Podcasts about koyasan

We continue to look at the life and times of Uno no Sarara, aka Jito Tenno, female sovereign ruling in her own right.  We look at some of the places she traveled to as sovereign and, ultimately, what she did to ensure that her grandson would succeed her. For more, check our podcast blog page:  https://sengokudaimyo.com/podcast/episode-154 Rough Transcript Welcome to Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan.  My name is Joshua and this is episode 154: Queen Uno no Sarara, Part II   Light drifted in from outside the grand audience hall.  It filtered through barred windows and screens, and glinted off of bright gold and bronze accents, as well as the polished stone floor.  Upon a raised dais, surrounded by curtains, sat the tennou, arrayed in all of his youthful majesty.  Before him were princes and high ranking nobles, dressed in their finest court clothing.  Rich brocades of silk and black gauze hats only added to the pomp and circumstance of the moment. The nobles bowed and brought out a small tray.  Upon it were seventeen scrolls, freshly made, representing the latest updates to the laws and punishments of the land.  The nobles presented the work they had overseen, the culmination of a year's effort to further bring into line the organization of the state.  Off to the side, behind a screen of her own, Uno no Sarara watched the proceedings.  She thought back on all that had happened to bring them to this point.  This glittering hall was a far cry from the plain wooden structures of the old Kiyomihara palace.  And while she had never visited them, she could only imagine that this must rival the courts on the continent.  Everything that she and her husband had worked and fought for—all of the battles  they had fought, and all of the friends and children they had lost—she watched as it all came to fruition. The court was never going to be entirely peaceful—there would always be those striving for wealth and power, however they could attain it—but at this moment she no doubt felt as confident as she ever had that her efforts hadn't been for naught.  No matter what happened from here, the State, and her line, would continue.   So let's recap: We started with Part I of Uno no Sarara's reign back in episode 152, and then last episode we took a bit of a detour to go more in depth on the history of Ise and of the worship of Amaterasu more generally.  We talked about how there is good reason to believe that Ise shrine's prominence—and even many of the stories about Amaterasu and her importance in the story of the royal family—were either created or at least emphasized during the reigns of Ohoama and Uno no Sarara.  We ended with a discussion of the Jingikan, the newly created government organization developed to deal with so-called "Kami Matters", formally bringing the administration various shrines under the administration of the State.  Specifically it seems to have focused on State sponsored rituals.  I have no doubt that they took charge of the rituals at court itself, and they were likely involved in the worship at Ise Shrine, as well as the shrines of Tatsuta and Hirose.  On the other hand, as with the spread of Buddhist temples, direct State control was likely limited, at least at this stage, likely focused on the most influential institutions. This episode I want to continue with Uno no Sarara's reign.  She continued to make her mark on the court, tweaking how things worked, especially around the concept of rank.  And then there were her various travels.  These were mostly to her palace in Yoshino, but several other journeys, including a tour of the land of Kii—modern Wakayama prefecture—as well as a visit to her half-sister, Royal Princess Asuka. For all of that, however, the entry in the Nihon Shoki ends with what was perhaps one of the most direct and unique things she did:  Ensuring a smooth transition of power to her grandchild, Prince Karu. And while in this episode we'll (spoiler alert) cover both this power transition and Uno no Sarara's eventual death, we won't be done with her reign and its impact after this episode.  After all, there is still a lot going on around this time, and multiple different threads to pull on.  I expect several more episodes to cover things, such as the creation of hunting and fishing preserves, Buddhist merit-making, crime and punishment, and more.  There are also a few more people to talk about, such as Kakinomoto no Hitormaro, the court poet, and Fujiwara no Fubito and the establishment of the Fujiwara family as we know it.    So let's take a look at Uno no Sarara and what she was up to. She was still very much putting her stamp on things, tweaking the codes and making edicts.  One of the more impactful edicts would seem to be one where she had the government officials and people of the Home provinces all divided into nine classes.  This seems to be introducing yet another rank system, though this one is a bit more technical than the ones that came before. For one thing, it divided everyone up into nine ranks.  To do this, the court were going to take a look at a period of up to 6 years for those who already had rank and up to 7 years for those who did not.  The court—presumably court appointed judges—would use that period to evaluate individuals and slot them into a new system of nine classes.  Those in the first four classes would be given cap-rank based on their individual merits, the services that they had performed, and the importance of their house.  There isn't really a mention about the other five classes, but as they were theoretically the lower classes of society, it may not have been quite so pertinent.  BTW, of the three things that they were using to determine cap-rank, that last one, the importance of the individual's house, strikes me as the nod to the fact that the Japanese had not yet gotten away from the idea of "kabane" type hierarchy.  Granted, it isn't like family was unimportant in the Tang court, the Japanese were just being much more blatant and direct about it. Once everyone was properly sorted into the appropriate cap-rank, new edicts were issued on the official court clothing, which we discussed in Episode 150, and if you check out the blogpost you should be able to see what that looked like. I would note that the cap-rank system would eventually go away and be replaced by a rank system also based on 9 ranks, which then were broken up into upper and lower and junior and senior, so very similar to what we see with cap-rank, with some slight changes.  Uno no Sarara continued to make tweaks to the system, while working on the various large scale projects of the reign.  She wasn't exactly a homebody, however.  As she did all of this, she was regularly taking trips away from the capital. For example, between 689 and 697 she took at least 30 trips to visit Yoshino, sometimes taking as many as five trips in a year.  These were often short—a couple of days and then back to the grind of the court.  However, that's all that we get.  Based on the dates, we can at least make a few inferences.  For one, she was going down in all seasons, so she really must have enjoyed it, and it doesn't seem like it was attached to any particular official date or ritual.  Perhaps it just got her away from the pressure of official life. Some of her travel appear to have been work trips.  Her travel to Ise, which we talked about in the previous episodes, as well as things like traveling to visit the Castle of Takayasu and also to inspect horses at the embankment of Wani-no-kami.  Those appear to have been both trips where she was keeping an eye on things. Other trips, however, provide fewer details.  Mostly we know where she went.  This included trips to Hatsuse, Kii, Takamiya, and Yonabari, in Uda.  We are also told she ascended the Peak of Tou no Mine and later that she made another journey out to the Futatsuki Palace—presumably at the same place.  And we also have a trip out to the country-house of Royal Princess Asuka. Now Hatsuse, Kii, and Uda are all places we've previously talked about.  They are all on the Kii peninsula.  Hatsuse—or Hase—and Yonabari, in Uda, are both due east of modern Sakurai, following the Yamato upriver and then branching off to the aptly named Yonabari river.  These areas are well-referenced in the rest of the Nihon Shoki.  "Kii" is a bit more ambiguous.  Kii refers to the entire land of Kii, or Kii no Kuni—by the way, if you are familiar with the Japanese bookseller "Ki-no-kuni-ya", that name directly references the land of Kii as the family who started it were from Wakayama in Kii, where they served under the Kishu—or Kii—branch of the Tokugawa family during the Edo period.  That said, there were others who also used the name "Kinokuni" as a locative name as well, and you will occasionally see it here or there, even outside of the famous bookstore. The land of Kii is basically all of the southern Kii peninsula.  On the west side, it starts at roughly Wakayama, and includes the mountainous regions south of the Nara basin, wrapping around to the east side of the peninsula, to just south of Ise.  Today it is split between Wakayama prefecture and parts of Mie prefecture, including the towns of Kihoku—literally "Northern Kii"—and Taiki—"Big Kii".  Today, "Taiki" is part of the Watarai district, Watarai being the name of the location where Ise shrine was located.  So you can see that Kii basically included everything from one side of the peninsula to the other. Most of the time, though, I would generally assume that travel to Kii is a reference to the nearby area of Wakayama, especially as there are other references to that area in the form of hunting and fishing restrictions, which we'll discuss more fully in a later episode. This particular trip to Kii sounds like it was a bit of a longer trip, incorporating several locations.  We know that it took roughly eleven days—about a week and a half.  That's enough time to do quite a bit of sightseeing.  In fact, shortly before leaving, Uno no Sarara says that she is going on a "tour" of the land of Kii, and as such the land-tax and poll-tax for Kii would not be collected for a year, since, instead, they were expected to support her visit so that she could travel in appropriate style and so that temporary palaces could be made available for her use.  Kii is an interesting place for Uno no Sarara to visit.  It is mentioned occasionally throughout the chronicles, and its position puts it squarely in Yamato's sphere of influence.  At the same time, its mountainous nature means that it was never quite as populated as regions like the Nara basin or the Kawachi plains, where the large, flat areas were better suited to wet rice paddy agriculture.  In Kii, there are only a few areas really suitable for supporting large populations through agriculture alone, and even today the mountains make travel and construction in the area more difficult, so you don't have the highly concentrated population centers as in other regions.  The area around modern Wakayama city provides some of the best land for agriculture, with some other coastal regions as well. But it is mountains that Kii is known for, and the mountains often have spiritual significance.  Mt. Koya, or Koyasan, would be found in 805 as the center of Shingon Buddhism, but well before that you have the Kumano shrines, also known as the Kumano Sanzan—the three mountains of Kumano. There is a lot of evidence that worship at the three mountains of Kumano was heavily influenced by Buddhism and Buddhist traditions, but that this was a later influence on areas that were already important spiritual sites well before Buddhism arrived in the archipelago.  The exact nature of worship is debated, but the area was important, with "Kumano" once treated as its own land, overseen by the Kumano Kuni no Miyatsuko.  The deities of Kumano and the area more generally features in the Nihon Shoki in the legendary stories of Iware Biko, aka Jimmu Tenno. The Kumano shrines are, ultimately, a series of shrines in the Kumano region, roughly 20-40 kilometers from each other.  There are three main shrines—Kumano Hongu Taisha, Kumano Hayatama Taisha, and Kumano Nachi Taisha—known as the three mountains.  There are numerous other shrines as well.  There are three main deities worshipped, but then also another nine that are considered important as well, for at least twelve kami.  The three main kami – Kumano Musubi no Ohokami, Hayatama no Ohokami, and Ketsumi Mikoto Ohokami – are also considered to be manifestations of Izanami, Izanagi, and Susano'o.  Izanami and Izanagi are famously the progenitor kami of the archipelago, while Susano'o is the storm and ocean deity said to be the rambunctious and troublesome brother to Amaterasu Ohokami.   It is quite likely that the connection with these other kami—who feature prominently in the later stories, was actually a later addition.  Similarly, around the 9th century, the Kumano shrines were heavily influenced by Buddhism, which often co-opted indigenous kami worship by associating the native kami with incarnations of Buddhist figures.  In this case:  Thousand-armed Kannon, Yakushi—or the Medicine—Buddha, and Amithabha.  I must say that associating Amithaba—or Amida—with Susano'o seems like a bold move.  The deity who tossed a backwards flayed colt into Amaterasu's weaving hut is also the Buddha who made the promise that all who call on his name would find their way to the western pure land? I guess. Together, the kami of Kumano are known as the Kumano Gongen, and there is a pilgrimage trail, even today, that leads between the various shrines and peaks, as well as various temple complexes in the area. There is one other interesting connection with Kumano shrines, and that is the fact that there is a Kumano Taisha up in the Izumo region.  Today, they claim that despite the names being identical, there are no actual ties between Kumano Taisha and the Kumano Sanzan.  The Kumano Taisha of Izumo is actually considered the Ichinomiya, or most important shrine, of Izumo—even more important than the famous Izumo shrine, itself.  It lies 30 minutes south of modern Matsue, and enshrines a kami known as Kushi-mikenu-no-Mikoto, said to be another name for none other than the famous Susano'o. Kumano Taisha claims to have been first mentioned in the Nihon Shoki back in the time of Takara Hime, aka Saimei Tennou, in an entry from 659, though that entry simply states that the Izumo no Miyatsuko was to repair the shrine of the "Itsuki" kami, and doesn't specifically mention Kumano Taisha by name.  There is an entry attributed to the Izumo fudoki, which claims a shrine was located on Mt. Kumano, identified with modern day Tenguyama.  And then, Kumano Taisha appears in the Engi Shiki in the 10th century.  Suffice it to say, there are many different ways that this can be interpreted. Scholars have attempted to look into the potential connections between Kumano Taisha in Izumo and the Kumano Gongen of Wakayama, but it does not appear that there is a fully formed consensus.  I would note that we certainly see various important worship centers branching out throughout the archipelago, setting up branches elsewhere, and we also see the association of various local kami with other, more famous kami, making the claim that they are simply another name for the same entity.  This would appear to be one way to bring different groups into communion with each other, as it were, and helping to gloss over the potential difficulties found in diverse belief and worship practices. As a side note, there is at least one other Kumano Taisha of note, found up in the Tohoku region.  It claims to be the "Ise of Tohoku", with a focus on Izanami and Izanagi.  It seems to claim a founding around the early 9th century at the Tenno's request.  Given that, I think we can ignore it for our current discussion. To bring this all back around, it is unclear if Uno no Sarara's tour of Wakayama included the Kumano shrines at this time.  Certainly Kumano would play an important role in the legends and stories that the court was putting together, but what structures were in place at this point in the story are unclear.  Her tour may have focused much more on the area around modern Wakayama.  Her tour of the area took a total of eleven days, which is more than enough time to have seen a fair bit of the area, and certainly would have been enough time to get down to the Kumano region, but we don't have any clear details that I see to say exactly what happened. Still, I do find it interesting to look at the juxtaposition of the Kumano shrine story with that of Ise.  Both took on some aspects of the official stories of the founding of Japan and appear to have been important shrines for the court to some extent, and both the trip to Ise and the trip to Kumano were events such that local taxes were commuted for a time to help pay for the royal visit. But whereas Ise would go on to reject the merging of Buddhism with local kami worship, Kumano appears to have embraced it.  Kumano worship took on a highly syncretic character, with Buddhism and Kami worship becoming inextricably intertwined, maintaining that character even today, despite numerous historical attempts to extricate the two from each other. Ultimately, Ise shrine would take pride of place as the national shrine of the royal family, but I can't help but wonder what would have happened if Kumano had been more ascendant. Getting back to our discussion of Uno no Sarara's various peregrinations:  we also have what appear to be two trips up to Tou-no-mine—the modern pronunciation for the name which Aston transliterates as "Tamu no Mine".  This is the peak where, about forty years earlier, Takara Hime is said to have built a circular enclosure and called "Futa-tsuki" or two "Tsuki" trees palace.  It was also known as "Ama-tsu-miya", the Heavenly Palace.  The modern Tou-no-mine is a mountain to the southeast of Asuka, however, there is also a theory that the Tou-no-mine and Futa-tsuki palace were actually on a small hill just due east of the Kiyomihara palace site.  This is where we find walls, the Sakafune-ishi stone, and other examples of work from the time when the Futa-tsuki palace would have been built. That said, to get to Tou-no-mine, we are told it was a two day trip—one day out and one day back.  That said, it wouldn't have all been spent traveling.  In fact, Tou-no-mine, today, is under two hours walking distance.  The site by the palace is much closer, and the entry for going to the Futatsuski is only mentioned on a single day.  