Image search results - "gamo" - JAPAN PHOTOS by Philbert Ono

Image search results - "gamo"

Marker and side road to Lord Gamo (Gamoh) Ujisato's gravesite. Near Aizu-Wakamatsu City Hall. Gamo Ujisato (1556-1595) was a feudal lord from Hino, Shiga Pref. He built Tsurugajo Castle and named the town Wakamatsu, after a place in his hometown.

Ujisato was married to Oda Nobunaga's second daughter Fuyuhime. He died at age 40. One theory says that he was poisoned by Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Entrance to Lord Gamo Ujisato's gravesite within Kotokuji temple in Aizu-Wakamatsu, Fukushima..

Entrance doors to Lord Gamo Ujisato's gravesite within Kotokuji temple which is a Zen temple of the Rinzai Sect.

Family crest on door. (Not the Gamo crest.)

Grounds of Lord Gamo Ujisato's gravesite within Kotokuji temple. Since Ujisato was a Christian lord, it is ironic that he be buried in a Buddhist temple in Kyoto and Aizu-Wakamatsu.

Poem monument reads 限りあれば吹かねど花は散るものを心短き春の山風

Path to Lord Gamo Ujisato's gravesite

Lord Gamo Ujisato's grave.

Lord Gamo Ujisato's grave. This is a secondary grave, where his hair is buried. His main grave is at a temple in Kyoto where he died at age 40.

JR Sugamo Station on the Yamanote Line. 巣鴨駅

The tombstone has five segments each with a kanji character. 五輪塔

In front of JR Sugamo Station

Explanation of the kanji characters on the tombstone. From top to bottom, the characters are for "Sky, wind, fire, water, and earth."

Main road in front of JR Sugamo Station

Portrait of Lord Gamo Ujisato

Cherry blossoms near JR Sugamo Station

Kotokuji temple

Entrance to Sugamo Jizo-dori shopping street 巣鴨地蔵通り商店街

Sugamo Jizo-dori shopping street 巣鴨地蔵通り商店街「おばあちゃんの原宿」

The clothing shops are geared for elderly women. Sugamo is the fashion capital for elderly women. 「おばあちゃんの原宿」

Nakasendo road marker.

Most of the clothing items are price low, around 1,000 yen which might be affordable by people living on social security.

Hat shop

Sugamo Jizo-dori shopping street 巣鴨地蔵通り商店街

Kōgan-ji Temple (高岩寺)

Gate to Koganji temple, a famous spot along the shopping street.

Koganji temple. The temple's popular name is "Togenuki Jizo-son." It sells magic paper called osugata which supposed to remove a thorn or splinter from your skin. Affix it to the thorn and it will be extracted. とげぬき地蔵尊

Togenuki means thorn-extracting. Koganji temple incense burner

Koganji temple Hondo hall. This is a Zen temple belonging to the Soto-shu school. The temple was founded in 1596 and moved to Sugamo in 1891.

Inside Koganji temple Hondo. The temple houses the Togenuki Jizo statue which is not visible to the public.

Grounds of Koganji temple as seen from the Hondo hall.

People line up to wash the famous Kannon statue. The line gets longer on weekends.

People in line for the Arai (Washable) Kannon statue. Anybody can line up and scrub the statue. No charge.

Arai Kannon statue. Wash the part of the body to cure the corresponding part of your own body. 洗い観音

They used to have a tawashi brush to wash the statue, but that wore out the statue. So the replacement statue is now washed/rubbed with a towel instead.

Jizo statue

People relax in front of the temple.

The shopping street is quite long, going all the way to Nishi-Sugamo on the Mita subway line.

The famous red underwear. Supposed to keep you warmer. For men and women.

Umbrella shop

Tokyo Toden streetcar, Koshin-zuka Station.

My lunch. Ball-shaped gyoza. The skin is slightly crunchy.

Inside the gyoza restaurant are placards written by past customers boasting the number of gyoza they ate (or couldn't finish).

Way to Shimogamo Shrine.

Shimogamo Shrine is most famous for holding the annual Aoi Matsuri Festival.

Shimogamo Shrine map.

Shimogamo Shrine torii

On Jan. 4, Kemari hajime at Shimogamo Shrine starts at 1:30 pm. Free seating is provided, but getting there early assures you of a better view if you want to take pictures.

The kemari players include women. Kemari originated in China.

Besides free seating, they provide paid spectator seating in the two pavilions on the right and left. 2000 yen per seat.

But I got a good view from my free seat.

Kemari is held at other shrines at other times of the year.

The game is preceded by a ceremony.

The white kemari ball is made of deer skin.

US President George H.W. Bush, during a visit to Japan in Jan. 1992, tried to play kemari as if it were soccer. That embarrassment was overshadowed by him vomiting on the Prime Minister during a banquet.

The object of kemari is to keep the ball in the air. And whoever kicks the ball, must make it easy for the next person to kick it. But this is hard to do.