Remembrance

Found a memorial statue on the beach.

Culture

Quite an eclectic home we ran across the other day!

Dondo-yaki

Here is a video I took of the festivities at the dondo-yaki:

Click Here for Fire!  

Afternoon Stroll

Jonathan, Toby, and I went for a walk today around our area. We walked over to some back streets that we have driven on, but had never taken the time to walk around and explore. We discovered Kugo Shrine, which is beside a little park. Always nice to see what treasures your town holds!

Morning Fire

Dancing with pom-poms.

For the 4th and final dondo-yaki installment, here are pics of the process of the pyre. When we arrived, people were still placing charms and decorations on the huge pile. A dance with large multi colored pom-poms marked the official beginning of the event. Once the dance was over, the pom-poms were inserted into the top of the pyre. Long, stiff ropes were dipped into lighter fluid and used to ignite the pyre. Although the pyre was huge, it did not take long to burn since it's made mostly out of straw and grass. It was so awesome to admire the whole process and be warm and toasty by the fire while we watched the sun come up over the water. It was truly beautiful!

Dipping the ropes into fluid.

Inserting the pom-poms into the pyre.

The ignition!

Daruma dolls up in flames.

Drums and flutes played the whole time.

Roasted Mochi

Most people who attend the dondo-yaki bring bags of hard mochi with them to roast. They use very long bamboo poles and tie the blocks of mochi to them using wire. Everyone then huddles around the pyre, roasting their new year treats and warming themselves by the fire.

New Year Owl!

There was even an owl at the dondo-yaki!

Dondo-yaki

This year we attended our very first dondo-yaki! This is a Japanese New Year tradition where grasses, pine branches, and new year decorations are burned to release the ancestral spirits that reside in them during the new year. It is considered very disrespectful and bad luck to simply throw away the decorations, since in essence you're throwing away the spirits. Also, reusing the same decorations year after year is looked upon in the same way since you're not allowing the spirits to go on their way. Instead, burning them releases them back to the heavens. This is a huge community event that takes place in any fire safe area, such as large, cleared fields, river banks, or beaches. The event occurs after the first week of the new year, generally anywhere between January 7th-15th.

The dondo-yaki we went to was located on a beach on the east coast of the peninsula we live in, so we got front row seats to the sunrise! The goal is to have the pyre be fully aflame when the sun comes up over the horizon and usher in the new day by celebrating a new year while sending spirits into the ether with your wishes. It is said that warming yourself by the burning pyre will bring you youth, and eating food roasted in its fire will bring you health. It's tradition to roast mochi and oranges by the pyres and eat them. During the entire event, drumming and flute playing takes place, and people race to the pyre to add their decorations or charms to the fire.

To make this easier to follow (and for me to post) I'm going to break the photos down into 4 segments. This one has the sunrise photos from that morning. It was so beautiful and we had the absolute best weather. We got to the beach just before day break and the sky was on fire!

Mochi on a roasting stick at sunrise

Strawberry Wine

We found some sweet strawberry wine at a local grocery store today, and it's absolutely delicious! It's more affordable than actual strawberries, which is sad. But it's a very nice treat on a weekend where we don't have any plans on getting out!

Mt. Fuji!

While we were out and about the other day, Fuji wanted to come out and play! She normally hides behind clouds, but she was totally revealed that day. We got some great views of her from a local beach. The island you see is Enoshima and is rich with history. For thousands of years, people have traveled to the island via a natural land bridge that appears when the tide is out. Nowadays there is a permanent walkway that you can use. The tall structure you can see on the island is the Sea Candle. It serves as both a light house and observation deck, and at night they illuminate it beautifully. It was a fantastic day for epic views!

Myokakuji Temple

We've mentioned our neighborhood Shinto shrine several times, but haven't really talked about our neighborhood Buddhist temple. We've only been to the temple once because it's way up on a very tall hill behind our house and you have to walk there. There's an amazing view from up there and you can see for miles. As with most temple grounds, there's a small cemetery. I love photographing the architecture of temples around here. They often have intricate wood carvings and amazing metal statues along the rooftops.

On the walk to the top of the hill, there is a strange cave along the path. Not sure what it's used for or how far back in the hill it goes. The entrance is small, only about 2ft wide and 3ft tall.

New Year Wishes

For the new year we went to our neighborhood shrine, as is tradition. 2018 is the year of the dog, so we took Toby with us! Several people brought their dogs out and took them up to the shrine with them to ring the bells. We had sake and amazake, and bought a little trinket that we never had before called omamori. They are sold at shrines and temples at the new year and come in many styles with many different purposes. The most common style is a cloth envelope secured with rope that has an invocation written on a piece of paper inside. These are kept throughout the year and used as an amulet to either protect the person or give them luck in something. Normally, they are for specific aspects of life; for instance you can get one to help you start a new career, or to excel on academic tests, to protect you or a loved one while traveling in a car, or to increase your luck in conceiving a child that year.

Some of them are generic amulets that are not for any specific purpose, but that you can attach your own wish to. Omamori are usually attached and worn on backpacks, belts, purses, cell phones, bikes, car mirrors, basically anywhere that can help the amulet do its magick. The more torn and weathered the omamori gets, the better it's working as it's seen that the amulet is taking life's beatings for you instead of you bearing the bad luck. When the next new year comes, you take your used omamori back to the shrine or temple you bought it from, return it, and buy a new one. The new one will offer fresh protection for the new year, and the old ones are burned by the elders of the sacred area they are returned to.

We got a generic omamori at our shrine. I actually didn't know that you are to never open them - if you loosen the rope and open the pouch, the power inside will escape. Well, I had no idea and was curious, so when we got home, I immediately opened it. Woops! haha Since it's a generic one, the only thing inside was a piece of paper that said (in Kanji) "Morisaki Shrine Charm." The Kanji on the outside of the pouch shown above says "omamori." We would like to keep ours instead of taking it back to the shrine next year. It will be a great reminder of our lovely Japanese neighborhood!

Gulls of the Bay

Just some brown-headed gulls enjoying the view, plus a gull tile I found in the sidewalk.

Christmas Coke

I'd always heard about the coke bottles that turn into ribbons, so I got one to test it out. There is a piece of the wrapper that you pull and it makes the whole thing bunch up into a bow. Festive!

Christmas Time Again!

We had such a great Christmas. Although we could not be with our family, we had each other and little Toby, and our home was warm and filled with love. Santa was pretty good to us this year! Our little tree was overflowing with gifts! We also spent a day with our friends and built gingerbread houses! They baked and made the gingerbread from scratch! This was our first time ever making a house from scratch - we had always used the kits you buy at the store. It was a lot of fun and they turned out pretty cute!
We had friends from Tokyo down for dinner on Christmas eve; I made turkey with all the trimmings, plus cookies and buckeye balls. On Christmas day, we headed over to another friend's house for brunch, and then later that night we went to yet another friend's house for a Christmas ham dinner. It was a great time! Although the holidays have passed, we are still getting Christmas cards in the mail!
2017 was a fast, crazy year, and we are totally ready for 2018! We have some good, solid goals for this year, and we can't wait to make them happen!

Maker's Mark sweater and scarf on the tree