So none of that is particularly helpful, in my opinion.  Ultimately, we know that it was a location near Asuka and that it was associated with Takara Hime, the last female sovereign in her own right—even though her reign was arguably run largely by her son, Crown Prince Naka no Oe. Speaking of whom, Naka no Oe was not only the father of Uno no Sarara, but also of Royal Princess Asuka.  So when Uno no Sarara went to Asuka's country house, also known as the Denso or Tadokoro, she was actually going to pay a visit on her own half-sister.  By the way, "country-house" is the Aston translation.  A more direct translation might be something like "Field Place".  It was a private estate belonging to powerful families, such as the local elites—or in this case the royal family.  It is a rare glimpse into the living conditions of those royal princes and princesses who were not resident in the palace itself.  I do find it interesting that it specifically identifies the royal princess and not some male relative or husband—and Uno no Sarara isn't really noted as visiting a lot of family members all over the place.  I've seen a suggestion that Asuka may have been married to Prince Osakabe, one of Temmu's sons, but if so it is interesting that Uno no Sarara goes to visit *her* house and not *his* house. Princess Asuka is not mentioned much, but given this and a few other things—including being mentioned in the Man'yoshu in connection with a poem by the famous Kakinomoto no Hitomaro—she seemed to be someone important, even though we don't have a lot of information on what that looked like at the time. And with that, we've covered most of Uno no Sarara's travels.  We discussed her near-constant trips to Yoshino, then there were official visits to inspect the fortifications and horses.  Granted, that latter duty was also done just at the palace, in Asuka, so it wasn't necessarily terribly special.  There was her expedition to Ise, which we discussed in a previous episode, and then down to tour the land of Kii.  There were short jaunts out to Hatsuse and Yonabari.  And the largely unexplained visits to Tou-no-mine and the enigmatic Futa-tsuki palace.  Finally, there was a note about her calling on her half-sister, Princess Asuka. So that was what Uno no Sarara was doing when she wasn't at the court.  Otherwise, whether it was in the Asuka Kiyomihara palace or in the new Fujiwara Palace, she was dealing with the business of the state.  Much of what is recorded are fairly common things—banquets, archery competitions, and similar events that are interesting in aggregate, perhaps, but maybe not so helpful in figuring out the larger trends that were occurring at the time.  There were edicts and changes, but we can talk about those separately.  There were natural disasters, as well. Overall, she spent eleven years on the throne, from 686 to 697.  In that time, she finished much of the work started by her husband, put her own stamp on the new government, and, perhaps most importantly, she set up her grandson for success.  It is worth nothing that Uno no Sarara's posthumous regnal name is Jitou Tennou, and while that was probably not something she chose for herself, it may give us some insight into how the Chroniclers viewed her.  Remember that the brothers, Naka no Oe and Ohoama, were given the names "Tenji" and "Temmu", respectively.  Tenji is "Heavenly Wisdom", and he is counted as the brains behind the Great Change, the Taika reforms, and much of the shape that the state took from 645 onwards.  Temmu is something like "Heavenly Warrior".  The victor of the Jinshin no Ran was remembered for his military strategy, even though that was really only a small part of his overall reign.  The characters of Jitou's posthumous title are two characters.  The first, "Ji", means "to hold" or "to have".  The other character is "tou" and generally means "relationship" or "to control".  It can also refer to unification. This is often considered to mean that her role was seen as continuing to hold the throne and continue the work of her husband and his line, his progeny.  In this case, that means strengthening the state that Ohoama had built, following through on his national projects, and ultimately ensuring that the throne passed seamlessly to Ohoama's grandson, ensuring that his line would continue.  Of course, it probably should be noted that of course it was also her own bloodline that she was continuing as well, something that would become important in later years. And it is easy for us to look at this as simply editorializing by the Chroniclers, who were, after all, trying to craft a national narrative as well as record the history.  In many ways the use of these posthumous titles allowed them to do that—to summarize an entire reign into something that could be easily remembered.  And yet, based on the actions that she has taken, there certainly seems to be something to this description of Uno no Sarara and her motivations. We saw, early on, how she cleared the way for her own son, Crown Prince Kusakabe, getting rid of his potential rival for the throne, Prince Ohotsu, and thus potentially averting another conflict at the start of the reign.  But then Kusakabe died, leaving her with his young son, and while placing a young infant on the throne might have become a thing in later centuries, that precedent had not quite been set just yet.  Even as it was, Uno no Sarara likely had some concept that she could not know how many years she would get.  A decade on the throne was nothing to sneeze at, and many sovereigns had much less.  And so, beyond setting up the structure of government that her grandson would inherit, she also had a few more things to ensure.  She would want him to be old enough to be taken seriously, and she would need to make sure that there were no other claimants that could complicate matters.  There was only one other serious candidate that fit that description, and that was Prince Takechi. Remember, Prince Takechi was Ohoama's eldest son.  He was also a maternal descendant of the Munakata, meaning that he didn't have the double-royal imprimatur that was presumably required to take the throne as the sovereign.  And yet, Uno no Sarara was no doubt savvy enough to understand that those kinds of traditions changed quickly and easily in the past, as long as one had the right political backing. At the same time, Uno no Sarara appears to have leaned heavily on Prince Takechi's support.  It was a risk, but his support for her efforts would help her do what she needed to do.  Not only that, but if anything did happen to the young Prince Karu, Prince Takechi was the next in line.  He was also the Dajou Daijin—the most powerful court position short of Uno no Sarara herself.  For many reasons, it would have been difficult if the Queen felt she needed to take him out of the picture. Perhaps then it was fortuitous that in 696 the issue resolved itself, when Royal Prince Takechi passed away. This was no doubt a sad event, and yet it also may have set things in motion.  Prince Karu had been born in 683, so he was fourteen years old—still quite young, but old enough.  He was also surrounded by supporters, including his own mother, widow to the late Prince Kusakabe, Royal Princess Abe. While it isn't mentioned in the Nihon Shoki, we get a glimpse of how all this was planned in the Kaifuso, published in 751.  There, in an entry for Prince Kadono, a son of Prince Ohotomo, we are told that after Prince Takechi's death, Prince Kadono met with Uno no Sarara and others and suggested a course of action.  He encourage Uno no Sarara to pass on the kingdom to Prince Karu, despite his youth.  If true, this is quite the statement from someone whose own father was killed in the Jinshin no Ran, which brought Ohoama and Uno no Sarara to power in the first place.  It appears as though she heeded his advice, setting up what would come next over the following year. And so it is from the year after Prince Takechi's death that we start to really see entries focused on Prince Karu.  In the second month of 697, for instance, we see that Tahema no Mabito no Kunimi was appointed to be Prince Karu's tutor.  Likewise we see Michi no Mabito no Atomi and Kose no Ason no Ahamochi appointed as director and assistant director of the Spring Palace—the palace for the Crown Prince, the Heir Apparent.  Interestingly, Aston notes that the Nihon Shoki never actually gives an entry for when Prince Karu was named Heir Apparent—it just seems to be assumed. Ten days after the new directors were appointed, a public great-congregation was held at the Crown Prince's palace—here called the Eastern Palace, and I'll admit I'm not sure if "Eastern Palace" and "Spring Palace" were different names for the same place or what.  I assume these were all part of the newly built Fujiwara Palace, though the most important part is the implications for Prince Karu.  He was being introduced to the court, it seems, with a large congregation at his residence where the court would be expected to acknowledge his position as the crown prince and heir apparent. Three months later, we are told that Uno no Sarara grew ill.  The Ministers and various government officials made votive images of the Buddha in an attempt to make merit and help her to recover.  While she would recover from whatever illness she experienced, I suspect that this was something of a wake-up call.  Uno no Sarara was in her early 50s, and she wasn't getting any younger.  She also lived at a time where she had to realize that many others hadn't made it as far, and perhaps her illness made her realize that if she was going to do something, she had better do it sooner, rather than later.  And so, just a little more than a month later, on the first day of the 8th month, Uno no Sarara abdicated the throne in favor of her grandchild, Prince Karu, soon to become the next Tennou. This isn't the first time we've seen an abdication in the history of Yamato, but it is perhaps the first time we've seen it quite like this.  When Takara Hime abdicated, I think we can agree that it was largely under duress.  She had just seen her son lead a bloody coup against the most powerful court nobles, and that really does seem to have shaken her.  No such bloody struggle was happening here, however.  In fact, there is plenty to suggest that avoiding a bloody struggle was exactly Uno no Sarara's point.  By overseeing Prince Karu's ascension while she was still around, Queen Uno no Sarara maintained significant control over the process. Part of this rested on the fact that when she retired from the position of Tennou she didn't just become some commoner or retreat to the position of Queen Mother or Dowager Queen or something similar.  Instead, she took on a new titled:  Retired Sovereign, or Dajou-Tennou.  Technically this means that her own title was something like "Greater Sovereign", compared to Karu's "sovereign".  This position was new, and may not have even been fully formed at the time of the initial abdication.  Unlike when Takara Hime abdicated, effectively acknowledging that she wasn't actually in charge, Uno no Sarara was planning to remain an active force in government.  Her grandson would be set up as the formal sovereign, or Tennou.  He would be responsible for the rituals and ensuring everything was properly carried out, but his mother, the Dajou-Tennou, would have a tremendous amount of clout and control. By all accounts, this abdication and creation of the "Dajou-Tennou" position really does seem to have been specifically set up for this occasion, to ensure the smooth transition of power.  This way, when Uno no Sarara eventually did pass away, there would be no question about who was seated on the throne.  Given everything she had witnessed—from stories about her how her own father had come to power as well as the events of the Jinshin no Ran and then everything that happened in the aftermath of her own husband's death—I can understand why Uno no Sarara would have been pre-occupied with the idea of ensuring a smooth transition to the next sovereign.  She likely could not foresee how this new position would be used in the future, and yet it would become something of a staple in the politics of the Japanese court. Initially, retired sovereigns were typically doing so for reasons similar to Uno no Sarara—to ensure a smooth transition of power from one to the other and to ensure that the next tennou could be established to avoid instability.  However, it would become something even more.  After all, why wait until your heir is actually ready?  If you are going to be running things, anyway, why not remove yourself from the tedium of ritual while retaining your authority?  And in later centuries we see the tennou retiring younger, leaving younger and younger heirs to hold the actual throne.  There would also be a certain Buddhist aspect to it as well, allowing the retired tennou to be seen as a kind of Golden Wheel Turning Sovereign who was theoretically beyond the material cares of the day to day.  The retired sovereigns would be referred to as "In", which is likely a reference to the suffix given to their compounds, rather than the common "Miya" or "Gu".  And so the government under these retired sovereigns would become known as the Insei, or government by cloistered sovereigns, but that system was still in the future.  For now, we are just seeing the seeds of what was to come, eventually. To understand this later phase of Uno no Sarara's life, we need to take our first few steps into a new source:  The Shoku Nihongi.  The Nihon Shoki ceases to describe anything after Uno no Sarara's abdication, and the official history of Prince Karu's reign—known to us as Monmu Tennou—is taken up by the Shoku Nihongi.  This is literally the continued Japanese history, and we'll talk about it in depth at some point.  For now, I would note that it was compiled in 797 – so literally a century after the last entry in the Nihon Shoki.  That said, it likely had much better records to go off of compared to the Nihon Shoki, though it was still likely compiled with a view that was still quite friendly towards the royal family and the position of the Tennou. And so, when Uno no Sarara largely disappears from the narrative, I don't know that we should assume that she had truly gone completely hands off.  After all, with everything we've seen, do we think that this is a woman who would just hand the reins over to a fourteen or fifteen year old boy?  And yet the first time she appears is in 701, when she is making a trip to her favorite vacation spot:  the Palace at Yoshino.  That said, there were some pretty big events that happened during this period, after her abdication and assumption of the title of Dajou-Tennou.  The biggest was the creation of the Taihou Code.  Once again, this will need a fuller treatment, but the Taihou Code was an update to the Kiyomihara code.  The Asuka-Kiyomihara code was 22 volumes, and focused on  the laws, the "ryou", but not necessarily the punishments, or "ritsu".  In contrast the Taihou code was 6 volumes of "ritsu" and 11 volumes of "ryou", for 17 volumes in total.  Unfortunately, we mostly have scraps of indications here and there, and the codes that came afterwards, which were each based on what came before.  For instance, we do know that they completely overhauled the rank system yet again.  Unlike the Kiyomihara  code, which took years to develop, the compilation of the Taiho code is ordered in 700 and completed by 701—likely because it was really more of an update and a compilation of what was already on the books. This was perhaps the most significant thing that happened while Uno no Sarara was still available to exert her influence.  Karu was still only about 19 years old at this point.  He would turn 20 the following year, 702.  That same year, Uno no Sarara would travel all the way out to Mikawa no Kuni, which is the eastern half of the modern prefecture of Aichi.  The royal procession, which started in the 10th month of 702, then made its way back through Owari a month later, and from there up to Mino, and then down to Ise and back through Iga.  The royal procession is first recorded on the 10th day of the 10th month and returned on the 25th day of the 11th month—a round-trip time of roughly 45 days.  Throughout we are told that various ranks and awards were given out to important individuals at each stop. Unfortunately, that trip may have taken a toll.  A few weeks later, on the 13th day of the 12th month, Uno no Sarara grew ill.  There was a great amnesty pronounced throughout the realm, and one hundred men took Buddhist vows on her behalf.  They even read the Sutra of Golden Light in the Home Provinces.  Alas, it was all to no avail.  Uno no Sarara passed away on the 22nd day of the 12th month—or January 13th in 703.  It was roughly six years from her abdication.  She would have died with at least some knowledge that the realm was largely in order.  Her grandson was on the  throne and had been ruling for the past six years.  He had attained the age of majority, and things seemed relatively stable.  There was even a new, grand, permanent capital city, just like on the continent. But that closes out the life of Uno no Sarara.  She lived in interesting times, experienced tremendous fortune and misfortune, and she put her indelible stamp on the state of Yamato and thus the future of Japan.  There is still more to go over in this period—we have interactions with the Emishi, updates to society, and various impacts to Buddhism.  We'll also take a look at some more important people from this period, including Kakinomoto no Hitomaru, the famous poet, and the poems of the Man'yoshu, and Fujiwara no Fubito, the son of Nakatomi no Kamatari and the one largely responsible for making the Fujiwara house the most influential house in the entire court. Until then if you like what we are doing, please tell your friends and feel free to rate us wherever you listen to podcasts.  If you feel the need to do more, and want to help us keep this going, we have information about how you can donate on Patreon or through our KoFi site, ko-fi.com/sengokudaimyo, or find the links over at our main website,  SengokuDaimyo.com/Podcast, where we will have some more discussion on topics from this episode. Also, feel free to reach out to our Sengoku Daimyo Facebook page.  You can also email us at the.sengoku.daimyo@gmail.com.  Thank you, also, to Ellen for their work editing the podcast. And that's all for now.  Thank you again, and I'll see you next episode on Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan.

