Thursday morning we probably didn't leave quite as early as we should have, in order to see what all we planned to see that day; we took a day trip to Kamakura, and then Yokohama.
Kamakura was the capital of Japan from Minamoto no Yorimoto's reign as shogun in the 12th c until the early 14th c. By the mid-13th c, it was the cultural, political, and military center of Japan, which at the time was receiving lots of cultural influence from Chinese culture--particularly, Zen Buddhism--through the port of Wagaenoshima.
Today, Kamakura's particularly well known for Kamakura-bori, richly laquered wooden relief carvings. Originally imported from China and used in Buddhist sculpture and Zen temples, nowadays it's used in numerous secular, everyday items...Hopefully, I'll have a chance to pick up a piece at some point while I'm here; they're really quite beautiful. (Kamakura's also well known for its Amida Buddha statue, Daibutsu, at Kotoku-in temple, but we didn't manage to see this either, unfortunatley.)From Kamakura Station, we walked down the main road towards
Tsurugaoka Hachimanguu shrine.
On the way, we caught a look at a couple in a rickshaw, whom we quickly realized were on their way to Tsurugaoka Hachimanguu for their marriage ceremony.
And I believe were were actually walking among a fair number of the wedding party down the path in the median of the road.
Our first sight of Tsurugaoka Hachimanguu
There are several ponds on the grounds; several are lotus ponds, but they aren't in bloom until summer proper...The wisteria were blooming, though!
We arrived at the shrine around the same time the couple and the wedding party were making their way up the stairs to perform the ceremony
Once the ceremony began, two men began playing gagaku on drums and stringed instruments.
Shirahita Shrine, one of the small sub-shrines on Tsurugaoka Hachimanguu's grounds. People come here particularly to pray for success and achievement in their studies.
There are several ponds on the grounds; several are lotus ponds, but they aren't in bloom until summer proper...The wisteria were blooming, though!
We arrived at the shrine around the same time the couple and the wedding party were making their way up the stairs to perform the ceremony
Once the ceremony began, two men began playing gagaku on drums and stringed instruments.
Shirahita Shrine, one of the small sub-shrines on Tsurugaoka Hachimanguu's grounds. People come here particularly to pray for success and achievement in their studies.
No comments:
Post a Comment