Oct. 30, 2009: What one's final journey means to Japanese ?

The journey can be regarded as a pseudo-funeral, for one can purify oneself and resurrect oneself through the pseudo-funeral. In this respect, it can be regarded as the rite of passage signifying death and rebirth. Such a pseudo-rite of death and rebirth has become a firmly rooted part of Japanese life.

Oct. 18, 2009: Reasonable price lunch at a hotel

In and around Nara, it's a good idea to take lunch at reasonable prices in good comfortable hotels.

Oct. 15, 2009: What lies beyond death ?

We know that each belief has an ideal image of death, which may be rooted in commoners' fear of death, I think. For this reason, let's take a look at what the founder actually said to get insight into beliefs.

Oct. 11, 2009: Sculptors' feeling

Genius sculptors feel every piece of wood or block of stone has a sculpture within it, though most Japanese geniuses think even in scrap pieces of wood the spirit of Buddha resides, and some Western geniuses see nature as an enemy to be overcome .

Oct. 7, 2009: Fruit picking & vegetable digging in and around Nara

Enjoy fruit picking and vegetable digging in and around Nara this Autumn.

Oct. 3, 2009: Japanese people's feeling for death

Why did Japanese people accept Buddhism despite the existence of Shinto? They didn't accept religious aspect of Confucianism or Taoism. It's very interesting to get insight into Japanese people's feeling for beliefs. This will probably help us understand who Japanese are.