Is this my future? At least us oldies and wierdos visiting the Emperor for his new year’s declaration don’t need to be bothered by “normal” families and young people.
Alas, this is the end of the Imperial Palace visit series when my ostensible purpose was to listen to the Emperor’s address and admire the princesses. Mostly, I watched the police and felt communion with the assorted freaks and foreigners in attendance.
I love that these suited men are sharing a single yakisoba, and that the camera has caught them with all four chopstick pairs in action. This is how Japanese encounter the sacred.
There is something deeply spiritual about sumo. I love that Hakuho’s belt and lightning bolts evoke the ones you see tied around Shinto shrine trees. Maybe the gods enjoy hanging out with the sumo players, as much as with the micro- green spaces by the shrines.
Not to mention group masochism to carry those heavy “portable” shrines.
I don’t fully understand why, but these men are celebrating their beloved water source and its miraculous return by throwing water on each other in winter. And, as its a sacred ritual, they are wearing almost no clothing. It’s called Yu kake matsuri (湯かけ祭り), which basically means water splashing festival. Thanks to the hubb for forwarding this video.
I was awake early yesterday, and was surprised to see Mount Fuji with no cloud cover from our balcony. You can see the snow cover, and even the crevice running down the right side. Below is a cropped version of the photo.
Now I know that the sacred volcano is just to the left of the garbage incinerator smoke-stack.
Tokyo Moe 