Today is a national holiday called bunka no hi (文化の日), Culture Day. It was first held in 1948 to commemorate the announcement of the post-war Japanese constitution on November 3, 1946.
Between 1873 and 1911 this day was called tencho setsu (天長節), and from 1927 to 1947 it was called meiji setsu (明治節). Both were to celebrate the birthday of the Meiji Emperor (明治天皇：1852-1912).
Since 1937 the award ceremony for prestigious Order of Culture has been held on this day at the Imperial Palace. This year 5 people were awarded by the Emperor. Three of them were scholars and two of them were artists. They are between 70 to 84 years old. Congratulations!
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Monday, November 2, 2009
佐賀唐津くんち（saga karatsu kunchi）
Kunchi (くんち) means festival. There are three biggest kunchi in Kyushu(九州), the southern island of Japan. One is Hakata okunchi(博多おくんち) on October 23 and 24, the other is Nagasaki kunchi(長崎くんち) from October 7 to 9, and another is Karatsu kunchi(唐津くんち) from November 2 to 4.
Today is the first day of Karatsu kunchi which is the annual festival of the Karatsu shrine (唐津神社), in Saga (佐賀). During the festival about 500,000 people are said to get together.
The feature of the festival is daily parades of fourteen hikiyama (曳山), massive floats in the form of samurai helmets, sea bream, dragons, and other fantastical creatures. They are constructed from wood, lacquer, and other materials. Each float is about five to six meters tall and they weigh from two to five tons. They say the gorgeous Japanese lacquer handiwork of floats are measured in the current yen 100,000,000 to yen 200,000,000.
In 1980 the festival was designated an "Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property."
Today is the first day of Karatsu kunchi which is the annual festival of the Karatsu shrine (唐津神社), in Saga (佐賀). During the festival about 500,000 people are said to get together.
The feature of the festival is daily parades of fourteen hikiyama (曳山), massive floats in the form of samurai helmets, sea bream, dragons, and other fantastical creatures. They are constructed from wood, lacquer, and other materials. Each float is about five to six meters tall and they weigh from two to five tons. They say the gorgeous Japanese lacquer handiwork of floats are measured in the current yen 100,000,000 to yen 200,000,000.
In 1980 the festival was designated an "Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property."
Sunday, November 1, 2009
十一月（jyuichi gatsu）： November
Another month has come. November is jyuichi gatsu (十一月) in Japanese. The old name is shimo tsuki (霜月), literally frost month.
However it was very hot today, like summer. In Haneda (羽田), Tokyo it marked 26.1 degrees centigrade which renewed the highest record in November.
There was the 41st zen nihon daigaku ekiden (全日本大学駅伝), All Japan University long-distance relay road race. The total length was 106.8 km, there were 8 relays from Atsuta jingu (熱田神宮：Atsuta Shrine), Aichi to Ise jingu (伊勢神宮：Ise Shrine), Mie. Both are very famous shrines in Japan. There are Three Sacred Treasures of Japan (三種の神器：sanshu no jingi), the sword Kusanagi（草薙劍）the mirror Yata no kagami（八咫鏡）, and the jewel Yasakani no magatama（八尺瓊曲玉）. Two of them are said to be located in those shrines.
The result of the race was the victory of Nihon University (日本大学=日大) at 5 hours 21 minutes 4 seconds. It was the third victory for them after 4 years in this race. Nichi dai (日大) accomplished the second victory of the three biggest ekiden （駅伝）after Izumo ekiden （出雲駅伝）in October. Congratulations!!
However it was very hot today, like summer. In Haneda (羽田), Tokyo it marked 26.1 degrees centigrade which renewed the highest record in November.
There was the 41st zen nihon daigaku ekiden (全日本大学駅伝), All Japan University long-distance relay road race. The total length was 106.8 km, there were 8 relays from Atsuta jingu (熱田神宮：Atsuta Shrine), Aichi to Ise jingu (伊勢神宮：Ise Shrine), Mie. Both are very famous shrines in Japan. There are Three Sacred Treasures of Japan (三種の神器：sanshu no jingi), the sword Kusanagi（草薙劍）the mirror Yata no kagami（八咫鏡）, and the jewel Yasakani no magatama（八尺瓊曲玉）. Two of them are said to be located in those shrines.
The result of the race was the victory of Nihon University (日本大学=日大) at 5 hours 21 minutes 4 seconds. It was the third victory for them after 4 years in this race. Nichi dai (日大) accomplished the second victory of the three biggest ekiden （駅伝）after Izumo ekiden （出雲駅伝）in October. Congratulations!!
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