What's Up with Mount Fuji?

 There are plenty of famous mountains in the world.  What's the first one that pops into your mind?  Mt. Everest?  Mt. Vesuvius?  Table Mountain?  Mt. Rainier?  Kilimanjaro  Denali?  The Matterhorn?  There are exhaustive lists.  The tallest.  The most distinctive shape.  (Not all mountains are 'pointed'.)  Active volcanoes?  Even the Most Famous.  Mount Fuji is the Japanese mountain which holds the spiritual, sacred heart of it's people and is also a national symbol of Japan.  Its shape is instantly recognizable.

No one really knows exactly how the perfect conical shape of Mount Fuji came about.  Japanese folklore attributes it to a earthquake. Modern science suggests it is the result of three volcanic eruptions.  Fujisan (what the modern Japanese call Mount Fuji) is an active volcano with its last eruption in 1707-08.  Smoke/ash blanketed Edo (Tokyo).  Scientists think this volcano erupts significantly once every 500 years.  

Mount Fuji is first mentioned in 731 in a government document, but it attained it's status from 785 onward when it became part of Shugen-do, a combination of Buddhism, Shinto, and Taoism.  This new spiritual discipline venerated Mount Fuji (and other mountains) in a practice of physical fitness, deprivation, worship of nature, and meditation.  From 1603 onward climbing Mount Fuji became fashionable as a spiritual pilgrimage since it was (and is) highly visible on the road between Edo (Tokyo) and Kyoto.   Women were forbidden to climb the mountain until 1867.     

Today, climbing Mount Fuji is restricted to 70 days a year from July 1st to mid September because of safety concerns.  Typically, there are 200,000 to 300,000 pilgrims each year who begin the climb at the 'fifth station' - the last transit stop.  30% of climbers are foreigners.  This pilgrimage has become so crowded climbers are restricted to 4,000 per day, and even so, this is 'hiking in a crowd'.  If you want a meditative, spiritual experience, climbing Mount Fuji is not that. 

Hokusai and Hiroshige, both famous Japanese woodblock  artists, (and my personal favorites) made Mount Fuji even more famous.  Hokusai with his series "Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji", and  Hiroshige with his series "100 Views on the Road to Edo" both paid homage to Mount Fuji.  These two series are considered Japanese treasures.  One of the most famous pieces of Japanese art is not just  about 'the wave.  Notice Mount Fuji in the background?  [Aside - the wave being pulled to the front of the lithograph is a new technique in Japanese art - both practiced by Hokusai and Hiroshige. The Wave is the most famous of the "36 views of Mount Fuji" by Hokusai. 

Another view of Mount Fuji which is treasured is called "Red Fuji"  It is immortalized by Hokusai in his woodblock print, "Fine Wind, Clear Morning"

Red Fuji occurs when the air is exceptionally clear, and the snow melt is almost complete in the early Autumn exposing the red volcanic rock to the sunrise.  I bought a broach of Red Fuji as a souvenir.

We were so very fortunate to see originals of Hokusai's "36 views of Mount Fuji" and a one-half of Hoshige's "100 views from the Edo Road".  No pictures were allowed, so I had to make do with as many postcards as I could buy.  

Here are some of Hoshige's woodblock prints of Mount Fuji from the Edo Road

Once more, the carp kite is brought to the front of the lithograph and Mt. Fuji is part of the background.

I loved the whimsy of this picture.  Any cat lover recognizes this cat behavior.  

Today, Mount Fuji is only visible from afar 100 days a year.  I considered us quite fortunate to be able to see Mount Fuji while on the cruise.  There was a special stop on the cruise where excursions to view Mount Fuji begin.  We were late signing up, so we didn't get the premiere trip.  Here's a picture of Fujisan by a friend who went on the premiere excursion.  He was kind enough to share it with me.

Ironically, my best pictures of Mount Fuji came about accidentally.  I was on the 'road from Edo to Kyoto' via a bullet train when I glanced out of the window. I realized Mount Fuji, in all its glory, was right outside the train window!

The train following the Edo Road was traveling at 100 miles an hour.  I was glued to the window taking pictures of Mount Fuji as fast as I could punch the camera button.  Here's what happened in the short time Mount Fuji was visible.  Clouds began to cover the mountain!

In another hour, it would have been socked in by cloud cover.  We were so fortunate!  Here's Drake in front of what Mount Fuji looks like most of the time.  Hazy and indistinct.  The friend's perfect Fuji picture and this one were taken on the same day only about five hours apart.  It was so indistinct, it took me awhile to even find it on the viewfinder.  This is mostly luck.

