mouth to clean it. Then once again, left and right hand. Finally, whatever was left inside the cup was tipped in such a way that it dribbled down the handle, thus cleansing it for the next person.
From left to right, you can see: Rev. Inui, Heather, Jason, Liz, hidden Valerie and Kazuko, Karin, Robert, and George. We crossed over a bridge into the main area where we were shown a special place for folks to “pray” for good matches. Basically, you’d throw money into the container, ring the bell, clap your hands twice and then pray for your request.
Further in, we saw another priest wearing the infamous crow hat. Rev. Inui explained the various trappings he wore, but the only thing I remember clearly is the crow hat, because as he explained it, he pointed out that we could always hear crows cawing on the grounds, and sure enough, we could hear one quite clearly at that moment.
I also remember him talking about the stick, and I think it was supposed to be like a "cheat sheet" for the priests to use for certain ceremonies, where they would have specific rituals and/or names written on it. Of course, there was a tanabata tree too (the festival which is one day away!)
In order to enter the temple, we had to don "robes" but instead of a full piece of clothing, we only had to put on a top covering, as you can see below.
We all filed into a room where we learned about the background of the shrine and then we received a blessing from a senior priest who waved what I can only call a long white pompom in our direction.
I have one shot from inside the room of one of the paintings that helped to explain the origins of the shrine. An arrow fell from heaven and the priestess found it and I assume became pregnant because of it. Her child eventually grew to become a kami or god that could control the elements, specifically lightning, and was brought back up into the heavens. There's more details to it, but I forgot them.
We were then allowed inside the interior of the shrine, but we were not allowed to take any pictures there. The most interesting aspect, in my opinion, was a platform with a door and 2 painted reliefs of a blue/silver lion and a gold/green one guarding the door on either side. Matching statues were also on either side. Afterwards, we went into the museum where Rev. Inui showed us the various implements that were created for the kami of the shrine, including over-sized clothing and food utensils. There was a beautiful montage of the seasons at the Kamigamo Shrine, so I snuck a quick picture of it. At the end of our visit, were greeted by the head priest himself, which we found out later was a rare thing, and so we were more impressed that he chose to meet us.
Unfortunately, we were in a rush, so we couldn't stay at the shrine too long. We ended up having to grab taxicabs again because we had a lunch reservation at Izusen which was a vegetarian restaurant in Daitokuji Temple. I'll have to post about it later, though, because I'm currently in Kochi, it's late, and I have to get up early tomorrow for a school visit.