Ojizō-sama

Kṣitigarbha, known by the Japanese name Jizō (地蔵) or the Mandarin Chinese name Dizang (地藏 Dìzàng), is a popular Mahayana Buddhist Bodhisattva, usually depicted as a Buddhist monk in East Asia. The name Jizō may be translated as "Earth Treasury", "Earth Store", "Earth Matrix", or "Earth Womb."

Kṣitigarbha is often referred to, because of his vow not to achieve Buddhahood until all hells are emptied, as the bodhisattva of the hell beings. His famous vow recited by many Buddhists is "Not until the hells are emptied will I become a Buddha; Not until all beings are saved will I certify to Bodhi."

In Japan, Jizō, or Ojizō-sama as he is respectfully known, is one of the most loved of all Japanese divinities. His statues are a common sight, especially by roadsides and in graveyards. Traditionally, he is seen as the guardian of children, particularly children who died before their parents. Since the 1980s, the tendency developed in which he was worshipped as the guardian of the souls of mizuko, the souls of stillborn, miscarried fetuses. In Japanese mythology, it is said that the souls of children who die before their parents are unable to cross the mythical Sanzu River on their way to the afterlife because they have not had the chance to accumulate enough good deeds and because they have made the parents suffer. It is believed that Jizō saves these souls from having to pile stones eternally on the bank of the river as penance, by hiding them from demons in his robe, and letting them hear mantras.

Jizō statues are usually accompanied by a little pile of stones and pebbles, put there by people in the hope that it would shorten the time children have to suffer in the underworld (the act is derived from the tradition of building stupas as an act of merit-making) . The statues can sometimes be seen wearing tiny children's clothing or bibs, or with toys, put there by grieving parents to help their lost ones and hoping that Jizō would specially protect them. Sometimes the offerings are put there by parents to thank Jizō for saving their children from a serious illness. Jizō's features are also commonly made more babylike in order to resemble the children he protects.

As he is seen as the saviour of souls who have to suffer in the underworld, his statues are common in cemeteries. He is also believed to be the protective deity of travellers, and roadside statues of Jizō are a common sight in Japan. Firefighters are also believed to be under the protection of Jizō.

Jizo Crossing

Climbing Fuji-san

About the video

Video diary of climbing Mount Fuji July 2007. haha, super dramatic, but it was damn hard!!By the way... the back story on this is:I climbed Fuji with my family when I was 11. At one point I looked up and saw how much was left and decided I couldn't make it. So my father put me in a sleeping bag under a signpost and said, "wait here till we get back." I've regretted that decision ever since and vowed that I would someday conquer Fuji-san!

Fuji-san

Mount Fuji (富士山), is the highest mountain in Japan at 3,776 m (12,388 ft). A dormant volcano that last erupted in 1707, it straddles the boundary of Shizuoka and Yamanashi prefectures just west of Tokyo, from which it can be seen on a clear day. It is located near the Pacific coast of central Honshū. Three small cities surround it, they are: Gotemba (East), Fuji-Yoshida (North) and Fujinomiya (Southwest).

Mt. Fuji is surrounded by five lakes: Lake Kawaguchi, Lake Yamanaka, Lake Sai, Lake Motosu and Lake Shoji. They, and nearby Lake Ashi, provide excellent views of the mountain. It is part of the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park. It is also an active stratovolcano.



It is thought that the first ascent was in 663 by an anonymous monk. The summit has been thought of sacred since ancient times and was forbidden to women until the Meiji Era.
The first ascent by a foreigner was by Sir Rutherford Alcock in 1860. Today, it is a popular tourist destination and common destination for mountain-climbing.


Mount Fuji is an attractive volcanic cone and a frequent subject of Japanese art. The most renowned work is Ukiyo-e painter Hokusai's masterpiece 36 Views of Mount Fuji. It is also mentioned in Japanese literature throughout the ages and the subject of many poems.

2nd in Series, Red Fuji

Mt. Fuji in Clear Weather

Mt. Fuji also houses a warrior tradition: ancient samurai used the base of the mountain as a remote training area, near the present day town of Gotemba. The shogun Minamoto no Yoritomo held yabusame in the area in the early Kamakura period. As of 2006, the Japan Self-Defense Forces and the United States Marine Corps operate military bases near Mount Fuji.



The most popular period for people to hike up Mt. Fuji is from 1 July to 27 August, while huts and other facilities are operating. It is also possible to ride a mountain bike down Mt. Fuji from the summit, making for a particularly quick descent, (though it is particularly risky, as it becomes difficult to control speed, and there are often a large number of people on the descending trail).