This is the best I could do on the 'hazy', cloudy day.

My best photo was so disappointing.  However, our cruise friend came to my rescue with an air drop of his photo.

We got pictures of Fuji, and we also enjoyed the spring garden around the viewing area.

 

  

They even had a traditional Japanese rock garden.  

We also took a trip on a funicular up a mountain to a shrine.  This is one of the famous Mount Fuji shrines to Buddhism in Japan.  Unfortunately, there was a very intimidating staircase to climb in order to see it.  I sent Drake right on up.

 

These pictures of the actual shrine are Drake's.

I think at this point in the trip we were having lots of mixed emotions.  When you are around the same people for over a month, and you begin to make new friends, leaving after 38 days was bitter sweet.  This was our last port before disembarkation.  I can understand the pull of doing the entire cruise around the world.  Our next adventure is Tokyo followed by Kyoto, then home to Virginia.  

If you want more pictures of Mount Fuji, gardens and a shrine, here's the link

https://photos.app.goo.gl/tVTiaRrLRBkUaFDo8 

Nagasaki: Best Temple of the Trip, walking in the Glover Garden and the Nagasaki Museum of History and Culture

When you travel in Asia, many attractions feature temples or shrines.  We saw Buddhist temples, Hindu temples, Shinto Temples and finally a temple devoted to Confucius, the  famous Chinese scholar.  The Confucian Temple was the most interesting.  It was extremely colorful; had a pond with koi fish; included a museum of Chinese porcelain; musical instruments; dragons; gargoyles, AND life sized statues of 72 Confucian Scholars individually carved.

This is about one-fourth of the scholars.  Each facial feature is different, and each holds something different.  Even some of the hairdos are different.  

These statues are stone, life sized, and each weighs 1.8 tons.  They were carved in an art school in China, and are based on historical records of the 72 scholars of Confucius' time most versed in the Six Arts which are the disciplines cultivated by Confucius' disciples.  The Arts are:  Virtue, Music, Intellect, Calligraphy, Mathematics, & Physical Skill (ie, archery & charioteering).  Inside the temple, are bios of the scholars.  The bios assume you have familiarity with the big time Confucian scholars.  

As you enter the temple, there are a pair of Bixi, holding up steles which have poems praising Confucius.  The steles are borne on the backs of the bixi - the eldest sons of dragons - who enjoy bearing heavy burdens.

The Yi Gate between the Bixi is the ceremonial gate.

The Bixi are outside the lion dogs .  In front of the lion dogs and the Bixi is the koi pond with a stone bridge arching across it.  Behind the koi pond is Lingxing Gate, the main gate of the shrine.  Supposedly, it is the architectural origin of the Japanese torii gate.  To each side of the Lingxing Gate are Kai trees, planted in 1893, the year the shrine was founded.  You can see one of the koi in the pond.

You can see the edge of the bridge over the pond, and here are some pictures taken from the zenith of the bridge:

When you go through the Yi Gate, you see another set of stairs leading into the main part of the shrine.  Centered on the steps is the Imperial Dragon Ramp - only to be used by the Emperor of China who would be carried over it on a palanquin.  

After going up these steps, you enter the inner sanctum passing the Huabiao, a pair of decorative stone pillars featuring Dragons, an Imperial symbol of watchful guardianship over the state and observing the lives of the people.  The red tags are petitions from students.  Additionally, are the Wengzhong, a pair of stone figures - one a military officer and the other a civil official.

Then, it's time to step into the heart of the shrine:  The Dacheng Hall which contains the masked figure of Confucius.  This portion of the shrine withstood the atomic blast.  Under the eaves is the inscription "With education there is no class distinction."  The reflects Confucius' belief that education transforms people.  In Confucius' time, the pigeons were considered symbols of the unruly or undisciplined.  They symbolize even people who are difficult are welcome to learn and grow.  

Everything you see in this picture is symbolic.  To name them all would quickly have your head reeling.  Confucius is the statue behind the gold curtain.  He is two meters tall (about 6 feet) and is the largest in Japan.  

There were offerings to him the day we visited including the fresh flowers. Students ask for his blessing (see red tags) as well as burn incense for academic success.  

The one symbol which was unmissable  were the Qilin, a legendary creature in Chinese mythology who appear when a sage appears.  There are a pair in the shrine, one male and one female.

Behind the Qilin are the biographies of some of the 72 scholars.  I took more pictures.  Some are musical instruments.  Some are the tenets of Confucius teachings.  Here's Drake, wearing his cap from Okinawa, standing beside a set of ceremonial axes.  Behind the shrine was a museum exhibiting Chinese porcelain.  (They wouldn't let me take pictures.)  

