festivals

Introducing Japanese festivals.

05/31/2019Central Tokyokaori

Spring Rose Festival at Kyu-Furukawa Gardens

Rose Festival twice a year at Kyu-Furukawa Gardens Spring Rose Festival at Kyu-Furukawa Gardens, Kita ward, Tokyo is held until June 2, 2019. The different kinds of roses can be enjoyed until the end of June. We enjoyed the beautiful roses in full bloom. My guests were so delighted, saying “so instagrammable!!” and took many photos. Enjoy Japanese-style Garden along with roses Western house. Kyu-Furukawa Gardens is famous for its roses and standby Western-style brick house designed by Josiah Condor, a British architect who contributed to Western architecture in Japan during the Meiji to Taisho period. This garden is well-known for Western-style garden, but actually has Japanese-style Garden too. We can […]

05/08/2018events and holidayskaori

Children’s Day

Children’s Day is former Boys’ Day May 5th is celebrated as Children’s day in Japan. It used to be Boys’ Festival. As it is designated as a national holiday, it turned to  “Children’s Day” for both boys and girls, because we have Girls’ Festival known as Doll Festival on March 3rd but not registered as a national holiday, it’s fair to have a national holiday for both. Displaying Samurai armor dolls is common practice. It is traditionally for Boys. The families with boys display Samurai armor dolls called “Gogatsu-ningyo” and Samurai helmet called “Kabuto” in their houses to pray boys will grow as strong as Samurai warriors. “Gogatsu” means May and […]

03/01/2018Central Tokyokaori

 Yushima Tenmangu shrine & Plum Festival

Yushima Tenmangu is commonly called Yushima Ten-jin. “Ten-jin” means God of Thunder. This shrine is famous for God of Academics, attracting many students who pray for passing the entrance examinations. It is believed that any part of bull statue which people touched will be cured. So many touch its head.  Enshrines a first actual person to be worshipped as a deity. Yushima-Tenmangu enshrines Sugawara no Michizane.  He is a historical figure who was a talented scholar serving for the Emperor in the middle Heian period (794 AD–1185 AD). He was demoted and dispelled through a conspiracy by his rival of the Fujiwara Clan but never developed the hatred for those who […]