An estimated 200,000 people climb Mount Fuji every year, 30% of whom are foreigners. The ascent can take anywhere between three and eight hours while the descent can take from two to five hours. The hike is divided into 10 stations, and there are paved roads up to the fifth station, which is about 2,300 meters above sea level. Huts at this station are not usually manned at night for climbers.

There are eight peaks around the crater at the summit. The highest point in Japan is where there used to be the Mount Fuji Radar System. Climbers are able to visit these peaks.



Aokigahara is a forest that lies at the base of the mountain. A very popular myth states that the magnetic iron deposits underground causes compasses to hopelessly malfunction causing travellers to get lost. However this myth is partially false. Japan's Self Defence Force and the US Military regularly run training practices through portions of the forest, during which military grade lensatic compasses have been verified to function properly. However the magnetic fields generated by iron deposits in the forest floor generally cause problems with commercially available compasses - it causes them to have a consistent false reading of south as north. Nevertheless, vehicles, GPS equipment, and other electronic devices function properly regardless.

The caverns found in the Aokigahara forest contain ice even during summer. Legends tell of monsters, ghosts, and goblins haunting the forest, adding to its sinister reputation.

A few reasons why I love Japan

Japanese kids!

Ginza, 1964

Eating a snack

Tokyo Subway

Orderly lines for the train

Mamas with their children

Intro to Japanese

Introductions

Osorezan

[From The Japan Times]
Friday, Dec. 22, 2006

OSOREZAN
Mountain of dread

By CHRIS BAMFORTH

The Hakkakudo (Octagonal Hall) is one of the most distinctive of Bodaiji temple's structures.

The stench of sulfur hits you long before you get off the bus. And when you do step off, it hits you all the stronger. Before you stretch the sickly, yellow-green waters of a caldera lake, whose acidity has expunged all fish life except for one hardy species (ugei or big-scaled redfin). Signs everywhere warn of the danger of poisonous mamushi pit vipers. Even at the height of the Japanese summer, the air is curiously silent, with none of the clamorous abundance of the insect life ubiquitous to Japan. The only sound is that of the raucous, ill-tempered crows that obviously have an affinity for the spot. Death seems to be built into the very fabric of things at Osorezan.


Some places have a peculiar, uneasy air about them. They provoke the sensation that things are not quite right. And that's certainly true of this place. Visitors wanting a taste of a Japan far removed from the genteel, familiar temples and festivals will not be disappointed by Osorezan and its unsettling lunar landscape.

Mystical power

Lake Usoriyama

Located at the end of hatchet-shaped Shimokita Peninsula, stretching north toward Hokkaido at the northern tip of Aomori Prefecture, Osorezan is a place that since ancient times has been venerated because of its mystical power. The lake -- Usoriyama -- still bears the Usori name by which the area was known to the Ainu. This was later phonetically altered to provide the Japanese pronunciation and etymology -- Osorezan, the mountain of dread. After Buddhism was introduced to Japan, the religion worked its way north, and when it came to Osorezan, the Buddhist cosmology was projected onto this desolate volcanic landscape of sulfur-stained rock.

Here, among the features marked on the map of Osorezan's temple, called Bodaiji, over an area of several hectares are such doleful-sounding spots as the Lake of Blood, half a dozen different hells, the Mountain of Swords and the Dry Bed of the River of Souls (Sai no Kawara) -- the desiccated river that divides the worlds of the living and dead. Slightly more cheery is the Beach of Pa-radise (Gokurakuhama) on the shores of Lake Usoriyama.

Statues of the protective bodhisattva Jizo are seen everywhere at Osorezan.

The names may sound like lurid attractions at some awful theme park, but there's no getting away from the dispiriting atmosphere that hangs over Osorezan. It is Sai no Kawara that gets perhaps the most visitor attention. With its boundary function, Sai no Kawara is often referred to as a Buddhist River Styx, but it also has the aspects of limbo. It is to this grim realm that children who predecease their parents -- and are thus unable to repay those parents for having giving birth to them -- are condemned. As penance, they are obliged to build up stone cairns, only to have foul demons with an attitude problem come along and smash them apart -- and, for good measure, tormenting the little souls with fond memories of the happiness they knew as living children. Sole protector of the children is the bodhisattva Jizo -- he of the red bib and cap and whose stone figures are seen everywhere around Japan -- driving the demons away.


