On this coming Sunday, December 4th, a nice local community event will take place in Hachioji City, Tokyo. A small mountain near Takao Station on JR-Chuo-Line/Keio-line is designated as a green conservation zone by Hachioji-City. On the top of the mountain there is a tiny shrine called “Asakawa Konpira Shrine”. It is one kind of Japanese Shinto-Shrine. Since the late 1980s, a monthly community activity named “Kompira-Picnic” has been held there on the first Sunday of every month (except August) although "picnic" is not a traditional Japanese activity. It would be very rare as an activity at a local Shinto-shrine. Moreover, it is an open event for everybody, to join it people need neither registration to the group nor reservation. However there is only one requirement for the Kompira-Picnic which is "Bring your own food and drinks and share with others". Despite that, you are always welcome if you go there in the afternoon around lunch time. This picnic activity has been getting international people's attention and almost every time there are some foreign people as you can see in the photos. So People use both English and Japanese at the picnic. At one time the picnic became quite popular and the shrine was full of people on every first Sunday, but unfortunately the number of participants has decreased in recent years. However, there are still some regulars (including foreigners and Japanese), and people enjoy talking and having a nice time with lots of good food and drinks. Of course tourists can also join this picnic. It's a fun activity! In addition, two of the long time foreign regulars of the picnic activity became Shinto priests there. Both of them are Australian ladies. They got a training to be Shinto priest in the head shrine of Konpira Shrine in Shikoku Island, and became Shinto priests many years ago. Apparently TV crew will also come to the picnic activity to film the rare foreign Shinto priests on this Sunday! Please feel free to join the picnic! ☆If you are interested in reading more about this picnic, please check here! ☆Also there is a facebook page providing information about this picnic! https://www.facebook.com/ActiveLineHachioji
In my previous post on November 26th, I introduced food stalls at "Torinoichi Market" which is a traditional lucky charm market held a couple of times during November. Many people buy "lucky lakes" at the markets to collect lucks for the next year. Plain type of the lucky lakes looks like the one in the second photo from the left end on the upper row and you can tell it is a small lake. However, most of lakes on sale at the market has lots of decorations on it as shown on the third photo from the left end on the upper row so that they don't look like lakes. The decorations are usually traditional lucky items such as gold coins, rice years, a beckoning cat, and so on. However it can be something out of the ordinary. Then, Tokyo Metropolitan Government Office building located in Shinjuku has nice examples of it at their travel information corner on the ground floor. Many lucky lakes are displayed there representing major areas in Tokyo. The decorations on each lucky lake are showing famous landmark in the area. For example, the lucky lake for Ryougoku area where the "Hall of Sumo Wrestling in Tokyo" is located shows a figure of a Sumo wrestler, hot pots called "Chanko-nabe" which are Sumo wrestlers' typical meal, and the special fan for Sumo judges. In the same way, the lucky lake for Shibuya and Harajuku area has the Hachikou-dog statue and famous shopping mall "Shibuya 109". The one for Roppongi is showing "Tokyo Tower" and The Diet Building. How many travel spots on the decorated lucky lakes can you recognize?
Last Wednesday was the day for traditional Japanese custom, "Torinoichi (Dey of Bird Market)". It is a seasonal event to sell one kind of lucky charms which is held a couple of times in November every year. I introduced about the market last year, so please check the previous post post for more explanation! (Click here to read the previous post about "Trinoichi"!) With these kind of traditional events held at shrines and temples, we can find many festival stalls selling food. Buying these festival food would be one of the enjoyments when people go out for festivals. The photos are showing Otori Shrine in Hachioji City, Tokyo. Streets around the shrine are filled with lots of food stalls. They sell various food such as cotton candies, spit-roasted meat, Takoyaki, roasted chestnuts, traditional mix spice, and so on. I took a short video when I walked through among the stalls and linked below. Hope you will enjoy the virtual-reality tour of Japanese festival stalls!
As I wrote in my previous post yesterday, some traditional custom to prepare for New Year has been started already. Then, generally when Japanese people start to prepare their New-Year's-greeting cards (Nengajou)? I have introduced about special postcards for New Year's greeting on my blog last year, and most people use prepaid postcards issued by post office because they have lottery numbers. Every year, these postal cards are put on sale on November 1st. So, technically people can start working on their "Nengajou" from November 1st. Thus, many shops already have "Nengajou" corner as you can see in the upper left hand side photo above. For the designs, the animal symbol of the year based on Chinese zodiac is very common. Next year, 2017, is a "Year of Rooster", then many of postcards have illustrations of roosters or Chinese characters means "bird". Also all kinds of traditional lucky symbols are popular for "Nengajou". However, many people wouldn't start the work during November since people need to check if there is anyone who wants to skip New Year's greetings. After receiving "being-in-mourning cards" andrevising their list for "Nengajou", people can start writing the cards. Well then, when people can start sending them out? Japanese post office recommend to drop "Nengajou" into postbox between December 15th and 25th for those who want to be certain they will be delivered on January 1st. Then how "Nengajou" will be separated from many other mails which are send out at the same timing? I'm showing typical Japanese postal box in the upper right hand side photo. Usually one of the opening is for usual letters and postcards, and the other is for large size letters, international letters, and express letters, but after December 15th some of the opening will be only for "Nengajou". Moreover, When people tie their "Nengajou" and put a label of "Nengajou" on it, post office will keep them for a while and deliver them on January 1st. However, please be careful, these system are only applied for postcards and somehow envelopes for New Year's greeting are not applied for the system.
