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Katsuura port with fishing boats.80 views
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Katsuura Lighthouse80 views
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When Oman-no-kata was 14, Katsuura Castle was beseiged by Hideyoshi's forces and she, her mother and little brother escaped near here by using a white sheet to go down the cliff to a small boat which took them to Tateyama.80 views
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Katsuura Lighthouse and cherry blossoms80 views
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Samurai laborers carrying luggage for a traveling daimyo.80 views
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Sarugaku is a centuries-old form of entertainment and a precursor to Noh and Kyogen.80 views
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A cluster of weeping cherry trees.80 views
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About the Former Imperial Audience Hall in English.80 views
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They had a large stage out front on the day I visited and these ribbons attached to the building.80 views
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Balcony railing.80 views
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Above the arch is the crest of the old university called Daiichi High School (Ichiko). 旧制第一高等学校80 views
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Going to board the Michigan paddlewheel boat.80 views
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Bow80 views
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It rained on this day on Oct. 10, 2010, so the floats were covered and the kabuki performance was delayed.80 views
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Pelican Fountain.80 views
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Keep off the grass. This is actually a German-style sunken garden.80 views
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Crane water fountain at Kumogata Pond in Hibiya Park. This is Japan's third oldest water fountain sculpture.80 views
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One corner of Hibiya Park is occupied by the Hibiya Kokaido, an outdoor concert venue. 日比谷公会堂80 views
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I went to Masumida Shrine on Jan. 1, 2011 in the morning when it was still not that crowded. 80 views
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Perfect day to shoot cherry blossoms.80 views
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Hachiman Park cherry blossoms.80 views
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Leaning torch. Unfortunately, I had to catch the last train home so I didn't have time to see this torch burning. Maybe next time.80 views
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Kitabatake Tomoyuki-kyo Grave. Kitabatake Tomoyuki (1290-1332) was a high-ranking Imperial Court official during the late Kamakura Period. National Historic Site 北畠具行卿墓80 views
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Hiroshige's woodblock print of Shinagawa-juku (2nd post town on the Tokaido) from his "Fifty-Three Stations of the Tokaido Road" series. 80 views
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Welcome Ceremony at LaForet Hotel in Moriyama. The tour was supposed to have 60 rowers, but many cancelled due to the sensationalized Fukushima radiation scare without understanding that Shiga was unaffected.80 views
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As the first mikoshi's scheduled arrival time nears, more people gather and climb the slope.80 views
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Omi Italian sausage. Hot dog like I've never tasted before. Very good.80 views
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An idol group perform in the Kaguraden. They are called Houkago Princess. They're not AKB48 who threw beans here 3 years ago. 放課後プリンセス80 views
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Foot bath at Yumoto Onsen Spa.80 views
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Hot spring well.80 views
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And the mikoshi are off on its first boat procession in 54 years. 80 views
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Tokyo Skytree Station80 views
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Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine straight ahead.80 views
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About the fallen gingko tree.80 views
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White heron and cherry blossoms.80 views
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Small island in Genpei Pond has Benzaiten Shrine.80 views
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Myohonji is a Nichiren Buddhist temple founded in 1260. Site was formerly the estate of the Hiki Yoshikazu, a senior retainer of Minamoto Yoritomo. The temple grounds is noted for cherry blossoms and other flowers.80 views
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Nitenmon Gate at Myohonji temple, Kamakura.80 views
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Nihonmatsu History Museum 二本松市歴史資料館80 views
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English translation of a Haiku poem by Basho, in reference to the temple buildings that were long gone when he visited.80 views
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Former Akimoto Villa built for the Akimoto clan who ruled Tatebayashi. 旧秋元別邸80 views
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Inside Former Akimoto Villa. 旧秋元別邸80 views
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I noticed that Geku was much less crowded than Naiku and apparently most people visit Naiku only. Lantern along the path to Geku.80 views
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A sip of sake at this booth.80 views
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Tsuchi-no-miya Shrine 土宮80 views
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Snake souvenirs for sale. Major Shinto shrines make much of their income during New Year's.80 views
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This is the first time they used this park for the festival. Closer to Lake Biwa so the wind should be stronger.80 views
