Portland Japanese Garden

According to the legend of Prince Siddhartha's birth, his mother Queen Maya was traveling home to see her parents and had stopped to rest in the lush Gardens of Lumbini where she went into labor. It is said that auspicious signs heralded his birth, the sky was clear with brilliant sunshine, flowers bloomed, and birds sang. Directly after his birth, nine heavenly dragons appeared and emitted two streams, one cool and one warm, of the purest fragrant rain from their mouths that gently cascaded to bathe the newly born Prince. The baby Prince immediately took seven steps and seven lotus flowers sprang from beneath his feet.

Flowers drifted down from the heavens. The young Prince purified in body and mind from the rain, pointed one hand towards the heavens and one towards the earth and said, "Heaven above and earth beneath, I am the Honored One, the One who liberates all who suffer in the Three Realms."

From this story, we celebrate Hana (flower) Matsuri (festival) and we create the Hana Midou (flower covered/filled altar). A statue of the young Shaka Nyorai is placed in the middle of the altar and celebrants pour sweet tea over him commemorating his entry into this world.

Jonathan Ley

by Lynn Geis

Emerging from the Nagasaki train station on a sunny morning in early July, I was surprised and delighted to see a row of limber bamboo branches arranged in front of the station, each one festooned with colorful strips of paper and paper ornaments which fluttered in the breeze. What was this about? A shopkeeper answered, "Tanabata!" I soon learned about the old legend that inspired this charming display.

Mukashi, mukashi (long, long ago) in the celestial world, Shokujo the Weaver Princess (visible to us as the star Vega) wove enchanted cloth for the garments of her father, the king. One day while walking along the banks of the Amanogawa (The Heavenly River or Milky Way), she met Kengyū, a handsome cowherd (the star Altair). They fell passionately in love and the king consented to their marriage in order to please his daughter. When the happy bride began neglecting her weaving, the selfish king became angry and sent Kengyū to the opposite side of the river, after which he permitted them to meet only once a year. It is on July seventh that the two stars are close enough for the annual lovers' tryst. Magpies help them by creating a bridge across the Heavenly River with their wings. Sadly, a cloudy sky on July seventh keeps them from meeting, and rain symbolizes the tears they shed knowing they must wait another year to be together. In the happy years when they are able to meet they have the power to grant wishes.

School children—and grownups with a romantic nature—write wishes on strips of paper and make other bright paper decorations to hang on bamboo poles to attract the attention of Shokujo and Kengyū. Tanabata bamboo poles are placed in front of schools, some homes, and many businesses. Maybe the bending Tanabata bamboo poles symbolize the bridge.

My friend Miki says that Tanabata is primarily a festival for children, but grownups like to get in the act too. She tells me it is common to hang out lots of lanterns, and in Kyōto she has seen masses of Christmas lights used to create a convincing Milky Way. Some big department stores have huge bamboo groves and provide strips of paper for customers to write their wishes on. A few cities have developed major Tanabata festivals with parades, music and dancing, and dramatizations of the legend. Of course, there are booths selling food and trinkets that seem poised to spring to the sidewalk at the drop of a handkerchief—or an origami crane!

Lynn Geis writes monthly articles on Japanese culture and crafts for Yuuyake Shimbun, a newspaper published in Portland, Oregon by Pacific Rim Publications. Please write to kcobb@japanesegarden.com for information regarding reprint rights. © 2006

by Lynn Geis
photos by Lynn and Ed Geis

Lynn and Ed Geis

The children in Japan have a national holiday especially dedicated to them! Kodomo no Hi (Children's Day) is celebrated in Japan on the fifth day of the fifth month: May 5. It is one of the four holidays that comprise Golden Week.* To call it "Children's Day" is a modern attempt to be inclusive, but most Japanese still consider it Boy's Day, as they have for several centuries. The girls have their own holiday, Hina Matsuri (Doll Festival) on March 3, the third day of the third month, but it is not a national holiday.