Out in the courtyard, encircling it,were more of the 72 scholars

If you want to see more of the Shrine, there are some additional pictures:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/GEGo3RJ5H4xfpU6N6

We also visited the Glover Garden while we were in Nagasaki.  This was originally the Western settlement in Nagasaki after Japan was opened to the world in 1859.  One of the most influential Westerners to arrive in Japan was Thomas Blake Glover, founder of Glover & Co.  He established the Japan Brewery Company (predecessor of the Kirin Brewery).  He was awarded beaucoup of medals for his contribution to the modernization of Japan.

Glover Garden is on top of one of the Nagasaki hills overlooking the harbor.  Several Western-style buildings have been brought to the site.  Below is the Former Residence of the Head of the Nagasaki District Court.

Today, you can stroll the garden in a costume which is rented in this building.

There were beautiful flowers as well as a koi pond.  There was a view of the harbor as well

Under a few cherry blossoms 

As always, there are more pictures!  

https://photos.app.goo.gl/8pbkGnWHWbE9rm2z6

We went to one additional attraction in Nagasaki, and then we walked back to the ship.  I think these pictures are a hodge podge which I didn't intend.  Perhaps a way to make the pictures make sense is to emphasize that Nagasaki has always been a window to the world for Japan prior to 1859 when the Japanese finally decided to join the rest of the world.  

There was definitely trade with Korea (Busan) and China.  The idea of confining foreigners to a specific compound has its roots in this earlier trade.  Confining foreigners to a specific place cut down on smuggling.  All the typical things were traded plus the porcelain trade.  This is the first portion of the pictures.  

I also photographed decorative objects.  We went to an exhibition of a famous early Japanese photographer, and some of his pix were really moving.  After the photography exhibition, we resumed the history of Nagasaki.  Surprisingly, there was no mention of the atomic bomb  or the 20th century.  

You'll find pictures I took out of the museum windows of the city.  And, you'll find pictures of us in the park in front of the Volendam (ship).   Maybe this explanation will make the pictures more enjoyable.  

https://photos.app.goo.gl/tPKdSWbDVnMeuc736

Dejima in Nagasaki, Japan

 Nagasaki was the most beautiful port.  Instead of stacks of container boxes and cranes, this port was the site of a lovely park.  What a nice change.  It also meant we were closer to 'town'.  Some of these ports are so industrial and so huge it takes a shuttle bus 15 minutes to just clear the port.  Nagasaki was one of my favorite places.  First, it was beautiful, and it was such a nice sized city - about 500,000.  It also plays a big part in the opening of Japan to the Western world.

Drake in the port park area at the Port of Nagasaki in front of the Volendam (our ship)

Truthfully, we avoided the atomic bomb area of Nagasaki.  Unlike, Hiroshima, the center of Nagasaki was not devastated.  We concentrated on the pre-1945 history.  Our ship project for Nagasaki was to make 1000 paper cranes to hang in the Peace Park, part of the bombed area.  I did contribute to that.

Nagasaki was the first Japanese port to tolerate Westerners to a restricted extent - specifically, the Portuguese.   In 1494, Spain and Portugal entered into a treaty dividing the world beyond Europe into two sectors - one to be explored/colonized/conquered by Portugal and the other sector by Spain.  These two, thus, didn't squabble between each other as they grabbed the 'spoils' of the uncivilized world.  (Uncivilized being the rationalization for colonizing a non-Christian country.)  The Japanese Islands were in the Portuguese sector.  

Initially, the Emperor of Japan and his political government tolerated the Portuguese and allowed them to build a trade settlement at the port of Nagasaki - the settlement was called Dejima.  Dejima was a series of warehouses with minimal living quarters for non-Japanese engaged in the China/Japan/World trade.

This is a representation of Dejima in the 17th century (1600's).  Dejima (which translates as 'exit island') was actually an artificial island which was reached by one bridge walkway. 

Modern bridge to Dejima

Today, Dejima is the Williamsburg of Japan.  You can walk a central street which has warehouses, accounting houses, and a few living quarters.  There is also an on-going archeological dig which is turning up all types of finds answering questions of what it must have been like for the Europeans in 17th century Dejima.  The dig finds are displayed in a museum which is part of today's Dejima.  

