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...



The tea ceremony in Sengoku era

 Chano-yu ceremony was used as the way of leading many retainers,subordinates, by the Lord in Sengoku period. (I mistook the word "lord" in last time post.I'm sorry.)
The Lord Nobunaga was the collector of many precious tea utensils.
When his retainers did the good job,(for example,win the war) he gave his precious tea utensils to the retainers as rewards.
Such rewards as precious tea utensils were used for boosting the motivation of retainers.They were used for increasing the mood of subordinates.
Gradually,tea ceremony became the status symbol for samurai.They show off their status power by opening the tea ceremony.(Tea ceremony was permitted only distinguished retainers in Nobunaga era.)

Tea ceremony was also the only place where samurai had relaxing,pleasant time,after they had appalling wars.

Tenkawa Village

 

 

I visited Tenkawa Village,located in the middle of Nara today.
Spiritual place,because there is a pilgrimage route here.
The temperature is cool here,even in midsummer.
On the way,I met white sacred horse.
I think it's a good luck sign.

 

Thank you for visiting my blog,
My next update is May 28.

Rikyu and Hideyoshi

On Sunday,I'm watching "Sanada-maru",historical TV show. (NHK)
Rikyu,master of a tea ceremony,is one of the supporting character on this TV show.
He served Lord Hideyoshi,as a close advisor.
Rikyu pursued "Wabi-Sabi",which means simplicity,calmness,modesty.
But his Lord Hideyoshi was showy man,he didn't like Rikyu's style.
There is a feud between Rikyu and Hideyoshi,
And finally,Hideyoshi ordered Rikyu hara-kiri.(Rikyu died in 1591.)

This is a famous historical incident in Japan.
Rikyu was so influencial man,so he was always a menace for Lord Hideyoshi.

I'm not sure if I can see this story on Sanada-maru.
I'm looking for watching it on this Sunday.

Thank you for visiting my blog,