名古屋城, Nagoya-jō - Nagoya - Haru Japan - 2016
Nagoya Castle - 名古屋城 - Nagoya-jō - April 2016
This castle, a symbol of Nagoya was residence of the 620,000-koku Owari Tokugawa household.
It was built by the order of Tokugawa Ieyasu in 1612, and it symbolizes Nagoya's pride and power.
The castle was first built in 1612 by Tokugawa Ieyasu, and is characterized by two golden shachi (dolphins) adorning the roof.
After burning down in World War II, the castle was rebuilt by the city in 1959 and now serves as a museum of artifacts from the Edo period.
Spring is particularly beautiful when the 2,000 cherry blossom trees on the grounds are in bloom.
Nagoya-jo is one of my favorite Japanese Castles..every time I go I experience more of it's absolute beauty and commanding presence..
Photography By: Jeannette Andrea Jackson 3/2016
伊賀上野城, Iga Ueno-jō - Iga Ueno - Haru Japan - 2016
My sojourn to Iga-Ueno, Japan March 18, 2016
Iga Ueno Castle (伊賀上野城, Iga-Ueno-jō), also known as Ueno Castle (上野城, Ueno-jō) is a Japanese castle located in the city of Iga, Mie Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan.
The castle is also called Hakuho Castle (白鳳城, Hakuhō-jō), or "White Phoenix Castle," because of its beautiful architecture and floor plan. The castle has been protected by the central government as a National Historic Site since 1967
Iga Ueno Castle is located on a hill at the northwestern corner of plateau formed by the Kizu River and Tsuge River, in the center of the city of Iga.
The city itself is located in a mountainous basin on an important route connecting the ancient capital cities
of Nara and Kyoto with the Ise Grand Shrine and provinces of eastern Japan.
Iga Province was a small province separated from neighbouring provinces on all sides by mountains. Inhabitants maintained autonomy from outside control through reliance on asymmetric warfare tactics, which later came to known as ninjutsu.
From around the 1460s until their conquest by Oda Nobunaga in 1581, these warrior families, later known as ninja, self-governed the province as the Iga ikki, with a headquarters at the site of where the castle now stands.
Photography By: Jeannette Andrea Jackson 3/2016
島原城, Shimabarajō - Shimabara - Haru Japan - 2018
My Sojourn to Shimabara Castle (島原城 Shimabara-jō) - April 2018
Shimabara Castle (島原城 Shimabara-jō), also known as Moritake Castle (森岳城 Moritake-jō) and Takaki Castle (高来城 Takaki-jō), is a Japanese castle located in Shimabara, Hizen Province (present day Nagasaki prefecture
Shimabara Castle is a flatland castle (平城, Hirajiro), located between Ariake Bay and Mount Unzen.
The outer moats, some 15 meters deep and between 30–50 meters wide, extended 360 meters east-west and 1260 meters north-south, with the enclosed area divided into three baileys.
The walls extended for 3900 meters and had 16 yagura of various sizes at key points.
The main donjon had five stories, and a height of 33 meters, and was connected to two secondary keeps, each with three stories.
In terms of scale, it was far larger than normal for a daimyō with revenues of only 40,000 koku .
Photography By: Jeannette Andrea Jackson 4/2018
丸亀城, Marugame-jō - Marugame - Fuyu Japan - 2019
Marugame Castle (丸亀城, Marugame-jō) - I created this shorter snippet vid of a lengthier vid I made of Marugame Castle (丸亀城, Marugame-jō)
Marugame Castle (丸亀城, Marugame-jō) is an Edo Period Japanese castle in the city of Marugame, Kagawa Prefecture, Japan.
It is located in the center of Marugame city, in former Sanuki Province on the island of Shikoku. During the Edo Period, it was the center of Marugame Domain, ruled by the tozama Kyōgoku clan under the Tokugawa Shogunate.
The castle site has been protected as a National Historic Site since 1953.
Marugame Castle is one of only a dozen Japanese castles to have an original wooden 'tenshu' built before 1860.
Marugame Castle was listed as one of Japan's Top 100 Castles by the Japan Castle Foundation in 2006.
Photography By: Jeannette Andrea Jackson 3/2016
Japan Special Destination Sojourns
Sekigahara - Haru Japan - 2016
My Sojourn To Sekigahara, Japan 2016
With respect to all combatants and with deep respect and honor to Tokugawa Ieyasu, the victor of "The Battle Of Sekigahara".
Tokugawa Ieyasu 31/01/1543 ~ 1/06/1616...