This day, set aside to honor sons and pray for their vigor and prosperity, was observed as early as the sixth century. It was called Tango no Sekku and possibly was inspired by a Chinese Dragon Boat Festival. "Sekku" means "a season's festival;" the meaning of "Tango" is obscure. Sometime in the early Edo period (1600s), families began celebrating this day by hoisting koi nobori—large paper koi (carp)—on tall bamboo poles, with one koi for each son in the family. Koi were chosen to symbolize a family's hopes for strong and healthy sons, because koi are powerful and determined fish capable of swimming upstream and working their way through rapids and up waterfalls to reach their destination. Legends tell of koi ascending high waterfalls, whereupon they reached heaven and were transformed into dragons. Japanese dragons are extremely auspicious and revered.

Koi nobori pennants are tubular and catch the wind, creating a convincing image of a swimming fish. Traditionally, at the top of the bamboo pole there is a streamer with the family crest, then a black fish to represent the father, a red one for the eldest son, and other koi for additional sons. Some of the koi nobori are hand-painted and can be very expensive and very large—up to four feet long. It is popular for grandparents to give a set to a family when the first son is born.

In the olden days people believed that koi nobori and kabuto, samurai helmets, were effective talismans to protect children from evil spirits. At this time of year, little boys all over Japan can be spotted wearing folded paper or plastic kabuto. Many families also set up a display of handsome dolls in the armor of feudal generals and samurai warriors. Every holiday has some traditional foods and for Kodomo no Hi (Children's Day) there are popular kashiwa mochi, (mochi balls filled with sweet bean paste and wrapped in oak leaves) and chimaki (mochi wrapped in bamboo leaves), more symbols of strength.

Since ancient days, the beginning of spring has been a time of purification ceremonies and rituals which are performed to drive away evil spirits. Japanese iris bloom at this time of year, and the sharp sword-like leaves are floated on a son's bath water as another symbol of strength and to ward off evil spirits.

There is a controversy over whether koi nobori should be flown for daughters. I have read that this is encouraged, but I have checked with several Japanese friends, they are emphatic that the koi are only flown for sons in the family.

Many traditions seem to fall out of practice in the crowded cities, so one is more apt to spot the pennants in the countryside. Ritsuko, who lives in a small town near Nagasaki, told me that there is no space for koi nobori at her brother's house, so his family comes home to grandma's farm to hoist the pennant. She mentioned that the koi nobori and other flags were a gift to her nephew from relatives. Rochi, who lives on Shikoku, told me his father "flew koi nobori into the blue sky" for him until he was in middle school. He added, "sometimes quite many koi nobori families are flying above a wide river," and I remember seeing them suspended from wires strung across the gorge when I took a float trip down a remote Shikoku river.

* Golden Week: Schools and some businesses close between April 29 and May 5.

April 29 — Greenery Day, formerly celebrated as Emperor Hirohito's birthday.

May 3rd — Constitution Day, commemorating the ratification of a new constitution on May 3, 1947.

May 4 — humbly known as "in between day," falling between other holidays, it became another day off. In 2007 its status will probably be upgraded to "Greenery Day," and Emperor Hirohito's birthday will be more specifically honored as Showa Day, recognizing the name of the era of his reign.

May 5 — Children's Day.

Internet research: look for Kodomo no Hi on the Wikipedia site. You will find a photo of flying koi and a special song for the day.

Lynn Geis writes monthly articles on Japanese culture and crafts for Yuuyake Shimbun, a newspaper published in Portland, Oregon by Pacific Rim Publications. Please write to kcobb@japanesegarden.com for information regarding reprint rights. © 2006

by Lynn Geis
photos by Lynn and Ed Geis

A few years ago, I found some wonderful old dolls while poking around in an antique shop in Nagasaki. The shop was cluttered and I was curious when I spotted three small dolls jammed in under other things on the disorderly shelves. They caught my eye because of their seated poses with cute bare feet jutting out from their old-style costumes, and because they were men. Two of them held poles, but one's poised hands had long since lost whatever he originally possessed. One even had bushy white eyebrows. When I bought them I did not know anything about Hina Matsuri (Doll's Festival), but later I learned that my little gentlemen were the courtiers from a much larger set. I will never know how they became separated from the emperor they once served, but I did learn about the special ceremony they had been a part of in a happier day. They probably never dreamed of traveling to America, but perhaps feel honored to be cultural emissaries.

