Sunday, August 26, 2012

Sound of Summer


Summer evening walk to a local shrine at northern Hyogo.



We are surrounded by this overwhelming sound of cicadas.
This is the sound of summer in Japan.




Angie walking up to a shrine.
She is making sure I am following.



Angie climbing down from the shrine.
She seems to find it harder to walk down the moss-covered steps.




Old primary school at sunset.



JP summer is slowly going.....

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Obon Week

August is a holiday season but it is also the time for remembrance.
6th August for Hiroshima and 9th August for Nagasaki,
where memorial services are held every year.

Then we have OBON (13-15 August), that is, 
a Buddhist commemoration of ancestors whose spirits return to the family.

So people return to their parents or hometown
to receive the spirits of the loved ones  remembering and commemorating
and send the spirits back on 15th August.
The last day of Obon also coincides with the day Japan surrendered and ended WWII.

***

But August is not only about remembrance,
We have AngieDad's birthday.
So we had this birthday cake made locally.



Yesterday we had a gathering with friends whose westies came from the same breeder.

Yukimaru retuned to Tokyo for Obon

 Yukimaru lives in Sendai and returned to Tokyo for Obon.
Friends decided to meet up and welcome back Yukimaru.
Its been a year since we saw him last.

Angie

10 two-legged and 9 four-legged gathered, and here they are:


JKC Champion Non & her daughter Hime


Non
Hime



Dharma


Abby & Eve

Abby & Eve are Lady's daughters.  
Eve received JCK International championship title this year.

 After lunch we attempted to take group photos,
but soon realized it is almost impossible to capture all 9 westies at once.


From left, 13 year old Pinky, Yukimaru, and Dharma


From left, Abby, Angie, Eve and Lady, another JKC International Champion

We had a wonderful time with 9 westies
and look forward to our next meeting!