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Afternoon flying session from 2:30 pm to 3 pm when the festival ended.80 views
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The kite pullers get ready to run. A small taiko drum beats, faster and faster.80 views
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Loco mock with hamburger, gravy, and egg. For only 270 yen at a local supermarket. Not good though.80 views
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Gyudon beef bowl80 views
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Tamagawa Josui Station80 views
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Honda80 views
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Tayasu Gate80 views
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Japan's smallest dotaku. 3.4 cm high.80 views
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Toshogu Shrine 東照宮80 views
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Tokyo Skytree and azalea and wisteria at Kameido Tenjin Shrine.80 views
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The Shibuya Kagoshima Ohara Festival is a Kagoshima dance parade held annually near Shibuya Station in Tokyo in May. About 2,200 dancers in 63 troupes dance along the Dogenzaka and Bunkamura-dori main roads for almost 3 hours from 1:20 pm to 4 pm.80 views
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Early air raids on Tokyo in 1942 and 1944.80 views
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Directions80 views
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Where the castle palace once stood.80 views
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Hakkei-tei80 views
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Rakuraku-en or Rakuraku no Ma. In the 1800s, the 12th lord Ii Naoaki built an annex building called Rakuraku-en which faces the garden. 楽々園80 views
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Near the University of Shiga Prefecture is Kiwada Shrine dedicated to Susanou-no-mikoto and Emperor Chuai for protection against stormy winds and for a good harvest.80 views
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In 1994, this gate and a yagura turret in the ninomaru were re-constructed out of wood.80 views
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Ninomaru80 views
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You can go inside the reconstructed ninomaru structure.80 views
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Hiko-nyan at 2016 Tokyo Marathon.80 views
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Kyoto Shimbun article mentioning the song's roots in the UK, May 27, 201580 views
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Shiba Park has fine views of Tokyo Tower.80 views
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Maruyama Tumulus is a cherry blossom spot in spring.80 views
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They fired twice.80 views
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Firing matchlock guns at Chimoto at 2 pm. 小田原北條鉄砲衆80 views
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Hanada Masaru80 views
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The procession crossed the Yumoto Ohashi Bridge and ended at 2:30 pm at Hakone Fujiya Hotel.80 views
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Robert Irwin spent his summers in Ikaho from when he bought the villa in 1891 until 1925 when he died. It was an inn when he bought it.80 views
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Second floor has tatami mats. The second floor is open to the public only on weekends and during the hula festival in summer.80 views
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Koa calabash bowl from Hilo, Hawaii to mark Ikaho's 100th anniversary in 1989.80 views
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Obituary for Robert Walker Irwin in a Philadelphia Monday Morning newspaper in 1925.80 views
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About Irwin80 views
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My room80 views
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East Gate ticket gate80 views
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Omote Shoin (表書院) Main Hall's San-no-Ma Room 三之間.80 views
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Paintings show scenes from Wakayama.80 views
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Entrance hall80 views
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One floor recreates an Edo-Era street.80 views
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Scale model of Hommaru Goten palace.80 views
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Inside the woodshop, curved wooden beams for the palace.80 views
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Naginata80 views
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Kendo80 views
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Everyone ate their shiruko on the Budokan floor.80 views
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Bon Dance Panel 4 - From Bon Odori to Bon Dance80 viewsIn the 1950s, Hawai’i's Japanese community shifted from the issei to the nisei and the "bon odori" began transforming into a Hawai’i-style "bon dance."
Bon dances got infused with new songs based on Hawai’i's lifestyle and Hawai’i-themed songs composed in Japan. The old "Hole-hole-bushi" song sung by Japanese laborers in the sugar plantations got a new version composed by Japanese composer Raymond Hattori in 1957 at Columbia Records in Japan. In the 1960s, Buddhist bon dance songs like Bukkyo Odori, Daishi Ondo, and Shinran Ondo were also introduced. Likely due to the bon dance's strong connection with Buddhist temples. ("Bukkyo" means Buddhism, "Daishi" is an honorific title for a Buddhist sect's founder, and "Shinran" is the name of the founder of the Jodo Shinshu Sect.)
Even today, the bon dance is the largest social gathering of nikkei in Hawai’i. Even without understanding the Japanese language, young and old alike can dance to Japanese songs and enjoy the bon dance. Originally, the bon odori was for the Japanese to reaffirm their Japanese identity. After the war, it has become an event reflecting Hawai’i's melting pot. Today, we often see people from other ethnicities enjoying the bon dance.
