Pat's Blog

With the year rapidly drawing to a close and the cycle of seasons complete with winter, Christmas is upon us again. Now we’re in the three to four week period before the event known as Advent (called taikosetsu in Japanese). Traditionally, this a time for contemplation and prayer, and Christians prepare themselves to celebrate the birth of Jesus in the liturgical calendar.



In modern Japan, we’re presented with a commercial season, cakes which just aren’t quite Christmas-like, sponge cakes to be blunt and all the glitter of a Western Christmas with trees decorated everywhere and the preparations for the Takamatsu Winter Festival in the Central Park.



All around the city of Takamatsu are Christmas trees and I saw one in the port area with little wishes written on then tied on to the tree. Much like the new year’s ‘ema’ (絵馬) are small wooden plaques on which Shinto worshippers write their hopes for the new year.



Given that Christmas in Japan is still a rather new event, the people have taken to it as a season for gift giving & parties. I like that, but I also like the time-for-reflection aspect so often left out; on asking ourselves who we are and our place in the great scheme of things. My most interesting Christmases here have been on silent 9-day retreats at a Zen monastery in Okayama without heating. But that’s another story..


There are a few wonderful trees in the city and my favorite is this one in the central arcade under the dome.



The beautiful blue color is perfect for the freezing temperatures and it even has view ports.




I asked the young lady what could she see and she said that it was a kaleidoscope.


Takamatsu & Christmas are very compatible, the people seem to be full of the right spirit and it’s a happy time.
I’ll be back in January reporting on some interesting art events going on in the city after the New Year. Until then, stay safe & warm.

  

The assignment for the City’s Takamatsu Promotion for last month was Mt. Yashima. Being an important part of Japan’s long history, the mountain’s own history is of course very old & rather violent. In Medieval Japan, 1185 to be precise, a fierce struggle for the control of the entire nation was waged here and it is well documented as the Battle of Yashima. At the top of the mountain the ambience of things past is very palpable still, and this is not a place I could spend the night.


The mountain itself is easily recognizable as a flat plateau or table-top mountain and it’s this area we explored. Once you’ve made it up to the top either by walking from an access track off the peninsular road and marked with a small sign, although a bit hard to find. I’m happy to answer queries about this if you write to me.



The car ride from the foot to the top is at 620 yen per car and about three kilometers, the most expensive toll per kilometer in the country. Although worth it to experience the ‘mystery zone’ half-way up. I put the car into neutral and turned the engine off and although the slope was clearly running down the mountain, actually felt the car start to move the other direction. Weird …



There has been a lot of archeological work done in recent times on the fortifications made in pre-medieval and the medieval era. We’ve looked at these in our video reports on the Takamatsu City’s home page so for the details please go there.
http://arttakamatsu2.ashita-sanuki.jp



The movie Kwaidan or 'Kaidan' as it is sometimes called, is based on the spooky stories of Lafcadio Hearn and had a big impact on me as a young man. This is the era of Yashima and its history and if you know the story on ‘Miminashi Hoichi the blind biwa player and how he came to lose his ears, this will be familiar. If not, please do watch this movie as for me at least, it encapsulates Yashima and it’s scary past.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvb1Z6f1a-A
What I noticed was the beautiful modern architecture inspired by the lines of traditional temples. Forgive me, but I prefer the newer style somehow? This building in particular had very pleasing lines.
The Henro san (pilgrims) dressed in white come from all over Japan on the 88 temple and one of the main temples is here at the top. The young couple I photographed were from Korea.



At the top of the mountain there is an oval- shape walking track on the very top of the plateau. It’s about 4 kilometers or so and an easy walk on a paved surface and no, you won’t get lost. So please think about a visit here if you’re coming to Takamatsu.



OK, I’ll be back very soon as we’ve been told to post all our blogs early this month. Until then …