Takayama Inari Shrine and Hirosaki Pagoda

You're all very lucky because you're getting two updates in one day! This post will be about a couple of place I have been lucky enough to visit this weekend.

Shrines in Japan

Before getting too far into this, I want to tell you all a little bit about shrines in Japan. At the entrance of a shrine or of sacred ground, there is a Torii gate. This marks that approach and entrance of a shrine.
Komainu are a pair of guardian dogs or lions that are often found on each side of a shrine's entrance. In the case of Inari shrines (shrines honoring the God Inari) these statues will be foxes instead, as the fox is seen as a messenger for Inari.
These shrines will also have Shimenawa, or straw ropes with white paper strips, hanging above them. This marks the boundary of something sacred.
The purification trough is found near the entrance as well. The water found here is used to purify your hands and mouth before approaching the main hall or shrine. You do this by taking the ladle provided, filling it with fresh water, and rinsing both hands. Start with your left hand, your right hand, then your mouth. Do NOT return any water from the ladle to the fountain and dispose of it beside it to the ground instead.
The main or offering hall is where you throw a coin into the offering box (usually 5 yen) and ring the large bell there to get the Kami's (God) attention. Then you bow twice, clap your hands twice, and bow again before praying.

Hirosaki's 5-story Pagoda

Yesterday, a few of us walked to the 5-story pagoda in Hirosaki. It was closed to the public by the time we got there but the shrine itself is always open and I was able to get a picture of the pagoda!



This is the first shrine I have ever been to. Thankfully I had studied up on Japanese shrines during my college capstone paper so I knew what to do but it was definitely still a momentous event! I am far from being a religious person but if there were one religion I could jive with, it would be Shintoism. The sacred feeling of this shrine put me at peace and the rhythm and ceremony of paying your respects to the shrine and its Kami brings a sense of thoughtfulness and tranquility.

Takayama Inari Shrine

Today, myself and 3 of the other Hirosaki ALTs took a trip to the Takayama Inari Shrine in Tsugaru City. This shrine is similar in appearance to the famous Fushimi Inari shrine in Kyoto but it is not as large.
The first building we passed was one where you could buy small fortunes and lucky, blessed) Omamori (or charms).

You can see the very thick shimenawa rope with its white paper strips here very clearly!

 
Here you can see one of the Komainu statues. There was another on the other side of the path, guarding the entrance into the shrine.


Here is a monk climbing the stairs to the shrine just past the Komainu statues. You can also see one of the small shimenawa ropes marking the entrance to sacred land.


A pair of fox statues guarded the foot of the staircase that led to all the torii gates. The Japanese believe that all living and non-living things have souls or awareness so you'll often see statues dressed up like this!


This is a picture of one of the shrines, as there are multiple within the compound. It is hard to see in the picture past the torii but there is a large, thick shimenawa rope hanging overhead and the two ropes you see hanging down are to ring the large bells. The offering box sits just at the top of the steps.


This was a long line of guardian statues. As you can see, they've all been given "clothing"! I thought it was sweet and very thoughtful that even the smallest of guardians was given something. Like the ones below. It is obviously old but this couple had one as well. There was also money (1 yen) being left on most of them. I left some behind for this cute couple as well as a few others as thanks for their jobs well done.


Finally!! What I'm sure you've all been waiting for:


This picture was taken from the top of the shrine's path. You can see how this shrine resembles the Fushimi Inari in Kyoto! The only difference is that there are less torii gates and they are not as big. It was still a beautiful sight to see.

Overall, though both of these shrines were different from each other in obvious ways, they were both wonderful experiences. Experiences I will definitely be having again! I hope you all enjoyed this update and please feel free to send along any questions you may have about Japan or shrines!

中体連 - Sports days!

Hello everyone! I would like to apologize once more for the delay and large gap in posting! I
have been exhausted lately and terribly busy since school has begun and is in full swing. I
wanted to update you all on what I have been up to lately. I have not had the chance to go
out and explore much more because of school.

BUT, I did just get the chance to participate in Hirosaki’s 中体連 (chuutaiden)！A chuutaiden
is a city-wide sports festival where all Hirosaki junior high school sports teams compete. It
is not a tournament or competition so there is no prize for the winning teams. However, it is
a really fun way for the students to compete with others and show off how hard they have
all been working! Plus, if you get bragging rights over the other ALTs, that’s just a bonus! I
was not able to go around and see everyone compete, but I did cheer on our softball team
both days. Softball is not my favorite sport (let’s be honest, I don’t really like sports much at
all) but teachers and students are assigned teams to cheer for if they do not participate with
one in particular. I had no problem going to cheer on our girls with three other teachers and
close to 50 students!

That is another thing about this type of event. All staff and students are required to go
unless they are taking a test at school even though this event occurred on Saturday and
Sunday! In Japan, many students (especially junior or senior high third years) go to school
on a weekend to take tests, study, or participate in club activities. So, my Saturday and
Sunday were spent out in the sweltering heat and sun with my children! It was very hot and
sunny both days, so we sat the children and ourselves in the shade as much as possible
and made sure everybody had drinks. Side note, another amazing thing I have found in
Japan to keep the heat away (though they are meant for fevers) are these beauties! They
are fever reducing patches for your forehead and they are very cold when you stick them
on! Many of us used them that weekend. Now, I do not want to sound like I am complaining
about having to participate because it was quite fun! I also received Tuesday and
Wednesday as compensation days off, so it isn’t like we were working extra-long weeks
either.

We all used little yellow megaphones and cheered our girls on, did school chants, and I got
into it. The students and team really enjoyed (read: found it funny and encouraging) when
their bad-at-Japanese American ALT cheered and sang along in Japanese! I was proud to
be able to loudly tell my students “いいよね！” (iiyone – That was good!), “ドンマイ！”
(Don’t mind), and “頑張!” (Do your best!). I also noticed more of the children watching got
more into cheering when us teachers joined in so it’s true that they tend to follow by
example.

Our softball team won the first day but lost the second. Our baseball team also won all but
their final game that weekend (one game they won was four hours long!). I am not sure
how our other teams did (tennis, boys’ and girls’ basketball, volleyball, soccer, badminton,
and track and field) but they all had their own cheer squads too.

So, even though I ended up giving up a weekend, I thoroughly enjoyed my time with my
kids and got to speak with them a bit more. I have also found that, so far, I really enjoy the
teamwork and support aspect of Japanese culture. Though it may be a bit inconvenient
sometimes, these students and teachers give up much of their free time to support each
other and cheer each other on. You can see how grateful everybody is that receives this
support and they show their gratitude by bowing to the cheer groups at the end of each
game. They are all very hard workers and my first ever chuutaiden was a great, fun
experience!

That’s all until next time! My school will be having their yearly festival next week so I will be
able to update about that experience as well so please look forward to it!