Saturday, January 12, 2013

Kyoto , Japan

I go on with an awesome card from Japan , showing Maiko girls worshipping at Yasaka Shrine in Kyoto !
Maiko (舞妓) is an apprentice geisha in western Japan, especially Kyoto. Their jobs consist of performing songs, dances, and playing the shamisen (three-stringed Japanese instrument) for visitors during feasts. Maiko are usually aged 15 to 20 years old and become geisha after learning how to dance (a kind of Japanese traditional dance), play the shamisen, and learning Kyō-kotoba (dialect of Kyoto), regardless of their origins. (Thanks to Wikipedia  for the info :D) Yasaka is a Shinto shrine and its  initial construction  began in 656.
The Shrine became the object of Imperial patronage during the early Heian period. In 965, Emperor Murakami ordered that Imperial messengers were sent to report important events to the guardian kami of Japan. These heihaku were initially presented to 16 shrines; and in 991, Emperor Ichijō added three more shrines to Murakami's list. Three years later in 994, Ichijō refined the scope of that composite list by adding Umenomiya Shrine and Gion Shrine.From 1871 through 1946, Yasaka Shrine was officially designated one of the Kanpei-taisha (官幣大社), meaning that it stood in the first rank of government supported shrines. Thanks to Wiki once more for the info & Arigato to Takako for the card ( I adore the stamps too btw :D)


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