(no subject)
Hey everyone! How are you? <3
By popular demand (i.e. my mother's demand), here is another entry! Since my internet access at home disappeared, thanks to my neighbor during off his/her wireless, it's been hard to find time to post. I'll try to be better about it in the future!
Last week my history class went on a mini-field trip to look at a temple. It was awesome!
This is one of the gates to my school. The grounds my school is on were previously the site of the Kyoto Imperial Palace during the Ashikaga period. The Palace is currently located across the street.
This is a garden of a temple right outside my school, Shokokuji. It is the richest temple in Japan--it owns Kinkauji and Gingakuji (the Golden and Silver Temples)!
This is the main part of the temple. Obviously, it is rather large.
This is the graveyard of the Satsuma family. If you don't know much about Japanese history, I'll fill you in. The Satsuma family was extremely important in the Meiji Ishin (Revolution), which eliminated the position of the Shogun and restored the (figurehead) power of the Emperor. The Meiji period also moved Japan into modern globalization, as it was previously in a stage of isolation. The Satsuma family was one of the warrior families who were integral in bringing this revolution about.
Now, moving on to the Gosho, or Kyoto Imperial Palace. This is a picture of the Northeastern corner of the wall, which you can tell from the picture. How? Well, according to tradition, and as I described in a previous entry, all of the demons and evil come from the Northeast. This monkey is here to protect the Palace from evil!
Another view of the wall.
This marks the location of Emperor Meiji's birth. Literally across the street from my school! I live in the coolest place :)
(Some pictures provided by Michael. Thank you!)
Yesterday I joined a circle called Cosmopolitan. Since Japanese clubs require their members to sell them their souls and all their free time, I thought a low-key circle would be the best option. Cosmopolitan is all about facilitating relationships between exchange students and Japanese students. Based on the movie we watched about their last year, the events seem to revolve around an outing to a cultural site, followed by KARAOKE. What better club could there possibly be?!
Plus, the guys are really really hot.
Tomorrow I'm going out with them to a famous temple called Sanjusangendo, which has 1001 statues of the Buddhist deity Kannon.
In other news, three people from my school have died since the semester started. Michael and I realized there must be a curse that a student from each of our five campuses will die, and since there are 5 campuses, 2 more have to go. And since we're on study abroad, we classify as our own campus and one of us has to go....
Alright they're closing the lounge now, so I have to go. Hope you're all well!
By popular demand (i.e. my mother's demand), here is another entry! Since my internet access at home disappeared, thanks to my neighbor during off his/her wireless, it's been hard to find time to post. I'll try to be better about it in the future!
Last week my history class went on a mini-field trip to look at a temple. It was awesome!
This is one of the gates to my school. The grounds my school is on were previously the site of the Kyoto Imperial Palace during the Ashikaga period. The Palace is currently located across the street.
This is a garden of a temple right outside my school, Shokokuji. It is the richest temple in Japan--it owns Kinkauji and Gingakuji (the Golden and Silver Temples)!
This is the main part of the temple. Obviously, it is rather large.
This is the graveyard of the Satsuma family. If you don't know much about Japanese history, I'll fill you in. The Satsuma family was extremely important in the Meiji Ishin (Revolution), which eliminated the position of the Shogun and restored the (figurehead) power of the Emperor. The Meiji period also moved Japan into modern globalization, as it was previously in a stage of isolation. The Satsuma family was one of the warrior families who were integral in bringing this revolution about.
Now, moving on to the Gosho, or Kyoto Imperial Palace. This is a picture of the Northeastern corner of the wall, which you can tell from the picture. How? Well, according to tradition, and as I described in a previous entry, all of the demons and evil come from the Northeast. This monkey is here to protect the Palace from evil!
Another view of the wall.
This marks the location of Emperor Meiji's birth. Literally across the street from my school! I live in the coolest place :)
(Some pictures provided by Michael. Thank you!)
Yesterday I joined a circle called Cosmopolitan. Since Japanese clubs require their members to sell them their souls and all their free time, I thought a low-key circle would be the best option. Cosmopolitan is all about facilitating relationships between exchange students and Japanese students. Based on the movie we watched about their last year, the events seem to revolve around an outing to a cultural site, followed by KARAOKE. What better club could there possibly be?!
Plus, the guys are really really hot.
Tomorrow I'm going out with them to a famous temple called Sanjusangendo, which has 1001 statues of the Buddhist deity Kannon.
In other news, three people from my school have died since the semester started. Michael and I realized there must be a curse that a student from each of our five campuses will die, and since there are 5 campuses, 2 more have to go. And since we're on study abroad, we classify as our own campus and one of us has to go....
Alright they're closing the lounge now, so I have to go. Hope you're all well!