Nagasaki Kunchi
Nagasaki Kunchi is one of big-three festival in Japan, held on October 7 to 9 at Suwa Shrine.
The festival features Chinese dance including Ja-odori (Snake dance), this time dancing all
around the city but especially at Suwa Shrine. History of the Festival, after Christianity was
harshly suppressed in Nagasaki in 1624, a festival was dedicated to Suwa Shrine, the guardian
god of local people. It is believed that Suwa Shrine festival called “Nagasaki Kunchi” and danced
were offered to shrine with cooperated of local people in 1634.
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At the outset, dedicated dance were very simple but gradually became colorful. During Eiho Era
(1673-80), a Chinese dance with an exotic flavor offered to the shrine. The Ja-odori or snake dance
was first performed in the Nagasaki Kunchi during period 1789-1800. In 1970, the government
designated the whole of Nagasaki Kunchi dance including Ja-odori as an Important Intangible
Cultural Asset.
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Shinto shrine
There are over eighty thousand Shinto shrines in Japan, and they represent the oldest
architectural style in the country. Shinto is a religion unique to Japan. Respect for land
and nature is its basic premise. Usually there is a mirror in the case inside each Shrine.
This is the symbol of Shrine’s deity. Shinto customs are common in Japanese life. Some
people household altars and pray for good health, success and happiness every day.
The entrance to the Shrine is marked by a huge gate called a Torii. There are usually
made of wood or stone, some painted bright red.
A pair of stone statues called Komainu guard the entrance to Shrine and its building.
They are mythical creature. One’s mouth is usually open while the other’s is closed.
Featured Shrines in Kyushu
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The Shrine has been registered on the World Heritage in 2016. Hetsu-gu is one of the three shrines that comprise Munakata Shrine and enshrines Ichikishimahime-no-Kami, one of the three female deities of Munakata. |
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It is the Urashima Taro legendary shrine peninsula and this shrine is becoming popular as a power spot of matchmaking and good fortune in love. |
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One of the most beautiful shrine in Kyushu, and is surrounded by forest The Shrine buildings are constructed in 1715 and designated as Important Cultural Property of Japan. |
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Japanese religions
Why is Japanese religious orientation eclectic?
Japanese indigenous religion, Shinto, has no founder or written doctrine and places
a great emphasis on ancestor and nature worship.
Japanese with no strong religious beliefs consider religion as traditional customs handed
down from ancestors. This has developed great tolerance for other religions.
The other Japanese major religion, Buddhist, has the founder, but he was a human, not the absolute,
almighty god as that of Christianity or Islam.
This has also contributed to Japanese tolerance toward other religions.
Those are the reason why Japanese religious orientation is eclectic.
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Onsen Resorts
In Japan, Onsen are the country’s hot springs and the bathing facilities and traditional inns
around them. Most Japanese love bathing in Onsen (hot springs), and many believe that the water
can cure certain ailments. There are many volcanoes around Japan, and therefore many Onsen.
Each Onsen is said to have its own healing property. Onsen resorts or hotels either use water from
actual spring or they boil mineral water. Onsen resorts have opened all over the country, and many
hotels have outside baths offering spectacular views. Public baths are also very common in Japan.
They generally have Jacuzzies, garden bathe, and saunas. At Onsen, people actually wash their
bodies before getting into the water. It is bad manners to use soap or towels in the bath itself.
Onsen Resorts in Kyushu
Kyushu is known for the best and most picturesque Onsen resorts in all of Japan.
The profusion of Onsen is due in part to Kyushu’s very landscape: it’s home to no less than
9 volcano groups that are responsible for creating the island’s thermal waters.
The featured Onsen Resorts
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Located in the centre of Shimabara peninsula, at the southwest part of Mount Unzen with an altitude of 700m. It is started receiving foreign tourists around the year 1900 when Kaempfer and Siebold introduced the city to Europe and China. The area was the first area to be designated as a National Park in Japan in 1934. |
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The area is also a part of Unzen, located at western foot of Mount Unzen.
About 30 Hotels and Japanese style accommodation are standing along
the Tachibana bay and there are 3 public baths where visitor can use.
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A beautiful and tranquil Onsen resort representing Kyushu. Yufuin is located about 15 km west of Beppu and is spreading in the Yufu basin at the mountain foot of Yufu. Onsen resort life can be enjoyed at the beautiful and tranquil place harmonized with nature in the basin of mountain hill area. |
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One of the must visit tourist destination in Kyushu. The world’s largest caldera and the active volcano Mount Aso give a lot of excitements. And numerous unforgettable experiences in the rural area can be made including Onsen, variety of sports and local cuisines. |
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One of the most popular hot spring resort, located on the northern side of Mount Aso. Widely known for its open-air baths, it is one of the best places to enjoy the atmosphere of old town in Japan, where more than 20 Inns (Ryokan)and gift shops standing in a row along the Tanoharu River, a head stream of the Chikugo River. |
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