#Odawara Flower Garden

[ayanos-pl]

小田原フラワーガーデン。また行きたいな。

[pix4japan]

Castle Inner Moats and Gardens

Once you cross the outer moats and pass through the outer gates of Odawara Castle (Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan), there still remain the inner moats and inner gats you must pass through to reach the gate. Nowadays, the inner moat of this castle has been filled in and converted into numerous expansive flower beds that create a nice park for families, young couples, and elderly folks to stroll and enjoy regardless of the castle itself.

Access info & references:

https://www.patreon.com/posts/odawara-castle-54175862

[asterinjapan]

Of Buddhas and cats (or: black and white)

Hello again after a hot and surprisingly long day in Tokyo!

After getting up so early yesterday, I set my alarm for 8:15, mostly so I could wash my hair before breakfast (which ends at 9:30). I was too tired to actually get up at that time however, so I decided to never mind and just be in time for breakfast.

It was very hot today, right from the early morning onward. The weather forecast had predicted a cloudy morning and sunshine later, and you can usually count on the Japanese weather forecast to be more-or-less reliable, so I just assumed it would be. Time to visit some outdoors locations it was!

I picked the locations I needed non-JR trains for, since I have a JR pass I can use starting August 2, so it’d be a bit of a waste to go to places by JR train if I can do it later for free. And hey, it helped me narrow down my options for today. I decided to take the Tobu Tojo line first, to Shimo-Akatsuka. I had found this location on a random website, which I had open on my cellphone because long live the modern age and free wi-fi, haha. The website instructed to leave the station, turn left, and then walk for 20 minutes straight until there was a plate pointing at the Botanical Gardens. Those are instructions even I can’t mess up on, and indeed, after walking for about 20 minutes I ran into the plate.

No, I wasn’t actually going to the Botanical Gardens. The temple I intended to visit is Jorenji, except it’s apparently such a frequently visited spot that they didn’t even bother with separate street signs for it, pfff. There are some hints, though – a nearby street is called Tokyo Daibutsu, and there’s a noodle shop with the same name. Hmmm.

Anyway, right at the turn for the botanical gardens, I ran into the temple entrance I was looking for. If you know a little Japanese and/or listened to my ramblings in previous years, you might already know that Daibutsu means Great Buddha, and that’s exactly what I came here for. Now, in the cities of Kamakura and Nara are giant Buddha statues that are incredibly famous and well-known, but until I clicked that website, I had no idea Tokyo even had one of its own. Granted, it’s way more recent than the aforementioned ones, but still! You’d think they want to cash in on giant statues, but nope, entrance was free. (This is pretty surprising since usually you have to pay to visit temples, even if it’s just 100 yen or something. The very famous and popular ones can go up to 1000 yen. For reference: 100 yen is slightly less than 1 euro.) And after climibng the stairs to enter through the gate, you only had to turn right to spot the Buddha of Tokyo. It’s much taller than I thought, I think it’s like 13 meters tall? It’s actually the third largest bronze Buddha of Japan, apparently. It’s hard to see on the pictures though, so I tried to take a picture with someone else in it for reference. That’s harder than it sounds, because this temple is not exactly as busy as Nara or Kamakura. Which is a shame, because the area is quite lovely. The (black) Buddha statue sits on a lotus, and there are actually artificial ponds nearby with lotus flowers! There’s also an actual pond with koi fish, and quite some statues to discover. It’s not a huge area, but since it’s not super busy, I’d definitely recommend this visit from Tokyo. The only drawbacks are the walk (if you’re walking in 32 C with the sun burning it’s not quite comfortable, let me put it that way) aaaand well, if you go in summer with the bugs buzzing and a pond nearby…. Yeah, bug bites. My legs kinda look like battle zones at this point, oops.

I braved the walk and kept to the shadows, but I was glad I had brought my fan with me today, because phew, it sure was getting hot, especially after two slightly cooler days. Anyway, thankfully the train back to Ikebukuro was airconditioned, so I could cool down a bit as I decided where to go next.

