Kagawa Prefecture's 6th Henro Pilgrimage Experience

On Sunday November 14, 2010, Kagawa's International Affairs Division held the 6th Henro Experience for International Residents and Visitors.  We returned to the route of the inaugural experience from three years earlier - the beautiful Goshikidai Plateau in Sakaide.

Three years ago, we traveled through the plateau's lush greenery on a suprisingly hot late spring day.  This time, we enjoyed the cool weather of late fall and the stunning foliage of the autumn leaves surrounding us.  Though we walked the exact same path on each experience, the change in the atmosphere between the two was truly a testament to the power of nature and the beauty of its seasonal changes.

Sakaide Fall Matsuri

                                  (Photo courtesy of Justin Bussies)

Continuing the proud Sakaide Festival Tradition, we set out on October 17th (in a large group of two!!) to haul a two-ton o-mikoshi (portable festival shrine) around town again with a friendly team of locals.  This time, the main event was a massive gathering in front of the Hachiman Shrine.  There was something quite powerful and cultural about lifting the o-mikoshi here.  Beer and karage (fried chicken) helped fuel the festivities!

                                  (Photo courtesy of Justin Bussies)

Teshima Island Art Trip

As we set out to enjoy the Setouchi International Art Festival at its halfway point, the perfect weather on this day was both a blessing and a curse: it brought a nice comfortable day of exploration around Teshima, but it also brought a slew of other people to the island with us.  However, the waiting in line for boats, busses, food, etc. was all well worth it.  The art and the surrounding nature on Teshima were gorgeous!

                                  (Photo courtesy of Julia Mace)

Our group of 13 foreign and local residents hopped the boat from Takamatsu to Teshima and arrived at the teeming port of Ieura.  We enjoyed the art at the port and then managed to get our whole group on the bus and to the Kou Area on the island's south side.  Over the course of the day, we made our way around the whole island, and conquered a majority of Teshima's artwork..

Among the highlights of the day were:

Cameron Robbins's "Sea-Songs of the Subconscious" in which the sea's waves were mysteriously transmitted through an overturned boat to become a sadly beautiful F-minor chord wafting through the air.

                                  (Photo courtesy of Kurt Nepogoda)

Sakaide Summer Matsuri

Our intrepid band of foreign residents ventured to Sakaide, where we donned happi coats and hachimaki headbands and then proceeded to heft two tons worth of o-mikoshi (a portable festival shrine) for the better part of the evening.

The highlight of the night was when we gathered at Sakaide Station for the festival finale.  People thronged from all over, spilling out of the shopping arcade, the nearby SATY, and the neighboring houses.  The train platform was full of lookers-on as well.

At around 8 p.m., all 11 teams gathered in the station plaza and hoisted their massive o-mikoshi together.  It was spectacular to watch the other teams literally throw their two-ton shrines up in the air...and it was terrifying when our own team did the same! However, everyone emerged from the nigh uscathed, and after we toted our shrine back to the gathering spot, we were treated with some delicious food and some much appreciated libations!.

The 5th Henro Pilgrimage Experience Blessed with Gorgeous Weather!

On Saturday April 24, 2010, the cloudy skies, with their threat of rain, opened up on us as we reached the summit of our trek and the day's main destination, Iyadaniji Temple.  On the 5th Henro Pilgrimage Experience for Foreign Residents and Visitors, we hiked from our initial point of Motoyamaji Temple through 11 km of the low, rolling hills of Mitoyo City, all the way up to the top of Mt. Kengozan (in whose folds Iyadaniji Temple is secretly tucked away), and then  7 more km to the coast and Kaiganji Station.  The walk was invigorating, the weather was beautiful, and the experience as Shikoku henro pilgrims was as spiritual as ever.

Purifying our hearts, minds, and bodies before entering the temple.

See more great photos of the trek after the jump!

Bond Night Party a Big Success!

On March 27th, this year's first Bond Night Party was held at the 007 Muesum on Naoshima Island, with the Ishii Brothers, Jeremy Lanig, and Danny and Lindsay Boots performing a terrific live set.  International visitors and local island residents alike enjoyed the festivities while soaking in the 007 atmosphere.  All the energy created by the party will certainly help the prefecture in its bid to get the next James Bond movie to be filmed on Naoshima Island!

A packed house cheers on the musical groups.

3rd Kagawa English Haiku Gathering Held at Ritsurin Garden

On March 28, 2010, we held the 3rd Kagawa English Haiku Gathering at the Kikugetsu-tei Teahouse in Ritsurin Garden.  Four participants from foreign countries and five Kagawa citizens participated.  After learning about the basics of haiku from Fumiko Hara-sensei, the Vice-President of the Kagawa Branch of the Association of Haiku Poets, we then composed English-language haiku poems together while enjoying the beautiful view of the cherry blossoms out in the garden.

