Answer: These are the streetlights in Ame-Mura, which I thought looked pretty cool. They come in various positions and add a lot of character to the seeming "placelessness" of Osaka.
Showing posts with label What is This?. Show all posts
Showing posts with label What is This?. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
What is This? 6
Spotted: This weekend I did a little traveling on our three-day vacation and went to Osaka, Kobe, and Himeiji Castle. On the streets of America Village or "Ame-Mura" in Osaka I saw several of these tall, slender objets d'art lining the streets at various intervals. Seemingly ubiquitous and anthropomorphic in form, could this be Japan's next step in robotics technology?
Answer: These are the streetlights in Ame-Mura, which I thought looked pretty cool. They come in various positions and add a lot of character to the seeming "placelessness" of Osaka.
Answer: These are the streetlights in Ame-Mura, which I thought looked pretty cool. They come in various positions and add a lot of character to the seeming "placelessness" of Osaka.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
What is This? 5
Spotted: Masked women wielding wands and pots of potions in orange robes. A Hogwarts graduation ceremony? Perhaps not...
Answer: Part of the ritual procession at Kiyomizu Temple (my favorite temple in all of Japan!) involved in the annual 3-day Seiryu-e Festival. Today was the first day of the festival and I biked over there from Doshisha to check it out. Right as I arrived with my two friends at the ticket gate, the sound of conch shell horns wavered through the air. This was not my first visit to Kiyomizu temple, but the first time I saw any sort of ceremony there. The procession began with conch blowers parading through the temple grounds followed by these women donning masks porting bowls of sacred water and flicking it about the temple and into the crowds with these long wands. Monks with wooden clappers followed behind them with spear-bearing soldiers interspersed between them. The rhythm of the clapping wooden block, sounding of the conch horns, and chinking of the soldiers' spears on the ground almost created the effect of a choral procession traversing through the temples' gates and halls. Finally, the festival culminated with the emergence and passage of a large very frighteningly realistically rendered dragon! Definitely a traditional Chinese dragon and judging from all the water rituals probably associated with the sea in some way. It was pretty cool and needless to say well worth the 45 minute beautiful bike ride along the Kamogawa River.
The Dragon going up the stairs at the entrance to Kiyomizu Temple
Answer: Part of the ritual procession at Kiyomizu Temple (my favorite temple in all of Japan!) involved in the annual 3-day Seiryu-e Festival. Today was the first day of the festival and I biked over there from Doshisha to check it out. Right as I arrived with my two friends at the ticket gate, the sound of conch shell horns wavered through the air. This was not my first visit to Kiyomizu temple, but the first time I saw any sort of ceremony there. The procession began with conch blowers parading through the temple grounds followed by these women donning masks porting bowls of sacred water and flicking it about the temple and into the crowds with these long wands. Monks with wooden clappers followed behind them with spear-bearing soldiers interspersed between them. The rhythm of the clapping wooden block, sounding of the conch horns, and chinking of the soldiers' spears on the ground almost created the effect of a choral procession traversing through the temples' gates and halls. Finally, the festival culminated with the emergence and passage of a large very frighteningly realistically rendered dragon! Definitely a traditional Chinese dragon and judging from all the water rituals probably associated with the sea in some way. It was pretty cool and needless to say well worth the 45 minute beautiful bike ride along the Kamogawa River.
The Dragon going up the stairs at the entrance to Kiyomizu Temple
Sunday, September 6, 2009
What is This? 2
Spotted: During my first few days of orientation at Doshisha University (the home university where I'm doing my language study and taking classes), I noticed several of these signs posted in various parts of campus. At first I was not quite sure what this sign was supposed to be telling me. Lightning bolts + computer = ? Having freshly arrived from Cambodia where lightning bolts come from computers all the time, I thought it was a warning that the computer will shock you if you are not careful.
Answer: Apparently this sign is the Japanese indicator for wireless internet. I thought the universal symbol was the dot with radiating arcs coming from it, but this is what they use here in Japan.
Answer: Apparently this sign is the Japanese indicator for wireless internet. I thought the universal symbol was the dot with radiating arcs coming from it, but this is what they use here in Japan.
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