I had lunch at Ikebukuro station, for which I was looking for a specific food stands, but I couldn’t find it anymore because it turns out I’d walked too far and ended up in the wrong warehouse. Yeah, that’s right – Ikebukuro station has at least 3 different warehouses, all at least 8 stories high. My hometown barely has one warehouse, and this is inside a station. I really felt like a country bumpkin, being amazed over that, haha.

Anyway, by then I’d made my decision about where to go next. I first went to Shinjuku station (yaaay, my favourite – it’s so huge it’s almost impossible to not get lost) to transfer to the Odakyu line. That’s the line that goes all the way to Odawara (on the way to Hakone), but I had the local version of it, which stops at every stop including the one I needed: Gotokuji.

Gotokuji is also the name of the temple I was going to visit, but apparently that didn’t matter enough for them to put up plates, pff. Luckily, Google maps came to my rescue! It led me straight through the neighbourhood, but let me tell you: if you want to visit this temple, be sure to type in Gotokuji ENTRANCE in Google maps. I just typed in Gotokuji, which led me to the temple alright – except it was to one of the three (out of four total) gates that was closed. Turns out I had to be on the entirely other side of the complex, which isn’t exactly small. In the summer heat…

Eventually I found the one entrance I could use, and I noticed some more tourists now, surprisingly many foreigners. The temple complex looks very normal, until you take a closer look at the pagoda: it has tiny cats carved in it. And if you turn right there, you will see exactly why this temple in the middle of a normal neighbourhood still draws in foreign tourists.

You see, this temple is famous for one thing: beckoning cats (maneki-neko). The story goes that the temple used to be very small, owned by a poor monk and his cat. One day a group of samurai passed the temple, and the cat beckoned for them. They found this so peculiar that they followed to cat inside, and then thunder struck (according to some stories, it struck the exact tree they’d been seeking shelter under). One of the samurai then donated tons of money to the temple, making it prosper and making the beckoning cat a symbol of bringing in prosperity. Or well, good business – which is why you’ll often see them in front of Japanese restaurants in the west.

So, one beckoning cat. Naturally a statue was made, and then another, and then another, because everyone wanted a cat to place at the temple to bring good luck. And now, there are literally hundreds to thousands of tiny to not so tiny white cat statues, all exactly the same savev for their size, neatly set up in this small area. Tons and tons of cats all beckoning. No points for guessing what everyone came to see, haha.

There’s a bit more to the complex, as it’s also ‘just’ a Zen temple (and you’re not allowed to actually enter a Zen temple, so the cats are the biggest draw to this complex). And of course, there’s a little shop where you can buy a cat of your own and put it with the rest outside (or you know, keep it because it’s cute – shush, the money gained from the sales goes directly into the temple anyway). I got a couple, mooched off the wi-fi to send some pictures home, and then slowly started to make my way back to the station.

This was only a ten minute walk, but I was still glad once I hit the station, what with the heat. Back in Ikebukuro, I ‘just’ wanted to check one store, but I ended up shopping for like an hour, haha. In the end, my feet started protesting quite a bit, so I got dinner and called it a day. (I actually wanted to do karaoke, but meh, I still have 2 full weeks left, so I will soon enough).

So here I am, fresh out of the shower and preparing for tomorrow, when I’ll be meeting up with my Japanese friend again to go to Ueno. In the evening, we’ll attend the Sumidagawa hanabi – the fireworks of the river Sumida. When I went there in 2010, a million (!) people did the same, so it’ll be quite a bit busier than it was today, haha.

Well, off to bed now, good night and see you tomorrow!

[chanoyu-to-wa]

Appendix:  the Rikyū Hyakkai Ki, Part 16:  (1590) Eleventh Month, Eleventh Day, Evening.

36) Shimotsuki, Evening of the Eleventh Day¹.

￮ Ha Yo-ichi sama [羽與一樣], alone².

￮ 4.5-mat [room]³.

￮ Shi-hō-gama  [四方釜]⁴; ◦ Shigaraki mizusashi  [しがらき水指]⁵; ◦ katatsuki shi-hō-bon  [肩衝四方盆]⁶; ◦ Ko-mamori no chawan  [木守茶碗]⁷; ◦ Hotta mizu-koboshi  [ほつた水こぼし]⁸; ◦ Shaku-hachi  [尺八]⁹.

