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Myriads of years ago,
operation of natural mother land
created an island nation!
It is a place
where volcanoes are incessantly smoldering,
streams of mineral just starts cooling off
and life begins newly.
From the most violent,
an unyielding nation has built up
a beautiful and powerful country.
Despite bearing,
in writhe,
natural causeless anger,
earthquakes,
tsunamis,
and even human hate,
the country has been known,
without heart-breaking glint
nor compassionate glint,
as a flashy Tokyo,
a firm Himeji,
an ancient Nara
and a profound Kyoto!
It is Japan!
In this documentary,
we want you to visit
the homeland of sakura,
that of undaunted samurais,
that of beautiful kimonos,
that of chanoyu
a country where zen spirit
is imbued with normal civilians,
with oriental culture
so that all creates a Japan
the first nation welcomes sunrise in the world.
Once again,
let's make the documentary
"Ajourney to Japan"
to meet and exchange culture
with SolarGoddess' offspring,
dearJapanese friends!
There is a Japanese saying:
"Whoever has traveled to Japan but has not visited Nara and Kyoto
is not supposed to have been to Japan yet".
That's right!
Kyoto and Nara are the Japan's soul.
Therefore,
even though our journey lasted only for 20 days,
a short time for us to discover and experience
the beauty ofJapanese spirit,
we hoped we could find out more about it.
Hence, right after leaving Ichidai,
we went to Nara.
Nara, the first capital ofJapan,
is a clear manifestation of the spirit
of the Japanese people.
In 2013, Nara was 1,303 years old.
Although chosen to be the capital foronly 75 years,
Nara still owns and preserves
a unique ancient architectural complex
recognized by UNESCO as a world heritage.
Nearby, there is The Nara park,
one of the biggest parks in Japan,
located in the northeast of the city.
It is actually a large pasture with thousands of deer.
The local people love them very much because
they believe that deer are the messengers of gods,
embodiments of the sacred legends in Shinto sect
a popularJapanese religion.
Here, the deer often ''walk'' around the park
ortake a leisurely rest around the souvenir shops.
They are even bold enough to approach the visitors
to get food.
Opposite the park is a pagoda called Todai in Japanese.
It is one of the popular ancient pagodas in Japan,
a scenic spot and
an important spiritual tourist attraction.
It was constructed in 743 and finished in 751.
Todai is the headquarter
of the Kegon school of Buddhism in Japan
The wooden Todai was built in the period
when Japan was suffering
a series of natural disasters and the bubonic plague.
That was why Emperor Shomu,
who was a devotee,
had issued a law that
established a system of Buddhist temples nationwide.
He believed that
his devotion might move the Buddha
and he would stretch out his arms to save
the Japanese people from sufferings.
The pagoda was recognized by UNESCO as
"historic memorial complex of Nara period"
together with other 7 constructions including pagodas,
shrines and other scenic spots in the former metropolis.
Through the ups and downs in the history,
the pagoda has been built and renovated many times.
Its latest renovation of Buddha Hall was in 1709
but it still looks very impressive in its original shape
whose width was one-third less than the original.
It is one of typical examples of symbolic great pagodas
built at the giant size and enormous costs of construction
in the heart of the city.
Nowadays, Todai is considered
as one of the oldest pagodas in Japan
and it is also one ofthe world's biggest wooden pagodas
of 50 meters in width,
57 meters in length and 48 meters in height.
The Great Buddha Hall was settled
a big bronze Buddha statue,
designed by a North-Korean artist.
It was considered as
the world's biggest gilded bronze Buddha statue at that time.
It was cast in 749 and completed in 751.
After that, it was restored and recast several times
due to damages by natural disasters such as earthquakes
and fires of the war between 1180 and 1567.
The current remaining statue pedestal was dated
from the 8th century
while most of the upper parts including the top
were recast in the second half of the 12th century.
At the back of The Great Buddha
is Virūpākṣa and Kuvera.
In solemnity from guardian deity,
Virūpākṣa holds a feather pen in one hand
and in the other is a roll of paper
symbolizing a copy of powerful Buddhist scripture.
