kichi-Georgei Japan Experience: Kai's big weekend in Kanazawa

It all started with an 8 hour drive from Tokyo to Kanazawa. There is a massive mountain range that divides both coasts of Japan, so we had to drive North to Nigata, along the coast, past the snow capped mountains of Toyama and finally arrived in Kanazawa. Kai didn't cry at all. Couldn't have behaved better. When we arrived we were pretty pooped.

(Click on any of the photos to see them full size)

The next day were were off to the shrine and celebration lunch, so we dressed to the T.

Kaori was adorned in her Kimono with the help of her aunt and mom.

Her aunt arranges the "obi" on the back.

But Kaori was not the only one to don a Kimono that day. Kai was given his first Kimono (Yup, men wear them too). Kai's was a nice one for little boys. He still has some time to grow into it, but this is the proper attire for a two month old.

Here's a better look at the digs.

The detail in this photo is amazingly clear.

Here is one happy kid in his new outfit.

Happy that is...

... until the bonnet.

Then we were off to the shrine. Here we take photos before going in to the inner shrine. It's the photo Op place.

Great photo of Kaori and Kai. Can you see Kai?

The Brands in Japan

Brands and Okano's

(Kaori's father and mother to the left and aunt to the right)

I should take a moment here to write about the inner shrine. You aren't supposed to take photos there, so I don't have any, but from the above waiting room you go into a large empty room with a few chairs in the center. There is a wooden floor with large windows overlooking a moss garden and two or three massive cedar trees. Between the trees was a very small shrine with a small round mirror in at the center. There was a heavy wet fog that rolled through and all was wet and somehow the green in contrast to the inner shrine was almost overwhelming. It's hard to describe. Almost as if it were a window open to the Japanese version of the garden of eden.

The point of bringing your new born to the shrine is to introduce him the local deity. You give the shrine your son's name and address, the names of the parents and he will read them to the deity in a special voice that deity's speak. If you listen closely, you can often hear the names and address, but it is all part of a long prayer in a deep voice with words drawn out. It somehow reminds me of the Monty Python scene in "The meaning of Life" where in the sermon, the preachers says "ooh, you are so very big, so absolutely huge, gosh, we are really impressed down here."

After the priest is finished, the father goes up to the small wooden table in front of the window and receives a branch of the sacred sakaki tree. He turn the branch 180 degrees to the right, stem forward toward the garden, and offer it to the Kamisama.

Finally, the priest's assistant dressed in a long white kimono also dressed in a tall flat hat with her long black hair running down the back with a shinto clip at the bottom, walks in front of the window and does a traditional dance of sorts ringing a golden set of bells.

After the ceremony is finished, all are invited to drink a sip of sacred Plumb wine from a small shrine saucer. (Very good plumb wine).

The below photo was taken out front of the shrine. It is very unusual to have stain glass at a shrine. I've never seen it anywhere other than this shrine. Kaori tells me it is the western influence.