Fluent Fiction - Japanese: Healing at Koyasan: A Journey of Acceptance and Renewal Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:fluentfiction.com/ja/episode/2026-07-29-07-38-20-ja Story Transcript:Ja: 夏の盛り、山々が緑に包まれる季節のことでした。ハルトは高野山を訪れていました。En: In the height of summer, during the season when the mountains are enveloped in green, Haruto visited Koyasan.Ja: 心も体も、癒しを求めて。En: He sought healing for both his body and mind.Ja: 彼は最近、小さな手術を受け、回復のためにこの神聖な場所を選びました。En: Having recently undergone a minor surgery, he chose this sacred place for his recovery.Ja: 高野山は静かで荘厳な山頂のリトリートです。En: Koyasan is a serene and majestic mountaintop retreat.Ja: 杉の大木がそびえ、古いお寺が点在し、僧侶の静かな唱えごえが響きます。En: Towering cedar trees reach towards the sky, ancient temples are scattered throughout, and the quiet chanting of monks echoes.Ja: 空気はお香の香りで満ち、特にお盆の時期には、ランタンが夜を照らし、祈りの音が優しく流れます。En: The air is filled with the fragrance of incense, and especially during the Obon period, lanterns illuminate the night while the sound of prayers gently flows.Ja: ハルトは体の痛みだけでなく、心にも重荷を抱えていました。En: Haruto was burdened not only with physical pain but also with a heavy heart.Ja: 彼の父は亡くなって久しいですが、その思い出と向き合うことを避けてきました。En: Though it had been a long time since his father's passing, he had been avoiding facing those memories.Ja: 父はとても信心深く、仏教の教えに従う人でした。En: His father was deeply devout, a follower of Buddhist teachings.Ja: ハルトは、父の信仰を軽んじていたことを悔やみながらも、なかなか理解できずにいました。En: Haruto regretted having belittled his father's faith and found it difficult to understand.Ja: 盆の祭りの夜、ハルトは心を決めました。En: On the night of the Bon festival, Haruto made a decision.Ja: 父を敬い、その精神を感じるために、お盆の儀式に参加することにしたのです。En: To honor his father and feel his spirit, he decided to participate in the Obon ceremony.Ja: 寺院の庭には、たくさんの人々が集まり、小さな灯籠が並びました。En: In the temple garden, a large crowd gathered, and small lanterns were lined up.Ja: 世代を超えた静けさと祈りの中、ハルトは自分の心に向き合いました。En: Amid the timeless tranquility and prayers spanning generations, Haruto faced his own heart.Ja: 儀式が進むにつれ、彼の中で何かが変わり始めました。En: As the ceremony progressed, something began to change within him.Ja: 父の思い出が鮮烈によみがえり、ハルトの胸に温かな感情が湧き上がりました。En: Memories of his father vividly resurfaced, and a warm emotion welled up in Haruto's heart.Ja: その瞬間、彼は父の存在を感じ、長い間抑えてきた哀しみと悔恨が解き放たれました。En: In that moment, he felt his father's presence, and long-repressed sorrow and regret were released.Ja: 涙が溢れ、彼は父に心からの感謝を伝えることができたのです。En: Tears overflowed, and he was finally able to express his heartfelt gratitude to his father.Ja: 次の日、高野山を去る朝、ハルトは心が軽くなっていることに気付きました。En: The next morning, as he prepared to leave Koyasan, Haruto realized that his heart felt lighter.Ja: 彼は父の信仰と向き合い、それを受け入れました。En: He had faced his father's faith and accepted it.Ja: そして、自分自身の中に新しい信念が芽生えていることを感じたのです。En: He also felt a new belief budding within himself.Ja: 彼は父の遺産を尊重することを誓い、新しい意味を見出したこの経験を抱いて日々を歩む決意をしました。En: He vowed to respect his father's legacy and decided to walk through life, embracing this new-found meaning from his experience.Ja: 高野山の緑に囲まれた道を下る彼の姿は、穏やかな微笑みに包まれていました。En: As he descended the path surrounded by Koyasan's greenery, Haruto was enveloped in a serene smile.Ja: 彼の背中には、父との新しい絆と共に、これからの未来が広がっていました。En: Accompanied by a newfound bond with his father, the promise of the future spread out before him. Vocabulary Words:height: 盛りenveloped: 包まれるserene: 静かmajestic: 荘厳towering: そびえchanting: 唱えごえfragrance: 香りlantern: ランタンilluminate: 照らしburdened: 抱えてdevout: 信心深くbelittled: 軽んじてtimeless: 世代を超えたtranquility: 静けさvividly: 鮮烈welled up: 湧き上がりpresence: 存在repressed: 抑えてgratitude: 感謝legacy: 遺産embracing: 抱いてbudding: 芽生えてdescended: 下るpath: 道greenery: 緑accompanied: 共にbond: 絆promise: 約束sought: 求めてsacred: 神聖

Fluent Fiction - Japanese: Finding Balance: Haruki's Journey to Inner Peace Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:fluentfiction.com/ja/episode/2025-12-10-23-34-02-ja Story Transcript:Ja: 冬の朝、深い山々の静けさが広がる高野山。雪が杉の木を包み、白い絨毯のように辺りを覆っていました。En: On a winter morning, in the stillness of the deep mountains of Koyasan, snow enveloped the cedar trees, covering the surroundings like a white carpet.Ja: ミニマルな木造の建物が点在し、禅庭が静かに佇む。En: Minimal wooden structures were scattered about, and Zen gardens stood in quiet repose.Ja: この場所に、心の安寧を求める人々が訪れます。En: People seeking peace of mind visited this place.Ja: ハルキは、都会の喧騒から離れるためにこのリトリートに参加しました。En: Haruki participated in this retreat to escape the noise of the city.Ja: 彼はいつも仕事のストレスに悩まされていました。En: He was always troubled by work stress.Ja: ミヤコは、このリトリートでインストラクターとして働いています。En: Miyako works as an instructor at this retreat.Ja: 彼女は落ち着いた声で参加者を導く能力を持っていますが、過去は秘密のベールに包まれています。En: She possesses a calming voice that guides participants, but her past is shrouded in a veil of secrecy.Ja: そして、レンはこのワークショップの参加者で、ハルキに興味を持っていました。En: And Ren is a participant in this workshop who took an interest in Haruki.Ja: 「みなさん、目を閉じてください。」ミヤコの指示でハルキは目を閉じます。En: "Everyone, please close your eyes." Following Miyako's instruction, Haruki closed his eyes.Ja: しかし、心は落ち着かず、仕事のことが浮かんできます。En: However, his mind was not at ease, and thoughts about work surfaced.Ja: その横で、レンが微笑みかけます。En: Beside him, Ren smiled at him.Ja: 彼の好意に気づきつつも、ハルキはさらに肩に力が入るのを感じます。En: Noticing his kindness, Haruki felt even more tension in his shoulders.Ja: ある日、ハルキは決心しました。En: One day, Haruki made a decision.Ja: 「今日は瞑想に集中しよう。」レンの誘いを丁重に断り、彼はミヤコに助言を求めました。En: "Today, I will focus on meditation." He politely declined Ren's invitation and sought advice from Miyako.Ja: ミヤコは静かに話します。「心を解放することが必要です。焦らず、自分のリズムで。」En: Miyako spoke gently, "It's necessary to free your mind. Without rushing, in your own rhythm."Ja: 翌日の夜明け、参加者たちは外の瞑想ホールで肩を並べました。En: At the break of dawn the next day, the participants gathered shoulder to shoulder in the outdoor meditation hall.Ja: 空が青く明るみ始め、静寂が心を包みます。En: The sky began to brighten to blue, and the silence enveloped hearts.Ja: その瞬間、ハルキの中で何かが開かれました。En: At that moment, something opened within Haruki.Ja: 彼は自分のストレスの本質と、真の優先順位を理解しました。En: He understood the essence of his stress and his true priorities.Ja: それは、より良いバランスのある生活でした。En: It was a life with better balance.Ja: 帰り道、ハルキは心が軽くなったのを感じながら雪道を歩きました。En: On the way back, Haruki felt his heart lighten as he walked along the snowy path.Ja: 彼はミヤコに心から感謝し、新しい視点を胸に抱きました。En: He was deeply grateful to Miyako and held a new perspective in his heart.Ja: これからは、自分の心を大切にし、過度な仕事の重圧をもう感じないと決めました。En: He decided that from now on, he would cherish his own heart and no longer feel the excessive pressure of work.Ja: 高野山の冬の風景は、ハルキの心の変化を象徴していました。En: The winter landscape of Koyasan symbolized the change in Haruki's heart.Ja: 白い雪の中で、彼は新しい一歩を踏み出す準備ができていました。En: Amidst the white snow, he was ready to take a new step forward.Ja: 課題を抱えつつも、今後の人生に新たな光を見つけることができたのです。En: While carrying challenges, he was able to find new light in his future life. Vocabulary Words:stillness: 静けさenveloped: 包みcarpet: 絨毯minimal: ミニマルstructures: 建物repose: 佇むsecrecy: 秘密veiled: ベールに包まれたgentle: 落ち着いたcalming: 静かにdescend: 包みますintrospection: 内省workshop: ワークショップmeditation: 瞑想essence: 本質harmony: 調和anxiety: 悩まされてperspective: 視点respite: 安寧snowy: 雪のgrateful: 感謝priorities: 優先順位burden: 重圧path: 道pursue: 求めるtranquility: 心の安寧embark: 踏み出すdawn: 夜明けresolve: 決心relief: 軽くなったのを感じる

