Sapporo Snow Festival: Horyuji


Mainichi carried this beatiful photo of an illuminated snow sculpture of the Golden Pavilion of Horyuji temple at Odori Park, the venue of the 57th Sapporo Snow Festival, on the eve of the opening of the winter festival in Sapporo on Feb. 5. More than 300 snow and ice sculptures are displayed to attract visitors to the festival held February 6-12.

The festival is famous, but I had no idea that Japan's Ground Self-Defence force soldiers are helping to create the snow and ice sculptures for the festival.

Horyuji, situated in Ikaruga in Nara, is the world's oldest surviving wooden structures dating from the 7th century. It was originally built by Baekje architects during the Asuka period to fulfill Emperor Yomei's deathbed wish to build a temple and an image of Buddha for the recovery from his illness. Read more about Horyuji on the wonderful website of Sacred Destinations.

Chosun Ilbo reported in December 2005 that Kongo Gumi, the oldest company in the world, which was founded in 578 in Japan by a group of people from the ancient Korean kingdom of Baekje, would go into liquidation. Kongo Gumi dates its foundation from the year when carpenter Shigemitsu Kongo built Shitennoji in Osaka, and Kongo Gumi is also famous for building the Horyuji Temple in Nara. Details like this makes history learning so fascinating!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Global Article 9 Conference to Abolish War

Image
A unique three-day international conference is being held at Makuhari near Tokyo, a day after the 61st anniversary of the enforcement of Japan's Constitution. It is organized by nongovernmental groups, including Japan-based Peace Boat . Organizers said the meeting will provide an opportunity to discuss the significance of the constitutional article that endorses demilitarization and what people can do to promote its spirit, notes The Japan Times . While the constitution stipulates that Japan renounces war as a sovereign right and that it will not maintain land, sea and air forces, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party has been keen to make amendments. "The war in Iraq has shown that even the strongest, biggest army in the world can not keep peace in a single city. It proves that aggression never instates peace," Tatsuya Yoshioka, director of Peace Boat and a representative of the event's organizing committee, said during the opening remarks. "Article 9 is a treasu
Read more

マーティンの鵜の目鷹の目 -世界の消費者運動の旅から

Image
  My new book has been published! マーティン・フリッド (著)   世界中の消費者が同じ課題を抱え、悩み、たたかっている。スウェーデンに生まれ、ヨーロッパ、そして日本の消費者運動の現場を歩いてきた著者が、人びとの日常によりそいながら軽妙なユーモアを交えて食、環境、エネルギー、社会のあり方、政治、経済を考えます。   https://nishoren.net/new-information/14177 Consumers all over the world are facing similar problems, worries, and struggles. In this book, the author, who was born in Sweden and has walked the frontlines of consumer movements in Europe and Japan, con
Read more

Salvador Dali, Hiroshima and Okinawa

Image
Spanish artist Salvador Dali was deeply terrified by the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki , and his exact, detailed style was very much suited to show the horror of the A-bomb, which America tried to keep a secret by classifying photos and descriptions until the end of the occupation of Japan in 1952. The Bureau of Atomic Tourism has more details if you want to know more about the legacy of nuclear weapons in the U.S. Even today, do people understand the real horror of atomic bombs? If not, then, why not ? Dali's paintings are on display in Fukushima prefecture, where you can view Melancholy Atomic and Uranium Idyll and The Three Sphinxes of Bikini at the Morohashi Museum of Modern Art . Long YouTube video from the Nihon University (Nichidai) channel with an interview featuring Morohashi Eiji, the son of the founder of the unique museum, and scenes from the Morohashi Museum (29:20): #271美術館への誘い ダリの世界 Is there a hidden message in Dali's Bikini hydrogen bomb painting
Read more