Panel photos: Top photo is a bon dance food stand at Kona Hongwanji on the Big Island. Bottom photo is a bon dance at Lahaina Jodo Mission on Maui showing non-nikkei dancers.
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Bon Dance Panel 6 - Bon Dance Songs Still in Use80 viewsThe songs played at bon dances in Hawai’i are either recordings from CDs or tapes or performed live. Recordings include modern ondo songs like Tanko-bushi and Pokemon Ondo. New recorded songs are also added every year. Songs performed live have a deep connection to the specific prefecture from where immigrants hail.
In 1924 when Japanese immigration was banned, the Japanese population in Hawai’i was 125,361. Most of them came from (in order of the highest number): 1. Hiroshima, 2. Yamaguchi, 3. Kumamoto, 4. Okinawa, 5. Fukuoka, 6. Niigata, 7. Fukushima, and 8. Wakayama. Of the five prefecture-specific bon dance songs that were performed in Hawai’i until the postwar years, only three of them have survived: Iwakuni Ondo (from Yamaguchi), Fukushima Ondo (from Fukushima), and Eisa (from Okinawa).
Table shows the number of immigrants from each prefecture and their percentage in the Japanese population in Hawai’i (same order as listed above from 1 to 8). Right column shows the five prefecture-specific bon dance music genres that they practiced.
Panel photo shows Eisa drummers at the Okinawan Festival at Kapiolani Park in Honolulu in 2013.
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German beer80 views
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During cherry blossom season, boats often come and go at Kaizu-Osaki Port.80 views
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Railway Museum highlight: The first locomotive used on Japan's first railway between Shimbashi and Yokohama in 1872. Imported from the UK, a Class 150 steam locomotive – No. 180 views
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The Honden is flanked on both sides by smaller shrines.80 views
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Rabbits or hares at Izumo Taisha, symbol of fertility and marriage.80 views
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East Jukusha Shrines where the millions of visiting gods lodge during the Kami-ari-zuki festival in autumn. There's also a twin building on the west side. 十九社 八百萬神80 views
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Izumo Taisha ema prayer tablet for a good marriage.80 views
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Small dishes for a sip of sake if you give a small donation. They also had this in front of the Honden. 80 views
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Within the shrine grounds is the very impressive Shimane Museum of Ancient Izumo. (島根県立古代出雲歴史博物館)80 views
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High wooden pillars supporting the Honden Hall so that it is closer to the gods.80 views
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Enoshima Station80 views
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Old photo of Enryokan State Guesthouse.80 views
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Priests throw wooden goma prayer tablets (written with people's wishes) into the fire.80 views
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Lake Biwa (blue) in Shiga Prefecture highlighted in pink.80 views
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Ancient painting on stone wall79 views
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Hiking trail79 viewsIt was very lush with forest, berries, mushrooms, and lichen.
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Reindeer79 viewsOn the way to Julma Ölkky, we saw reindeer. They started running as soon as they saw us.
この地域では、トナカイとよく出会う。野生と見えるが、所有者がいる。首輪もあって所有者の連絡先が載っている。事故（例えば車と）があった場合に所有者に連絡できるようになっている。
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Tree79 views
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Forest floor79 views
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Cycling path in Azuchi near Lake Nishinoko.79 views
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Cycling path in Azuchi near Lake Nishinoko.79 views
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Omi-Shiotsu Station with an old 111-series JR train.79 views
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Some scenery from the road between Nagahara and Sugaura.79 views
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Chikubushima island in the distance79 views
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The maruko-bune boat is a symbol of Nishi-Azai town which is now part of the city of Nagahama.79 views
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On Aug. 9, the Jizo statues are lit with candles.79 views
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View from Kitanomaru79 views
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Gift shop79 views
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Side torii79 views
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Dignitaries at the torch relay starting ceremony.79 views
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Looking toward Matsuya Dept. Store.79 views
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View from top79 views
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There's a Web site that shows the condition of the blooming blossoms every day during March. So you know when to go.79 views
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JR Tachikawa Station entrance79 views
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Serving free sake.79 views
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Aoi-ren79 views
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The torch procession goes from Gosha Shrine to Hibarino park.79 views
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