Fluent Fiction - Japanese: Finding Harmony: Haruto's Autumn Awakening on Koyasan Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:fluentfiction.com/ja/episode/2025-10-10-07-38-20-ja Story Transcript:Ja: 高野山の秋。En: Autumn on Koyasan.Ja: 葉が紅く染まり、山寺の静けさが心に深く響く季節だった。En: A season when the leaves turn red and the tranquility of the mountain temples profoundly resonates with the heart.Ja: はるとは若い修行僧であり、この特別な場所で自らの内面を見つめていた。En: Haruto was a young apprentice monk, gazing inward at this special place.Ja: 秋の祭り、特別な「お盆」の準備が始まっていた。En: Preparations for the autumn festival, a special Obon, had begun.Ja: はるとは祭りを通じて、古い伝統と深い精神的な繋がりを見つけたいと思っていた。En: Through the festival, Haruto wanted to find a deep spiritual connection with ancient traditions.Ja: しかし、彼には数多くの仕事があった。掃除、食事の準備、参拝者の案内。En: However, he had numerous tasks at hand: cleaning, preparing meals, and guiding visitors.Ja: それらが彼を忙しくし、自分自身を見失いそうになった。En: These responsibilities kept him busy and sometimes made him feel as if he was losing himself.Ja: 「どうやって祭りの真の意味を見つけられるだろう？」はるとは迷っていた。En: "How can I discover the true meaning of the festival?" pondered Haruto.Ja: そこで、アイコに相談することにした。アイコは尊敬される先輩の僧で、いつも落ち着きと知恵を持っていた。En: So, he decided to consult with Aiko, a respected senior monk who always had a calm demeanor and wisdom.Ja: 「はると、時には他の人を信頼することも必要だよ」とアイコは優しく助言した。En: "Haruto, sometimes it's necessary to trust others," Aiko gently advised.Ja: 「他人に助けを求め、自分の時間を大切にしなさい。」En: "Ask for help from others and cherish your own time."Ja: それから、はるとはリナにも手伝いを頼むことにした。En: Afterward, Haruto decided to ask Rina for assistance as well.Ja: リナは明るく親切な僧侶見習いで、いつも周りをサポートしてくれる。En: Rina was a cheerful and kind novice monk, always ready to support those around her.Ja: リナのおかげで、はるとは少し時間ができた。En: Thanks to Rina, Haruto managed to find some time for himself.Ja: 祭りの準備は順調に進んでいた。En: The festival preparations were progressing smoothly.Ja: ある日、はるとが紅葉の中を歩いていると、突然、すべてが一つに繋がっている感覚が彼を包み込んだ。En: One day, while Haruto was walking through the autumn foliage, he was suddenly enveloped by a sense that everything was connected.Ja: 秋の風、香るお香、そして遠くから聞こえる鐘の音。En: The autumn breeze, the scent of incense, and the sound of bells ringing from afar.Ja: それらすべてが彼にとって新しい発見だった。En: These all felt like new discoveries to him.Ja: 「これが祭りの精神だ」と、はるとは心で感じた。En: "This is the spirit of the festival," Haruto felt in his heart.Ja: 祭りはただの行事ではなく、自然と人々との繋がりの再確認だったのだ。En: The festival was not just an event, but a reaffirmation of the connections with nature and people.Ja: 祭りの日が来たとき、はるとは全ての準備を整えていた。En: When the day of the festival arrived, Haruto was fully prepared.Ja: そして彼は、新しい視点を持ってそれを迎えた。自分の義務と精神的な追求の両方を調和することを学んでいたのだ。En: He welcomed it with fresh perspective, learning to harmonize both his duties and spiritual pursuits.Ja: 祭りが終わると、はるとは新たな平和を感じていた。En: After the festival ended, Haruto felt a newfound sense of peace.Ja: 義務を果たしつつ、自分自身を失わないこと。それが彼の新しい教訓だった。En: Fulfilling his duties while not losing himself—that was his new lesson.Ja: 高野山の秋は彼にとって特別なものとなり、これからも続く学びの旅路の出発点となった。En: Autumn on Koyasan became something special to him, marking the starting point of his ongoing journey of learning. Vocabulary Words:tranquility: 静けさapprentice: 修行僧resonates: 響くgazing: 見つめていたspiritual: 精神的なnumerous: 数多くのprepared: 準備demeanor: 落ち着きcherish: 大切にしなさいnovice: 見習いprogressing: 進んでいたfoliage: 紅葉enveloped: 包み込むincense: お香bells ringing: 鐘の音reaffirmation: 再確認perspective: 視点harmonize: 調和するfulfilling: 果たしつつnewfound: 新たなongoing: 続くguests: 参拝者discover: 見つけられるspirits: 精神connections: 繋がりconsult: 相談するsense of peace: 平和を感じていたduties: 義務profoundly: 深くreaffirmation: 再確認

Send us a textIn this episode of Supernatural Japan, we journey to the sacred mountaintop of Koyasan in Wakayama and explore Okunoin Cemetery, Japan's largest and most haunted graveyard. Discover ghostly legends, eerie encounters, and the deep spiritual history of this mysterious site, where thousands of souls rest and folklore comes alive.Follow the podcast: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/supernaturaljapanBluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/madformaple.bsky.socialX: https://x.com/MadForMapleFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/supernaturaljapanEmail: supernaturaljapan@gmail.comTales from Kevin Podcast:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/tales-from-kevin/id1767355563Support the podcast (Help fund the creation of new episodes) MEMBERSHIPS NOW AVAILABLE!: https://buymeacoffee.com/busankevinYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BusanKevinNEW podcast companion blogs! https://justjapanstuff.com/Website: https://supernaturaljapan.buzzsprout.comSupport the show

And we're back! In this special first episode after the summer break, Christof takes you on a sensory journey to Japan with a series of 'audio postcards' recorded in Kyoto, Tokyo, and Koyasan. It's an immersive exploration of sound, mindfulness, and creativity. Stick around for the second half, where Christof makes three major announcements about the future of Music Thinking, including a new way for you to support the show and an upcoming online workshop. IN THIS EPISODE, YOU'LL HEAR: Audio Postcard #1: The serene water basin and surrounding soundscape of the Ryoanji Temple garden in Kyoto. Audio Postcard #2: The chaotic, energetic wave of sound at the famous Shibuya Scramble Crossing in Tokyo. Audio Postcard #3: The meditative, rhythmic sound of a Zen garden being raked by artisans in Koyasan. Announcement 1: Introducing a brand new, simple way to support the podcast on Ko-fi. Announcement 2: Details on the new 'Music Thinking 101' online workshop. Announcement 3: A preview of the exciting new guest episodes and Japan specials coming this season. ❤️ SUPPORT THE SHOW If you find value in Music Thinking, you can now support the show directly and help keep it ad-free and independent. Become a member for perks or make a one-time 'thank you' donation on our new Ko-fi page: ▶︎ https://ko-fi.com/musicthinking

"The field recording I chose was rich with historical resonance, immediately reminding me of another sacred route in Japan—Kumano Kodo, an ancient pilgrimage trail deeply connected to spiritual tradition. This parallel between Camino de Santiago in Spain and Kumano Kodo in Japan felt natural, as both sites are UNESCO-designated partners in preserving cultural and historical heritage. "Fortunately, I had my own field recordings from Kumano and Koyasan temple, and as I listened, I was struck by how seamlessly the Buddhist chant and the Spanish gaida (bagpipe) intertwined. Their tonal qualities resonated in a way that evoked a shared sense of devotion, despite being from different corners of the world. "Rather than stopping at this musical dialogue, I wanted to create something immersive — an experience akin to walking along these sacred paths. To achieve this, I incorporated poetry from ancient Japan, reciting verses that reflect themes of journey, reflection, and spiritual connection. By layering these elements, I hoped to offer listeners — whether tourists, pilgrims, or those engaging from afar—a way to connect with the past and feel the enduring spirit of these landscapes. "The final composition unfolds as a call-and-response between the two pilgrimage routes, distant in geography but united in essence. It invites the listener to trace the footsteps of those who came before, to remember, to feel, and to sense the unchanged atmosphere of these sacred spaces—a rare and precious experience in our fast-moving world." Praza das Praterías, Santiago de Compostela reimagined by Yutaka Atonami. ——————— This sound is part of the Sonic Heritage project, exploring the sounds of the world's most famous sights. Find out more and explore the whole project: https://www.citiesandmemory.com/heritage