￮ Sake no yaki-mono  [鮭ノやき物]¹⁰; ◦ kurome  [くろめ]¹¹; ◦ na-jiru  [菜汁]¹²; ◦ meshi  [めし]¹³.

￮ Kashi  [菓子]: ◦ fu-no-yaki  [ふのやき]¹⁴; ◦ shiitake  [しい竹]¹⁵.

_________________________

¹Shimotsuki jū-ichi nichi no ban  [霜月十一日之晩].

    The Gregorian date of this chakai was December 7, 1590.

²Ha Yo-ichi sama  hitori  [羽與一樣　壹人].

     This refers to the samural (later daimyō and court noble) known at this time as Hashiba Yo-ichi [羽柴與一].  He also used the name Nagaoka Tadaoki [長岡忠興], though he is better known to history as Hosokawa Tadaoki [細川忠興; 1563 ~ 1646]; and, especially in the context of chanoyu, as Hosokawa Sansai [細川三齋].  As a daimyō-nobleman, Tadaoki ultimately attained the Third Rank, and became one of the pillars of the Tokugawa bakufu.  While he is listed as one of Rikyū’s major disciples, the relationship between the Hosokawa family and Rikyū was primarily between he and Tadaoki’s father, Hosokawa Fujitaka [細川藤孝] (better known as Hosokawa Yusai [細川幽斎])* -- with whom Rikyū had become acquainted during their mutual service of Hideyoshi -- the professional relationship having developed into a warm personal friendship as well.

    When Rikyū was sent to Sakai shortly before his seppuku, only Hosokawa Tadaoki and Furuta Sōshitsu ventured to the bank of the Yodo-gawa to pay their respects.  Tadaoki was there primarily on behalf of his father, whose absence left him free to challenge Hideyoshi’s ire, should Hideyoshi have chosen to punish Tadaoki for what could have been taken as an affront to his authority amounting to treason. ___________ *Tadaoki was too occupied with military matters, and then affairs of state, to spend much time on chanoyu while Rikyū was alive.  This becomes obvious when Sansai’s recollections of Rikyū’s teachings (which he wrote down and published 2 years before his death in 1646 -- this being one of several documents that rekindled a public interest in recovering Rikyū’s actual teachings, through its often blatant contradiction of the traditions that had been handed down by people whose ancestors had numbered among Rikyū’s personal disciples, that ultimately funded the publication of the Rikyū Chanoyu Sho, in 1680) are compared with Rikyū’s own writings -- Sansai frequently says the exact opposite of what Rikyū actually taught.

³Yojō-han [四疊半].

⁴Shi-hō-gama  [四方釜].

⁵Shigaraki mizusashi  [しがらき水指].

⁶Katatsuki ・ shi-hō-bon  [肩衝・四方盆].

     With which Rikyū would have used an ori-tame [折撓] that he made to match this bon-chaire.

⁷Ko-mamori no chawan  [木守茶碗].

⁸Hotta mizu-koboshi  [ほつた水こぼし].

     Rikyū would have used a take-wa [竹輪] as the futaoki at this chakai, as usual.

⁹Shaku-hachi  [尺八]*.

    This was one of the bamboo hanaire that Rikyū made during the siege of Odawara.  It is an oki-zutsu [置き筒], which means that it was displayed on the floor of the toko†.

    Nothing is said about the flowers (as is usual in the case of Rikyū’s own kaiki -- this detail not really being important for him to preserve since, even if the same guest came again, and he used the same kind of flowers, the fact that the arrangement was created for each chakai meant that the flowers would be different:  the purpose of the kaiki was so that he could remember what he did before, in case the same guest came again for chanoyu), but at this time of year, the most likely choice would be either kan-giku [寒菊]‡ -- or possibly suisen [水仙]**. ___________ *In the Hisada version of the Rikyū Hyakkai Ki, the corresponding entry reads:

◦ Shaku-hachi ni hana ire [尺八に花入] -- that is, the flowers were put into (i.e., arranged in) the Shaku-hachi (oki-zutsu).

