Autumn scenery of Tofuku-ji Temple,Kyoto 2016 December

 

Last Sunday,I visited Tofuku-ji Temple,Kyoto.

First, I thought that autumn leaves might already be over there,I missed the time,

but it was all in my mind.

Fortunately they showed us beautiful colored lealves,even now.

 

If you 're planning to visit Kyoto in autumn, (from the end of November to the beginning of Descember),

Tofuku-ji Temple is must-see place.

The beauty of the garden deserves a special mention.

 

 

 

This garden is called "Ikimatsu-no-niwa" (依稀松の庭）

 It is named "kusen-hakkai no niwa" (nine mountains,eight seas garden)　（九山八海の庭）.

Eight seas and nine mountains surrounds Mt.Sumeru.

Please look at the stone,center of this garden,

it symbolizes Mt.Sumenu.It is related to Buddhism.

 

 

There was a little park of maple trees,

I was glad to be there! It was so beautiful.

The name of this temple is Aizen-do.

It was built about 700 years ago.(Nanboku-cho era)

It enshrines Aizen-myouou (ragaraja).

Next time I'll apload the remaining photos.

 

Sanada Museum in Kudoyama,Wakayama prefecture

I visited Kudoyama in Wakayama yesterday.
This is the place where Sanada Masayuki and his son stayed (1600 - 1614 approx).
And In March,this year,Sanada Memorial Museum was built here in Kudoyama,
in order to celebrate the achievement of Sanada family.
Autumn leaves were colored beautifully.

 

This is Sanada Museum in Kudoyama,Wakayama prefecture,

crowded with many sightseers.

This museum ties up with drama "Sanada-maru".It contributes to the increase of sightseers in Kudoyama town.

 

These explanations and maps are very helpful for us to learn about this Sengoku era.

This is red armor suits of Sanada family.

 Here in Kudoyama,every souvenirs,even beers,seem to take advantage of the popular Sanada boom.

This is Kirin Beer,Sanada version. We'll enjoy it afterwards.

 

 

Autumn scenery of Watarase Valley,South Nara

 

Last Sunday,I visited Mitarai River in South Nara.

This valley is famous for its beautiful autumn scenery.

The road is very narrow as you see,

so this time,I parked the car beforehand,and walked this road,seeing the autumn scenery.

 

 

 

 

 

After seeing autumn view,I got back to the parking place.

Momiji Matsuri,autumn event were being held here.

There were many food boothes here,

I tried fried venison.It was nice.

 

Thank you for coming to this blog :)

 

Disguise Samurai festival in Kyoto (Jidai Matsuri) on October 22.2016

Yes,we met Halloween disguised people in Kyoto coincidentally :)

No,I'm kidding,sorry. It was the end of last month (October 22),when we were driving near Keihan Sanjo station, coincidentally we met disguised people marching around Kyoto city.

Yes,it was Jidai Matsuri,one of autumn festival events in Kyoto.

We were lucky,so we took many photos of them.

They disguise ancient people of each era in Japan,as you can see in these photos.

There were so many viewers including foreign sightseers along the street,watching this march.

The traffic was not stopped for this march,so when the light turned red,they had to stop marching and wait until the light turn blue. Later I heard that this march continued about 3 hours,it must have been exhausting for them.

Anyway,it was so lucky day for us,we could see such a wonderful scene.

 

 

 

 

Sanadamaru (historical drama)

Sanada Nobushige was one of Hideyoshi's favorite retainer.
The reign of Hideyoshi went well, there was no war throughout the country.
Hideyoshi's family and retainers were under protection of Hideyoshi in Osaka Castle.
But after Hideyoshi's death, Hideyoshi's family was so vulnerable.
Many retainers abondoned Hideyoshi's family.They shifted side to other strong loads,like Ieyasu.
But Sanada Nobushige never abondoned Hideyoshi's family until the very end.
Finally Ieyasu began to attack Osaka Castle.Nobushige fought back against Ieyasu in order to help Hideyoshi family,although the odds were against him.

He is so brave and reliable man,that is why his heroic episodes have been handed down from generation to generation.

That is the rough outline of "Sanadamaru" drama :)
Thank you for reading this post.

Chacha

Sengoku era was so tempestuous,chaotic,turbulent period. Daimyo,feudal lords tried every means to survive this kill-or be killed age. Sometimes they join hands with each other,on the other hand,betrayals also occured frequently.
And women didn't have a choice as to who they would marry.
Marriage was used as a political tool in this era.

Chacha's mother,Ichi,married twice.
Ichi's first husband was Asai (Chacha's father).
This marriage was so political,because Nobunaga,Ichi's brother, forced Ichi to marry with Asai,because he wanted to ally with Asai family.
At first,the relationship between Nobunaga and Asai was amicable.
But this amicable relation didn't last long.
Nobunaga attacked Asai,and destroyed them (in 1573).

Luckily Ichi and her daughter Chacha were helped by Nobunaga's retainer.

Ichi's second husband was Shibata,one of the closest retainer of Nobunaga. They married in 1582.
But unfortunately,Shibata was defeated by Hideyoshi at war in 1583. Shibata and Ichi died by harakiri unfortunately.

Luckily Chacha was helped by Hideyoshi.He didn't kill Chacha,maybe because she was only a little girl.
Hideyoshi made Chacha his concubine.

Thank you for reading this post.
Wishing you'll have a great day.

Sanada Nobushige

 

Sanada Nobushige

 

This is true story,not fiction.

He was born (in 1567) and raised in Ueda,Nagano prefecture.He is second son of Sanada Masayuki.

His elder brother is Nobuyuki.

First,he and his family served Oda Nobunaga.

But in 1582,Nobunaga was assassinated by his disloyal retainer,Akechi Mitsuhide,at Hon-nou-ji Temple. It was surprise attack in midnight.

This incident is called "Honnouji no Hen",very famous incident in Japanese history.

Nobushige and his family lost their Lord.

After the death of Nobunaga,the next coming man was Hideyoshi,the closest retainer of Nobunaga.

After that incident,luckily Nobushige became horse guard of Hideyoshi.

 

To be continued...