Jizo images are a common sight at Osorezan, as are cairns built by visitors. Upon the cairns are often placed offerings of coins, which become blackened by the sulfurous vapors expelled by numerous volcanic vents. Many of the visitors who add to the cairns are the unfortunate ones who have lost their own young children. However one may feel about Buddhism and the afterlife, it is hard not to be moved by the presents left here -- the chocolates, plastic pinwheels, candy and small toys representing life's small pleasures, which these children will never know again. Many offerings are also made at Gokurakuhama. As well as the small cairns, along the lakeshore can be seen such items as flowers, pinwheels stuck into the soft sand and straw sandals, the latter being given to Jizo to protect his feet as he walks across the sharp rocks of Sai no Kawara. At Gokurakuhama, visitors come and perform their own small ceremonies, often done matter-of-factly. A typical one will have the visitors approach, burn incense, set flowers upon the sand, open the can of beer and onigiri they have brought along and set them by the lakeshore. They clasp their hands in prayer, call out to the departed across the lake and, the incense still burning, make their way back. What the dead can't manage of the onigiri, the crows gladly come and finish off.

Blind mediums

Cairns built by visitors on the dry bed of the River of Souls

A couple of times a year during Osorezan festivals, the living who seek direct contact with the departed can do so through the blind mediums known as itako. Though often referred to as shamans, itako are not shamans in that they do not have any supernatural calling and do not experience any shamanistic possession. Instead, itako were traditionally born into the job through their visual impairment. Clutching and rubbing long black rosaries of soapberries, to which are often festooned such objects as old coins and the teeth, claws and bones of wild animals, the itako chant and deliver their messages from the spirit world to their paying customers. If you listen long enough, you do notice that the itako seem to work within a certain repertoire: The spirits of a grandfather or a child tend to say similar sorts of things to different people. But that is clearly no problem for the customers, many of whom queue for hours for the itako and afterward are quite visibly affected after their communications with the dead.

Itako Huts

Misty bridge
On the approach to Bodaiji stands one structure that, apparently, all of us will encounter sooner or later -- a small, arched, vermilion bridge that the newly deceased have to cross. For the person who has led a virtuous life, finding and crossing the bridge will be comparatively easy. But those who fail to observe Google's wise dictum of doing no evil will hardly be able to discern the bridge: It will appear to them as nothing but the slightest hint of mist.

むつ市

Mutsu (むつ市) is a city located in Aomori in Tohoku region of Japan.

As of 2003, the city has an estimated population of 49,217.

The city was founded as Ōminatotanabu-shi on September 1, 1959, from the merger of the two towns, Ōminato (大湊) and Tanabu (田名部). The city was renamed to Mutsu on August 1, 1960.

The city is the economic and administrative center of Shimokita Peninsula, the northeast end of Honshū island. The city was originally called Ōminato-Tanabu (coupling of the names of two antecedent towns), but the name was changed to Mutsu in 1960. It is the first city with a hiragana name (むつ), which was adopted to avoid confusion with the original kanji word Mutsu (陸奥) which indicates an old province covering a large area of the Tohoku region.

It had a naval base until World War II.

The city is also the location for various facilities of the Japan Atomic Energy Agency. Additionally, Mutsu is the port for the Mutsu research vessel, which was one of the few nuclear powered commercial ships when it still had a reactor.

Sushi ya

Sushi

Sushi (寿司, 鮨, 鮓) is a food made of vinegared rice, usually topped with other ingredients including fish (cooked or uncooked) and vegetables. The original word written in kanji, means "snack" and refers to the rice, not the fish or other toppings.

fatty tuna belly

sushi

There are various types of sushi: sushi served rolled inside nori (dried and pressed layer sheets of seaweed or alga) called makizushi (巻き) or rolls; sushi made with toppings laid with hand-formed clumps of rice called nigirizushi (にぎり); toppings stuffed into a small pouch of fried tofu called inarizushi; and toppings served scattered over a bowl of sushi rice called chirashi-zushi (ちらし).

1. Nigiri-zushi (握り寿司, "hand-formed sushi").

This is the most typical form of sushi in restaurants. It consists of an oblong mound of sushi rice that is pressed between the palms of the hands, with a speck of wasabi and a slice of topping called neta draped over it. This is possibly bound with a thin band of nori, and is often served in pairs.