†Rikyū’s rule was that only flowers that bloom near ground-level (or, rather, below eye-level) should be arranged in an oki-zutsu.  Flowers that are encountered above eye-level (whether they are the flowers of trees, or are flowers that grow on elevated patches of ground) should be arranged in a kake-hanaire [掛け花入] (a hanging flower container).

‡Kan-giku is a kind of chrysanthemum that blooms late in the season.  The white-flowering varieties of kan-giku blush pink on account of the frost (yellow-flowered kan-giku blush bronze; but since this can look like frost-damage in the dim light of the tearoom, this kind was not usually used for chabana).

    The most appreciated color for flowers for chanoyu (regardless of variety) was traditionally light pink, because flowers of this color look best in the tearoom.

**Suisen is a species of narcissus (Narcissus tazetta -- sometimes referred to as N. tazetta var. chinensis, though the plant actually originated in the Mediterranean region and was brought to China along the silk road in ancient times), which was imported from China in classical times (and had become more or less naturalized in Japan since).  It has milk-white petals and a light yellow trumpet, with multiple blossoms in each umbel.

¹⁰Sake no yaki-mono  [鮭ノやき物].

    Charcoal grilled salmon (sake [鮭]), as the yaki-mono [焼物].

¹¹Kurome  [くろめ].

    Kurome [黒布] is a kind of seaweed*, with a slightly sweet natural flavor.  It was typically served raw, as a sort of salad, dressed with a mixture of rice vinegar, sesame oil, soy sauce, sugar, salt, and sometimes ginger juice. ___________ *While it might have been available fresh in Kyōto from time to time (especially in the cold months), it was more commonly sold dried in a coil.  It was soaked in water to soften it before being cut and dressed.

¹²Na-jiru  [菜汁].

    This is miso-shiru served with chopped greens.  The greens (which came from the kitchen garden*) were added to the soup immediately before it was served, so they would not wilt and discolor. ___________ *Seeds of daikon [大根], hakusai [白菜], na [菜] (rapeseed) and kabura [蕪] (a kind of turnip) -- often with the different varieties mixed together -- were sewn in a row in the kitchen garden in autumn.  After growing three or four true leaves, the seedlings provided a source of fresh greens throughout the winter and early spring.

¹³Meshi  [めし].

    Steamed rice.  As usual, it was measured out into an individual portion by being pressed into a metal mold (called a mossō [物相]* before it was put into the rice bowl. ___________ *Mossō are molds that resemble rather deep cookie cutters made (in rather fanciful shapes) from sheet-copper, with a wooden plunger (carved so that it exactly matched the inside of the mold) used to disgorge the shaped rice into the rice bowl.  Several examples of mossō (of different shapes) were excavated from the area of the mizuya on the site of Rikyū‘s former house near the Nanshū-ji in Sakai.

    Rikyū moved his household from this location to the newly reclaimed Mozuno [百舌鳥野] section of Sakai sometime around 1588 or 1589, while the former site was converted into commercial warehouses (which thus preserved the artifacts that were left in semi-subterranean storage lockers -- including various kitchen implements, a cha-usu, and several of Chōjirō’s earliest kuro-chawan thus confirming the tradition that the site really had been Rikyū’s home -- since the ground was simply leveled, with the lockers filled in with gravel and soil, and then forgotten).

¹⁴Fu-no-yaki  [ふのやき].

    Wheat-flour crepes spread with (naturally*) sweet white miso†, then rolled or folded into bite-sized pieces. ___________ *When miso is first made, it first becomes quite sweet.  Then, after 3 to 5 days, the saltiness begins to develop -- and the color begins to darken.  Originally a golden-beige hue, the miso passes through the deep reds, and eventually becomes nearly black, as it ages.  The saltiness, likewise, increases over time.

     It is said that, while white miso was the original kind that was used, red miso came to be preferred during the warmer months (to help replace the salt that is lost by the body during perspiration).  Black miso, rarely seen in Japan, came to be preferred by the Chinese.

