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.”
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.
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