2019-07
#815 I went to ko-do master’s house. ~Japanese incense art and “misogi” custom~
Ko-do master’s house
I went to Ko-do master’s house last Sunday.
Ko-do is a traditional Japanese incense art. My friend, she is one of the Ko-do master’s students.
She invited me to join a Ko-do game at her master’s house. Although it was rainy, some people were wearing kimono, my friend too when I got to the house. The master’s house was so tidy and stylish.
Ko-do game started
10 people sat down on tatami mat and the Ko-do game started. My friend being the presenter, served us 3 types of incense, each in a koro, in order. A koro is an incense pot. We smelled three koros and tried to identify the difference. The first time was a rehearsal. Then the actual gameplay started.
She served four koroes in random order. We smelled each koro. One of them was a new incense that we haven’t smelled before.
Every time after I smelled, I wrote down the name of incense on a small piece of paper. It was difficult for me to memorize each smell.
When it is time to reveal the answer, the assistant wrote down our answers individually on a paper with a brush pen. My answer was 50% correct. Nobody answered perfectly.
June 30th is “Nagoshi no harae”(夏越の祓)
It was June 30th. the day is called “Nagoshi no harae”(夏越の祓). It is summer purification rites held at shrines on the last day of the sixth lunar month. Although I didn’t know the custom very much. We Japanese have a custom to stay away from bad evil things by using a paper doll in some areas of Japan.
One of the guests was a Shinto priest. She kindly prepared some paper dolls for us. I wrote my name and age on it. Then I chose 3 places on the paper doll to blow gently on. By doing so, it is supposed to relieve any pain and improve the body part’s functions in my body. She collected our dolls and headed to shrine to pray for us.
I really appreciated what the priest, the kodo master and my friends did. They taught me some very interesting Japanese traditions.
Sweets named ”Minazuki”
Afterwards, the kodo master served some sweets and maccha tea to us. Actually, there is a special traditional sweet for the day of “Nagoshi no harae”. It is originated from Kyoto but nowadays it is sold in many places in Japan. It is called “minazuki”. It is uiro(sweet rice jelly) with red beans on the topped shaped as a triangle. It is believed that red beans can scare away evil things. However we didn’t have “minazuki” at the kodo master’s house because she didn’t like it. We ate warabi-mochi jelly instead.
Small joy!!!(2019.6.30)
↓Here is my previous post about “Kodo”~traditional Japanese incense art~
#816 Strawberry paste and baby nephew
Baby nephew
I have an eight months old nephew.
I can’t see him very much because we live kind of far away from each other. His mother who is my sister-in-low, sometimes sends me his pics and videos. My favorite video is when he ate strawberry paste for the first time in his life. His mother is trying to wean him from breast milk.
His wry face is so funny!!
She gave the strawberry paste using a spoon to his small mouth. He tasted it and suddenly made a wry face. He swayed his head away. It seemed the strawberry paste was too sour for him.
I feel sorry for him, but that’s so funny!
I can’t stop laughing to see his face every time when I watch it.
He is so cute and adorable.
Pay more attention to try to feel more deeply and intensely
Babies and kids remind us of the moments when we experience things for the first time. Doing something new is always exciting.
As we get older, there are less new things we can experience. But maybe that’s not true. If we pay more attention to try to feel more deeply and intensely, we may be able to discover something new from the plain old day-to-day things. Having the right attitude and mindset can make our lives fun.
I am jealous of my nephew that there are so many things waiting for him to discover and experience.
Small joy!!(2019.6)
#817 A fragrance bracelet
Fragrance bracelet
I found a nice bracelet at a department store. The bracelet was made form Japanese glass beads and was made by a Nepalese woman by hand. There were many kinds of design and they were colorful and cute. The most charming point about these bracelets is that you can smell the fragrance when wearing it.
aroma bottles
The shop had many varieties of aromas. I smelled a lot of aroma bottles. Then I chose one named “chakra balancing essential oil”. It is a blend of 25 essential oils that will help to rebalance and harmonies one’s chakra energy centres.
My purchase helps a Nepalese woman
I also chose a colorful bracelet. There was a name card in the bracelet’s package. I can read the name, Seema. I think she made the bracelet. And my purchase helps to improve the quality of life for her in Nepal.
Young people tend to have sharper sense of smell
I added 2 drops of oil to the bracelet and I really enjoyed the smell.
Some young ladies standing around said it smelled good too.
But kids at my cram school, especially boys don’t like the smell.
Finally I found that young people tend to have sharper sense of smell and more straightforward.
Sorry kids! I’ll try another smell which is more kids-friendly next time!
Small joy!!(2019.6.14)