Each statue is almost 8 meters high
and over 800 years old.
They were all carved by a master carver Unkei.
Next to the Virūpākṣa statue
was a general model of Todai original complex.
The model shows that the complex includes
not only the Great Buddha Hall but also two 7-floor towers,
a lecture hall and a monastery.
The entire pagoda is surrounded by a long extended corridor.
Nowadays, those towers do not exist anymore
because they were completely destroyed by earthquakes and disasters.
In addition,
there was a fairly well known wooden pillar
with a hole at the bottom next to the Kuvera statue
which is rumored that
whoever can go through the hole will get good luck.
Therefore,
many people gathered here
to do it at the time.
This area has many souvenir shops.
Especially there is a small store
selling roof tile at 1,000 yen for each,
on which customers can write their names, ages, addresses
and all of their wishes.
Then, they will be saved in the pagoda
and the old damaged tiles will be replaced
with these periodically 30-100 years.
Over many centuries,
the architectural constructions and artistic gardens
have created a unique cultural nuance,
a "living soul'' in the whole block of "dead" works,
which makes it a scared place and attracts tourists
who are not willing to leave upon coming here.
Approximately 3 kilometers from the Todai Pagoda
is the Kasuga Taisha temple,
another important religious architecture in Nara.
The main structure of the temple was built in 768
Kasuga Taisha is the Nara's most famous shrine.
It was built at the same time as that of the city
and the Deity guarding the city has been worshipped since.
There were 4 temples located within Kasuga Taisha area
and they worship different deities
who protect the ruling Fujiwara clan.
Its architecture is called "Kasuga style" or Taisha-zukuri
because of its unique shape of the cypress bark roof meticulously and sophisticatedly.
The temple's corridors are painted in bright red.
Around and inside the temple
are about 2,000 stone lanterns and 1,000 bronze ones
offered from 11th century until today.
The main temple which has not ever been changed
is a perfect harmony with the surrounding nature
showing the images of ancient temples in Japan.
Upon passing the Torii gate and moving inside,
thousands of stone lanterns along both sides are seen.
Kasuga Taisha is very famous for
countless hanging lanterns and stone lanterns donated by devotees.
The bronze lanterns being hung inside the temple
and thousands of stone ones
along the entrance to the temple
are lit on the occasion of lantern festival
held in February and August each year.
Kasuga Taisha is ranked as
one of the three important Japanese Shinto Temples.
According to the Japanese rules and Shinto rituals,
the temples have to be regularly dismantled
and rebuilt every 20 years
so that it can be disinfected and cleaned.
What we see today is
the architectural work rebuilt in 1893.
Although it is the 57th Kasuga temple,
it has still been built in its original form
as a typical example
for the 8th century Japanese architecture.
Two kilometers from Kasuga Taisha is
Kofukuji pagoda which was built in 669.
It is not only the cultural heritage
of the ancient capital of Nara
but also the world's cultural heritage,
whose treasures are ranked the national ones.
Among them,
Gojunoto Tower is a testament.
It is a 50,1 meter high tower built in 730,
standing next to the ancient hall.
At the moment,
the main hall is under restoration.
Not far away is Nandaimon
the main southern gate - octagonally built in the Edo,
where the Amohgapasa Avalokitesvara Bodisattva statue stands.
A quite remarkable thing in Nara is
the images of pullers of rickshaw
a very popular rudimentary vehicle in Japan since 1872.
Nowadays,
they become a kind of transportation for tourists.
The rickshaw is a kind of vehicle pulled by human;
A rickshaw can carry two passengers.
That's why the pullers are usually burly young men.
It is because the vehicle is pulled by the human power
that the costs are quite expensive.
Explaining the reason why not using
solar energy vehicles for sight
seeing tours around the area,
the local residents said that
although they afford to invest in modern vehicles,
they still wanted to maintain this kind of service
as a way to preserve the traditional culture
and visitors could experience
some parts of the old lifestyle.
We continued ourtrip in Nara on the second day
with a visit to the Yakushi-ji
The Yakushi-ji
an ancient architecture dated from the 8th century.
