Friday, July 2nd Cloudy

It is cloudy and according to the weather forecast, it'll soon start raining heavily. Actually the south part of Wakayama, the warning of the heavy rain has just released. Rain, rain go away, come again another day (after tomorrow)! Because we are going to provide Free Guided Tour tomorrow. The tour starts 9:00 in front of Koyasan Tourist Organization which is the central area on the main street near the traffic lights. If you like walking in the nature, why don't you try the pilgrimage path? The part of the historic ladies' pilgrimage path is introduced and you can enjoy the fresh air and command a fine view from the mountain.
If you'd like to know the brief introduction of Koyasan, please join the morning tour visiting 3 major spots in Koyasan. These Free Guided Tours are available on the first Saturday every month from April to October this year and our trainee guides are willingly help you with showing around. Anybody is welcome! Why don't you come and join us? (KQ)
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Hydrangeas

Wednesday, June 30 Cloudy partly Sunny

According to the weather forecast, it should have rained. But we were lucky enough not to have gotten any rain.
3 people joined our Wednesday Tour in the morning and 2 joined in the afternoon.
At Daimon gate, hydrangeas have just started to bloom. But most of the places in Koyasan, hydrangeas are not in season yet. Maybe in the mid July or even August, you can see beautiful hydrangeas all around Koyasan.

KQ

WATERLILY

Monday, June 28, 2010   Cloudy & Sunny

Waterlilies are blooming beautifully in the pond just in front of VIC (Visitor Information Center).

VIC （ Visitor Information Center） is located inside the Daishikyokai building next to HENJODEN.

Through the window of VIC, we can see a beautiful TORII in front of us. It is a gateway to a small shrine where BENZAITEN is enshrined.

On a small bridge colored in vermillion, we can enjoy lovely waterlilies in the pond trimmed with azaleas. (SKY)

KOYA-KUN

Hello, this is SKY again. I left the office for the parking lot.  On the stage, Kida Taro was just talking about the theme song he made.  After that Mochi-maki started. Later I understood that the highlight for today's festival was not the speech nor  the parade, but catching rice cakes.

At Henjoden in Daishi Kyokai, religious people made a line to pray for Chigo Daishi. I followed them and stepped up into the inner sanctuary. Chigo Daishi, just returned from the parade, was sitting in front of the statue of Kobo Daishi.

What a nice surprise! KOYA-KUN came to Henjoden.  Here's a picture I took with KOYA-KUN and OTERU.  (SKY)

AOBA MATSURI

Tuesday  June 15, 2010  Cloudy/Rainy

AOBA MATSURI started with Buddhist Service at Henjoden in Daishi Kyokai this morning.

After the service, Matsunaga Yukei, the 412th Archibishop of Koyasan Shingon Buddhism moved to Kongobuji. Later he will talk with KIDA TARO on the main stage set up in the parking lot in front of Kongobuji.

Here in VIC, I couldn't see the parade, but take pictures of a marching band, Chigo Daishi coming back from the parade.

When the Chigo Daishi ( a statue of Chigo Daishi ) in Hanamido came back to Daishi Kyokai, the statue was moved to the inner sanctuary of Henjoden. Then religious people began to sing a song for him.  Ooops!! It is almost 2 o'clock. I have to rush to the main stage to catch rice cakes!! - to be continued - (SKY)

Shikoku Henro pilgrimage

Friday June 11, 2010 Sunny

Yasukawa-san who made Shikoku Henro pilgrimage this month

please visit the following places at your next time in Kagawa prefecture.

Bekkaku No. 17  Kanno-ji

you can see Manno-Ike where Kobo Daishi constructed.

Bekkaku No 18   Kaigan-ji which is about 15 minutes from Zentsu-Ji

This temple is of Kobo Daishi's monther's village and you can see

the well of Kobo Daishi's first bath.

Walking

I met great people during a pilgrimage.

From the 1st to the 7th June my husband and I went to Shikoku as pilgrims. We could visit 36 temples and offer sutras to them.We've already visited 41temples at the end of March, so this time we started from the 24th temple.

We went through Muroto Promontory, Katsura Beach, Ashizuri Promontory and so on. What impressed me most during our pilgrimage was Mikurodo Cave where Odaishi sama was training hard and Venus went into his mouth.

I could understand the reason why he decided to change his name into Kukai.

Some people provided us much money, food, a book etc. as " Osettai". We are deeply  grateful to those people and good weather.

written by Oteru

Ho-No-Ki at Nanin

Sat. June 12, 2010, Sunny

I could take photo of Ho-No-Ki at Nanin at last.

The shape of flower  reminds us the 'Chigo Daishi' ,

photographer Nagasaka writes.

(Walking)

Special Summer Prayer in SANNNOIN

Saturday, June 12 , Sunny

Today is May 1 on lunar calendar. On lunar May 1st and the 2nd, Special

Summer Prayer is held at SANNOIN, the present worship hall for MIYASHIRO,

the shrine at GARAN. The NAMIKIRI-FUDO Deity which used to be the main

deity of SANNOIN returns to its old home for 2 days. The NAMIKIRI-FUDO is said to be sculpted by KOBO DAISHI on his way back from China. The party had a terrible storm in the ocean and that NAMIKIRI-FUDO cut the furious ocean and let KOBO DAISHI's sailboat go safely.

Anyway, this ritual used to be one of the seasonal rituals but today, only the summer one last and has been kept one of Koyasan's traditional ritual to pray for world peace, happiness and rich harvest. It tells that summer is coming soon to Koyasan in a cool breeze.

(^-^) by KQ

Cleaning Up for Aoba Matsuri

 Sunny, June  6, 2010

Kobo Daishi's birthday is coming soon and entire Koyasan celebrates this day gorgeously.  The students from Senshugakuin, the practitioners' school in Koyasan volunteer for cleaning many places in Koyasan.  They are moving running with their cleaning tools.  They also made clear lines in front of HENJODEN, well I heard someone said leeking or reeking, but sorry I don't remeber the word.  Oh, how I feel like running over it.  No, we are afraid of doing that. 

Anyway, they concentrate cleaning for exactly 30 minutes which were timed up by their seniors and gone like a typhoon.   But gallery including our VIC didn't seem to be on their cleaning list.  And guess what, how do visitors hesitate to step on there, I wonder.  But nobody cared.  Well, actually, the students weren't gone but they chanted for another an hour at HENJODEN and beautiful chanting could be heard all over Daishi Kyokai building like a early summer breeze.   (KQ)