Fluent Fiction - Japanese: Bean Battle and Friendship at Koyasan's Sacred Festival Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:fluentfiction.com/ja/episode/2025-02-03-23-34-02-ja Story Transcript:Ja: 寒い冬の日、雪が静かに積もる高野山。En: On a cold winter's day, snow quietly accumulates on Koyasan.Ja: そこは灯籠が優しい光を放ち、神聖な寺院が立ち並ぶ場所です。En: It is a place where lanterns emit gentle light, and sacred temples line the area.Ja: 今年の節分には、多くの人々がこの神聖な場所を訪れました。En: This year during Setsubun, many people visited this holy place.Ja: 広場には太鼓の音と僧侶の声が響き渡ります。En: In the square, the sound of drums and monks' voices resonate.Ja: 例年のように、ヒロは親友のユキと一緒にこの特別な日を楽しむために来ていました。En: As usual, Hiro came to enjoy this special day with his best friend, Yuki.Ja: ヒロは少しうっかりした性格で、しばしばユキに助けられています。En: Hiro, with a slightly scatter-brained personality, is often helped by Yuki.Ja: ユキは、彼を見守りながらも、ユーモアを忘れない逞しい友人です。En: Yuki is a robust friend who watches over him without forgetting humor.Ja: その日、一緒に来たアジアからの観光客、アイコもこの文化を知ることに興味津々でした。En: That day, a tourist from Asia named Aiko, who came with them, was also fascinated by learning about this culture.Ja: 彼女の目は日本の伝統に輝いていました。En: Her eyes sparkled with the traditions of Japan.Ja: ヒロは節分の豆まきが待ち切れません。En: Hiro couldn't wait for the Setsubun bean throwing.Ja: その興奮からか、寺院の入口で靴をしっかりと揃えずに脱いでしまいました。En: Perhaps due to his excitement, he left his shoes unsorted at the temple entrance.Ja: 豆まきが始まると、彼の心はすっかりその催し物に散漫です。En: When the bean-throwing ceremony began, his mind was completely distracted by the event.Ja: 豆を投げ、鬼を追い払う儀式は無事に終わりました。En: The ritual of throwing beans to drive away demons went off without a hitch.Ja: 式が終わり、ヒロが靴を取りに戻ったとき、そこには彼の靴がありませんでした。En: After the ceremony ended, and Hiro returned to get his shoes, they were nowhere to be found.Ja: 「えっ？」と不安になるヒロ。En: "Eh?" said a worried Hiro.Ja: ユキとアイコは待っていましたが、彼は「あれ、俺の靴どこだ？」と困惑の顔。En: Yuki and Aiko were waiting, but he was puzzled, saying, "Where are my shoes?"Ja: 大勢の人々の靴が並んでいる中、見つけるのは難しい様子です。En: With a large number of people's shoes lined up, finding his own seemed difficult.Ja: ユキは、「大丈夫、探すの手伝うよ。」と声をかけます。En: Yuki reassured him, "It's okay; I'll help you find them."Ja: アイコも「いろんな靴を試してみたら？」と冗談めかして提案しました。En: Aiko also jokingly suggested, "Why not try on various shoes?"Ja: ３人で寺院の周りを歩き、「すみません、この靴を見かけましたか？」と訪ねることにしました。En: The three of them walked around the temple, asking, "Excuse me, have you seen these shoes?"Ja: しかし、なかなか見つかりません。En: However, they couldn't find them easily.Ja: 気が滅入り始めるヒロに、ユキは突然、「ヒロ、はい、豆！」と言って優しく豆を投げ始めました。En: Just as Hiro was beginning to feel dispirited, Yuki suddenly said, "Hiro, here, beans!" and gently started throwing beans.Ja: 豆まきが再び始まり、みんなが笑い始めました。En: The bean-throwing started again, and everyone began to laugh.Ja: 見物人も巻き込んで、豆まきの小さな戦いが始まります。En: The spectators got involved, and a small bean-throwing battle commenced.Ja: その混乱の中、親切な僧侶が現れ、微笑みを浮かべヒロに「これでしょうか？」と靴を差し出します。En: In the midst of the chaos, a kind monk appeared with a smile and offered Hiro his shoes, asking, "Are these them?"Ja: 「ありがとうございます！」とヒロは深々とお辞儀をし、ようやく安心しました。En: "Thank you very much!" said Hiro, bowing deeply and finally feeling relieved.Ja: 温かいお茶を一緒に飲みながら、三人は笑顔で一日を振り返りました。En: As they drank warm tea together, the three reflected on the day with smiles.Ja: 「なんだかんだで楽しかったね。」とユキが言い、ヒロも「もう、あの時は焦ったけどね！」と笑いながら応えました。En: "Despite everything, it was fun," commented Yuki, to which Hiro replied with laughter, "I was really flustered at the time!"Ja: ヒロはこの一日の出来事で学びました。En: Hiro learned from the events of that day.Ja: ユキのように、たまには面倒なことも笑い飛ばして、楽しむ方がいいこともあると。En: Sometimes it's better to laugh off troublesome things and enjoy them, just like Yuki does.Ja: そして、その日高野山での冒険が、より一層彼らの友情を深めました。En: Moreover, their adventure on Koyasan that day further deepened their friendship. Vocabulary Words:accumulates: 積もるlanterns: 灯籠sacred: 神聖なresonate: 響き渡るscatter-brained: うっかりしたrobust: 逞しいfascinated: 興味津々unsorted: 揃えずritual: 儀式demons: 鬼hitch: 無事dispirited: 気が滅入るcommenced: 始まりますspectators: 見物人reassured: 安心しましたreflected: 振り返るflustered: 焦ったtroublesome: 面倒なadventure: 冒険deepened: 深めましたbean: 豆sparkled: 輝いていましたentrance: 入口shoes: 靴puzzled: 困惑suggested: 提案しましたoffered: 差し出しますsmile: 微笑みexcuse me: すみませんwithout a hitch: 無事に

In this episode of "Sleepless in Singapore," I recount the transition from Korea to Japan, starting with a curious encounter with a kimchi pastry in Busan. This prelude to our travels led us to a ferry ride to Fukuoka, where Japan presented itself not with the anticipated high-tech spectacle but with serene, orderly streets and an unexpectedly quiet ambiance. Settling into our modest accommodations, we dove into the local cuisine with a bowl of hearty ramen and marveled at the advanced features of Japanese toilets. The culinary journey peaked with our first taste of Kobe beef, an experience marked by its subtle, buttery texture and rich flavors, highlighting the unique culinary heritage of Japan and setting the tone for a trip filled with surprising discoveries and quiet reflections.

Welcome to 2024! The year that L.A. Meekly turns deeply religious! This month we're covering a few hidden and not so hidden religious locations and movements from around Los Angeles. We're covering the Jewish eruv (19:06), the Mormon Los Angeles California Temple (31:35), the Pentecostal Azusa Street Revival (45:54) and the Koyasan Buddhist Temple (1:16:55).

Darren Shan is an author who has published "over 60 books for older children and adults, and sold around 30 million copies across the world." You may know him from classics like Cirque Du Freak, The Demonata, Koyasan, Zom-B, The Thin Executioner, Archibald Lox and The City Trilogy. Darren has also published books like Father of the Future, Molls Like It Hot and Midsummer's Bottom under the name Darren Dash. You can find him online (Darren Shan and Darren Dash) as well as on X (Darren Shan).   The order form for his upcoming children's picture book The Terrified Troll   His newest book Father of the Future is out now on Amazon!

Déjà un mois que je suis rentrée du pays du soleil levant, il était temps de vous raconter ce merveilleux périple !   De Fukuoka à Tokyo en passant par Beppu, Hiroshima, Osaka, Okayama, Koyasan, Yoshino, Kyoto, Magome, Nagano et Kamakura, sans oublier Disney Sea et toutes les expériences extraordinaires, j'ai eu la chance de voir le Japon dans tous ses états !   N'hésitez pas à m'écrire sur Instagram (@carlita.s.purple) si vous avez des questions. Je me ferai une joie d'y répondre 

This week on Krewe of Japan Podcast... the Krewe sits down to discuss omiyage, when to get it, who to get it for, what to get, and how to navigate the culture of gift-giving in Japan! From sneaky good ideas to absolutely DON'T DO IT mistakes, the Krewe has it all!------ About the Krewe ------The Krewe of Japan Podcast is a weekly episodic podcast sponsored by the Japan Society of New Orleans. Check them out every Friday afternoon around noon CST on Apple, Google, Spotify, Amazon, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts.  Want to share your experiences with the Krewe? Or perhaps you have ideas for episodes, feedback, comments, or questions? Let the Krewe know by e-mail at kreweofjapanpodcast@gmail.com or on social media (Twitter: @kreweofjapan, Instagram: @kreweofjapanpodcast, Facebook: Krewe of Japan Podcast Page, TikTok: @kreweofjapanpodcast, LinkedIn: Krewe of Japan LinkedIn Page & the Krewe of Japan Youtube Channel). Until next time, enjoy!

This week on Krewe of Japan Podcast... the Krewe sits back down with returning guest & friend of the podcast, Shinichi Mine of TabiEats YouTube fame!  Together, we explore one of Japanese most hyped and popular dish... RAMEN! From the different types and regional delicacies to etiquette and manners and recent trends, we cover it all! Bust out those chopsticks & soup spoons... ITADAKIMASU! ------ About the Krewe ------The Krewe of Japan Podcast is a weekly episodic podcast sponsored by the Japan Society of New Orleans. Check them out every Friday afternoon around noon CST on Apple, Google, Spotify, Amazon, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts.  Want to share your experiences with the Krewe? Or perhaps you have ideas for episodes, feedback, comments, or questions? Let the Krewe know by e-mail at kreweofjapanpodcast@gmail.com or on social media (Twitter: @kreweofjapan, Instagram: @kreweofjapanpodcast, Facebook: Krewe of Japan Podcast Page, TikTok: @kreweofjapanpodcast, & the Krewe of Japan Youtube Channel). Until next time, enjoy!------ More Info on Shinichi & TabiEats ------Shinichi on InstagramShinichi's World on InstagramShinichi on TikTokTabiEats on InstagramTabiEats YouTube ChannelShinichi's World YouTube ChannelI Will Always Travel For Food YouTube Channel

Happy Valentine's Day! This is a bonus episode inspired from the four piece compilation from 2022. This week we highlight four past discussions. Firstly we have interviewer Guy Perryman (UK) inquiring Tiffany of her cultural experiences between the Philippines and Japan, then sharing an important message as a LGBTQ+ activist in Japan with Masa Yanagisawa (JP),  living with Japanese monks with Felicity Tillack (AUS),  and lastly, living as an LGBTQ+ individual in Japan with Maeve Duvally (US).To our wonderful listeners, let us know which episodes in 2022 you enjoyed most!Special Announcement: Don't forget to reserve your spot on our Zenscape Wellness Retreat from April 7th, 8th & 9th in Hiroshima! Feel free to send an email at breakfastwithtiffanyshow@outlook.com for more information.  Mentioned Episodes & Links; EP 124: Guy Perryman Interviews Featuring Tiffany Rossdale ~ https://www.tiffanyrossdale.com/podcast/episode/7c4efdd6/guy-perryman-interviews-featuring-tiffany-rossdale EP 125: Marriage For All Japan With Guest Masa Yanagisawa ~ https://www.tiffanyrossdale.com/podcast/episode/785af340/marriage-for-all-japan-with-guest-masa-yanagisawa EP 126: The Reality Of Living With Japanese Monks ~ https://www.tiffanyrossdale.com/podcast/episode/7bca680e/the-reality-of-living-with-japanese-monks EP 127: Is Japan A Safe Country For Transgenders? ~ https://www.tiffanyrossdale.com/podcast/episode/7c2823f0/is-japan-a-safe-country-for-transgenders Support the showBreakfast With Tiffany Show Official Facebook Page ~ https://www.facebook.com/breakfastwithtiffanyshow Tiffany's Instagram Account ~ https://www.instagram.com/tiffanyrossdaleofficial/ For coaching sessions & programs with Tiffany, check out her official page ~ https://www.tiffanyrossdale.com Breakfast With Tiffany Show Youtube Channel ~ https://bit.ly/3vIVzhE Breakfast With Tiffany Show Official Page ~ https://www.tiffanyrossdale.com/podcast For questions, requests, collaborations and comments, feel free to reach us via our e-mail~breakfastwithtiffanyshow@outlook.com

Koyasan (o el monte Koya) es un lugar precioso de fuerte espiritualidad donde puedes alojarte en un templo budista. ¡Dale al play! Koyasan o monte Koya (hacemos una reflexión sobre cómo nombrar ciertos sitios cómo éste al comienzo del episodio), es un lugar espectacular al sur de Osaka, con muchísima historia y una gran espiritualidad y además Patrimonio de la Humanidad. Aquí Kobo Daishi fundó la escuela de budismo shingon y entre el complejo central, con unos 100 templos, el cementerio Okunoin con sus 200 000 tumbas y el mausoleo de Kobo Daishi, o el templo Torodo y sus 10 000 lámparas, es un lugar de gran espiritualidad y belleza natural. Además, puedes alojarte en un templo budista (shukubo, se llama esto) y cenar y desayunar comida vegana como los monjes y participar en los rezos matutinos (a las 5 de la mañana).  Luego, en Japonismo mini te contamos algunas de las tradiciones de Japonismo por Navidad y Año Nuevo. Por ejemplo, la nengajo, que ya la tenemos lista para enviar en una newsletter especial el 1 de enero. O el calendario de fotografías 2023, que también lo enviaremos gratis el 27 de diciembre. Sólo tienes que estar suscrito a la newsletter. Mencionamos también varios comentarios curiosos y divertidos, algunos que tienen que ver con los datos de Spotify Wrapped para 2022, que en el caso de Japón a fondo y Japonesamente han sido fabulosos, y acabamos con la frase japonesa del episodio, para saber preguntar dónde está algo. ¡Mata ne! ¿Quieres colaborar con el programa? Colabora en Patreon Únete a la Comunidad Japonismo Reserva hoteles en Japón (y en todo el mundo) Consigue seguro de viajes (¡no sólo para Japón!) Busca los mejores vuelos Lleva Internet (pocket wifi o SIM) JR Pass para viajes ilimitados en tren ---- Continúa la conversación en: Web: https://japonismo.com Discord: https://discord.gg/hZrSa57 Facebook: https://facebook.com/japonismo Twitter: https://twitter.com/japonismo Instagram: https://instagram.com/japonismo Pinterest: https://pinterest.com/japonismo Newsletter semanal: http://eepurl.com/di60Xn

