Yabusame; Mounted Archery

Yabusame is a type of Japanese archery, one that is performed while riding a horse.

It is dedicated to gods of this shrine in a festival of thanksgiving this year's harvest.

This is a purification ceremony.

Do the horses understand the situation?

We can't ask too much of them.

In front of a shrine gate mounted archers performed archery gestures.

The puppet show

Yamefukushima is a center town of Yame city which is located in Fukuoka prefecture in Kyushu, one hour drive from my home.
It was the first time I visited this town.
Yame city is famous for producing green tea, Buddhist alters and paper lanterns.
The puppet show, the lantern doll play, has been played since 1772. The show was played as a offering to the god of shrine at first in Houjo-e, a religious ceremony in which living creatures are released into ponds or the woods.

It is amazing that those intricate moving of dolls are operated by many people at the back or under the stage.

There was a building where many traditional activities in Yame city were exhibited.
There was a doll visitors could operate at will. A head, a neck, hands and a body can be operated by sticks under the doll. Those sticks are tied to strings those are connected with each part.
Most difficult part of operating is to move the doll from left side to right side in the stage. Operators at left side and right side have to cooperate to change the doll at the center. I can’t figure out even after I saw pictures.

Yame city has many old merchant houses as well.
Those buildings are called Igura in Japanese.

Beakfast at Tiffany's

written by Truman Capote



I don't remember whether I had seen the movie or not, but this novel have different impression from a famous movie. The movie seems it emphasized too much attractiveness of a girl named Holly.

The novel tells about a young girl who seeks a place where she belongs to.
She claims she is a traveller, on the way to some place where she feels her home.
She spends ostentatious life in NY. Even she can't find a bond with a cat she keeps. " We just met by the river one day:that's all. Independence, both of us. We never made any promises. We never."

I went to see a movie "Slumdog Millionaire" during Golden week.
It was a good movie.
Most of all I was surprised to find that a TV quiz show in this film was exactly same quiz show on Japanese TV. Japanese one is a imitation of British TV quiz show named "Who want to Be a Millionaire" and the idea is owned by Sony Pictures Television International. Besides the original is another radio program "cash mountain". I suspect same quiz show might be all over the world and someone might be a millionaire by selling the idea.

Pug, A clay elf

pug3
Originally uploaded by gardenia1222

This is an ceramic doll named Pug made by a ceramic artist Kaidachi Tomohiro in Arita town. I bought this for my sister because she was really attracted to this elf.
This is very cute but I myself like everyday ceramic ware without an artist's name.

If you want see more of his dolls, please visit there.

http://www.0955433790.com/pugcollection.html

Why should we check our car every two years?

In Japan, we have to have a safety check on the cars every two years( Motor-vehicle inspection). I think Japanese cars have good quality so we don't need any forced inspection by law. We can maintain our cars in good condition by ourselves.

It takes 39,500Yen(about395US$)for weight tax for under 2000cc displacement cars.
Weight tax is used to maintain roads. Do we have to pay the tax? I don't know.