It was built in 680 by the Emperor Temmu
to pray peace forthe Queen Jito
However, when the pagoda was completed in 698,
the emperor passed away.
The pagoda was moved to its present location in 718.
Fires, wars, or natural disasters
burnt down and destroyed the yakushiji
several times in 1528.
The pagoda underwent restoration in 1970,
and was recognized by UNESCO
recognized as the World Heritage in 1998.
The pagoda has two large stupas:
the East Stupa and the West Stupa.
The East Stupa
has been the only remaining original architecture
since the 8th century at the height of 34 meters
Currently,
the stupa is being maintained.
Next, to it is the West Stupa
that was caught in fire in the Second World War
And its latest renovation was carried out 30 years ago.
Between the two stupas is the Main Hall
where the 4.55-meter-high statue of Bhaiṣaijya guru tathàgatàya
of the Suryaprabha Bodhisattva and Candraprabha Bodhisattva are worshiped.
and the two 3.2-meter-high statues
They are ancient gold-plated bronze statues
which were carved in the Asuka's style
with the characteristics
of original art sculpture of India Buddha statues at that time.
Behind the Main Hall is the lecture hall,
which used to be a place for preaching Dharma.
It is 41 meters long,
20 meters wide and 17 meters high.
To the east of the pagoda is a small monastery,
the home to the ancient bronze statue of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva
and four wooden Maharajas devas
sculpted 1300 years ago
in four different aspects
like four Lokapalas guarding four directions.
Leaving the yakushiji,
we visited Horyuji Pagoda
in the Ikoma region, the ancient capital of Nara
and also the homeland of Holy crown prince.
This is the world's oldest wooden structure
which has still remained
nearly intact until now,
It was recognized by UNESCO
as the world cultural heritage in 1993.
Horyuji is the first place
where Buddhism culture was introduced and developing
in Japan.
According to the chronicles ofJapan,
Buddhism was officially disseminated toJapan from Korea.
However, Buddhism really began to develop
and spread in Japan
during the regency
of Empress Dowerage Suiko.
Her successor
was the Holy crown prince named
He was born in 574,
died in 622,
and is considered the founder ofJapanese Buddhism.
He built many pagodas and temples all overthe country.
One of the famous pagodas at that time
was the Horyuji Pagoda
whose Japanese name is Hory.
It was the Crown Prince Shotoku
that instructed his folks to build the pagoda
and it was completed in 607
with the purpose of praying peace for Emperor Yomei.
In 670, the pagoda was burned
and then was rebuilt
in its current appearance
in the late 7th century- the early 8th century
There are more than 2,300
important cultural and historical works,
including nearly 190 works
that are classified as national treasures.
Due to its historical significance,
Japanese schools regularly
arrange extracurricular trips
to pagoda forthe students
The students in each group
were guided and introduced to area by area.
Looking at the students eagerly
lining up in order
while visiting the pagoda sights,
we felt joyful.
Even though they might not completely understand
the spiritual values of these treasures,
since their early age, they have learned
to respect the traditional culture of their people
Moreover,
in the innocent childhood,
they are being absorbed in good causation,
so one day
they will understand
the true values of this tour
because by that time, they will have been protected
by the Buddhism teachings
return to their nature of wisdom.
The impressiveness and creativity
of the ancient architecture in the 7th century
can be recognized
in the separate areas
of Horyuji Pagoda including the Main hall (Kondo),
the Gojunoto, the mid-hall,
the Saiin Garan.
The first one is the the Gojunoto
built forthe Buddha's relics worship.
This five-story tower
is considered the oldest tower.
at the height of 32.5 m
Being composed of five stories,
the structure was designed forthe purpose of
but not for a climb.
inspiring people with its external appearance,
Through the outside,
As previously mentioned,
this tower,
is the tower model for building the Tokyo Skytree.
Learning more about
the techniques of the towerconstruction,
we learn that there are 4 factors
that give solidity to the structure
despite the strong vibration
caused by earthquakes.
The first factor is its material.
Each part of the structure of the five-story pagoda
is made of wood.
The second is the architectural secrets.
The slats are joined
without using nails
but by putting
thin and narrow slats
into the slots.
