Good morning from Japan! The Cherry Blossom Season is almost over in Tokyo. Capturing that melancholic mood, here is a set of film photography taken a few years ago at Hirano Shrine in Kyoto.

Mamiya 6, 50mm f/4
Fujicolor Pro 400H

Shopping is big in #Japan . Let us show you multiple good shopping areas in #Kyoto and what to buy there. What are your favorite shopping places in Kyoto? https://backpackandsnorkel.com/Kyoto/

South of Kyōto City, the major Shintō shrine closest our house is Nagaoka Tenman-gū (長岡天満宮), associated with the presence of the statesman-scholar Fujiwara Michizane (菅原道真) over a thousand years ago in the Heian Period. He was not the only case of being exiled wrongly by the Imperial court, followed by natural disasters, interpreted as the work of his angry ghost, then being deified as the Shintō kami Tenjin (天神) to supplicate his spirit. Thus the shrine is also called Nagaoka Tenjin (長岡天神). Students facing high-stakes exams have traditionally prayed at the many Tenjin shrines to this god of learning. Today, the large shrine grounds provide a place to walk and commune with nature as well as to worship and to hold hopeful events. Now is peak cherry blossom season, so here are four scenes where I often go for contemplative hikes.

Publications on Japan: https://japanned.hcommons.org/japanology

#Japan #Kyoto #Shinto #shrine #spring #cherry #blossoms #nature #hiking #photos #photography

@religion

A basic walk in Kyoto is from the Kawaramachi Station area along shops to Yasaka Shrine, then Maruyama Park (first photo). But instead of turning right toward the traditional shops along the slope and reaching the world heritage temple Kiyomizudera, I sometimes turn left and go along the slope to Chion-In (other three photos), the national head temple of a Pure Land Buddhist sect. Pure Land Buddhism has the most adherents in Japan, and this is a very large-scale temple for parishioners and members nationwide, rather than a sort of outdoor museum or monument like Kiyomizudera and most other major tourist attractions.

Everywhere in Kyoto and other prefectures is gorgeous during the fleeting cherry blossom viewing season, so any walking route with a lot of cultivated nature is rewarding to experience now.

The Peace Preservation Law, aimed at rooting out socialists and communists, was promulgated 100 years ago, while a new museum for kanji was opened in Kyoto 25 years ago. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/04/05/japan/history/peace-law-womens-week-minobe-kanji-history-1925-1950-1975-2000/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #history #law #freedomofspeech #feminism #womensrights #ryokichiminobe #ryoichikuroda #kanji #kyoto

Cherry trees are blooming on the Philosopher's Path in Kyoto but not fully yet. The south entrance path is just starting to blossom. This weekend and next week, the Sakura will be in full bloom!

04/03/2025
Sakyo Ward, Kyoto City