Thank you

The middle and right side of an enormous red torii (gate) is visible towering over shrine buildings with trees and mountain beyond.

'Red Torii of Heian Jingu Shrine' from the series 'Fifteen Views of Kyoto' - Tokuriki Tomikichiro, ca. 1950s.
#ToriiTuesday #JapaneseArt

#MythologyMonday #yokai

Sounds fabulous! I am desperately keen to get back myself but not sure when it will be yet.

A bird with blue feathers sits on a branch with pomegranate fruit in the foreground.

'Bird on Pomegranate Branch' - Utagawa Hiroshige.
#JapaneseArt #ukiyoe

Shrine and Temple Traditions | Guide | Travel Japan - Japan National Tourism Organization (Official Site) Learn the key differences between Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines in Japan, customs and manners, how to pray, and how to make the most of your visit.

...options too. I enjoy just wandering around and popping into smaller Shinto shrines particularly. To me, they feel like stepping into another world. This explains a bit more about the difference between the two.
www.japan.travel/en/guide/shr...

There are Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples. I guess I meant, it depends on whether you are interested in visiting them. Personally that's my favourite thing to do in Japan but some people are happy just to see one or two. There are options popular with tourists, but also lots of smaller...

...temples I could recommend but it depends what you are after. Also if you like ukiyo-e prints the Ota Memorial Museum in Tokyo has wonderful exhibitions. Because I am celiac food is very tricky which is why I stuck to major cities. But there was so much to see I'm very keen to go back.

Not at all rude, although my own trips to Japan have unfortunately not been very extensive. If in Kyoto I'd recommend Fushimi Inari and doing the whole mountain. I loved Kamakura and Enoshima south of Tokyo. Yanaka and Nezu districts in Tokyo are worth exploring. There are a lot of shrines and...

A woman dressed in blue holds a white rabbit on her lap and there is another near her feet. A large moon is behind.

'Moon Goddess Chang E with Rabbits' - Kimpodo, 1831.
#JapaneseArt #ukiyoe

Happy Easter to those who celebrate.

A small wooden netsuke in the shape of a rabbit. It is brown in colour with green eyes.

🐰 Happy Easter to everyone celebrating!

This little rabbit netsuke is only 2.5 centimetres high. A netsuke is an ornamental toggle or counterweight used to attach small containers to the sash worn with the traditional Japanese kimono.

A path leads towards a shrine with tall trees to each side and in the distance. On the path many deer are standing or sitting.

'Way to the Kasuga Shrine' - Yoshida Hiroshi, 1938.
#JapaneseArt

A goddess in white rides on a white fox and has a torii crown. Below a man is standing looking over his shoulder at her.

'Aki no Kami Taira Kiyomori' from the series 'Characters from the Chronicle of the Rise and Fall of the Minamoto and Taira Clans' - Utagawa Kuniyoshi, 1840.
#JapaneseArt #ukiyoe

Sakura trees in full bloom in the grounds of Ryuhon-ji.

Sakura trees in full bloom in the grounds of Ryuhon-ji.

Sakura trees in full bloom in the grounds of Ryuhon-ji.

Sakura trees in full bloom in the grounds of Ryuhon-ji.

3) 🪦💀BURIAL BIRTH👻👶
Not all pots are enemies.
In this story the pot, or rather the size of the pot (and the air contained), likely saved a life.

The 20th head of Ryūhon-ji (立本寺) was nicknamed 'Pot Nisshin' (壷日審) after his very strange birth🤰
#Japan #Kyoto #folklore

Thank you for your wonderful threads and beautiful images. I love reading them and learning so much.

My pleasure, I'm so glad you enjoyed it.

Thank you so much for reading, I'm glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for sharing too. 🌸

Thank you for reading, I'm glad you enjoyed it. And thanks for the haiku recommendation too. 🌸

Thank you for sharing 🌸

Hanami - Japan's Cherry Blossom Viewing Festival A virtual gallery of sakura in Japanese woodblock art 🌸

I've just published a new article about hanami with a gallery of woodblock prints featuring sakura and a little bit about the kami of cherry blossoms and Mount Fuji. 🌸
open.substack.com/pub/curiouso...
#JapaneseArt #JapaneseFolklore

I found that the further you got up the mountain the less crowded it was, but yes it was definitely very busy.

Oh wonderful, thank you so much for sharing 😻

I hope you are able to get there, I'd like to go later this year but it might actually be next year before I can go. I'd love to see your photos if you make it back. Cats and shrines are two of my favourite things.

Thanks for sharing your photos, definitely yokai vibes. I'd love to go at night one time, I just long to visit Japan again.

It's such a magical place, it must have been amazing to see the cats there.

A paved path leads through a long tunnel of vermillion torii (gates) to steps and stone altars can be seen at the top.

Fushimi Inari Taisha in Kyoto.
#ToriiTuesday #Shinto #Japan

Tall torii gate and two stone lanterns in the foreground with water beyond and buildings with lights on and a tree to the right side. It is a clear night with a quarter phase moon high in the sky.

'Torii Gate in a Moonlit Night' - attributed to Ueno Tadamasa, ca 1930s.
#ToriiTuesday #shinhanga #JapaneseArt

Koda Fumika: Early Afternoon (2018) This 2018 painting, titled Hirusagari (Early Afternoon), is another masterful creation by Koda Fumika, whose work often explores the quiet, overlapping worlds of nature and domesticity. The composition is characterized by its soft, diffused light and a rich, earthy color palette. Two ginger-and-white cats are tucked into the lower half of the frame, their forms partially obscured by the intricate layers of vegetation, while a third cat—a tortoiseshell or dark-patterned variety—rests slightly above them, its eyes closed in a peaceful slumber. Koda's technique involves meticulous attention to the textures of the fur and the delicate, drying seed heads of the grass, creating a tactile quality that invites the viewer into this hidden sanctuary. The use of warm browns, ochres, and muted greens reinforces the seasonal feeling of late summer or early autumn, where the natural world begins to retreat into a golden, sun-drenched haze.

This 2018 painting, titled Hirusagari (Early Afternoon), is another masterful creation by Koda Fumika, whose work often explores the quiet, overlapping worlds of nature and domesticity.

Koda Fumika: Signs of Summer (2019) This 2019 work, titled Natsumeku (Signs of Summer), is a delicate execution in traditional Japanese painting materials by Koda Fumika. Painted with mineral pigments on silk, the piece showcases the artist's signature ability to combine precise naturalist observation with a tranquil, atmospheric quality. The central subject is a black-and-white tuxedo cat resting in a composed, tucked-in pose. The cat's expression—a subtle, heavy-lidded gaze—perfectly captures the languor associated with the onset of summer heat. Above the cat, a branch of begonia leaves with clusters of small pink blossoms arches gracefully, providing a sense of enclosure and shade. The use of mineral pigments allows for a soft, matte finish and subtle gradations in the green leaves and warm, golden-tan background, which are hallmarks of the Nihonga style. Koda's focus on the individual hairs of the cat's muzzle and the delicate veins of the leaves demonstrates a profound respect for the minute details of the natural world.

This 2019 work, titled Natsumeku (Signs of Summer), is a delicate execution in traditional Japanese painting materials by Koda Fumika. Painted with mineral pigments on silk, the piece showcases the artist's signature ability to combine naturalist observation with a tranquil, atmospheric quality.