http://www.gameshaper.net/kyonoki/index.php 京のキー en Copyright 2010 Pivot Pivot - 1.40.7: 'Dreadwind' Wed, 10 Mar 2010 01:15:16 -0800 60 http://www.gameshaper.net/kyonoki/pivot/entry.php?id=1870 http://www.gameshaper.net/kyonoki/pivot/entry.php?id=1870#comm

Shusei Shrine belongs to that group -many thousand in number- of sacred spots dedicated to Inari, god of rice (and by extension harvests, agriculture, merchants and business). It lends its name to the crowded neighbourhood and gives the small block a certain character that lifts it above what would be considered just another neat, but slightly rough-around-the-edges, suburb. The concrete torii gates may be cracked and stained with rust, the wooden walls of the hall are most definitely worn and in need of renewal, but this shrine is no forgotten altar to the gods. From before the sun is up the priest (who lives in a smart modern house in the grounds) performs his noisy rites of clapping, and from that moment on the elderly stream to pay their respects at the many small shrines that fill the grey space. Throughout the day a trickle of workmen from the local factories stop by to toss a few coins into the altar coffer, breaking the peace with a sharp tug on the prayer bell. Later come nursery school children, out for a walk with their carers, loudly running across the gravel and excitedly chatting under the shadowed veranda. Be it sun, rain or wind the shrine is never ignored. When the weather is fine, the trees and flowers that line the broken old path stretch to hide away the ugliness of modern Japan and tourists flock, bemused that this plain shrine is their goal. A few will turn their heads, believing that there must be a far greater hall hiding away somewhere. There is not. Shusei is famed for housing a god dedicated to work woes. And as work is something all of us need do, he is never without patrons. Men and women come to pray for promotion or for help in finding new employment, university graduates come hoping for guidance with their careers. All buy a fortune before they leave, tying the tiny strips of paper to the bushes and chicken-wire that stand in front of the prayer-hall. At times the shrine is irritating. We live so close that every clap, every clang of the prayer bell, can be heard. Often it wakes us early in the morning, or late at night when we are drifting off to sleep. And if truth be told, the god has not brought us more luck with work while we have lived under his protection. But that said, it is a remarkable thing to slide open the window blinds and see the ornate tiles of the roof below, the hint of red paint from the smaller shrines, and to always hear the crunch of gravel as the faithful arrive to keep the shrine alive.

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Rhod slumped on the floor with mac-chan ('mac-chan reborn', specifically, after he succumbed to the terrible condensation of a Japanese home just before Christmas). The Christmas break was no doubt the worst period for Apple hardware losses in our house ever, what with Shuffle-Chan also deciding to stay at the Bath-House and never return home.

]]> 1869@http://gameshaper.net/kyonoki/pivot/ Photostory Thu, 04 Mar 2010 17:59:00 -0800 http://www.gameshaper.net/kyonoki/pivot/entry.php?id=1864 http://www.gameshaper.net/kyonoki/pivot/entry.php?id=1864#comm

Lunch at Hirapa, and time for terror!

]]> 1864@http://gameshaper.net/kyonoki/pivot/ Photostory Sun, 21 Feb 2010 00:37:00 -0800 http://www.gameshaper.net/kyonoki/pivot/entry.php?id=1863 http://www.gameshaper.net/kyonoki/pivot/entry.php?id=1863#comm

My beloved pepper plant is still holding on to thoughts of Summer.

]]> 1863@http://gameshaper.net/kyonoki/pivot/ Photostory Sun, 21 Feb 2010 00:29:00 -0800 http://www.gameshaper.net/kyonoki/pivot/entry.php?id=1862 http://www.gameshaper.net/kyonoki/pivot/entry.php?id=1862#comm

There is only a couple of weeks left in the ice-skating season, so Erina planned a trip for us all to the outdoor rinks at Hirapa. Maybe because of the Winter Olympics the rinks were so crammed full of people that it was quite impossible to go faster than a stumble, and I wisely decided to ditch my skates in favour of playing with Gilead while the others skated. When considering the crowds, the park should have allocated time-slots, or at the very least employed attendants to make sure that there were just children in the smaller of the rinks, but I suppose money always wins out over common sense. Poor Rhod and Erina looked like a sardine, swirling round and around in a vast shoal. Kitty took to the ice like a true pro. Lucky for us the fee was reasonable when compared with the other rinks in Kyoto, and the sun made a welcome appearance.

]]> 1862@http://gameshaper.net/kyonoki/pivot/ Photostory Sun, 21 Feb 2010 00:28:00 -0800 http://www.gameshaper.net/kyonoki/pivot/entry.php?id=1861 http://www.gameshaper.net/kyonoki/pivot/entry.php?id=1861#comm I thought some of you would like to see what our house in Kyoto looks like (middle picture). The neighbourhood curls around the Shusei-Inari Shrine, and would be quiet if it weren't for the constant clanging of the prayer bell. ]]> 1861@http://gameshaper.net/kyonoki/pivot/ Photostory Sun, 21 Feb 2010 00:20:00 -0800 http://www.gameshaper.net/kyonoki/pivot/entry.php?id=1860 http://www.gameshaper.net/kyonoki/pivot/entry.php?id=1860#comm

The title says it all.

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Gilead is sure learning to talk. Most of his sentences revolve around characters from Thomas the Tank Engine and don't make much sense unless you have a vague idea about life on the Island of Sodor, though Kitty seems to have perfected the role of interpreter. While the others went ice-skating we watched from the rink-side for a while until he grew extremely agitated. Grabbing my hand he attempted to pull me towards the exit, and it was only after some careful listening that I realised he wanted to go and see Thomas. An earlier ride on the toy train had given him an insatiable appetite for more railway time. His obsession (even when compared with other boys his age) with Henry, Percy, Gordon and Harold is quite extraordinary...and not for one second of his trip to Hirakata Park did he think about anything else, except perhaps his second favourite pass-time - food.

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