Japan

 Hello all! I'm back to travelling after a wonderful stay in Oceania. So this time I'm journeying my way across the region of Asia, and I'm starting with the land of the rising sun, Japan!

Japan is a country made up of many different islands, with four main ones making up the majority of Japanese land. This country found in the Pacific Ocean is home to roughly 124.2 million people. Here you'll be using the Japanese yen, which you can get about 140 of for 1 USD. The capital of this east asian country is Tokyo, which is home to an astounding 36.9 million people, making it one of the largest cities in the world in terms of population. 

Now that some info is out of the way, let's get going around Japan!

So for my first stop in Japan I'm going to Kyoto. A major tourist destination in Japan, Kyoto is home to just about everything one could want. One such place, one which is a major cultural site, is the Fushimi Inari Shrine. It is a massive and important Shinto shrine found in Kyoto. It is famous for it's pathways surrounded by Toshii gates that lead up to the shrine. Torii gates are an important Shinto symbol. They lie at the entrance or at important parts of shrines to mark the transition from the mundane and normal to the divine and sacred. Fushimi Inari is vital as it is the largest and considered most important shrine to the shinto deity Inari, who is the god of rice. The shrine grounds are ancient, predating the capital moving to Kyoto all the way back to 794.

The famous rows of gates, as seen in the first picture, is known as Senbon Torii. There are two of them made up of thousand of gates that lead up the mountain to another shrine. To hike up and back would take about 2-3 hours. Along the way there are a multitude of smaller shrines and even restaurants for if you get hungry along the way. One of these restaurants is actually another stop of mine today.

This wonderful restaurant is one of many along these trails, and it features local dishes, such as the popular one seen above known as Kitsune Udon, or Fox Udon. Don't worry, there is no fox at all in this. It includes a tofu fillet, pink swirl fish cakes and spring onions! The reason this is popular here is because the fox is an important symbol to Inari, as they are seen as his messengers. This was an absolutely delicious dish. I am a major fan of Udon so I had to problem eating this right up.

Anyway the reason why I am here at this restaurant is to speak with a friend of mine who lives here and is somewhat of an expert in Japanese folklore. I'm here to talk to him about the story of Amaterasu. Amaterasu is the japanese sun deity and is seen as the highest one, as explained by my friend.

"Amaterasu is considered to be the sort of highest deity in Japanese mythology. Like how the Greeks have Zeus and the Norse have Odin, the Japanese have Amaterasu. Her name translates to (Ama) shining (terasu) heaven. According to myths, Amaterasu was born with her siblings Tsukuyomi (Goddess of the Moon) and Susanoo (God of Storms). You see, their father Izanagi was filled with sadness after the loss of his wife, Izanami, who he lost during childbirth with the fire god, Kagutsuchi. Izanagi travels to Yomi, the land of the dead, to see her but is later scared away. After running away, he attempts to purify himself by using river water. As he does this, he sees three gods stand before him. Amaterasu appears as he washes his left eye, Tsukuyomi as he washes the right, and Susanoo as he washes his nose. These three become extremely important, however Amaterasu more so because her light is seen as powerful. She brings light to the heavens and Earth, and as such is crowned the ruler of the heavens.

One other important thing that is alike many other cultures, is that the rulers of Japans early civilization were seen as being the children of Amaterasu, basically sent down to the world to rule with the heavenly power they would receive from her."

What I find really interesting about this is how these stories are not too unlike those of the Greeks or Romans or Norse or Indian or Aztec. All these different cultures, from so many different places around the world, all coming up with somewhat similar ideas. I find it absolutely fascinating and I would love to know what other similar ideas were shared by cultures that, for as far as we generally knew, didn't interact.

After a wonderful conversation, I headed to the heart of Kyoto to experience my last thing in Japan. You see, Japan has many different forms of art, but none is probably as well known as the art of Kabuki.

Kabuki is an old Japanese art form that mixes dancing, singing, acting and even mime into a traditional theatrical experience. You see, the name Kabuki actually represents this. Ka meaning song, Bu meaning dance and Ki meaning skill. A form of drama, these plays date back to the 17th century from a woman named Okuni, who became popular with her parodies of Buddhist prayers. Over time they evolved, but mostly stayed the same. The practice of Kabuki is one that isn't seen for it's writing and literary prowess as say, Shakespeare, but it is supposed to be a vessel for the actors to show off their many different skills.

Kabuki is an incredibly nuanced form of art. There is traditionally a moderate amount of interplay between performers and the audience, with the performers often stopping the show to address the audience. Traditionally, these spectacles would last from day to night, so it was normal for audience members to rotate out throughout the day, only staying for a scene or two.

Kabuki is a wonderous part of Japanese culture and I believe anyone coming to Japan should try their best to experience some form of this wonderful art. It is a look straight into Japanese culture, a form remained (for the most part) untouched since its inception, something that resonates well with much of Japan.

Well friends, that is all for my stay in Japan! Please join me next time as I explore the Philippines and please consider any of these things in your next visit to the country!