Dejima today

Archeological finds

Europeans had never encountered a country based on the Bushido code with separate entities for the political and spiritual governing elements.  In 1549 the Portuguese Jesuits arrived in Japan seeking permission to build a Catholic mission.  Initially, the Shogunate granted permission as a way to counteract the Buddhist influence and open limited trade.  Over the next 50 years, conversions to Christianity exploded with over 300,000 converts. 

As more Westerners arrived in Japan, the Shogunate began to hear about Catholic Christian missionaries as being an advance force which would be followed by a military takeover of Japan citing instances in the Americas and the Philipines.  As a result of obtaining that information, the Shogunate bans Christianity, and to bring home his point, he executes 26 Catholics including Jesuits, Japanese converts, and even a couple of altar boys.  They were crucified after being tortured.  This method was repeated to discourage Catholicism.  Japanese Catholics were driven underground, and 200 years later with the official opening of Japan in 1859, there were still hidden practicing Catholic communities in Japan. Additionally, the Shogunate expels the Portuguese from Dejima - the trading hub - in 1639.

The Dutch, who are NOT Catholic, but Protestant, fill the trade vacuum in 1641 taking up limited residence in Dejima and being the intermediaries of Japanese trade with China and other countries for 200 years.  Dejima is not closed until the 1860's.  

During the 200 year period before the formal opening of Japan to the world in 1859, there was an exchange of scientific information between Europeans and the Japanese.  This was called 'Western Learning' and books began to be translated into Japanese in a variety of fields including medicine, and botany was translated from Japanese to German in part because of the pioneer Philipp Franz Von Siebold, a German scientist.

This was an interesting way to turn back the clock and get a superficial understanding of living and working in isolation on the artificial island of Dejima.  Check out my pictures.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/DC9qiBuUukPHeJzd6

  

 

Amami Ochina, a Japanese Island

Amami Ochina Island climate was like Hawaii.  The weather was mild, and the sea was turquoise.  

The biggest attraction on this island was a museum of a watercolorist who was not famous in his lifetime, but the public/critics have come around.  His professional name is Tanaka Isson.  An artist being famous in his/her lifetime is very rare.  It's difficult to achieve any kind of recognition in any in the creative arts.  Actors take classes and audition endlessly for twenty years with no result.  Writers who are never published.  Painters and sculptors can't find buyers, much less a name for themselves in the art world.  Isson was an artist on the edge of recognition his entire lifetime. 

Isson, the man with the noble mind

He was born in 1908 and died in 1977.  He won a watercolor award at the age of 7, so he showed talent very early.  He briefly attended a prestigious art school, but had to drop out because of financial considerations.  He never stopped painting in the Nihonga style as opposed to the Yoga style.  The Nihonga style can be loosely translated as the Japanese style using ink and mineral pigments on silk or paper.  The Yoga style is the Western style using oil paints.

During his life Isson, lived away from the main art scene in Japan.  He worked odd jobs to stay alive while painting on the side.  In 1958 he moved to Amani Oshima (the island pictured above) and used the plants and wildlife as his inspiration.  He was very prolific during the 1960's and 1970's.  It wasn't until after his death that he was compared to Paul Gauguin during an art program on Japanese TV that interest sparked in the art world.  He was only displayed outside of Japan in 2018.  

The museum established on Amami is stupendous.  However, you will have to take my word for it because they wouldn't let me take pictures.  [This is an example of short sidedness.  This museum is getting 'cruise excursion attendance', and lack of pictures will insure they are forgotten by their visitors.]  I resorted to buying postcards and greeting cards to show you some of his work.

These are a pair of closet doors

There are changing seasons here

Native birds of Amami

Nihonga style of painting by Isson

The Isson museum is located in the Amani Park which includes an observation tower, a forest walk, and other attractions.  I loved the observation tower especially since it was a relatively clear day.  

direction away from the ocean

toward the ocean

Inside the education building, there was an interesting model of the Amami Islands on a global scale.  These are outsized.  We are at the tip of the topmost island.

This model should make more sense after seeing all the islands laid out.

This is just a portion of this model - all the signs are in Japanese - which makes it hard to figure out which island is which.  I do like the topography representation, and the little signs of 'attractions'.  

We caught the bus back to town.  The downtown area didn't look promising for shopping which Drake hates anyway.  One of my cruise friends found a second hand thrift store and bought all kinds of souvenirs - small pieces of pottery mainly.  She was kind enough to give me two, and I turned around and gave one away to another Australian friend, telling her I was only the intermediary.

I'll end with more photos via a link (that really works!) and Drake in front of the Volendam - our ship.

Drake in his Okinawa hat with my souvenirs of Amani Ochina Island

https://photos.app.goo.gl/gTVc9TPYyiHZrNtc6