This week on Krewe of Japan Podcast... with the borders re-opened, the Krewe is on a travel kick lately (and is ALWAYS on a food kick)... so this week the Krewe put the two together!  Joined by Shinichi of TabiEats YouTube Channel fame, we explore Japan with a food-focused filter. From crazy vending machines to a cuisine breakdown by region, this episode will help you figure out how to plan your trips around your meals... and not the other way around! ITADAKIMASU! ------ About the Krewe ------The Krewe of Japan Podcast is a weekly episodic podcast sponsored by the Japan Society of New Orleans. Check them out every Friday afternoon around noon CST on Apple, Google, Spotify, Amazon, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts.  Want to share your experiences with the Krewe? Or perhaps you have ideas for episodes, feedback, comments, or questions? Let the Krewe know by e-mail at kreweofjapanpodcast@gmail.com or on social media (Twitter: @kreweofjapan, Instagram: @kreweofjapanpodcast, Facebook: Krewe of Japan Podcast Page, TikTok: @kreweofjapanpodcast, & the Krewe of Japan Youtube Channel). Until next time, enjoy!------ More Info on Shinichi & TabiEats ------Shinichi on InstagramShinichi's World on InstagramTabiEats on InstagramTabiEats YouTube ChannelShinichi's World YouTube ChannelI Will Always Travel For Food YouTube Channel

Lanzar una empresa en España no es fácil. Lo más normal es que cierre antes de cumplir cinco años, una edad que no alcanzan ni la mitad. La esperanza media de vida cuando nacen es de 11 años. Cifras todas inferiores a las registradas en el resto de la Unión Europea. Así se entiende, claro, que solo 41 compañías españolas se hayan fundado antes del siglo XX.Pasa en España, pero es un comportamiento general en casi cualquier país. Con algunas excepciones, principalmente asiáticas. Y por encima de todas las excepciones, Japón, un país de tradiciones ancestrales, que cuenta, no con una, sino con varias empresas milenarias. De hecho, 4 de las 5 compañías en activo más antiguas del mundo son niponas. Y tiene más de 20.000 compañías con más de un siglo de vida.Y por encima de todas destaca Kongo Gumi, la empresa más antigua del mundo. Corría el año 578 -por poner en perspectiva, un siglo más tarde de la caída del Imperio Romano-, cuando Shigetsu Kongō ponía en marcha esta empresa, dedicada a algo tan universal como la construcción. Pero no a cualquier tipo de construcción, sino a la construcción, y después al mantenimiento, de templos budistas.Todo comienza cuando el príncipe Shotoku Taishi, un adolescente, encarga la construcción del primer templo budista en Japón, en la actual Osaka. En un país donde la religión predominante era el sintoísmo, no había carpinteros, arquitectos o artesanos especializados en este tipo de edificaciones. Así, deben ir a Corea, donde contrata a tres expertos en la materia. Uno de ellos es el propio Shigetsu Kongō.Este equipo llegado de Corea fue el encargado de construir el famoso y espectacular templo de Shitennō-ji, el primero construido en suelo nipón. Kongo Gumi, durante sus primeras décadas de vida, se dedicó en exclusiva al mantenimiento y la preservación de este templo.Su construcción finalizó en el año 593, y ha sobrevidido hasta nuestros días. Aunque a lo largo de su historia ha sido víctima de numerosas catástrofes y accidentes, que han hecho que tuviera que ser reparado o reconstruido varias veces. Su imagen actual data del año 1963, cuando se le hizo la última gran intervención, tras ser destruido por un tifón.La rápida expansión del budismo por todo el país, la fama alcanzada por la belleza de Shitennō-ji, el apoyo imperial y el prestigio que le daba el hecho de ser los pioneros, les abrieron numerosas oportunidades de negocio. Así, en los siguientes siglos se encargan igualmente de la construcción de los templos de Hōryū-ji (607) y Koyasan (816).Kongo Gumi era una empresa familiar. Los 40 presidentes que ha tenido la compañía en sus más de 1.400 años de historia son todos descendientes de Shigetsu Kongō, o cónyuges de los mismos. Pero con una particularidad, el cargo no lo heredaba el hijo mayor, como era tradición, sino que se le entregaba al más preparado de todos.Por supuesto, una empresa de tal longevidad también ha pasado por crisis, algunas de las cuales llegaron a amenazar su supervivencia. Una de las más graves llega en 1868, con la revolución Meiji y su persecución al budismo, en el que incluso llegan a destruirse algunos templos. Kongo Gumi se queda así sin una de sus principales fuentes de ingresos.Para superar esta crisis, la compañía decide diversificar su negocio, y comienza entonces a construir otro tipo de edificios, como casas tradicionales o oficinas, adaptándose a la revolución industrial que empezaba a llegar a Japón, y que estaba impulsada por los Meiji.Las dificultades que viven en ese periodo llevan a Yoshisada Kongo, el 32º líder de la empresa, a escribir 16 reglas, 16 principios básicos, basados en su glorioso pasado, que sirvan como guía en el futuro. Estos van desde normas formales, sobre cómo vestir, cómo tratar a los clientes o cuánto beber; a metodológicas, como el control de calidad o la importancia de presentar presupuestos honestos; o de formación, especificando los pasos a seguir para convertirse en maestro artesano, o fijando la importancia de la lectura y el aprendizaje de la aritmética.Con la gran recesión sufren otro momento muy complicado. El líder Haruichi Kongo se suicida, al no poder cumplir con los objetivos marcados, en un ritual ante las tumbas de sus antepasados. Le sustituye en el cargo su viuda, Yoshei Kongo, la primera y única mujer que ha dirigido la empresa en su milenaria trayectoria, que logra remontar la situación apostando por la construcción de ataúdes de madera. Con la II Guerra Mundial, el negocio estuvo asegurado.Pero la crisis que de verdad puso contra las cuerdas a la compañía llegó a finales del siglo XX. Por un lado, por la burbuja inmobiliaria de los años 80, que le llevó a alcanzar un elevado nivel de deuda, por todo el dinero que había pedido prestado para invertir en ladrillo. Y por otro, por los cambios sociales y la mayor laicidad que han llegado a Japón, que han provocado una caída dramática de los donativos que recibían los templos budistas.La empresa sufre una situación económica muy complicada, que provoca que deba ser adquirida por Takamatsu, una constructora japonesa de mayor tamaño, en 2006. En este momento surge cierta polémica. Hay que considera que con este movimiento se pone fin a la historia de la empresa, dejando de ser la más antigua en activo, a pesar de seguir trabajando; mientras que otros consideran que aunque esté bajo el paraguas de otra marca, sigue viva.Mientras tanto, la legendaria empresa ha vuelto a especializarse en edificios religiosos, con la artesanía y la calidad como principios básicos. Sin embargo, en vez de vivir de los encargos del Gobierno, ahora apuesta por promover activamente nuevos proyectos de construcción y restauración.Los días 1 y 15 de cada mes, los empleados de Kongo Gumi siguen reuniéndose para rezar una pequeña oración en honor del príncipe Shotoku, para agradecerle cómo empezó todo.

This week on Krewe of Japan Podcast... don your henro gear, grab your walking stick, & journey to Shikoku for an 800 mile, thousand year old 88 temple pilgrimage with Todd Wassel, author of the travel memoir Walking in Circles! The Krewe & Todd explore the history behind the pilgrimage, personal experiences traversing the island, some can't-miss tips for preparation, and just a general appreciation of the natural beauty of Shikoku as a whole. You don't want to miss this one! ------ About the Krewe ------The Krewe of Japan Podcast is a weekly episodic podcast sponsored by the Japan Society of New Orleans. Check them out every Friday afternoon around noon CST on Apple, Google, Spotify, Amazon, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts.  Want to share your experiences with the Krewe? Or perhaps you have ideas for episodes, feedback, comments, or questions? Let the Krewe know by e-mail at kreweofjapanpodcast@gmail.com or on social media (Twitter: @kreweofjapan, Instagram: @kreweofjapanpodcast, Facebook: Krewe of Japan Podcast Page, TikTok: @kreweofjapanpodcast, & the Krewe of Japan Youtube Channel). Until next time, enjoy!------ More Info on Todd Wassel ------Todd's WebsiteWalking in Circles (Amazon)Todd on TwitterTodd on InstagramShikoku Pilgrimage WebsiteProof Doug Actually did this (Ehime Prefecture Blog)

We return. We get back up. We are on the horse. In the return of the podcast now heading towards the coveted 100 episodes we've got a few interesting topics. I had somehow avoided reading and any of Haruki Murakami's books, that was, until now. I have completed "Hard Boiled Wonderland And the End Of the World" it was great and ever a testament to not judging something until you've completed it. Further beyond the topic of reading, I've done some amazing travel recently around the Kansai region of Japan which took me to the Onsen town of Kinosaki and Koyasan, the most beautiful place I've ever been in Japan.

We are all caught in the liminal time.  What is liminality? It can be called your cocoon time,  the time of stillness, congealed by time and space, the not knowing, the not thinking, the acceptance of being squeezed into the tight state of  "cocoonism". This is the awareful space that does the thinking for you,  the mindless state of non-waiting. Ahh, but because we are still alive and breathing in this dimming environment, our passage through it demands patience: “Have patience. All things are difficult before they become easy,” says the Persian poet, Saadi Shirazi. Liminality is always scary, claustrophobic, vulnerable but it a natural state for personal growth, occurring more frequently than we can imagine. .Ultimately, our liminal space/time is about accepting that we do not know, we are not privileged to know the unknown, we will not know until it is revealed. And if w persist till birth-time,  we emerge with wings.Deuter's Music "Koyasan" in the backgoundSupport the show (http://paypal.me/wiseearth)

Would you challenge yourself to work for half a year or more in a Buddhist temple? That's what filmmaker and https://studio.youtube.com/channel/UC71BceCGkgnQQLDqj9jdACA ( @Where Next Japan ) founder Felicity Tillack decided to do in 2016. Her aims were to improve her Japanese and learn more about Japanese culture in one of Japan's most famous spiritual destinations, Koyasan. Watch the interview here on YouTube: https://youtu.be/k73aXh5PZs8 (https://youtu.be/k73aXh5PZs8) Here Felicity shares insights from a 6-mos work term in Japan's most famous Koyasan where she worked in one of the local catering businesses making the famous Shojin-Ryori Buddhist vegan meals for visitors. Apparently that doesn't mean living there as a vegetarian is any easier than other parts of Japan. This is a follow up conversation with Felicity Tillack who first appeared in Seek Sustainable Japan talkshow-podcast to talk about her Japanese Indie film: Impossible to Imagine and her short documentaries about people in Kyoto. Watch the 1st Talk with Felicity Tillack about her Indie Film : https://youtu.be/CtwmXg6UzTo (https://youtu.be/CtwmXg6UzTo) Listen to the Podcast: https://player.captivate.fm/episode/6b2c9562-3d85-477c-8b01-3a3aefd959fd (https://player.captivate.fm/episode/6b2c9562-3d85-477c-8b01-3a3aefd959fd) Website: https://wherenextjapan.com/ (https://wherenextjapan.com/) YouTube/Instagram/Facebook: @wherenextjapan == About JJWalsh - InboundAmbassador - Seek Sustainable Japan Talkshow-Podcast == Seek Sustainable Japan is a talkshow and podcast interview series hosted by JJWalsh an American expat long-time Hiroshima, Japan based educator, content creator and entrepreneur. Official Website: https://www.inboundambassador.com/ (https://www.inboundambassador.com/) #seeksustainablejapan #seekingsustainabilitylive #japan #sustainability #sustainable ~~~ Listen to the SeekingSustainability LIVE Talkshow on Podcast [AUDIO] http://www.inboundambassador.com/ssl-podcasts/ (http://www.inboundambassador.com/ssl-podcasts/) ALL Talks in Seek Sustainable Japan (April 2020~) https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcyYXjRuE20GsvS0rEOgSiQVAyKbEFSRP (https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcyYXjRuE20GsvS0rEOgSiQVAyKbEFSRP) JJWalsh Official InboundAmbassador Website: https://www.inboundambassador.com/ (https://www.inboundambassador.com/) Please join, become a monthly sponsor or a 1-time donation supporter on YouTube / Patreon / BuyMeACoffee / or KoFi - every little bit helps keep Seek Sustainable Japan going, thank you! All Links: https://linktr.ee/jjwalsh (https://linktr.ee/jjwalsh) ~~~ Music by Hana Victoria Music rights to "Won't you See" purchased for Seek Sustainable Japan 2022 Hana Victoria Short Bio My name is Hana Victoria, and I am a Japanese-American singer songwriter who dreams of inspiring, encouraging and empowering others through my music. Every word, melody, and visual comes straight from my heart, and I hope they influence you in some positive way :) YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/c/HanaVictoria (https://www.youtube.com/c/HanaVictoria) INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/hanavictoria_cozycorner/ (https://www.instagram.com/hanavictoria_cozycorner/) SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3CHm2w1lJWuiu9txD1wYyq?si=oF7shMElTiid46ZZerCbIg (https://open.spotify.com/artist/3CHm2w1lJWuiu9txD1wYyq?si=oF7shMElTiid46ZZerCbIg) APPLE MUSIC: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/hana-victoria/1550597954 (https://music.apple.com/us/artist/hana-victoria/1550597954)