The Battle of Sekigahara was a historical battle in Japan which occurred on October 21, 1600 (Keichō 5, 15th day of the 9th month) in what is now Gifu Prefecture, Japan, at the end of the Sengoku period.
This battle was fought by the forces of Tokugawa Ieyasu against a coalition loyal to the Toyotomi clan, led by Ishida Mitsunari on behalf of the then-infant Toyotomi Hideyori, from which several commanders defected before or during the battle, leading to a Tokugawa victory.
The Battle of Sekigahara was the largest battle of Japanese feudal history and is often regarded as the most important.
Mitsunari's defeat in the battle of Sekigahara is generally considered to be the beginning point of the Tokugawa shogunate, which ruled Japan for another two and a half centuries until 1868.
Photography By: Jeannette Andrea Jackson 4/2016
"Kenroku-en Gardens" - Kanazawa - Haru Japan - 2016
Beautiful Kenroku-en Gardens ~ Kanazawa Japan 2016
Kenroku-en (兼六園, Six Attributes Garden), located in Kanazawa, Ishikawa, Japan, is an old private garden. Kenroku-en is one of the Three Great Gardens of Japan.
Photography By: Jeannette Andrea Jackson 3/2016
"The Adachi Museum of Art (足立美術館, Adachi Bijutsukan)
Yasugi, Shimane Prefecture - Haru Japan - 2016
My visit to the Adachi Museum of Art (足立美術館, Adachi Bijutsukan) in April 2016.
The Adachi Museum of Art (足立美術館, Adachi Bijutsukan)was founded by Adachi Zenko, a locally born businessman, in 1970 as a way of combining his passions for Japanese art and garden design. He hoped that viewing the gardens and artwork together would expand peoples' appreciation and interest in Japanese art.
The Adachi Museum of Art is best known for its award winning garden. It has been named the best garden in Japan annually since 2003 by the "Journal of Japanese Gardening". The garden can be enjoyed at anytime of the year and shows a different character depending on the season. It cannot be entered, but only be viewed from the museum building.
In addition to the gardens, the Adachi Museum of Art also houses a collection of nearly 1300 twentieth century paintings and artworks which are rotated seasonally. There is also a permanent exhibit of paintings by Yokoyama Taikan, as well as a ceramics exhibit.
Photography By: Jeannette Andrea Jackson 4/2016
Date Masamune & Date Clan "Zuihoden" - Sendai - 2016
Sendai Japan 2016 Date Masamune Zuihoden.
Beautiful Zuihōden (瑞鳳殿) in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan is the mausoleum complex of Date Masamune (The One Eyed Dragon)and his heirs, daimyō of the Sendai Domain..
If you go to Sendai, you must make the time to go to Zuihoden..
Photography by: Jeannette Andrea Jackson 12/2016
Miyamoto Musashi's Hometown in Miyamoto Haru Sojourn 2016
Memory captures of my sojourn to Miyamoto Musashi's hometown..Miyamoto..Yoshino district of Mimasaka Province, Japan.. 5th April 2016
"Truth is not what you want it to be; it is what it is, and you must bend to it's power or live a lie" Miyamoto Musashi (宮本 武蔵?, c. 1584 – June 13, 1645)
Photography by: Jeannette Andrea Jackson 4/2016
Miyamoto Musashi Museum - Miyamoto Musashi's Hometown in Miyamoto Haru Sojourn 2016
Short vid of my visit to the Museum at Miyamoto Musashi-no-sato Gorinbo - Miyamoto, Mimasaka, Okayama Prefecture, Japan. 日本語: 武蔵の里五輪坊（岡山県美作市) on April 5th 2016
"Perceive that which cannot be seen with the eye." - The Book of Five Rings (五輪書, Go Rin no Sho) - Miyamoto Musashi (宮本 武蔵?, c. 1584 – June 13, 1645)
Meaning = (encouraging the development of intuition and deeper understanding)n
Photography by: Jeannette Andrea Jackson 4/2016
Mount Kurama - Haru Japan - 2016
On my visit to Mount Kurama in April 2016 I stopped for a moment or two to capture the tranquility and beautiful energies of Mount Kurama.
Mount Kurama (鞍馬山, Kurama-yama)[1] is a mountain to the north of the city of Kyoto. It is the birthplace of the Reiki practice, and is said to be the home of Sōjōbō, King of the Tengu
It was supposedly the Tengu who taught swordsmanship to Minamoto no Yoshitsune.