It's already in the second half of November and weather is getting cold day by day. Although there is still more than one month to see the new year in, some of the traditional Japanese customs to prepare for the end of the year and the new year has been started? In Japanese traditional custom, people exchange postcards for New-Year-greetings. Even though young generation tend to use e-mails for the greetings nowadays, still many people send actual postcards. Of course it is still too early to send out postcards for New-Year-greetings, but some people already have a preparation related to New-Year-greetings in this month. In Japanese culture, people hold back greetings and celebrating for the coming new year when they lost any close family members during the year because they are in mourning for the loss. In the case, they send out a special kind of postcards to let everybody know "we'll skip New Years's greetings for our loss...". These postcards are called "being-in-mourning cards".
The typical design for these "being-in-mourning cards" are sacred lotus flowers and chrysanthemum flowers in gray color or pale color as you can see in the left hand side photo. There are also special stamps for these "being-in-mourning cards", since stamps with cheerful designs or colors wouldn't fit the situation. Then, those who received the "being-in-mourning card" take the sender's name out from their list of New-Year-greeting cards for the coming new year. With this process, people can avoid bothering each other's mourning and celebration during new year holidays. Thus, to consider other people's preparation for their New Year's greeting cards, the "being-in-mourning cards" should be sent out by the middle of November, so I'm already receiving some "being-in-mourning cards". Therefore I think sending out "being-in-mourning cards" can be included in preparations for New Year.
In the connection I wrote about ginkgo in my previous post on November 15th and 17th, I'd like to introduce a connection between ginkgo and Sumo wrestling. Actually ginkgo is important for Sumo wrestlers although we don't see any actual ginkgo tree nor leaves at Sumo competition. As I write in my previous post on November 17th, ginkgo is "Ichou" in Japanese language. Interestingly, the top part of Sumo wrestlers' traditional unique hair style, shown in the photo above, is called "O-ichou". "O-ichou" means "Big Ginkgo". The name came from the shape. As you can see in the photos above, Sumo wrestlers have a traditional Japanese hair style called "Mage" which is one of the big features of their appearance. It looks almost same as the hair style of Samurai but slightly different. Sumo wrestlers spread the tip of their tied hair very wide just like the shape of a ginkgo leaf. That's why the part is called "O-ichou (Big Ginkgo)" and it is specific to Sumo wrestlers. "Mage" hair style with "O-ichou (Big Ginkgo)" is considered as a formal hair style for high-rank Sumo wrestlers, so they only make their hair tip into the "O-ichou (Big Ginkgo)" shape at formal situations such as Sumo matches and ceremonies. "O-ichou (Big Ginkgo)" is very important showing their rank. When young boys join a Sumo-beya (Sumo gym) to become a professional Sumo wrestler, they usually have a modern hair style. Then they let their hair long to make the "Mage" hair style with a hope to be a high-rank wrestler someday and get his tip of "Mage" into "O-ichou (Big Ginkgo)" style. So, it is a big moment for a wrestler when they get "O-ichou (Big Ginkgo)" with their "Mage" hair style for the first time in his career. Sometimes, a young wrestler has a conspicuous talent and get promotion very quickly to reach the high-rank which he is allowed to make "O-ichou (Big Ginkgo)" shape before his hair get enough length. In the case people see a short pony tail or a bent ponytail on his head among wrestlers with "O-ichou (Big Ginkgo)" at competitions as shown in the upper right end photo and the lower photo. Sumo fans enjoy seeing such a young wrestler, too, since it means he has a possibility to become a great wrestler.
Japanese say fall is "The Season of Good Appetite". Surely it is probably the biggest harvest season in Japan since the first rice of the year comes out in addition to various fall vegetables, and it's also the season for most nuts and mushrooms. Actually you can enjoy little harvest of fall even in town. When you see some people are roaming in parks and street-sides with plastic bags in this season, just like in the photos on the upper row, they may be doing ginkgo nuts picking. In Japan ginkgo trees are one of the very common kinds you can find at parks and street-sides. For example, in Hachioji City they are planted for 4.2 km (2.6 miles) along Koshu-kaido (Rd. 20), which is one of the oldest national roads, in Takao area. Although ginkgo has male trees and female trees and only female trees get nuts, you can check it easily in this season since ginkgo nuts growing in the blanches is quite visible as you can see in the upper right end photo. Also the smell of them is very easy to recognize. Frankly, it's really stinky. So, actually when you try ginkgo nuts picking, they looks like small brown fruits with wrinkles as shown in the lower left end photo. The nuts is still covered by the stinky pulp. Then you need to get rid of the stinky part from all the nuts and wash them before enjoying the taste. Well, it might sound too much trouble. Don't worry, of course supermarkets have ginkgo nuts which are already washed and they are not stinky at all. For those who love ginkgo nuts a lot, probably the work to get rid of the stinky pulp doesn't matter. In fact many people enjoy ginkgo nuts picking in this season. As you can see in the photos, now the ginkgo leaves are still in green but a little later it will turn into gorgeous yellow, then people can enjoy the beautiful view, too, when they pick ginkgo nuts. As for the photos of ginkgo nuts dishes above, the lower center photo shows roasted ginkgo nuts, and the lower right end photo is "ginkgo nuts rice" which I introduced in my post last year. To check the recipe of "ginkgo nuts rice", please click here!