†Or a mixture of the same sweet white miso diluted with cooked, mashed, and sieved white beans (in case the host preferred a milder taste -- this kind of filling for kashi has been around since the Heian period, with the so-called hanabira-mochi [花びら餅] being an example that is occasionally encountered in something resembling its original permutation even today).

¹⁵Shiitake  [しい竹].

     This refers to shiitake [椎茸] mushrooms*.  They were grilled on skewers over charcoal, sprinkled lightly with salt. ___________ *In the name, as Rikyū wrote it, the kanji take [竹] is a hentai-gana [變體仮名], and so has no meaning.

[karuah]

Odawara Flower Garden full of beautiful ROSES 🌹🥀 🌸

[tomoyumin-blog]

小田原フラワーガーデン

I am participating in blog ranking of Japan Please click it

にほんブログ村

[ayanos-pl]

小田原フラワーガーデン。園内の小川でしきりにカエルの声が聞こえたけれど姿は見えず。セイヨウミツバチが小川の岸で水を飲んだり、グレビレア（羽衣の松）の赤い花で吸蜜したり。藤の花にコアオハナムグリが来てました。今度は望遠レンズとお弁当持って、虫と鳥をじっくり撮りに行こう。

[ayanos-pl]

w moim odawarskim ogródku: Komatsuna (Brassica rapa var. perviridis), mniszek (Taraxacum) i hiacynt

in my garden in Odawara: Komatsuna or Japanese mustard spinach (Brassica rapa var. perviridis) flower, dandelion (Taraxacum) and hyacinth

【庭】小松菜の花、タンポポ、ヒヤシンス

[ayanos-pl]

w moim odawarskim ogródku: Pszczoły odwiedzają kwiaty Toxicodendron succedaneum.

in my garden in Odawara: Honey bees visiting wax tree flowers.

【庭】ハゼノキの花が咲いて、セイヨウミツバチが数頭せっせと吸蜜している。

[ayanos-pl]

w moim odawarskim ogródku: kwiaty kolendry, pąki Komatsuny lub japońskiego szpinaku musztardowego (Brassica rapa var. perviridis)

in my garden in Odawara: flowers of coriander, buds of Komatsuna or Japanese mustard spinach (Brassica rapa var. perviridis) 

【庭】コリアンダーの花、小松菜の芽

[ayanos-pl]

w moim odawarskim ogródku: mała pszczoła na kwiecie kardiospermum

in my garden in Odawara: a small bee on a balloon plant flower  

【庭】フウセンカズラの花で吸蜜していたちっちゃな蜂

[ayanos-pl]

w moim odawarskim ogródku: Gametis jucunda, kwiaty kolendry siewnej (Coriandrum sativum) i Pseudozizeeria maha

in my garden in Odawara: a flower chafer (Gametis jucunda), flowers of coriander (Coriandrum sativum) and a pale grass blue (Pseudozizeeria maha)

【庭】コアオハナムグリ、コリアンダーの花、ヤマトシジミ

[ayanos-pl]

w moim odawarskim ogródku: Kwiat bakłażana, kwiaty kopru i pomidory koktajlowe.

in my garden in Odawara: An eggplant flower, fennel flowers and cherry tomatoes.

【庭】ナスの花とディルの花。ミニトマトの収穫はこれから。

[ayanos-pl]

w moim odawarskim ogródku: Mała pszczoła (smuklikowata (Halictinae)) przyleciała do kwiatu Brassica rapa. in my garden in Odawara: A small bee was coming to the flower of Brassica rapa. 【庭】べか菜の花に小さい蜂が来ていた。

[ayanos-pl]

w moim odawarskim ogródku: pomidory koktajlowe i kwiat bakłażana in my garden in Odawara: cherry tomatoes and an eggplant flower 【庭】ミニトマトがひとつ熟して落ちてたので洗って食べた。ナスの花が次々に咲いている。

[ayanos-pl]

w moim odawarskim ogródku: kwiat bakłażana in my garden in Odawara: an eggplant flower 【庭】ナスの花が咲いたよ。