Part 1, mostly the area around Manshu-in Temple in  Sakyo-ku.

This is the Daimonji Fire Festival video for 2010. 9 minutes, 16:9.

2010 Daimonji Fire Festival Video is here.
 
Daimonji video 2008
 
Every August 16 since the 1600s, Kyoto marks the end of o-Bon season by lighting up the hillsides with giant kanji, starting at 8 p.m. It’s called Daimonji Gozan Okuribi, literally “Giant characters five mountains sendoff fires.” This marks their function as a sendoff for the ancestral spirits that visit their hometowns in the summer festival season. I walked by the myou and hou characters today and saw two others in the distance in the clear skies. The firewood is already in …

Enkoji Temple, Kyoto
A few minutes of quietude all alone at Enko-ji Temple, Kyoto. Then, a listen at the suikinkutsu at this temple. A suikinkutsu is a very large ceramic pot buried under a water source of some kind, which allows water to slowly drip down through pebbles and into the water in the pot, where the drops resonate with a sound akin to a “fuurin” bell, a sound that is esthetically pleasing, especially in summer.
also, I want you to know that there is a website …

We have had brutal rainy-season storms this week. This evening at dusk the storm clouds did something weird to the last bit of light. Sorry for the shaky cam; if you can’t stand it skip ahead to 38 seconds for the first color change and 1:20 for the second. I tried to go “Whoa! Whoa!” like the guy in the rainbow video… that was popular this week, but it was too little too late.

In this first clip from the upcoming Peter MacIntosh/Nils Ferry video program Alive in Kyoto, Peter visits Nishiki Ichiba market and, after a snack of kara-age fried chicken, introduces a shop specializing in dashimaki omelettes, where the proprietor Mr. Tanaka shows us how it’s done.

The 2010 Gion Matsuri (festival) parade of yama and hoko “floats” is coming up. This is a spectacle of ancient pageantry not to be missed.

Also, on the three days and nights leading up to the parade, Yoiyama (16th), Yoi-yoi-yama (15th) and Yoi-yoi-yoi-yama (14th), revelers stroll up and down shijo street and the other main downtown streets, many in colorful summer yukata, eating, drinking, carousing, visiting the floats and listening to the distinctive music of the festival.

On May 3, 2010, the Kyoto band elements played its final show as elements. After 15 years and seven albums, the death of elements drummer Sanjo Toru in January 2010 marked the end of one part of their musical journey. This show was a celebration of their music and a tribute to their friend.

Trailer and Purchase Information inside

There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.

I’m going to be offering a Kyoto Sakura DVD for sale this spring for the first time. Music composed, performed and licensed by Kevin Macleod.

Watch Kyoto Sakura preview on Vimeo.

I posted some videos up on the top page of this site while you weren’t looking.

Highlights from last year. Go to the top page of this site for video.