S1 Episode 08 - Koyasan Pour ce huitième épisode, nous vous emmenons à la découverte de Koyasan dans la préfecture de Wakayama ! Après deux passages dans ce village berceau du bouddhisme et un véritable coup de foudre, Olivier aura à coeur de vous partager ses visites dans ce site classé au patrimoine mondial de l'Unesco. Après un trajet d'un peu plus de deux heures depuis Osaka, le plateau mythique de Koyasan se dévoile sous vos yeux, lové dans la montagne. Nous arpenterons ensemble le cimetière millénaire de Okunoin sur un sentier de plus de 2 kilomètres dans une forêt remarquable : samouraïs ou paysans ordinaires reposent sous ces arbres et la végétation sauvage qui reprend ses droits petit à petit. Dans ce lieu si particulier qui invite au repos et à la réflexion, on se croirait vraiment hors du temps. Koyasan, c'est aussi l'occasion de passer une nuit dans un temple administré par des moines aubergistes. Après avoir pris un bain, on dégustera ensemble une multitude de plats issus de la cuisine bouddhiste dite "shojin ryori". Tofu, végétaux et plantes de la forêt seront mises à l'honneur, eux-aussi cuisinés par les moines qui vous hébergent. Le matin, on se lèvera à l'aube pour participer à la prière matinale du temple, bercés par les sutras entêtants qui résonnent dans la montagne. Une expérience inoubliable, Koyasan n'attend que vous ! Bonne écoute et bon voyage ! ************************************ Chapitrage : 00:45 fin du générique 01:30 introduction koyasan  03:10 accès  04:40 éléments d'histoire  07:12 cimetière okuno-in de jour  10:20 okuno-in de nuit  12:04 le séjour dans le monastère  15:45 la prière du matin  17:55 les 1200 ans de Koyasan  19:18 cherchez l'intrus  20:38 extraits sonores  21:42 nos coup de coeur  25:12 concours PEKOPEKO (leur site) 27:47 le mot de la fin ************************************ Pour vous aider à préparer votre voyage, toutes les informations relatives à cet épisode sont à retrouver sur les liens suivants : La carte : ici  La série d'articles d'Olivier dédiés à Koyasan : comment réserver une nuit en temple à Koysan, la visite du cimetière de jour et de nuit, les autres temples à voir.   ************************************ Nos coups de coeur du mois :  Manga : Le livre du vent, Taniguchi & Furuyama Artiste : Rickie-g ************************************* Jeu concours PEKOPEKO BOX Indice supplémentaire : ............(.)~(.)          

Hablamos de todos los lugares en Japón que han sido declarados Patrimonio de la Humanidad en Japón, tanto cultural como natural. ¡Hay muchos lugares interesantes entre ellos! Japón es uno de los países que firmaron la Convención para la Cooperación Internacional en la Protección de la Herencia Cultural y Natural de la Humanidad de la UNESCO. Desde entonces, son 23 los lugares japoneses protegidos y declarados como Patrimonio de la Humanidad. 19 de ellos son patrimonio cultural y los 4 restantes, patrimonio natural.  Esto puede cambiar porque hay dos sitios más nominados que podrían ser incluidos, pero esto te lo actualizamos en la parte 2 de este episodio. Merece la pena escuchar este Japonesamente con lápiz y papel porque muchos sitios son muy interesantes para agregar a tu planificación de viaje. Entre ellos (pero hay más, aunque para eso tendrás que escuchar todo el episodio), tienes: El templo Kiyomizudera (Monumentos históricos de la antigua Kioto). Koyasan y Kumano Kodo (Sitios sagrados y rutas de peregrinación de los Montes Kii) El monte Fuji El castillo de Shuri y Sefa Utaku, en Okinawa (Sitios Gusuku y otras propiedades culturales asociadas al reino de Ryukyu) El Museo Nacional de Arte Occidental en Tokio (de Le Corbusier) Gunkanjima, famosa por la película de James Bond "Skyfall" (Sitios de la revolución industrial de la era Meiji en Japón: siderurgia, construcciones navales y extracción de carbón) Y tú, ¿cuántos de estos sitios japoneses Patrimonio de la Humanidad has visitado? ¿Quieres colaborar con el programa? Colabora en Patreon Únete a la Comunidad Japonismo Reserva hoteles en Japón (y en todo el mundo) Consigue seguro de viajes (¡no sólo para Japón!) Busca los mejores vuelos Lleva Internet (pocket wifi o SIM) JR Pass para viajes ilimitados en tren ---- Continúa la conversación en: Web: https://japonismo.com Discord: https://discord.gg/hZrSa57 Facebook: https://facebook.com/japonismo Twitter: https://twitter.com/japonismo Instagram: https://instagram.com/japonismo Pinterest: https://pinterest.com/japonismo Newsletter semanal: http://eepurl.com/di60Xn

Con Daniele Pivato, travel blogger e socio dell'AITB - Associazione Italiana Travel Blogger - visiteremo il Paese del Sol Levante. Daniele ci guiderà in un itinerario alla scoperta di alcune città del Giappone: Tokyo, Kanazawa, Kyoto, Koyasan e Osaka Suggerimenti per una esperienza di viaggio indimenticabile

En el podcast d'avuí, dedicat altre cop als morts i als esperits, anunciarem el nou anime de P.A. Works, i l'arribada a Netflix de les OVAS spin-off de Jojo's Bizarre Adventure. Analitzarem un manga actual, d'acció sobrenatural, que està creant tendència: Jujustu Kaisen! Posteriorment, al Espai Japó, viatjarem altre cop fins a la zona sagrada de Koyasan, per a visitar el temple Okunoin. Tot seguit, al petit xef, Oriol Clavell ens parlarà de la cuina “Nikkei”, la fusió entre la cuina peruana i la japonesa! Al DISPOSITIU, el nostre col•laborador, Xavi Omella, a petició d'en Mr. Karate mitjançant una carta de streamloots, tornarà a Bola de Drac, per a analitzar a la Lunch!. I finalment, al Tenkaichi Musical, torna la nostra companya d'abord, Vidi Xuela, interpretant, en exclusiva, i en català, l'opening l'Evangelion: “Zankoku na Tenshi no Thesis”!

Hosted by filmmaker Yujiro Seki, Carving the Divine TV Podcast is a series of Q&A sessions with Buddhist scholars and practitioners. These Q&A sessions explore the basic concepts of Buddhism and the history of Buddhism so that when listeners finally watch the documentary film "Carving the Divine - Buddhist Sculptors of Japan" they will get the maximum value of the documentary. In this special episode, we will have a Shingon Buddhist priest, Rev. Ryuzen Hayashi at the Koyasan Beikoku Betsuin temple in Los Angeles to discuss the basic concept of Shingon Buddhism.We will ask important questions such as:1. What is Shingon Buddhism? What is the core teaching of Shingon Buddhism?2. How is Shingon Buddhism related to Tibetan Buddhism? 3. Who is Kukai?4. What is Koyasan?5. What is Dainichi Nyorai (Sanskrit: Mahāvairocana Buddha) ?6. What is Okyo (Sutra)? What is Dainichi Kyo?7. What is Goma Ritual?8. What is Fudo Myoo?9. Why is Shingon Buddhism is called esoteric Buddhism? What is so esoteric about it?10. Why does Shingon have different kinds of Buddhist statues?Rev. Ryuzen Hayashi is a Shingon Buddhist priest at the Koyasan Beikoku Betsuin temple in Los Angeles. Born in Kyusyu, Japan, he graduated from Shu-chi-in University, the oldest university in Japan. In Koyasan, Japan, Rev. Hayashi studied to become a Shingon esoteric Buddhist priest. Rev. Hayashi joined the Los Angeles Koyasan in 2012, the temple’s centennial anniversary.Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/carvingthedivine)

Happy New Year! Wishing you and your loved ones clarity, abundance in love, awareness and willingness during this period of reflection and transition. I spent my New Year’s Eve with the monks. I think it was one of those invitations and signs that I decided to listen to. It was a divine experience. On this new episode and our first 2021 show, I'll be sharing you my wonderful experiences at the sacred place of Koyasan.Honouring the reality that I’m creating new ways of existing during the holiday season. Ways that my body is still adjusting to. Unlearning what holidays are no longer. Relearning what they mean to me. I’m curious how was your holiday? If you find this episode is valuable to you consider a minute to support the podcast by buying us a tea ;) https://www.buymeacoffee.com/tiffanyrossdaleE-mail us ~ breakfastwithtiffanyshow@outlook.comFollow Tiffany Rossdale Instagram ~ https://www.instagram.com/TokyoHottieOfficial Facebook Page ~ https://www.facebook.com/OfficialTiffanyRossdaleBreakfast With Tiffany Show Official Facebook Page ~ https://www.facebook.com/breakfastwithtiffanyshowCheck out the following sponsors; Cryosauna located in Roppongi, Tokyo Japan ~ https://cryosauna.jp/eng/homePure Shop - https://pureshop.jp Face Care Oil (Recommended)https://pureshop.jp/product/facecareoil Support the show (https://paypal.me/breakfastwithtiff)

Kevin Adams, Kevin Lee, Garfield Li, Michael Suen, Patrick Suen and Hanna Ikeda-Suen live in Toronto, Canada, and on November 2007, went to Japan for Iaido for the first time as a group. In this whirlwind 10-day journey across central Honshu island, we visited castles, shrines & temples in Osaka, Kyoto, Inari, and Koyasan; we spend a night at the Jigokudani Monkey Park near Nagano; we practice Iaido in Ohara with Trevor Jones Sensei, and in Tokyo with Kikkawa Sensei, Yoshimura Sensei, Kuwata Sensei, Hatakenaka Sensei, and Tsubaki Sensei. Through all the walking, all the trains, and all the challenges of traveling in a foreign country, we've stuck together as friends for all these years, and the experiences we had on this trip 13 years ago has given us memories of a lifetime. This podcast was created specifically to share meaningful experiences of budo practitioners around the world, and this was an amazingly fun alternative to the traditional 1-on-1 interviews. In fact, if this format seems popular enough, I would love to host a similar session with others in the budo community. One thing to note. Since our discussion is conducted while looking at some video and photos we took on this trip, there is much more context for those watching on Youtube, than on a podcast app with audio only. Although, I think that’s sufficient as well. If you want to find this episode on Youtube, go to https://www.youtube.com/c/tokushikaicanada This episode is also available at the following podcast platforms ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Anchor: https://anchor.fm/tokushikai-canada Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/tokushikai-inside-look/id1523336799 Google Podcasts: https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy8yMzk0OWVhNC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw== Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0Mf1mrLTfVT3Sbu8XM032m Overcast: https://overcast.fm/itunes1523336799/tokushikai-inside-look Breaker: https://www.breaker.audio/tokushikai-inside-look Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/i9qbnxx7 Radio Public: https://radiopublic.com/tokushikai-inside-look-We0ozJ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To get the latest on what we’re up to at Tokushikai Canada, subscribe to our newsletter at https://subscribe.tokushikai.ca and find us on Facebook and Instagram @tokushikai.canada

Programa completo de Gente viajera con Esther Eiros y Carles Lamelo. El mapa coloreado de Europa en función del riesgo de viaje, la potencialidad del turismo de golf para contribuir a la recuperación económica y las conclusiones del Congreso del Turismo Digital celebrado en Benidorm centran el análisis de Mariano López en El Prisma. La innovación y la digitalización turística tienen otra cita importante en unas semanas: el Tourism Innovation Summit, en Sevilla. Su directora, Silvia Avilés, nos cuenta cuáles van a ser los temas de debate. Enrique Domínguez Uceta nos avanza los planes de reapertura del Machu Picchu y nos acompaña de viaje sobre las Líneas de Nazca, dos enigmáticos enclaves de Perú. Kike del Olmo envía su carta dominical. Viajamos virtualmente a Colombia y ponemos rumbo a Koyasan, en Japón, con Elena del Amo. Además, conocemos los planes de las estaciones de esquí para esta temporada, charlando con Jesús Ibáñez, presidente de ATUDEM. También repasamos las novedades que presenta el sector del caravaning, uno de los que más ha crecido este verano.