The third lies in the tower's level structure.
Basically,
the tower is a stacked box-shaped structure;
each box can sustain
gentle and moderate sway.
Next, is the introduction of the architecture
of the Kondo, also known as the Main Hall.
The Buddhist Hall consists of two floors,
two layers of tile roofs
and on the top is a double lower roof
to create an attractive appearance.
The Kondo is a prominent feature
in flexible, meticulous
and wonderful lines of sculpture
in various kinds of old rare wood ofJapan.
Entering Horyuji Pagoda,
people feel calm
just like entering a world
of spiritual thoughts.
In such places,
people seem to blend into nature in harmony,
feel more peaceful and blissful,
free themselves from all worldly
desires, to return to their wonderful spiritual life.
Leaving Horyuji Pagoda,
we then returned to Hoa Lac pagoda.
On ourway, we caught a sight of a mendicant monk
standing near Kintetsu Nara Station.
We stopped, exchanged a few word and made offerings.
In Japan,
the view of a monk standing on a street corner
in such traditional costumes
is sometimes observed.
Fora short time,
the monks have such ascetic religious practices
called Takuhatsu
a traditional mendicant
of Buddhist monks in Japan.
Often, monks seek alms
in a group of 10 to 15 people
walking and chanting sutra
then they split up in different directions.
Food or money are put into their alms bowls on their way.
They carry a small bag
with the name oftheir monastery
as an identification.
We came to Japan in the spring,
the season of wishes,
so we had a chance to discover
each particular beauty of this country
such as a majestic Fuji,
a colorful Tokyo,
an ancient Nara, a solid Hemeji, etc.
It was a pity
that we had not explored many otherthings yet.
However, we were reminded that
"T he most significant resource of Japan
is Japanese people."
So how could we
learn about the Japanese
in such a short time?
Could it be that we have no way to find out?
Or maybe we could only
make a sketchy record about the things we had seen,
the places we had been to
and the Japanese people
we came across for a while?
Surely, it would not
be an overall perfect picture
of this nation
but colorful assembled parts.
Suddenly, we think about Hiroshima,
where Japanese had suffered
the devastation of the atomic bomb 68 years ago.
It is the result of resentment
and unlimited greed
caused by human beings.
We arrived in Hiroshima
on a nice day,
when Hiroshima is peacefully
welcoming a new day.
Looking at the surroundings,
no one can imagine what happened
at this place
on 6th August, 1945.
Let's visualize that
frightening scene
in the following documentary excerpt:
At 8:15 on 6th August, 194S
human history
witnessed the first atomic bomb
against humanity known as "Little Boy"
being dropped on Hiroshima by the plane "Enola Gay"
of U.S. airforce
and exploded at the height of 600 m,
almost right on the top of
the technology development building.
At the heat of 3000C,
it killed thousands of lives,
and leveled Hiroshima.
It would be hard to imagine that tragedy,
so we asked Ms. Ogawa Keiko
to show us around Peace Memorial Museum.
Peering closely at the pictures and reading documents,
we could perceive the pain
that theJapanese suffered.
The Peace Memrium Museum
fully discloses the level of the disaster losses!
In view of the model
of the city before and afterthe bombing
we saw that, in a very short time
the city in a normal life
turned into nil.
In a space entirely dedicated
to the memory of the tragedy,
they show the pain
that this country experienced.
Most of the victims were burned
and nuclear radiation
effects had remained
in the next several years.
The explosive power of the atomic bombs
is terrible,
and it destroys everything
and leaves everything in ruins.
But in the spirit of determination
and solidarity,
Japanese had quickly restored the city
out of the people's imagination.
After a few days ,
the electricity system restoration was conducted
and the one who
led the performance is Mr. Hamai Shinjo.
The guide,
Ms. Keiko Ogawa, said,
"Without Mr. Hamai Shinjo,
Hiroshima wouldn't be like today;
the city residents
are forever grateful to him."
Leaving the museum,
we are obsessed
by human crimes.
We wonder whether only human beings
could do such
horrifying things,
and whether only human beings
could be strong enough
to endure such losses and pain and had to suffer
Japan lost World War II
from massive damages from the nuclear bombing.
