Uncategorized
The New Year is the most important holiday in Japan. It is a time for families to gather, but it is also an important event. It is our custom to cleanse our house and visit the temple to expel evil spirits so that on New Year’s Eve we can be ready to welcome Toshigami [god of the incoming year] and receive a blessing.”
Uncategorized
I have always been behind the popular trends on social media such as Facebook, Instagram, and especially blogging. My experiences in The karyukai-“the flower and willow world” were personal and private, and I thought that they should only be shared with people I knew and trusted not with just anyone who had an internet connection Now that I am 50 years old and have had some health problems recently, I have decided it is time to not only share some selected stories that I was fortunate to have over nearly three decades living, working and playing in the various hanamachi communities, but also how I cultivated relationships with people within the districts.
Read more “Life In the flower and willow world”
Documentary
Read this Review in Kyoto Journal
Review by Lucy Birmingham
Think geisha, and you’re bound to visualize an exotic creature from a languishing willow world with a secretive life hidden behind closed shoji. Films, television and books have perpetuated the geisha myth as temptress meant for pleasure. There has never been a film that unveils these artisans and entertainers as simply modern women — until now. “Real Geisha Real Women,” is a remarkable documentary that opens the shoji for us all, if only for 52-minutes. It allows us a peek into the private lives of 10 active and retired Kyoto geisha (known as geiko in the ancient capital) and maiko (apprentice geisha). Two men who work among them also add their historical and insider perspectives.
Read more “Review of Real Geisha Real Women”
Flowers
Fragrant jasmine is now in bloom. This bush is at the Matsubara bridge on the Kamo River.