In Japan, March 3rd is Hina Matsuri, also called Girl's Day. Families with daughters display doll sets that range from a simple pair of ceramic Emperor and Empress dolls to very elaborate dolls dressed in silk kimonos. Complete sets are arranged on collapsible stairway-type stands, which are draped with red felt (red for good luck). The Emperor and Empress sit on the top step, three ladies-in-waiting are on the second step, next come five musicians (a Noh ensemble), then two guards armed with bows and arrows, and three courtiers who carry the emperor's shoes, hat, and parasol.

The holiday is also known as Momo no Sekku (Peach Festival), so tiny peach trees decorate the scene, along with lanterns and household goods, such as storage chests and tea ceremony sets. Little girls do not play with these sets, but they may get to dress up in a kimono and have a party with their friends.

Lynn and Ed Geis

Hina Matsuri is an occasion to pray for the health and happiness of daughters. It is traditional to serve small fried rice cases and hishi mochi, which are diamond-shaped mochi (pounded glutinous rice) in various colors, and children can even taste a thimble-full of special sake. One friend explained, "Nowadays, the rooms for the display are getting smaller, and also these sets are very expensive." She observes the occasion by placing Emperor and Empress dolls on top of the piano. However, if a family with daughters does not display any dolls, it may bring bad luck, especially when it comes to finding a suitable husband for a daughter. It is also bad luck to leave the dolls out for more than a couple of weeks.

In ancient times, small clay or straw dolls were put by babies to ward off illness and evil spirits. Once a year the dolls were floated away on the river, taking all bad luck with them. During the Edo period (1600–1867), dolls began to play a different role. There were rules governing every aspect of life, including what people could wear. The merchant class was not allowed to wear colorful silk, but they were becoming affluent in this long period of peace. One way to flaunt their wealth was to invest in dolls that could be dressed in the finest silk.

Today, finely crafted dolls can cost thousands of dollars, and special sets become precious heirlooms to pass along to grandchildren. However, there are dolls for any budget, from miniature paper dolls to the elaborate dolls dressed by master craftsmen.

Lynn Geis writes monthly articles on Japanese culture and crafts for Yuuyake Shimbun, a newspaper published in Portland, Oregon by Pacific Rim Publications. Please write to kcobb@japanesegarden.com for information regarding reprint rights. © 2006

by Lynn Geis

Throughout the land, blossoms are in their prime: on every ridge a white cloud lingers.
—Saigyo, twelfth century poet

Springtime in Japan: nightly television broadcasts include reports on the "cherry blossom front" and the progression of blooming sakura (flowering cherry trees) from the southern prefectures to the northern reaches of Japan. The small landmass of the four main islands of Japan is stretched from the 32nd to the 45th parallel (on the east coast of the U.S., that's from Georgia to Maine), with climates ranging from sub-tropical Kyushu to Hokkaido where the snow may not melt until May. Japanese from Nagasaki to Sapporo anticipate the lovely spectacle of lightly scented cherry blossoms, creating a pale pink canopy that will only last a few days until the first spring rain washes the beauty away.

The sakura is native to Japan, and for centuries large numbers of them have been planted in parks and public gardens. Hana Mi (flower viewing) parties follow the cherry blossom front and the following scene is repeated throughout the country: it is a sunny afternoon in April and a young sa-ra-ri-man (salaryman or office worker) sits on a reed mat looking bored. He might be reading a manga (adult comic book) while he takes his turn staking out a prime spot and waiting for the relief man. Other lone men are sitting on mats and vinyl tarps all over the park. After work, salarymen, OL (office ladies), and their supervisors will congregate on the mats for an enkai (drinking party). People will bring food, someone has promised to bring a karaoke set, and there will be plenty of sake. When the festivities are in full swing, singing in Japanese and English will fill the air. Listen carefully, you're bound to hear "Moon River." As exuberance—or sake—overrides inhibition, some people will dance in their stocking feet on the mats. In true Japanese fashion, shoes will be neatly lined up around the edge of the mat.

