[Leica] [IMG] Aoshima and The Devil's Washboard

[photo at frozenlight.eu (Nathan Wajsman)]

Nice set, Peter, and you saved the best for last!

Cheers,
Nathan

Nathan Wajsman
Alicante, Spain
http://www.frozenlight.eu
http://www.greatpix.eu
http://www.nathanfoto.com
PICTURE OF THE WEEK: http://www.fotocycle.dk/paws
Blog: http://www.fotocycle.dk/blog

YNWA





On Jul 19, 2010, at 3:43 PM, Peter Cheyne wrote:

> As today was Marine Day in Japan, we took a stroll around Aoshima, a local 
> island.  'Ao' means 'blue' or 'green', and 'shima' -sometimes 'jima'- 
> means 'island'.  So it is a green island.  Surrounding the little 
> dome-shaped island is a geological formation the locals call The Devil's 
> Washboard, named after the long striations the molten basalt formed into 
> as it was  cooled by the sea.  A walkway connects the island to the shore, 
> and along it are lanterns, and then a large red 'tori' or gate, which in 
> the native Shinto religion marks an entrance to a sacred area.
> 
> Within Aoshima's sub-tropical forest is a shrine dedicated to local gods, 
> with smaller shrines dedicated to local kami, the animistic spirits of 
> entities such as the sea and individual trees like the banana tree we 
> spotted, but especially venerated in Japan are sprawling, ancient Japanese 
> cedars.  Before entering the shrine proper, people rinse their hands with 
> a ladle of purifying water, in this instance poured from a dragon's mouth. 
>  Stone shishi, or lion-dogs, protecting symbols in Japanese shintoism and 
> buddhism, and are usually seen at the entrance of temples and shrines.  
> Looking in, the one on the right, a male, has an open mouth ('Ah~') and 
> the one on the left, female, has mouth closed ('Nn' or 'Mm').  This 
> originates from the buddhist meditation word 'Aum', which moves from open 
> to closed, and the people enter the shrine or temple in the middle of the 
> sacred space between 'Ah' and 'Nn' that the protecting lion-dogs pronounce.
> 
> The photos were taken with an M8 and 35mm 'cron asph.
> 
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/geordiepete/sets/72157624535330322/show/
> 
> Peter Cheyne
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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