curious ordinary

Matt and Hiroko are so great. Hiroko just published a book about Japanese spirituality and I really loved it. It put so many things I'd read about into context and was also just a very enjoyable read.

Thank you for reading, & for your kind comment. She was definitely popular with female entertainers during the Edo period, & there is a print in my article showing their pilgrimage to her shrine on Enoshima. As a patron of the arts, and protector deity, I imagine they would have viewed her that way.

Benzaiten My pilgrimage to meet the goddess Benzaiten

Benzaiten is the Japanese goddess of all that flows including water, love, music, speech and knowledge. She is the only goddess among the seven lucky gods and is widely worshipped in both Buddhism and Shinto. I've written more about her here:
open.substack.com/pub/curiouso...
#InternationalWomensDay

Here's the tale of Amaterasu and the cave.
bsky.app/profile/curi...
#JapaneseFolklore

#InternationalWomensDay

I hope you enjoy your next trip!

I have only been twice, but I am longing to visit again.

Tsunakiri ika | Matthew Meyer (The Yokai Guy) Get more from Matthew Meyer (The Yokai Guy) on Patreon

This week: a new yokai to justify your fear of swimming in the ocean.

Meet tsunakiri ika, the rope-cutting squid. Straight out of your nightmares!

Read about it for free on my Patreon or on yokai.com -> www.patreon.com/posts/152446...

The pre-order still will be closing later this month. If you've been putting off pre-ordering Echizen-Wakasa Kidan, this is your last chance to get premium editions of the book, plus unique traditional Japanese crafts based on the yokai from the book that won't be available in stores!

A path leads towards a shrine with tall trees to each side and in the distance. On the path many deer are standing or sitting.

'Way to the Kasuga Shrine' - Yoshida Hiroshi, 1938.
#JapaneseArt

I love these words 🖤🖤🖤

I seem to have a lot of photos with cats too. 🙂

So gorgeous, thank you for sharing.

A white cat playing with a coloured ball with a long red string. A black cat lies nearby. Background is silver.

'Playing cats' - Takahashi Hiroaki, ca. 1930.
#Caturday #JapaneseArt

A black and white cat stands before a deck that leads into a room with a circular window with a view to a lush green garden beyond.

This gorgeous cat also seemed to enjoy visiting the Meigetsuin Zen Temple in Kamakura.
#Caturday #Japan

A black and white cat sits on pavers before a stone with a shimenawa in between designating the sacred space.

I was looking through some old photos from my first trip to Japan and found this one of a cat at a Shinto Shrine on Enoshima.
#Caturday #Shinto #Japan

official museum photo of the object, quarter turn profile small painted papier mâché figure of a chonky white / black / red dog with a bamboo basket on its head “They are used as lucky charms to pray for safe childbirth and the healthy growth of children. Safe Childbirth: Because dogs give birth relatively easily and have multiple puppies, they symbolize fertility and easy labor. Protection: They act as "guardian dogs" to ward off evil spirits and are believed to take on any physical misfortunes in place of the child. The "Basket-Wearing" Dog (Zaru-kaburi Inu) is a play on words: the kanji for "bamboo" placed over "dog" resembles the kanji for "to laugh", symbolizing a home filled with laughter and health (as the basket also helps "drain" away sickness).” (info via tokyo.yokai.tales)

i just love him ok

#Dog with Basket On Head (Zaru-Kaburi-Inu-Hariko)
Tokyo, Kanto District, Japan, 20th c.
Papier mâché, bamboo, paint
3 in. x 3 in. x 3 in. (7.62 cm x 7.62 cm x 7.62 cm)
Mingei International Museum 2001-69-022 collections.mingei.org/objects-1/in...
#DogsInArt #JapaneseArt

Ah, so that's why I haven't been able to get anywhere with my attempts to learn Japanese. 🤔 😂

A landscape scene with some buildings leading through fields to trees. The roof of a temple can be seen above the trees.

'Distant View of Daibutsu-Den' - Fujishima Takeji, 1948.
#JapaneseArt #shinhanga

A creature that looks like a weasel with long razor-like claws.

In #JapaneseFolklore kama itachi is a #yokai that in English translates as sickle weasel. They look like weasels with spiky fur and long razor sharp claws and appear riding on dust whirlwinds, sometimes barking like dogs. They move so fast that they become basically...
#FolkloreThursday
1/3

An octopus sits on a rock with large waves looming around it.

There is a strange Japanese tale from Shikoku Island about a fisherman named Yazaimon and a giant octopus. One day a giant octopus was having a sleep on a rock just off the coast of Kagawa. Yazaimon saw it there and thought how delicious it would be, so he climbed up...
#FolkloreThursday
1/4

A goddess in white rides on a white fox and has a torii crown. Below a man is standing looking over his shoulder at her.

'Aki no Kami Taira Kiyomori' from the series 'Characters from the Chronicle of the Rise and Fall of the Minamoto and Taira Clans' - Utagawa Kuniyoshi, 1840.
#JapaneseArt #ukiyoe

This is my favourite too.

I like the cool tones too.

Yes, the colours almost seem to glow.

I think it's my favourite too.

A set of dolls greet visitors for Hina Matsuri.

It's a little late, but the dolls are ready to greet the guests🎎🍑🙇‍♂️

#Kyoto #京都 #HinaMatsuri #ひな祭り #雛人形 #雛飾り #DollsFestival #Japan #DollsDay #dolls

🎎 Hinamatsuri 雛祭り 🎎

Hinamatsuri, celebrated every March 3rd, is a day wishing for the health, happiness, and prosperity of girls. It is one of the five seasonal festivals (五節句, gosekku) held on auspicious dates of the lunisolar calendar: the first day of the first month, ...

I like the way the light reflects on the water in that one, compared to the first greener one. Every time I look I notice new details.

I think it's my favourite too.