Photography by: Jeannette Andrea Jackson 4/2016
Reigando - Haru Japan 2018
Some very memorable images and a small live vid that I captured at Reigandō (霊巌洞, meaning "Spirit Rock Cave") and Unganzenji Temple (雲巌禅寺) when I visited Kumamoto in April 2018. 🙏🙇♀️💜📸🎥✨
Reigando Cave 霊厳洞 in Kumamoto is well known as the place where Miyamoto Musashi (1584-1645), one of Japan's most famous swordsman and thinkers, spent the final years of his life.
Musashi was invited by Hosokawa Tadatoshi, a feudal lord of Kumamoto, as a guest to his castle town. Since Hosokawa himself was an avid swordsman, he wished to be instructed in Musashi's unique style of swordsmanship.
However, the opulent lifestyle in Hosokawa's castle town was not the ideal place for Musashi to meditate and write.
He instead retired to the cave to write "The Book of Five Rings" and said that a samurai should live a simple life without attaching himself to material things.
Reigando Cave is within the grounds of a small Soto Zen Temple called Unganzenji which had been there for centuries before Miyamoto Musashi's residence there.
Photography by: Jeannette Andrea Jackson 4/2018
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Fun days and nights out and about in Japan...
Tokyo Dome Precinct - Haru Japan - 2016
Fun day exploring "Tokyo Dome" Precinct April 21st 2016
Photography by: Jeannette Andrea Jackson 4/2016
The way of the "Japanese Sword"
Iaido and various other Japanese Sword related experiences
Tameshigiri (Target Cutting) Training Ryusei-Kan Dojo -Chioda ku Tokyo 2016
My special Iaido Training day where I experienced my very first Tameshigiri (Target Cutting) "Kesagiri" sword cut at Ryusei-Kan Dojo..Chioda.ku.. Tokyo..Japan.. 27 March 2016.
After a few failed attempts I kept going and I never gave up but I had awesome Sensei's there who encouraged me to eventually achieve a clean swift "Kesagiri" cut successfully..Many thanks - どうもありがとうDōmo arigatō to Sakaguchi Michinari Ryuoh San and Anna Ogawa San
Iaido - The Way of The Japanese Sword
Fun short video I created using some of my Iaido pics and part of my "test cut" (kun'yomi: ためし ぎり tameshi giri) experience at Ryusei-Kan Dojo Tokyo vid..
Choosing my very first Iaito Sword from "Tozando" and swordplay performing at the "Samurai Kembu Theatre" ~ in Kyoto 2016
Loved my time in Japan when I was excitedly sealing the deal and sorting out the shipping for my first commissioned master cratftsman custom made Suzaku Series Japanese Iaito Sword from Tozando that has the spesh Tsuba like Miyamoto Musashi's namako-sukashi tsuba (海鼠透鐔) had and was also having an awesome time swordplay performing at the "Samurai Kembu Theatre" ~ in Kyoto 2016 👏👌😎⛩️
Tameshigiri (Target Cutting) at Swordsmith Matsunaga Genrokurou San's home foundry and Dojo - 2018
This is some of my fun and informative yet very casually filmed footage of my awesome Iaido related “Samurai Sword Tour” experience at Swordsmith Matsunaga Genrokurou San's home Sword Foundry and Dojo April 2018
These are some of Matsunaga Sans Students demonstrating Tameshigiri.
(Tameshigiri is the Japanese art of target test cutting. The kanji literally mean "test cut This practice was popularized in the Edo period (17th century) for testing the quality of Japanese swords. It continues to the present day, but has evolved into a martial art which focuses on demonstrating the practitioner's skill with a sword)
"Swordsmith Kiyotsugu 清次, real name Matsunaga Genrokuro 松永源六郎 was born in 1948 and has been producing blades which have regularly been awarded prizes at the annual national competitions
He formalized the art of Kobudo Shodai Ryu Zanshi Genseikai古武道小岱流斬試源清会 which can be directly translated as - Traditional Budo Shodai Ryu Tameshigiri Gensei school - in 1999 and has been dedicating in training his Japanese and international students in his Genseikai dojo.
He currently leads the members of his dojo to various events and festivals throughout Kyushu in order to demonstrate their art of Budo and promoting traditional Japanese culture.
Matsunaga Genrokuro explains well about his approach through sword forging, trainings and cooperation with university laboratories.
He believes that each of his swords should be capable of cutting well and last for at least 1,000 years, hence winning competitions is not his main concern.
Many thanks - どうもありがとうDōmo arigatō to Helen San at Explore Kumamoto's "Samurai Swords Tour" and Matsunaga Genrokurou San...