On weeknights the groups are predominately contingents of work groups. On weekends, families or groups of friends take over the parks, bringing o-bento (honorable lunch boxes), karaoke sets, and more sake!

My friend Satoshi explained that a long time ago people believed that kami (spirits of ancestors) caused the trees to burst into bloom. To admire the blossoming trees was to revere the kami. They also believed that some people were possessed by kami and had supernatural powers. The easiest way for common people to be "possessed" was to get a little drunk on sake. Satoshi said that the word "sake" derived from saku, the verb "to bloom."

The custom has a long history. Hana Mi that were held in the gardens of the nobility are described in The Tale of Genji, a novel written during the Heian Period (794-1185). A popular aristocratic pastime was having a poetry competition, with guests vying to impress each other with verses composed on the spot. Cherry blossoms were seen as symbols of the transience of life, perfect for poetic allusion.

Cherry flowers,
the image of
our fleeting world—
no sooner have they opened
than they begin to fall.
—Anonymous poet, ninth century

Reverence for nature is integral to Shintoism, the indigenous spiritual practice of the Japanese. A cherry blossom party offers a perfect blend of ancient traditions and contemporary desire to relax on a spring evening with friends.

Poems are from An Anthology of Japanese Poetry from the Country of Eight Islands, edited and translated by Hiroaki Sato and Burton Watson, Anchor Press, 1981.

Lynn Geis writes monthly articles on Japanese culture and crafts for Yuuyake Shimbun, a newspaper published in Portland, Oregon by Pacific Rim Publications. Please write to kcobb@japanesegarden.com for information regarding reprint rights. © 2006

by Lynn Geis
photos by Lynn and Ed Geis

O-Shogatsu*
(New Year's)

New Year's in Japan is similar in spirit to America's Christmas season. Many Japanese make a special effort to visit Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples during the New Year's holidays, and family members get together to celebrate. Prior to 1873, the lunar calendar dictated the date of New Year's. Since the adoption of the solar calendar, New Year's Day is celebrated on January first. In the weeks and days leading up to the new year, Japanese of all ages are busy with myriad activities to ensure making a fresh start and enjoying good fortune in the coming year.

*: O precedes many words in this article. It is an honorific appended to many words in Japanese to show respect or reverence.

Bonenkai
("forget the past year" parties)

The idea behind Bonenkai is to hold a party where lots of food and plenty of alcohol are served, to help wash away all the unpleasantness of the past year and begin the new year with a clean slate. Bonenkai are a must for every work group. There may be parties for one department, the whole company, clients, etc. Options for these parties range from snack food and drinks to lavish social gatherings on a cruise ship sailing around the Sumida River in Tokyo complete with live music and dancing. There may be parties for other groups as well, such as judo or chess clubs or former classmates.

O-soji
(big cleaning)

According to ancient belief, Toshigami (God of the Year) visits every home at New Year's, so many preparations are devoted to being ready to receive him. These preparations might include paying off debts and thoroughly cleaning the house, office, or classroom. Floors and walls are scrubbed, rooms and desks are tidied, and borrowed items are returned. School children always clean their school, but for o-soji they make a game of running across the floors pushing damp towels with their hands.

kadomatsu

© Lynn & Ed Geis

Kado matsu
(translates as "gate pine")

Kado matsu is the name of a traditional arrangement of three bamboo stalks, branches of pine and plum, and some rice straw. It is considered a temporary home for the kami, or god of the new year. Some homes set these decorations on either side of the entry. Department stores and other businesses put large kado matsu at the entrance. This trio of plants is rich with symbolism: the pine represents long life, bamboo represents strength and resilience, and the plum—which is the first tree to bloom, sometimes when there is still frost on the ground—represents constancy and hope.

