#Oita Prefecture

[redsamuraiii]

Yufuin, Oita Prefecture by 實彩子Misako

[mothmiso]

大船山 Ofunayama (2) (3) by Ryuichi Miyazaki

[pangeen]

“ This year's cherry blossoms “ // Astrailor 

[pepperbag76]

Nenbutsu Bridge - Oita Prefecture

📷 @chocolat_holic1595

Via visitjapan.us

[uroko]

Yufu City, Oita Prefecture, Japan // みずなし

[mybeingthere]

Yamaguchi Ryūun (b. 1940), Saga Prefecture, Japan.

1957 - Graduated from Oita Prefecture Beppu Advanced Occupational School, Department of Bamboo Craft

1963 - Apprenticed to Shono Shounsai (Living National Treasure)

Highly sculptured baskets like this one are formed using the three basic construction methods of twisting, braiding, and knotting bamboo – which Japanese basketmakers having been using for centuries – but in the last century and a half, artists have been creating dynamic, contemporary forms that go beyond mere function and highlight self-expression. Uzumaki is a stunning example of how a simple form made only of one material can be shaped into something that implies active motion and expresses an artist’s individual perspective. In Yamaguchi’s own words:

"I express beauty through bamboo: the beauty of water flowing, the beauty of flowers, the beauty of moving clouds. I try to bring the beauty of nature into my sculpture."

In 1963, Yamaguchi began as an apprentice to Shōno Shōunsai (1904-1974), who in 1967 was designated an Important Intangible Cultural Property holder by the government of Japan. This apprenticeship inspired him greatly to achieve the same artistic status as his mentor.

[happybird16]

Happy Birthday Levi!!

Look at his little crown i'm crying

Levi Ackerman Statue at JR Hita Station in Japan's Oita Prefecture

Via

[japan-overload]

LeicaM11 + Apo-SummicronM50mmASPH by wing of kazVia Flickr:大分県宇佐市、響山地区公園 / Hibikiyama District Park, Usa City, Oita Prefecture

[transgenderer]

Utagaki (歌垣), also read kagai (嬥歌), was an ancient Japanese Shinto ritual gathering. Villagers would meet on a mountaintop, where singing, dancing, eating, having free sexual intercourse and the reciting of poetry would occur, in celebration of the beginning of spring or autumn. These events were closely associated with harvest rites, and therefore fertility.

On the Mountains of Tsukuba

where the eagles dwell

Near the Wells of Mohakitsu,

Seeking each other, in song of Kagai

I will seek the wives of other men

And let other men woo my own.

The gods dwelling in these mountains

Have allowed this

Since olden times;

Do not make an exception today

And do not reproach the lovers

And blame then not.

Mushimaro Takahashi, Man'yōshū (oldest collection of Japanese poetry)

The festival celebrated fertility and the cycle of crop and harvest, and it was hosted biannually on the seasonal transitions. Localized variations abounded, though most of them featured the offering of ritual sexual activity to the local gods, allowed on this occasion by the temporal abolishment of social norm about marriage and decorum. Utagaki was meant to increase both female fertility and male virility with the blessing of the deities, bringing prosperity to villages and their inhabitants. Though celebrated by peasants, utagaki was a prestigious ritual, to the point there are records of both Emperor Shomu and his daughter Empress Shotoku visiting gatherings to offer gifts.

Utakagi took the shape of feasts on mountaintops, where poetry and songs were exchanged between participants in a contest meant to seduce suitors. Mount Tsukuba in Ibaraki prefecture was an especially popular place of meeting, attracting people from all the Kanto region. Some Shinto shrines served as places for sexual encounters, which became a Oita prefecture. In other regions, like Ibaraki and Aichi, the feasts included a parade or ritual dance (kagura) after which it was given license to maintain sexual relationships.

Despite its breaking of social etiquette, utagaki contained its own rules. Women were allowed to reject or accept any suitor, though there was sometimes the only condition of accepting at least three of them. The festival granted unmarried people a chance to find partners outside their villages, and couples in love an excuse to have encounters. Conceiving illegitimate offspring during utagaki was not considered dishonorable, though it carried the same obligations.

I was abolished by the meiji restoration :(

[foundformsdispensary]

Oita Prefectural Library. Oita, Japan. 1966. Arata Isozaki. Photographed by Osamu Murai.

[redsamuraiii]

Kitsuki aka Little Kyoto by JR Kyushu Train&Travel 

[mothmiso]

金鱗湖, 由布院 / Lake Kinrin, Yufuin by Ryuichi Miyazaki

[delicatuscii-wasbella102]

Oita Prefecture in Kyushu, Japan

[pepperbag76]

Yufuin no Mori Train - Oita Prefecture

📷 @ramumi8

Via japan_inside

[war-is-bad-girls]

Sulemio in Oita Prefecture / Usa Hachimangu Shrine by @yuri_kyanon

source

[daily-hyosatsu]

After 神戸 Kōbe yesterday, let's do another city name! 別府 Beppu is a city in Oita, Kyūshū that's famous for its insane number of hot springs. As a human name, it can also be read Behu.

別 is read わか.れる, わ.ける, or ベツ. It means diverge, branch off, separate, another/other, or extra. The radicals area all pretty relevant to the meaning of separate. The top left is 口 mouth, the bottom left is knife/sword 刀, and what looks like katakana リ ri on the right is 刈, meaning to cut. Because you can use your mouth or sword to cut things into separate pieces?

府 is new to this blog! It's read フ, and you might know it from 幕府 Bakufu. It means urban prefecture, government office, or storehouse. It's a pretty important character in geography.

Japan has 47 prefectures or 都道府県 (todōfuken). This word is made up of the different suffixes that refer to them. The suffix 県 (ケン), meaning prefecture, is used for 43. Of the rest, 府 is used for 京都府 Kyōto-fu and大阪府 Ōsaka-fu. The 都 (ト) capital refers, of course, to Tokyo, or 東京都 Tōkyō-to. Finally, 北海道 Hokkaidō is so special that it uses no suffix at all, and its 道 gets added to the word.