Roger's Pictures
7 October 2023
We started the day going to the Miho Museum in the hills south of Lake Biwa and then stopped at the ZeZe Pottery Museum in Otsu. There we learned it was the eve of the Otsu Matsuri and all the Gion-style floats and mechanical dolls would be on display. The festival is documented to at least 1638 and includes 13 two-storey tall floats with large dolls and musicians. Since they don't parade on the eve of the festival, we got to see the dolls displayed at eye level and the bridges set up to board the floats! We got there a bit early, but the music and crowds picked up as it got dark...
 new highway cnstruction |
 new highway cnstruction |
 new highway cnstruction |
 pedestrian tunnel to Miho Museum |
 pedestrian bridge to Miho Museum |
 old pine |
 red pines |
 |
 Miho Museum entrance |
 just starting to turn red... |
 just the edges... |
 the extent of the maple color so far... |
 South Asian head of Buddha |
 religious facility on the next ridge |
 Miho Museum atrium |
 rock garden |
 rock garden |
 shadows and light |
 Roman mosaic floor |
 cosmos in the tea room |
 entrance to the pedestrian tunnel |
 entrance to the pedestrian tunnel |
 pigeon on the roof |
 harvesting rice |
 new highway construction |
 bamboo |
 empty bus stop |
 planter |
 ZeZe pottery Museum tea room,Otsu |
 ZeZe pottery Museum garden, Otsu |
 ZeZe pottery Museum garden, Otsu |
 ZeZe pottery Museum garden, Otsu |
 south end of Lake Biwa |
 gate in Rokasensuiso temple. Ishiyama |
 stone Jizo statues on corner |
 Megmilk -- I guess they deliver? |
 Kawaragahama Station |
 Chimaki -- rice dumplings wrapped in straw to protext a house from evil |
 mechanical dolls for the former Kagura-yama festival float -- rare tapestries originally for Chinese civil servants uniforms hundreds of years ago... |
 festival float Shojo-yama |
 festival float Shojo-yama |
 festival float Shojo-yama |
 mechanical dolls on display -- Chinese tale about a virtuous man Gaofen gifted a never ending barrel of sake by Shojo... |
 Otsu city manhole cover |
 festival float Nishinomiyaebisu-yama |
 mechanical dolls - Ebisu (one of the 7 lucky gods) fishing for seabreem with his assistant Taro |
 festival float Nishinomiyaebisu-yama |
 festival float Nishinomiyaebisu-yama |
 festival float Nishinomiyaebisu-yama |
 lantern |
 festival float Nishinomiyaebisu-yama |
 noren (with chimaki hanging above right) |
 Hotei - another of the 7 lucky gods... |
 mechanical dolls for Sesshoseki-zan -- cloistered Emperor and a court lady that was really a fox in human form, later turned into a rock... |
 mechanical doll -- court lady that was really a fox in human form |
 mechanical doll -- apparenty the cloistered Emperor |
 festival float Sesshoseki-zan |
 festival float Sesshoseki-zan |
 lantern for Sesshoseki-zan |
 festival float Sesshoseki-zan |
 old tapestry on Sesshoseki-zan |
 end of axle on festival float |
 local store |
 entering the pedestrian shopping zone |
 lantern - Shojo-yama (float with story about the sake barrel) |
 lantern- Momo-san |
 old wooden pieces on storefront |
 lantern - Tenson Shrine |
 lantern for Kakkyo-yama - a Chinese tale about finding a gold pot when preparing to bury his starving child... |
 festival float Seiobo-zan |
 festival float Seiobo-zan |
 festival float Seiobo-zan |
 mechanical dolls for Seiobo-zan |
 mechanical dolls for Seiobo-zan - sacred female hermit called Seiobo |
 mechanical dolls for Seiobo-zan - Emperor granted a peachtree that only blooms once |
 mechanical dolls for Seiobo-zan - peach boy emerges from that single peach |
 festival float Seiobo-zan |
 models of all the floats in the Otsu Matsuri Hikiyama Pavilion |
 festival float Seiobo-zan - dragon ornament |
 festival float Seiobo-zan - musiians on the bridge |
 festival float Seiobo-zan - drummers on the float |
 lantern with symmbols of longevity -for festioval float Gekkyuden-zan in which similarly attired dancers perform for the Emperor |
 lantern for festival foat Jingukogo-yama - Empress Jingu and her bow |
 lantern for festival float Kagura-yama faeturing sacred dancing |
 lantern for Komeikisui-zan - military trategist causing river to sweep away his enemies |
 Hotei lantern |
 festival float Komeikisui-zan - Chinese stratigist Kongming causes water to rise and sweep away his enemies |
 young musician |
 mechanical dolls for festival float Komeikisui-zan - Chinese stratigist Kongming |
 offering |
 rows of lanterns |
 the crowwd grows |
 shadows |
 festoval float Gekkyudem-zan -- a boy wearing a tortoise and girl earing a crane hat dance for the Emperor |
 musicians |
 festoval float Gekkyudem-zan -- a boy wearing a tortoise and girl earing a crane hat dance for the Emperor |
 weight |
 mechanical dolls for festoval float Gekkyudem-zan -- a boy wearing a tortoise and girl earing a crane hat dance for the Emperor |
 having fun at the sales booth... |
 festival float Genji-yama |
 reflections |
 Genji-yama lanterns |
 musicians |
 musicians |
 festival float Genji-yama |
 flautist |
 festival float Genji-yama |
 mechanical dolls for festival float Genji-yama -- Murasaki Shikibu writing the historical novel |
 mechanical dolls for festival float Genji-yama -- Murasaki Shikibu writing the historical novel |
 mechanical dolls that rotate around Murasaki Shikibu figure |
 Genji-inspired lamp |
 Genji-inspired lamp |
 reflections |
 reflections |
 Chinese style writing |
 mechanical dolls for Kakkyo-yama -- a Chinese tale about finding a gold pot when preparing to bury his starving child... |
 musicians on Kakkyo-yama float |
 festival float Saigyozakuratanuki-yama -- about a poet you loved cherry trees |
 boots... |
 tea canisters |
 folding screen in 2nd floor window |
 Kyoto Tower |