Shimenawa
(sacred rice straw)

Evil spirits cannot pass beyond a garland of freshly braided rope of rice straw festooned with folded white paper. After thorough house cleaning, many Japanese hang shimenawa across the front door so bad luck cannot enter. Some people even drape the ropes across their car grills. Throughout the year, one sees shimenawa at the entrance of many temples and shrines, and wrapped around trunks of ancient trees.

shimenawa

© Lynn & Ed Geis

The use of shimenawa can be traced back to the Japanese legend of Amaterasu, the Sun Goddess. After her brother, the Storm God Susano, played a nasty trick on her, Amaterasu hid in a cave, thus casting the whole world into darkness. Another brother, the Moon God, soothed her by dancing in front of the cave while lesser gods played musical instruments. Amaterasu was overcome with curiosity and enticed out of the cave where she became entranced with her own reflection in a mirror that had been hung in front of the cave. The Moon God quickly stretched a rice straw rope across the entrance of the cave to prevent her from going back into hiding, and so sunlight was brought back into the world.

Nengajo
(New Year's postcards)

By mid-December people are busy addressing nengajo to send to business associates and clients as well as friends and family. They are available in a great variety of styles, like American Christmas cards. Creative or ambitious people make their own. All postcards dropped off at the Post Office by a specified date are delivered on New Year's morning by an army of temporary workers hired for this one special day. It takes an army: four billion nengajo are sent annually. To add to the excitement, the Post Office prints cards with lottery numbers on one side and a blank side to be decorated by the sender. A lottery drawing is televised in mid-January, with thousands of prizes awarded.

sake casks at a shrine

© Lynn & Ed Geis

Sake

On the morning of New Year's Day, otoso (spiced sake) is served. First, the eldest family member drinks three gulps, and then each family member—in order of their age—takes a turn. Large sake casks are broken open at shrines or community events and served to everyone.

Mochi
(pounded glutinous rice)

Most stores close for several days at New Year's, so in the days before refrigeration a variety of preserved foods became part of traditional New Year's meals. The most important of these is mochi, or pounded glutinous rice. Mochi will keep for several days and is also tasty grilled. These days it is possible to buy mochi at the grocery store or to make it with an electric pounding appliance, but the very best mochi is made the old-fashioned way: hot steamy rice is put in a heavy wooden or granite usu (mortar) and pounded with a large wooden kine (pestle or mallet). Rice has been the most important crop in Japan for centuries, the key to prosperity and a full belly, and pounding rice brings out its sacred essence. The final result is a soft, smooth, and chewy dough-like glob that is pinched into small balls. It may be filled with sweet bean paste, dropped like dumplings into soup, or used in a hundred other ways (depending on the region). Mochitsuki (mochi pounding) is a family or community event, with people taking turns at pounding, while another person with courage and care reaches into the bowl between hits to turn the rice.

Kagami Mochi
(mirror mochi)

Two large mochi balls (some as big as a cantaloupe) are stacked with a bright orange on the top and festooned with sacred papers, fern boughs, and other auspicious decorations. Some say the mochi represents the mirror that the Sun Goddess Amaterasu saw when she came out of the cave and brought sunlight back to the universe. The arrangement is placed in front of a family's small in-home altar and on altars in shrines and temples, and merchants often set kagami mochi on the counter. This custom began in the fourteenth or fifteenth century. Rice is central to the nation's prosperity, so a rice offering is a way to give thanks for a bountiful harvest as well as a prayer for future good fortune. People call the orange "Dai dai suzuku"; "Dai dai" is the name of a particular orange, and it also means "generation". "Suzuku" is the verb "to continue."

Joya no Kane
(the night-watch bell)

family ringing a temple bell

© Lynn & Ed Geis

The final act of wiping the slate clean is played out at Buddhist temples all over the country, starting before midnight on December 31. In a ceremony called Joya no Kane, temple bells are rung one hundred and eight times to welcome the new year and obliterate the sins or troublesome desires of the past year. One explanation of this precise number is that, according to Buddhist teaching, there are six senses: sight, smell, taste, touch, hearing, and cognition; these have three natures: good, bad, and neutral. Each of these 18 attributes has both positive and negative aspects that can exist in the past, present, or future. Thus you have 6 × 3 × 2 × 3 or 108 reasons to toll the bell. Traditionalists visit the temple grounds before midnight to watch and listen, or maybe be invited to climb a ladder into the belfry to take a turn striking the huge iron bell. Those who prefer a televised ceremony from the warmth of their home can watch a team of thirty monks toll the seventy-four-ton bell at the Chion-in Temple in Kyoto.