Gunkan-maki (軍艦巻, "warship roll") is a special type of nigiri-zushi: an oval, hand-formed clump of sushi rice that has a strip of nori wrapped around its perimeter to form a vessel that is filled in with topping(s). The topping is typically some soft, loose or fine-chopped ingredient that requires the confinement of nori such as roe, natto, oysters, and quail eggs.

2. Makizushi (巻き寿司, "rolled sushi").

Makizushi is a cylindrical piece, formed with the help of a bamboo mat. Makizushi is generally wrapped in nori, but can occasionally be found wrapped in a thin omelette, sesame seeds, cucumber, or parsley. Makizushi is usually cut into six or eight pieces, which constitutes an order. Here are some common types of makizushi, but many other kinds exist.

• Futomaki (太巻き, "large or fat rolls") is a large cylindrical piece, with nori on the outside. A typical futomaki is three or four centimeters (1.5 in) in diameter. They are often made with two or three fillings that are chosen for their complementary tastes and colors. Futomaki is generally vegetarian, but may include toppings such as tiny fish eggs.


• Hosomaki (細巻き, "thin rolls")is a small cylindrical piece, with the nori on the outside. A typical hosomaki has a diameter of about two centimeters (0.75 in). They generally contain only one filling, often tuna, cucumber, kanpyō, thinly sliced carrots, or, more recently, avocado. Kappamaki, (河童巻き) a kind of Hosomaki filled with cucumber, is named after the Japanese legendary water imp fond of cucumbers called the kappa. Traditionally, Kappamaki is consumed to clear the palate between eating raw fish and other kinds of food, so that the flavors of the fish are distinct from the tastes of other foods.


• Tekkamaki (鉄火巻き) is a kind of Hosomaki filled with raw tuna. Although some believe that the name "Tekka", meaning 'red hot iron', alludes to the color of the tuna flesh, it actually originated as a quick snack to eat in gambling dens called "Tekkaba (鉄火場)", much like the sandwich.


• Uramaki (裏巻き, "inside-out rolls") is a medium-sized cylindrical piece, with two or more fillings. Uramaki differs from other maki because the rice is on the outside and the nori inside. The filling is in the center surrounded by nori, then a layer of rice, and an outer coating of some other ingredients such as roe or toasted sesame seeds. It can be made with different fillings such as tuna, crab meat, avocado, mayonnaise, cucumber, carrots. This is typically thought of as an invention to suit the American palate, and is not commonly seen in Japan. The increasing popularity of sushi in North America, as well as around the world, has resulted in numerous kinds of uramaki and regional off-shoots being created, such as the California roll.


• Temaki (手巻き, "hand rolls") is a large cone-shaped piece of nori on the outside and the ingredients spilling out the wide end. A typical temaki is about ten centimeters (4 in) long, and is eaten with fingers because it is too awkward to pick it up with chopsticks. For optimal taste and texture, Temaki must be eaten quickly after being made because the nori cone soon absorbs moisture from the filling and loses its crispness and becomes somewhat difficult to bite.


• Inari-zushi (稲荷寿司, "stuffed sushi") is a pouch of fried tofu filled with usually just sushi rice. It is named after the Shinto god Inari, who is believed to have a fondness for fried tofu.

3. Oshizushi (押し寿司, "pressed sushi") is a block-shaped piece formed using a wooden mold, called an oshibako. The chef lines the bottom of the oshibako with the toppings, covers them with sushi rice, and then presses the lid of the mold down to create a compact, rectilinear block. The block is removed from the mold and then cut into bite-sized pieces.

4. Chirashizushi (ちらし寿司, "scattered sushi") is a bowl of sushi rice with other ingredients mixed in (also refers to barazushi). It is commonly eaten in Japan because it is filling, fast and easy to make. Chirashizushi most often varies regionally because it is eaten annually as a part of the Doll Festival, celebrated only during March in Japan.

5. Narezushi (熟れ寿司, "matured sushi") is an older form of sushi. Skinned and gutted fish are stuffed with salt, placed in a wooden barrel, doused with salt again, and then weighed down with a heavy tsukemonoishi (pickling stone). They are supposedly salted for ten days to a month, then placed in water for 15 minutes to an hour. They are then placed in another barrel, sandwiched, and layered with cooled steamed rice and fish. Then the mixture is again partially sealed with otoshibuta and a pickling stone. As days pass, water seeps out, which must be removed. Six months later, this funazushi can be eaten, and remains edible for another six months or more.

6. Temarizushi are ball-shaped sushi made by pressing rice and fish into a ball-shaped form by hand using a plastic wrap. They are quite easy to make and thus a good starting point for beginners.

