IKI ("KI")

If you want to read the full story, start here: Koyasan story - Part 1

The day after a night's rest in the Buddhist monastery was Kobo Daishi's birthday which this year coincided with the 1,200th anniversary where he introduced esoteric buddhism to Japan.  There were festivities and cultural demonstrations on every corner and at every temple.  

At the monastery where we stayed one of the monks told us that we should head to the main temple around noon because that was where the Kobo Daishi birthday celebration/ceremony was to take place.

When we got there we saw a lot of monks dressed in really nice robes heading to the temple and within we could hear chanting.  It was loud chanting.  I was imagining the whole hall to be very full of monks in prayer.  I was sort of tip-toeing, trying to get a better look from afar because I felt there was no way we would be allowed inside.  This was when Chase, a 25-year-old guy from California who was traveling alone, noticed me and introduced himself.  He said he ran into a Japanese lady who was giving tours for free today because of the special occasion and asked if my friends and I would be interested.  

SHE. WAS. AWESOME.  She was incredibly engaging and knowledgable about everything.  I think she was excited to show foreigners around since they do not get too many tourists in Koya-san.  But most importantly, she got us into the birthday celebration in the main temple. =)

I don't know how to even describe it.  There must have been about 200 monks all sitting together towards the middle.  There was one monk seated towards the end that was leading the prayer and here and there the whole hall would join in when it was their turn.  The further away you got from the center, there would be young kids not older than us that looked like they were in the process of becoming monks, and then travel groups of Japanese people from all over Japan, and then us.  Chase, Una, Tehilah and I were the only non-Japanese people there.

I was able to sneak a video of the experience:

Now for the Kanji!

気
Kunyomi:  いき - "iki"
Onyomi: キ - "ki", ケ - "ke"
Meaning: spirit, mind, air, atmosphere, mood

Jōyō Kanji taught in grade 1
JLPT level N5
113 of 2500 most common used kanji in newspapers.

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ŌGI ("SEN")

Lorayne and Jake are the two people from
the right.  Here we were playing a
Japanese game at the festival that night!
I won.. ahem... :D

Besides Una, Tehilah and I staying at the monastery, we also met a really nice girl from Singapore named Lorayne and a really kind yet introverted guy named Jake from California.  Each of them had been traveling with others but came to Koyasan on their own.  Jake was trying to enjoy his last week in Japan because he was to start Medical School soon.  I think this was mostly occupying his mind then. 

Other than us, we were staying at the monastery with a group of old ladies that danced with folding fans.  They were going to perform the next day so they were practicing that evening.

One lady in particular, though she did not speak one bit of English, became my friend! Haha.  When I was peaking through the sliding doors to catch a glimpse at the rehearsal, she was very insisting that I come inside and sit down to get a better look. =)

We even exchanged numbers and email and I told her (through Google Translate) that I would email her as soon as I learned Japanese. =)

My new Japanese friend was this old and incredibly nice lady!

Here some videos of the ladies practicing their fan dance at the monastery:

Now for the Kanji!

扇
Kunyomi:  おうぎ - "ōgi"
Onyomi: セン - "sen"
Meaning: fan, folding fan

Jōyō Kanji taught in junior high
JLPT level N1
1805 of 2500 most common used kanji in newspapers.

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HI

The other day I stumbled upon this video which gives you a sort of crash course on the entire history of Japan in a humorous and entertaining way.  Check it out:

 Thanks Bill Wurtz for this awesome and hilarious video! I've seen it way more times than I care to admit. =)

I've always found Japan's name in Japanese to be very beautiful.  Japan is commonly referred to as the "land of the rising sun".

In Kanji, Japan is written as: 日本 - にほん - "nihon"
Breaking the name down:
日 - に - "ni" - sun (in this case, but can also mean day)
本 - ほん - "hon" - source, origin (in this case, but can also mean book)

The sun plays an important role in Japanese mythology and religion as the Emperor is believed to be the direct descendent of the sun goddess Amaterasu.  The name of the country as well as the design of their flag reflect the importance of the sun for the Japanese.

日
Kunyomi:  ひ - "hi", -び - "-bi"
Onyomi: ニチ - "nichi", ジツ - "jitsu"
Meaning: sun, day

Jōyō Kanji taught in grade 1
JLPT level N5
1 of 2500 most common used kanji in newspapers.

In Kanji, the common name for the Japanese flag is written as:
日の丸 - ひのまる - "hinomaru"
Where:
丸 - まる - "maru" - means circle (in this case, but can also mean correct)

A photo I took while on a hike in the mountains in the outskirts of Kyoto, Japan

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HITO ("JIN")

What is this symbol and why do I keep running into it everywhere?  This is what I would commonly ask myself while in Japan and China.  When I finally learned what it meant, I was like.. "oh... DUH." Hito is the symbol for "people".  It can also mean human being, person, man or personality.  It kind of looks like a person with two legs doesn't it?

The first thing that was hit me while I was walking through the streets of Shanghai in my first night in China was "WOW CHINA HAS A LOT OF PEOPLE.."  Never had I seen such crowded streets, not even around Times Square in New York City.  

My first night EVER in Asia - letting the crowd take me
through Nanjing Road in Shanghai, China

It was almost impossible not to hit someone, and out of custom I would always utter "excuse me", or "I'm sorry".  The Chinese people that felt the mild blows of my body hitting them payed no mind, this was completely normal for them.  Also, if someone was in a hurry, they did not care who was walking in front of them.  They would not be reluctant to hit past you or shove you to the side.  It never bothered me, though.  I think if I were raised in a city with these kind of street conditions I would have to do the same thing to get to where I need to.  There were times that I felt as though the sea of people was literally taking me away and guiding me through the city.  Maybe I was also on automatic partly from the exhaustion of the 12-hour flight.  Eventually I found myself stunned as I reached the end of what I realized was the pedestrian Nanjing Road, all the way to the Huangpu River.  The site was breathtaking!

Shanghai Skyline from across the Huangpu River

Now for the Kanji!

人
Kunyomi:  ひと - "hito"
Onyomi: ジン - "jin", ニン - "nin"
Meaning: people

Jōyō Kanji taught in grade 1
JLPT level N5
5 of 2500 most common used kanji in newspapers.

Some common compounds in Japanese using the hito character (followed by the hiragana spelling, the romanji spelling and then English meaning):

個人 - こじん - "kojin" - individual

人生 - じんせぃ - "jinsei" - life

日本人 - にほんじん - "nihonjin" - Japanese people

人柄 - ひとがら - "hitogara" - personality



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