Momijigari (紅葉狩)

“Traditions”

Japan. October-November 2018 (15 photos)

This is part 3 of my Japan 2018 photo series.

The seasons tend to be very important in Japan. Japanese culture celebrates and honours the changing seasons with special food/meals, drink, festivals and customs.

One of those Japanese traditions/customs is called Momijigari (紅葉狩). The Kanji characters literally translate as “autumn/maple leaf hunting”. In essence, the word refers to the activity of admiring autumn leaves, particularly in fields and in the mountains. It’s a tradition that was originally popular with the court aristocracy since about the 8th Century and has been documented in poems and paintings. It’s an activity I had some time to indulge in whilst in Japan recently, although I wasn’t in traditional clothing like the woman above at the Eikando Temple in Kyoto.

“The gardens at Tenryu-ji, Kyoto”

Aki (秋) is the Japanese word for Autumn or Fall. The Kanji character 秋 includes the characters for grain (禾) and fire (火).

The autumn colours weren’t at their peak when I was in Kyoto. However, I was heading out further east into the cooler mountainous areas of the Kansai region, so I was hopeful of catching more vivid colours later.

“Somewhere in Kansai”

Koyo (紅葉) is the Japanese word for the phenomenon of the changing colour of the leaves at autumn. There are two words, koyo and momiji, both written with the same two characters, 紅葉. Koyo refers to the phenomenon of changing autumn colors, mainly when it occurs to the leaves of deciduous broad-leaf trees before the leaves fall to the ground. The word momiji is the same process in the leaves of maple trees. A different word applies to the leaves after they have fallen.

“Red dawn”

Yoshino is a town in Japan’s Kii Mountains, in Nara prefecture. It is known for the thousands of cherry trees that blossom in the spring, and it’s vivid autumn foliage. The area is also renowned for its natural hot springs and I did enjoy the tradition of an onsen whilst staying in a ryokan there.

“Happy trails”

“Yoshino dreaming”

“Spirits in waiting”

Surrounded by forest in the ancient village of Koya-san, one finds Okunoin Cemetery, Japan’s largest and most sacred cemetery which dates back to at least 816AD.

According to the superstition of the Shingon Buddhist school, there are no dead in Okunoin, only waiting spirits.

“Okunoin (奥の院)”

Okunoin is the site of the mausoleum of Kobo Daishi, the founder of Shingon Buddhism and one of the most revered persons in the religious history of Japan. Instead of having died, Kobo Daishi is believed to rest in eternal meditation, and along with 200,000 Buddhist monks, waits for the resurrection of the Future Buddha.

“The Fallen of Okunoin”

In Japanese there is a dedicated word for fallen or shedded leaves, Rakuyou (落葉).

“Arakura Fuji Sengen Jinja”

“Momijigari (紅葉狩)”

Autumn leaf hunting in Kawaguchiko, near Mount Fuji.

Japanese maple trees are a well-loved symbol of autumn. In Osaka, they sell deep fried (tempura) maple leaves. Quite tasty actually.

“Admiring autumn leaves”

“Kawaguchiko colours”

“Mt Fuji view”

“Yohashira Shrine, Matsumoto”

Autumn leaves found, in Matsumoto, a city in the mountains of Nagano prefecture, near the Japanese Alps.

…

This is part 3 of my Japan 2018 photo series.

…

I hope you’re enjoying my Japan photo series thus far. As often happens, things are starting to get a bit busy at this time of the year. So I’ll be taking my usual break from posting until the New Year, resuming my posts about Japan sometime in January. Seasons greetings to you all, and have a happy and safe New Year.