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The Oldest Shrine in Japan Worships The Holy Mountain
No, it’s not Mt. Fuji People usually call Omiwa Shrine （大神神社）Miwa-san, as if it were their close friend. It is said to be the oldest shrine in Japan. My mother is proud to have been visiting Miwa-san every first day of the month in the last 20 years or so. Rain or shine, she never…
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Why Hana Has Chosen to Work for This Small Studio in the Mountains
The magic of Oigawa Mempa Hana picked me up at the Shizuoka Station and we headed north. After about an hour’s drive, we reached Oiya 大井屋, the shop and the studio where Hana chose to work after graduating from the Traditional Arts Super College of Kyoto (TASK). The shop looked far from fashionable boutiques in…
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Her Obituary
A long-time friend passed away Yesterday I found out that a long-time friend of mine passed away almost a year ago. She was the very person that introduced me and my husband. We two couples used to get together often, like going to plays, celebrating New Year’s and the Fourth of July. But over time…
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I Bought Flowers for 24 People with A Little Hope to Change Their Lives
Just like it changed mine 30 years ago This morning I went to the wholesaler to buy flowers for 24 people. Twenty-four people who will try Ikebana, the Japanese flower arrangement, for the first time tomorrow! Each person will use only two kinds of materials: one kind of green branches and one kind of flowers. …
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Ghost of Tomoe: Lover and a Woman Samurai Warrior
Another ghost story from Noh plays When a Buddhist monk from Kiso came across a field near Lake Biwa, he saw a woman crying in front of a little shrine. When asked why she was crying, the woman told the monk that a famous samurai warrior Yoshinaka, also from Kiso, was enshrined there. The woman…