Please enjoy the haiku selected by all of the participants as the best poems of the Gathering!

Selected Works from the 3rd Kagawa English Haiku Gathering:

Takamatsu City Art Museum and the "Metamorphose" Exhibit

The Art of Art
by Pat Scanlon

In my pre Takamatsu existence, I was once an education officer in a government art gallery and have kept up a life-long interest in the visual arts all my life. One of the pleasant surprises Takamatsu City has to offer is a very beautiful multi-storied monolith that is the city’s gallery. This building is an exercise in modern, clean design and one of the most visitor- friendly galleries I’ve ever been to. Walking in the entrance the natural light and spaciousness of the first floor is immediately calming and beautiful. Alright, OK, so lots of people just go to the annexes there to sit in the Miles Van der Rhoe ‘Barcelona chairs’ and snooze away the afternoons. But it looks a pretty attractive and cool idea to wile away a summer's lunchtime if you ask me …

Times: 9:30~7:00 weekdays. 9:30~5:00 weekends and holidays.

The Third Kagawa English Haiku Gathering

On March 28th (the day following our World of Artists and 007 Events) we will be holding our third Kagawa English Haiku Gathering to commemorate the beginning of the cherry blossom season. This will be the second time that this semiannual event will be held in Ritsurin Garden’s Kikugetsu-tei Teahouse.  This is a rare and wonderful chance to experience writing haiku poetry, one of Japan’s most prized literary traditions, as you enjoy the view of Ritsurin’s beautiful landscapes and cherry blossoms from the exquisitely designed space of the Kikugetsu-tei.    

Date and time:
Sunday March 28th, 13:00 to 15:30

Location:
Kikugetsu-tei Teahouse, Ritsurin Garden

Cost:
Entrance to Ritsurin Garden (400 yen) + Entrance to Kikugetsu-tei (500 yen)
[Pay each fee at the respective entrances to the garden and teahouse.  Entrance fee for Kikugetsu-tei includes matcha tea and sweets]

Special Guest Lecturer:
Ms. Fumiko Hara, Vice Chairperson, Kagawa Branch, Haiku Poets Association


Application:
Please apply by e-mailing kfunet@gmail.com by Friday March 19, 2010.
This event is limited to the first 10 people who reply, so please apply as soon as possible.

Other:
Before the haiku event, we will be distributing a list of important terms and useful haiku vocabulary to all participants.  If you would like to bring haiku poems that you have composed before hand, you are welcome to do so.  However, no prior experience or prior preparation is necessary.  Please bring the vocabulary list, a notebook, and a pen or pencil to the event.

Daffodil Festival on Ogijima!!

Come and enjoy  sights and fragrances of thousands of daffodils
blowing in the island winds on Ogijima!





Details:
Daffodil Festival on Ogijima
Date: Sunday, February 14, 2010
Time: 8:00am - 2:00pm
Location: Ogijima (Takamatsu)
Ogi's website - http://ww8.tiki.ne.jp/~ogi-island/

Join our Marugame International Marathon Participant Salute

We are running a salute to all of the foreign residents and visitors who completed the Marugame International Half Marathon on Sunday February 7, 2010. If you finished the Half Marathon and would like to be included in the salute on our blog page, please write to kfunet@gmail.com with the following information:

First name:
Impressions of the race:
Current town of residence:
Half Marthon Time (optional):
Did you reach your goal for the race: yes/no (optional)
Photographs (optional):

Please write with your information by Monday Feb. 15th! The profiles will be uploaded next week, so be sure to check out our blog, k-funet.blogspot.com!

K-FUN Event: Bond Night Party!!!

 

A night of food, drinks, music...and 007!!!  As we continue our efforts to attract to Kagawa Prefecture the filming of the next James Bond, we hope that you will join us on Naoshima for this "spy-tacular" event!

Date and time:       
Saturday March 27, 2010, 15:30 - 20:00

Location:              
007 Museum, Naoshima (near the Marine Station Naoshima at Miyanoura  Port)

Musical Acts:
Ishii Brothers
Danny and Lindsay Boots
Jeremy Lanig

Your Chance to Showcase Your Own Art!

The International Affairs Division and I-PAL Kagawa will be co-sponsoring an art exhibition entitled "A World of Artists in Kagawa" to be held from March 16th through the 27th. The clincher of this project is that the featured artists will be none other than...you!

This is your chance to submit any kind of artwork, photography, calligraphy, illustrations, prints, etc. to be displayed for the whole Kagawa community to enjoy. Please submit your artwork by March 7th.

For further details, check out the exhibition's blog:
A World of Artists in Kagawa

K-FUN is a Go!

The Kagawa United Foreigners Network (K-FUN)is up and running! We will be providing you with information about upcoming prefectural exchange events, networking opportunities, and much more. Look for our e-mails from kfunet@gmail.com and check us out on Facebook! Yoroshiku!