Kato, you’re in Japan enjoying the fire festival, aren’t you?
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Yes, I am in Gyoda—my birthplace—right now, but the festival was held in last spring.
So you missed it, huh?
Unfortunately, I didn’t see it myself, but a friend of mine showed me the above video.
How come you didn’t take part in the festival?
Well… I wasn’t in Gyoda at the time. The fire festival is held in May every year. I usually take a pre-Christmas vacation in October or November to visit my mother and brothers.
I see… Tell me about the couple in the video. They seem to wear old Japanese costumes.
Yes, they do… The festival is about Konohanasakuya-hime and her husband.
Who is Konohanasakuya-hime?
She is a famous character in Japanese mythology.
Konohanasakuya-hime
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Konohanasakuya-hime (木花咲耶姫) is the blossom-princess and symbol of delicate earthly life.
She is the daughter of the mountain god Ohoyamatsumi.
She is often considered an avatar of Japanese life, especially since her symbol is the sakura (cherry blossom).
Kono-hana is also the goddess of Mount Fuji and all volcanoes.
Kono-hana-hime is the wife of the god Ninigi.
She met him on the seashore and they fell in love.
Ninigi asked Oho-Yama, the father of Kono-hana-hime for her hand in marriage.
Oho-Yama proposed his older daughter, Iwa-Naga-hime, instead, but Ninigi had his heart set on Kono-hana because Iwa-Naga-hime was ugly.
Oho-Yama reluctantly agreed and Ninigi and Ko-no-hana married.
Because Ninigi refused Iwa-Naga-hime, the rock-princess, human lives are said to be short and fleeting, like the sakura blossoms, instead of enduring and long lasting, like stones.
Kono-hana became pregnant in just one night, causing suspicion in Ninigi.
He wondered if this was the child of another kami.
Kono-hana was enraged at Ninigi’s accusation and entered a doorless hut, which she then set fire to, declaring that the child would not be hurt if it were truly the offspring of Ninigi.
Inside the hut, Ko-no-hana had three sons, Hoderi, Hosuseri and Hoori.
Shrines have been built on Mount Fuji for Konohanasakuya-hime.
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It is believed that she will keep Mount Fuji from erupting, but shrines to her at Kirishima have been repeatedly destroyed by volcanic eruptions.
She is also known for having tore up the Yatsugatake Mountains, because it was higher than Mount Fuji.
SOURCE: “Konohanasakuya-hime” from Wikipedia
I see… Quite interesting… But, Kato, how come you’re telling me about this festival?
Diane, have you ever heard that the Japanese emperor was believed to be a living god before the second world war?
Yes, I have. But I can hardly believe that.
Anyway, according to the mythology, the third son or Hoori is supposed to be the ancestor of the current emperor.
Kato, do you believe that?
No, I don’t, but my mother used to believe it before the second world war.
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【Himiko’s Monologue】
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Canada extends from the Atlantic to the Pacific and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering 9.98 million square kilometres (3.85 million square miles) in total, making it the world’s second-largest country by total area and the fourth-largest country by land area.
Canada’s common border with the United States forms the world’s longest land border.
Naturally, many wild animals live in the vast land—especially in the northern part of the country.
Some of these animals are shown in this documentary called “Snow Babies,” which depicts the first year of baby animals and their families originally broadcast on television as individual episodes in 1996.
Prepare for your heart to melt as the “BBC Eath” program brings you an in-deapth look at adorable baby animals in the beautiful but harsh world of ice and snow.
It is a fascinating and entertaining documentary.
Please take a look at the following trailer.
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In any case, I hope Kato will write another interesting article soon.
Kato watched “The Arabian Nights” or “One Thousand and One Nights” as his 1001th movie.
You might just as well want to view it.
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The stories in “the Arabian Nights” were collected over many centuries by various authors, translators, and scholars across West, Central, and South Asia and North Africa.
The tales themselves trace their roots back to ancient and medieval Arabic, Persian, Indian, Egyptian and Mesopotamian folklore and literature.
In particular, many tales were originally folk stories from the Caliphate era, while others, especially the frame story, are most probably drawn from the Pahlavi Persian work Hazār Afsān which in turn relied partly on Indian elements.
What is common throughout all the editions of the Nights is the initial frame story of the ruler Shahryār and his wife Scheherazade and the framing device incorporated throughout the tales themselves.
The stories proceed from this original tale.
Some are framed within other tales, while others begin and end of their own accord.
Some editions contain only a few hundred nights, while others include 1,001 or more.
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