Thursday, November 20, 2014

Autumn on the Shiraishi Pilgrimage...


Autumn is beautiful on the Shiraishi Island. Come on out and enjoy the autumn colors with the backdrop of the Seto Inland Sea! Enjoy a walk, or a run, on the Shiraishi Pilgrimage or on the many hiking courses available. For reservations at the international villa, contact shiraishireservations at yahoo dot com

Thursday, November 13, 2014

Buddhist Festival Nov. 15, Shiraishi Island, #japan

Tomorrow, Saturday Nov. 15 is the annual Bussharito Festival on Shiraishi Island. The Bussharito, a Thai-style temple built to hold some of the ashes of the Buddha, is honored on this special day every year with a goma fire ceremony. The crypt in the basement of the structure is open only on this one day of the year. Everyone is welcome to attend to pass the juzu beads, chant and get purified.

For some reason I cannot get the YouTube video to load, so please click here to watch it on the YouTube Channel.

Saturday, November 01, 2014

Meet Shiraishi Island's new character!

Recently the island held a contest to come up with an island character to use for promotional purposes. We had over 50 entries and many very professional ones. Thanks to everyone who entered the contest! We had so many good entries, as a matter of fact, that rather than choosing just one, the island decided to create an amalgamation of all the ideas, which resulted in this seagull!

A few points to note: The straw hat represents that used in the Shiraishi Bon Dance, a designated national treasure in Japan. The overcoat has two blue spots in the shape of Shiraishi Island. At the bottom is shows waves of the Seto Inland Sea.


Hanging from the belt are fish and mulberries, two products the island is known for. The star is a "starfish" from the sea and the cat with the fish in it's mouth represents the many beautiful stray cats that grace our island--especially near the port!


 The hem of the kimono has a drawing of the Bussharito Buddhist stupa on the island, which is said to hold some of Buddha's ashes. Lastly, the seagull's sandals (Of course even birds wear sandals in Japan!) have crab pincers in the front.


We hope you enjoy our new character! We are now soliciting entries for a name, so if you have any ideas, please let us know by leaving a comment.
 
Site Meter