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Daimyos, geishas and a glimpse in history
Today is what? It’s 3rd of November. And why do we care about it? Because it’s a HOLIDAY~ ! That, plus the fact that the reason of skipping work is to honor 文化の日-“Culture day”. The closest cultural attraction to me was the Daimyo march in Hakone, a festival that is held yearly after WWII. Essentially,…
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Apparently, cherry trees in Yokohama were tricked into blooming in October! 🌸
Irregular cherry blossoms in autumn made big news back in Greece. My mom kept sending me articles about it, but I hadn’t witnessed anything like this in Tokyo. Alas, I was wrong! I was lucky enough to get to see the autumn blossoms in a tree near the campus entrance today. The experts say that…
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Views from Futako-Tamagawa hanabi
Today, I had the chance to attend the much-anticipated Tamagawa Hanabi, a spectacular fireworks event. But first, do you know what “hanabi” means? The term combines the Japanese words for “flower” (花) and “fire” (火), perfectly capturing the fleeting beauty of fireworks displays. Hanabi festivals are a quintessential part of Japanese summer, with events taking…
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Haedong Yonggung Temple (해동 용궁사 or 海東龍宮寺)
[Full size] A sign at the entrance describes it as “the most beautiful temple in Korea.” While Korean Buddhism is deeply rooted in mountain worship, this “temple of the Dragon of the East Sea” demonstrates that coastal landscapes can evoke a spiritual experience just as profound. Further proof: More content searchable with the tag #instead of…
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I love acoustic female vocals
[Featured: Artwork by Rutger van de Steeg] In my mind, nothing can’t emotionally move me more than female vocals. Most of the cases, the lyrics don’t even have to be meaningful, even mediocre is acceptable. The warmth and fragility of a female steady voice is unparalleled. Who I listen to now: Sasha Sloan – The Only…
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Cicadas
Most languages in the world contain specific words to describe animal cries, deriving from the actual sounds, but in a more abstract form. Those words are called ‘onomatopoeia’, which in greek means ‘to make name’. You can recognize onomatopoetic words from their repetitive patterns. Japanese language especially contains a large number of onomatopoetic words, to…
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