Sunday, November 02, 2003
Pics of Kashihara area...


Sexy lens flare... ooh baby! The first four Chinese characters/kanji on the sign read the name of the legendary first emperor of Japan: "Jimmu Tenno" or in Chinese, Shen Wu Tian Xing (lit. "The Divine Martial Strenth of Heaven's Star") How come I can't have a cool name like that? This sign was right in front of the path to the Kashihara Jingu shrine.


Nice looking building... not sure what it was for. Couldn't understand the sign in kanji...


Getting some holy water for a drink from a fountain near the shrine. Next to the water were two traditional bamboo scoops for people to draw water with.


The gate to the shrine... note the lines along the ground. That's the meticulously raked gravel...


A gate to another nearby park, which I think was a burial site/ memorial for Japanese soldiers and sailors who died in the Second World War.

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It's interesting that here in Japan, nearly ever nook and cranny of the country is packed with history. I suppose it's logical, considering both how old Japan is as a country and how small the habitable land area is. Shrines, temples, and parks can be found just about everywhere. Quite a change for my American self - our young country still lacks anything close to a 2000 year history.

Many of my Japanese students had no idea of what was at Kashihara Jingu - only 2 of the perhaps 20 students I asked knew. Of course, most Americans probably have no idea who's buried in Grant's Tomb or that there was a war in 1812... just watch "Jay Walk" on the "Tonight Show" if you doubt the average citizens' complete ig'nance to history.

Yeah, I guess I'm geeky like that... history, museums, and old things in general fascinate me.

Also... Kashihara Jingu has some pretty freak'n huge spiders lurking in the trees... some of the webs they spun could probably trap a midget or Gary Coleman. The only place I've seen bigger spiders: Brasil.

Kowai! Scary.

Random note: I getting very excited about seeing the new Matrix movie. I've already bought my theatre ticket. Average movie ticket price here in Japan is about 1500 yen or 15 bones... yikes. Oh well... it'll be worth it!

*shakes fists* <--- mannerism stolen from James.

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in?scrip?tion (n-skrip-shun)n.
1. The act or an instance of inscribing.
2. Something, such as the wording on a coin, medal, monument, or seal, that is inscribed.
3. A short, signed message in a book or on a photograph given as a gift.
4. The usually informal dedication of an artistic work.
5. Jeremiah 31:33

the facts.
name. Gar AKA "that Chinese guy" "Sleepy.McSleeping"
ethnicity/nationality. Chinese/American, 4th gen.
location. Sea-Town, WA, USA Kawanishi, JAPAN
occupation. less-cynical poor grad student
age. younger than you think, older than you know

 



 

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