Ep#7 - In Episode 7 we share some more music interests and mention the release of one of Steve's new tracks! It's part of a compilation album where 20 artists from all over the world came together to create an album. We are also sharing more of the idea behind it and what all songs have in common. ‘Don't be afraid to make a foul of yourself, because it's always fun giving things a go.' , as Steve nicely put it. Find the album for the charity project here:https://hirokisugi.bandcamp.com/album/its-5pm-somewhere-full-albumSteve's song is no.12 on the album and it's from his project ‘Morven', find more of his music and his new songs here: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7MykAQq6TWUhfD6eqrqk2P?si=1ppZgP8cTN2GJxjOVLHVtgJazz album of the week:https://open.spotify.com/album/7BVfV9OGD9tYdy7Jr5JLbt?si=IAE6Ppq4QJGIB6u-UvFRtwWe are also diving into the topics of concepts of ‘love, peace & harmony' being constant work. Only through our efforts and willingness to be loving and kind, we can build a community that looks after each other and dedicates time to being there for others.Some more bullet points from this episode:- being able to acknowledge and receive a compliment- being consumed by self obsession and learning to be humble through your daily practices - a peak into our Japan travels - talking about the weather ?!, but then diving deeper into when the storm finally hits and the relief that comes with it - calm from within- to know what the smelling tree thing is about, listen to Episode 5 from the 27th of May- making a commitment — it's constant work- being compassionate and kind doesn't need to cost you money- small acts of kindness towards the strangers you meet- turn that frown upside down! - it's our responsibility to create the society we want to live in - listening to some late night jazz- managing time and priorities

Our first episode takes place in Nara Prefecture, Japan. Here we had the opportunity to talk to our guesthouse owner Shogo, an avid traveler himself. He explained to us a lot of the mysteries we still weren’t getting after almost three weeks of travel in Japan. This amazing country was our first destination and it is probably one of the most magic places we've ever visited.

Explicarem noves dades i informacions arran del passat atemptat a Kyoto animation, i parlarem de Naoki Urasawa, creador de la estimada serie per tots, Cinturó Negre. Parlarem d'un manga tant classic, que fins i tot es conegut per gent que no segueix el món del manga: “Mazinger Z”. Al espai japó parlarem de la muntanya sagrada de Koyasan, lloc icònic del budisme japonès. Finalment, Al DISPOSITIU, el nostre col•laborador, Xavi Omella, tornarà a Musculman per parlarnos, ni més ni menys, que del protagonista: en Musculator.

In questo episodio Via Narrante sale alle pendici di Koyasan, in Giappone, il Monte Sacro per il Buddismo Shingon e ti parla di suoni, statue e di un incontro speciale. Buon ascolto!

In this podcast episode, we share ideas for your 2019 travel wish list. We are not going to talk about the top 20 travel destinations around the world but focus on the locations that sometimes get overlooked. We look at 10 of our favorite spots for doing all the things we love to do - food, scooters, beaches, culture, history, festivals, music, meeting new friends and socializing. Our list includes Lisbon, Krakow, Greek Islands, Panama City, Da Nang, Sicily, San Pedro de Atacama, Koyasan, Alicante, and the Isle of Man. This may be the first time you are hearing about some of these locations. Tune in to find out why you need to consider each for 2019. Main Topics Covered: Best Travel Spots for 2019 (Places You May NOT Know) Links Mentioned in the Episode: An easy way to support us is by checking out our Amazon Store. We list all of the items we love there.  Look through the TrustedHouseSitters website and get your discount by using our link Mastercard’s Global Destination Cities Index recently came out. We have been to over half of the top 20 list including the TOP destination Bangkok, Thailand. Other cities include Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, New York, Tokyo, Istanbul, Hong Kong, Bali, Osaka, Pattaya. This is our list of top cities to visit in 2019 beyond that top 20. Matt freaking loves Lisbon, Portugal for so many reasons. We get into a bunch of them on Podcast 18: Lisbon, Portugal (Our Second Trip to the Romantic & Festive City).  We also described Lisbon Portugal – 14 Top Things to Do in that detailed post.  The history and culture to be found in Krakow, Poland is endless. We discuss it in great detail in Podcast 22: Poland – Warsaw, Krakow, Auschwitz.  Greek Islands! You gotta love it! We highlight our favorites in Podcast 21: Five Greek Islands We Love (with Tips and Tricks).  Panama City, Panama is a treasure in the same time zone. In Podcast 24: Panama City, Casco Viejo, and San Blas (Sailing Adventure in Panama) we talk all about our love for this Central American location.  You all know that Da Nang, Vietnam is one of our favorite places on Earth. Check out Podcast 11: Vietnam Travel to hear more about why you should go.  If you like poker check out Playing Poker in Vietnam [Millions at Stake] to learn about how it goes down there.  Would you want to see motorcycles flying by at 180+MPH? Listen to Podcast 16: Sicily and Isle of Man (2 Very Different Island Experiences) for those details.  Nikki is in love with San Pedro de Atacama. After you listen to her passion on this episode check out San Pedro de Atacama, Chile (The Best Itinerary with Videos).  If that is not enough, also check out San Pedro de Atacama Travel Tips (Top 7) and then book your trip.  Koyasan, Japan is one of the most unique places on the planet. So spiritual. Listen to Podcast 32: Japan Travel Part 2 (Sumo Wrestling, Geisha, and the Countryside).  Oh, Sicily! We loved you for so many reasons. Castellammare del Golfo stood out for many reasons. Read Sicily Restaurants (Top 5) That We Can’t Get Out of Our Minds to get inspired.  The beaches of Alicante, Spain are some of the best in the world. Listen to Podcast 19: Alicante (Spain) to hear why we fell in love with this beautiful destination.  If that is not enough, read Alicante Spain (The Best Beach City in Spain) and you will want to pack your bathing suit immediately.  Make sure you understand what to pack. Pack Less! Here is a great post on everything we packed in a single backpack.  Sign up for our Newsletter to get the latest tips in Travel and hear about our weekly visits around the world

Our six weeks in Japan were unforgettable. Getting the chance to see how cities like Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto differ was quite an experience. Mixing in time along the countryside in Kyotango was a treat. The stillness and peacefulness of our lakeside guesthouse were fantastic as we listened to the water while falling asleep at night. Sumo Wrestling was a highlight and a sports bucket list event I have imagined for years. Spotting a Geisha in Kyoto was an incredible moment to capture the beauty on film in a rare opportunity. We discuss all of this and more as we present our final three weeks in the remarkable country and give our insights on why you should add it to your travel list soon. Main Topics Covered: Kyoto Kyotango Tokyo Links Mentioned in the Episode: Books We Love - Discover the books we have read and enjoyed during and before our travels Be sure to check out Podcast 29: Japan Travel Part 1 (Our First 3 Weeks) to listen to us arriving in Tokyo, and spending time in Kobe, Osaka, Koyasan, and Nara.  Near the Kamogawa River in Kyoto, Pontocho is a lively alley with restaurants lining each side.  The Nishiki Market is an interesting place to spend a day. Here, you can find delicious treats, handmade traditional crafts, ceramics, textiles, and more. Our time in Kyoto was during Typhoon Jebi which caused great destruction. Luckily our area that we were visiting was not harmed.  Great timing allowed us to witness a Geisha on here way to her Friday duties.  Kyotango is a beautiful country area of Japan on the west coast. We stayed at an amazing guesthouse with a wonderful family. Be sure to look up Atsushi and his family if you go.  The breakfasts were unbelievable. The fish were caught just feet away from where I ate it.  Having the chance to watch a Sumo Wrestling event was a treat and a sports bucket list item for me.  The Digital Art Museum in Tokyo has been getting a ton of press for it’s Instagram friendly displays. We enjoyed discovery the beauty on a rainy day.  Make sure you understand what to pack. Pack Less! Here is a great post on everything we packed in a single backpack.  Sign up for our Newsletter to get the latest tips in Travel and hear about our weekly visits around the world

Our first three weeks traveling Japan have been unforgettable. Tokyo (Shinjuku, Shibuya, Roppongi), Kobe, Osaka, Koyasan, Nara. There are so many positive things that we will share in this podcast episode. Railway system, umbrellas, 7-Eleven’s, vending machines, baseball games, Temples, and incredibly kind people. We love our time here. Halfway through our time in this gorgeous country and we have so much to share. Tune in to find all that we are enjoying, experiencing, and observing as we explore one of the unique cultures in the world. Main Topics Covered: Japan Travel Part 1 (Our First 3 Weeks) Links Mentioned in the Episode: Foundation Training - The most important exercises for your back while you travel!  ExpressVPN - protect your information when you travel and connect to see your content that you are paying for Our route so far in Japan - Tokyo (Shinjuku, Shibuya, Roppongi), Kobe, Osaka, Koyasan, Nara.  Japan is a economic powerhouse globally.  The railway system in Japan is complex and systematic. It’s unbelievable.  7-Eleven, Lawson, Family Mart - the convenient store culture is awesome. The women all love umbrellas no matter what the weather.  Vending machines in Japan are everywhere! I used Meetup.com to connect with eight local business people to discuss ideas and projects that we are working to build. Check out Instagram of the guy bending over backward to take Nikki’s photo.  On Saturday night, I ended up going to a bar to grab a drink (Nikki headed home) and, WOW, did I have a blast with a bunch of locals.  The baseball game was out of this world. Check this video where the fans all blew up balloons then let them off at the same time.  Okunoin Cemetery is the largest cemetery in Japan.  Koyasan is full of beautiful Buddhist temples The local relationship with the tiny deer in Nara are a bit controversial as you can tell with Nikki’s passion. Though they are beautiful.  We will update on the final 3 weeks in an upcoming podcast. Make sure you understand what to pack. Pack Less! Here is a great post on everything we packed in a single backpack.  Sign up for our Newsletter to get the latest tips in Travel and hear about our weekly visits around the world

Casual chat with me as I walk to work!

Craig Mod has been walking the historical mountains and paths of Japan for the last five years. In April of 2018 he went on a solo Kumano Kodo walk and made this recording discussing the economics and production of his 2016 book, Koya Bound: Eight days on the Kumano Kodo. The book was made in collaboration with Dan Rubin and was sponsored by Leica Cameras.  Koya Bound walkkumano.com — data and maps of the walk craigmod.com The Kumano Kodo pilgrimage walk's main website Full transcript and audio online at: https://craigmod.com/onmargins/006/

BT recites his "comedy routine" You Might Be An Initiate, then discusses Koyasan, the Golden Dawn, the Source Family, Art, and the Origin of our Mind, with Saori Nishi Da.

My guest today, Ken Honda, is joining us from Tokyo, Japan. I love Japan, having spent time years ago in the holy city of Koyasan. It was a transformative time for me. Ken asks quite a provocative question: Is your money smiling? If you want to know what he means by that, and meet one of the foremost experts on the relationship between wisdom, happiness and money, listen in!The difference between Happy Money and Unhappy Money.When we earn and spend money, we do so with either love or fear. What it means to have a loving, abundant relationship with moneyHow we relate to money is how we relate to life. What parents must teach their children about moneyMoney and happiness expert, Ken Honda, is a best-selling self-development author in Japan, with book sales surpassing seven million copies since 2001. His latest book is called “Happy Money: The Japanese Art of Making Peace with Your Money”. Ken’s financial expertise comes from owning and managing several businesses, including an accounting company, a management consulting firm, and a venture capital corporation. His writings bridge the topics of finance and self-help, focusing on creating and generating personal wealth and happiness through deeper self-honesty.Find Ken at Ken HondaFind Laurie at The Baca JourneySupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/wisdom-talk-radio/donations