But only a few decades later,
Japan has made an amazing recovery
to become a power
to be respected worldwide.
only Japanese can do those wonderful things.
We finally saw through
the statement that have been repeated:
"The most significant resource ofJapan isJapanese people.''
Hiroshima of today
is truly peaceful;
Innocent children
can again play around cheerfully now,
although traces of the past pain
We entered the memorial museum,
where the building Genbaku
also known as A-bomb Dome is located.
This is the remaining building
afterthe bombing.
The building was preserved intact
afterthe bombing.
It is a reminder of the massive destruction
of nuclearweapons
and a symbol of the dream for world peace
as well as the wish
to get rid of all nuclear weapons of Japanese.
The area around the ruins
is also called Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park
recognized by UNESCO
as a world cultural heritage in 1996.
We met and talked
to Mr. Shizo Shitoshi, 69 years old,
one of the victims
in the bombing.
He and his family currently live nearby
on government subsidies.
68 years ago, he was lucky to survive;
however, besides poor health due to old age,
he still seems
to be obsessed because of the pain from the past
although he witnessed the bombing
when he was just a child.
Nowadays, young people
are encouraged to visit the park.
They bring strings of paper crane,
a symbol of peace,
to hang in the souvenir cabinet.
Each group of students
from various elementary and middle schools
stand in front of the peace square
taking an oath:
"We want peace,
no war, no hatred.
We are resolutely determined to protect the peace.
We swear!"
The majestic nature
and human's indomitable spirit
have obliterated the terrifying traces
of the bombing in the past.
Hiroshima now enjoys a simple beauty again,
and its simple beauty
is worth appreciating more than anything else
as it is also clear evidence for Japanese dignity
That is no matter how traumatic the incidents are,
Japan manages to find its way to overcome the problems.
Seemingly, after every fall,
thanks to the sense of solidarity
and the loving hearts,
Japanese stand up again
and become even stronger.
We wish all the best for Hiroshima.
from the bottom of our hearts.
In Kobe City.
there are a great number of Vietnamese people living in,
so besides the time of recording,
Ven. Thich Nhuan Pho, the Abbot of Hoa Lac Pagoda,
also takes us to visit
the life of the overseas Vietnamese in the city.
One of the families our group visits
is the shoe workshop of Buddhist Dao Thi Thuy Trang,
religious name Dieu Nghiem.
It is known as a small enterprise
that her family has just rented
for over a year
in the shoe department of a big company.
There are about 7 or 8 employees.
Most of them are Vietnamese students
studying and working part-time in Japan.
The main job here
is winding leather on shoe's sole and heel.
Then, the products are moved to other places
for next stages.
Each complete pair of shoes costs 35 Japanese yen.
The job seems simple
but it needs meticulous factor and high fidelity.
Buddhist Dieu Nghiem
guides our group to nearby workshops.
Most of employees here are Vietnamese.
This is the building
where small workshops are gathered
to complete each stage of making a pair of shoes.
The result is complete products.
Looking at these employees' carefulness and meticulousness,
we can understand
why "Made in Japan'' products
are loved and trusted by people around the world.
On the way from Kobe to Kyoto,
we have a feeling
as if we were having a journey to the past,
going deeply into Japanese nation.
If the magnificent Tokyo welcomes us
with a flashy beauty of a power,
and Nara takes us to artisans
who built ancient pagodas in the Edo period,
Kyoto takes us back to the profound beauty
of an old capital of the past thousand years.
Although all comparisons are still considered as lame,
when coming to Kyoto,
we feel intimate
as if Kyoto had something like Hue,
something like Hoi An,
and something like old Hanoi.
Located to the west of Honshu Island,
Kyoto is the capital city of Kyoto Province
and also a major part
ofthe Osaka - Kobe - Kyoto metropolitan area.
Kyoto used to be the capital ofJapan
during over 1000 years,
since it was built in 794
untilJapanese Emperor moved to Tokyo in 1868.
The scenery of this city changes in each season.
During the last 20 centuries,
it has been a natural cradle
for bringing up the art-culture
and an invaluable heritage to Japaneses.