How Much for One Melon?!?!

US$1 = 113 JPY

That's about $45 for one canteloupe! Wow.

Sashimi

Sashimi (刺身) is a Japanese delicacy primarily consisting of very fresh raw seafoods, sliced into thin pieces and served with only a dipping sauce (soy sauce with wasabi paste and thin-sliced ginger root or ponzu), and a simple garnish such as shiso and shredded daikon radish.

The word sashimi means "pierced body."

Sashimi often is the first course in a formal Japanese meal, but can also be the main course, presented with rice and Miso soup in separate bowls. Many Japanese people believe that sashimi, traditionally considered the finest dish in Japanese cuisine, should be eaten before other strong flavors affect the palate.

Salmon Rose

A reputed motivation for serving wasabi with sashimi (and also gari, pickled ginger), besides its flavor, is killing harmful bacteria and parasites that could be present in raw seafood.

Lunch at the Tsukiji Fish Market

"Chopsticks Master"

This was a project that the 2 younger kids made for their English school in Japan. Enjoy!!

How to Use Chopsticks

Practice makes perfect!!

Nihon Ryōri, 日本料理

Japanese cuisine as a national cuisine has evolved over the centuries from many political and social changes. The modern term "Japanese cuisine" (nihon ryōri, 日本料理) means traditional-style Japanese food.

Japanese cuisine is known for its emphasis on seasonality of food, quality of ingredients and presentation. Japanese cuisine is based on combining staple foods, typically rice or noodles, with a soup and okazu - dishes made from fish, meat, vegetable, and tofu to add flavor to the staple food. These are typically flavored with dashi (kelp), miso, and soy sauce and are usually low in fat and high in salt.

Miso-shiru

Miso is a traditional Japanese food produced by fermenting rice, barley and/or soybeans, with salt and the mold kōjikin. The most typical miso is made with soy. The typical result is a thick paste used for sauces and spreads, pickling vegetables or meats, and mixing with dashi soup stock to serve as miso soup called Miso-shiru, a Japanese culinary staple. High in protein and rich in vitamins and minerals, miso plays an important nutritional role. Miso is still very widely used in Japan, both in traditional and modern cooking, and has been gaining world-wide interest. Miso is typically salty, but its flavor and aroma depend on various factors. Different varieties of miso have been described as salty, sweet, earthy, fruity, and savoury, and there is an extremely wide variety of miso available.

Tamago kake gohan (left), Tsukemono and Miso-shiru (miso soup)

A standard Japanese meal generally consists of several different okazu accompanying a bowl of cooked gohan (white Japanese rice), a bowl of soup and some tsukemono (pickles). The most standard meal comprises three okazu and is termed ichijū-sansai ("one soup, three sides"). Different cooking techniques are applied to each of the three okazu; they may be raw (sashimi), grilled, simmered (sometimes called boiled), steamed, deep-fried, vinegared, or dressed.

sashimi

As an island nation, Japanese eat a lot of seafood.

Noodles are an essential part of Japanese cuisine usually as an alternative to a rice-based meal. Soba (thin, grayish-brown noodles containing buckwheat flour) and udon (thick wheat noodles) are the main traditional noodles and are served hot or cold with soy-dashi flavorings. Chinese-style wheat noodles served in a meat stock broth known as ramen have become extremely popular over the last century.

Shimokita Peninsula

The Shimokita Peninsula (下北半島) is the remote northeastern cape of the Japanese island of Honshū, stretching out towards Hokkaidō. The area is a part of Aomori Prefecture. Shaped like an axe pointing west, the peninsula has a thin "axe handle" connecting the mountainous "axe blade" to the mainland. The coasts maintain a thin scattering of population but the interior is practically uninhabited.

Shimokita is best known as the site of Mount Osore, the mythical Japanese location of the entrance to Hell. The lush Yagen Valley, known for its hot springs, is also located in Shimokita, as is Hotoke-ga-ura, wind-carved cliffs said to resemble Buddhas.

The Hotoke-ga-ura (仏ヶ浦) are a series of rock formations naturally carved from the cliffs in village of Sai on the west coast of the Shimokita Peninsula. Said to resemble Buddhas, the unusually shaped pillars of rock are a tourist attraction for visitors to this remote part of Japan.

Hotoke-ga-ura

Hotoke-ga-ura

Hotoke-ga-ura

Hotoke-ga-ura

Yagen Valley