Ken@Japan

If your lovely partner died, how wod you deal with his/her belongings? If you loved his/her so much, you may keep them on your hand. If you didn't love, then you may throw them away. In her case, it was a bit different.  When her husband died, she donated all of his belongings to a temple, which her husband established. The "she" is the Japan's imperial empress Kou-myo（光明皇后）, a wife of the 45th imperial emperor Shomu.（聖武天皇）.  When the emperor died in 756 AD, the empress decided to give the Shomu's mementos to Toudai-ji temple（東大寺）, known as a Buddhist temple with a big golden statue of Buddha.  The items, ranging from her husband's clothes, folding screens to his bed on which he had spent time with his wife, were stored in a traditional warehouse called "Sho-so in" （正倉院） in Nara. This is a historical origin of the treasury warehouse.  For another information, the empress also donated some medicines there, which the husband had taken in hope of ...

Ise Grand Shrine is the  most sacred shrine in Japan, comprised of two main buildings, 14 sub buildings, and 112 annexes.  These 128 shrines are located throughout Mie Prefecture and this shrine complex is officially called  “ Jingu （神宮） -the deities ’  palace ”  collectively. That said, people have called it   “ Ise Jingu ”  by pointing out that the two main buiding s, which are the central parts of the shrine ’ s religious service, are located in Ise city, Mie.  “ Grand Shrine ”  is an English word corresponding to “ Jingu ” . The two main buildings are   “ Koutai-Jingu Shrine （皇大神宮）”  and   “ Toyo-uke dai-jingu （豊受大神宮）” . The former is   called   “ Nai-ku （内宮 : Inner Shrine ）”  and the latter is   “ Ge-ku （外宮 : Outer Shrine ）”  popularily. In the inner shrine, Amaterasu-oo-mikami (Amaterasu), who is said to be the great ancestor of the imperial family and the supreme female deity representi...

The imperial family of Japan is deeply correlated to the nation's  indigenous  religion; shintoism. The mythology says that its founder-the first emperor is a divine  descendant  from the heaven above where divine beings are situated, and legendarily  the current emperor Akihito is its 126th heir. Based on this custom, the emperor himself serves the religious festivals periodically in a special shrine alter located within his imperial palace in Tokyo （宮中三殿： Kyu-chu sanden   – the three inner shrines in the   palace). In some occasions, the empress Michiko is with him for its religious service. Some articles report that the crown prince Naruhito has represented some of his father ’ s religious duties as the father is too old to stand the physical stress coming f r om the services as they should appear with a heavy traditional outfits and  solemn  manners based on its 2673-year traditions during the service. The imperial family held its c...

Sada Jinja Shrine（佐太神社）is located in Matsue city, Shimane Pref. A deity called Sada-no-ookami（ 佐太大神）  is enshrined in the central building among the three main buildings for the deities to live in.  The shrine's official chronicle tells that the deity is the same as Sarutahiko（Refer to my previous article: Tsubaki Ookami Yashiro Shrine ). In Japan's mythology, Sarutahiko guided a grandson-Ninigi of the heavenly deity "Amaterasu" when he was coming down from the heaven to the land of Japan. With this regard, Sarutahiko is seen as a great guide.  However, the shrine's head priest admits that the Sada-no-ookami is a mysterious being; no clues to know who the deity really is and no clear evidences that the deity is really Sarutahiko.  On September 24 and 25 every year (August in Lunar year), the shrine holds a festival to replace mats in the shrine's buildings with new ones（Goza-kae Shinji：御座替神事）. The head priest says that the mat replacement means "re...

Kouzu-no-miya Jinja Shrine（高津宮） is located in Osaka city and the 16th emperor Nintoku（仁徳天皇） is enshrined in the main building. According to the shrine's official chronicle, the emperor's palace used to be located right upon the shrine's place. The name "Nintoku"（仁徳） means "benevolence（仁）and goodness（徳）" and was given to him after his pass-away based on his good politics during his thrown time. The most famous story about his good achievements in politics is introduced in the official chronicle. Once upon a time, the emperor Nintoku came out of his palace and noticed that there were no smoke out of cooking stoves in his people's houses. The emperor came to know that people suffered from a food shortage so that they couldn't cook. Once he thought, he decided to cease taxation to people until the situation gets better. During the no-taxation time, the emperor decided to live modestly; he didn't buy a new cloth unless it was worn out, ...

St. John’s Co-Cathedral is a Catholic church located in Valletta, Malta’s capital city, and was established from 1573 to 1578 AD by knights of Malta who saved the nation from Turkish attempt of invasion. The establishment was started immediately after Siege of Malta in 1565, known as “one of the bloodiest and most fiercely contested in history” that knights of Malta guarded Malta from the Ottoman Empire’s invasion. Therefore, like the city itself, the cathedral looks a fortress.   The limestone-made exterior looks plain and modest as it doesn't have many decorations, but once you go inside, your eyes will open wide; you’ll be hooked on the sumptuous interior decorations. You’ll be surrounded by golden columns with sculptures of angels, saints and other Christianity-related objects. Fresco pictures on the ceiling and the floor are also an eye-opening decoration, too. The difference between its external and internal is quite impressive. In the main chapel...