Music

Earlier on New Year's Eve, there is a televised performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony which they call Daiku (Great Nine). It has been a popular concert for the holiday season since the 1900's, but now it must vie for loyalty with "The Red Versus the White Battle," a competition between male and female pop music stars—a singing Super Bowl.

Firsts

Once everyone is ready for a fresh start, there are many auspicious "firsts." Early birds trek to a favorite viewpoint to greet the first sunrise of the year. Then there is Hatsumode, the first visit to temples and shrines where various amulets are for sale, such as images of the Shichifukujin (Seven Gods of Good Fortune) or the zodiac animal for the year.

Food

New Year's food, O-sechi ryori, is purchased or prepared at home ahead of time for first meals and includes o-zoni, a soup with regional variations but which always includes mochi balls. Other foods are on the menu because of their appearance or because their name sounds like something auspicious. For example, long soba noodles (toshikoshi) represent long life and must be eaten very close to midnight; herring eggs suggest fertility; tataki gobo or gobo root ensures a stable, deeply rooted life because "tataki" sounds like "lots of joy"; sea bream or tai is on the menu because the reddish color is good luck and "tai" reminds one of medetai (congratulations); shrimp represent the hope to live to old age and have long whiskers; black beans are called mame and "mame mame shi" refers to an industrious person; and lotus root is a reminder of the Land of Happiness where the lotus blooms and Buddha lives.

Dreams

Some day, some how, someone divined that certain images occuring in a dream on New Year's eve foretell good luck for the coming year. Most auspicious: Mt. Fuji—next, a hawk—third, an eggplant!

Zodiac

The Japanese zodiac differs from the western one in some significant ways: your birth year, not month, dictates your sign, and there are twelve animals in this zodiac. There are two legends explaining how the twelve animals earned their special place in the zodiac:

• The first legend tells how five thousand years ago in China, Huang Di, the Jade Emperor, invited all the animals of the kingdom to participate in a race across a river. The first twelve across would forever represent one of the twelve years in the lunar cycle. First across the river was clever Rat, who rode on the oxen's back and jumped off at the finish line. Next came Ox, then Tiger, Rabbit, and Dragon. Snake finished sixth, followed by Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Chicken, Dog, and Boar.

• In the second legend (which dates back around 2500 years), Buddha invites all the animals of the kingdom to a special feast. Only twelve animals come and Buddha designates each one as a special representative for a month and a year. Buddha describes the strengths and weaknesses of each one, and directs them to go into the world and be an inspiration and a guide to all people.

The Lunar New Year occurs sometime in late January or early February. The entire lunar zodiac cycle is sixty years, and combines the five elements of metal, water, wood, fire, and earth, plus yin and yang energy. In addition to years and months, days and hours of the day also have special characteristics. Some Japanese calendars offer this information, but most modern Japanese don't understand the complex system.

The horoscopes that derive from the lunar zodiac enjoy great popularity, and auspicious dates are interpreted by Shinto priests and frequently relied upon as lucky for important events such as marriages, beginning a construction project, or opening a new business.

Each year calendars, toys, and myriad products are produced with the image of the zodiac animal for that year. Papier-mâché zodiac animals are made in a variety of styles in regions throughout Japan, including whimsical head-bobbers.

Otoshidama

Children look forward to visits from their relatives at New Year's because they will receive otoshidama, little decorated envelopes of money. If the grandparents have their way, children will still play some old card games, fly kites, spin tops, or play hanetsuki, a game similar to badminton.

Akemashite omedeto gozaimasu!

Happy New Year!

NOTE: Because many Japanese customs date back to the beginning of recorded history, there are various interpretations of the symbolism of rituals. The internet is a rich repository of information about all of the topics discussed in this article. You will be rewarded for your efforts with many photos and personal accounts.

Lynn Geis writes monthly articles on Japanese culture and crafts for Yuuyake Shimbun, a newspaper published in Portland, Oregon by Pacific Rim Publications. Please write to kcobb@japanesegarden.com for information regarding reprint rights. © 2006