For many centuries,
warand fire destroyed Kyoto many times.
There's a thing that not everybody knows
Kyoto was aimed by the USA
as an objective for dropping atomic bombs
in late World War II.
Luckily, this city was not involved in that disaster.
Kyoto is considered as a perfect "product"
of the beautiful nature and skilful people.
Nowadays,
Japanese pagodas are divided into 4 kinds
in accordance with theirfunctions
although there is not a clear boundary.
Those are:
pagodas forfuneral or death anniversary services;
pagodas for praying and cure services;
pagodas as teaching centers for monks and nuns;
and pagodas for displays of precious objects.
In Kyoto, most pagodas are in the 4th kind.
Besides famous temples, pagodas, and gardens,
there's a place making tourists surprised
It is the wooden pagoda Kiyomizudera.
This pagoda is also called Pure Water
because it has a sacred stream
and worshipping the God of Love.
But the impressive thing for tourists is the peace
when going on tortuous stone roads
to the small village at the foot of a mountain.
A row of unchanged ancient wooden houses
along the sidewalk
are also small shops
selling famous Japanese handicrafts.
In front of each house
is an unobtrusive show with simple small decorations.
street corners with mendicant monks
All make tourists feel losing their sense of direction.
Furthermore, to the north of this pagoda
there is a big sanctuary named Jishu-Jinja
with stone staircases.
There are 2 special stones named "Love Stones"
they stand apart.
If a person closes his eyes
and goes from the first stone to the other,
the person will soon find his true lover.
Because SanctuaryJishu-Jinja worships the God of Love,
there are a large number of young girls
coming there to pray for love and happiness.
But to us, the Buddha's sons
We care about the origin of Buddhism antiques
which this pagoda has bequeathed.
Kiyomizudera Pagoda belongs to Dharmalaksana.
It was founded in 778 by Jion Daishi, one of the Japanese disciples of Hsuan-Tsang
It is one of the oldest Japanese pagodas in Kyoto
ranked as a precious national treasure
and recognized by UNESCO
as the world cultural heritage in 1994.
The pagoda was burned and rebuilt many times.
Its last construction was built
thanks to Tokugawa Iemitsu General donating money in 1633.
Kiyomizudera main hall
is built on a mountain cliffs
with 139 wooden 12-meter-high pillars.
its structure of pillar-girder intersecting
makes its facade look like a podium.
It forms the position of lean on mountain cliffs
and looking towards the sea,
an impressive posture in a vast mountainous jungle.
This original structure is rare in Japan
as well as in the world,
so its wooden podium is very famous
for traditional Japanese structure,
which is usually called Kiyomizudera Stage.
Leaving Kiyomizudera,
we continue to visit many pagodas in Kyoto.
the precinct of each temple/pagoda
Besides religious factor, is also a typical garden structure ofJapanese style.
The space of pagodas
seem to separate tourists from the outside world
to return to their calmness in theirown mind.
At this time,
right in beautiful Kyoto,
at Tenryuji Pagoda,
we - Vietnamese tourists,
also seem to be lost into natural melodies,
and calm our minds to return to our nature,
to break the language and custom barrier.
Tenryuji Pagoda is an ancient pagoda
belonging to the Rinzai School,
It was established in 1339
by Ashikaga Takauji General.
Later he respectfully invited Muso Soseki
Through many historical ups and downs,
despite losses and damages
resulted from wars and reconstruction afterfires.
this pagoda has still kept its antique features.
Within about 100,000 square meter area,
the pagoda is surrounded by a precinct of green trees
which is harmoniously arranged like a meditative picture.
Therefore,
the pagoda frequently holds meditation sessions
for secondary-school students
whenever they visit the pagoda undertheir school management
and one-day meditation sessions
for staff members of many companies.
It is also a place for many people's resting in peace,
So its cemetery looks like a reduced city.
Graves are in strange architectural structure and different sizes.
Leaving Tenryuji pagoda,
our group continue to visit Ryoanji temple,
also named Long An
It is located in north west Kyoto.
Formerly,
the temple belonged to a branch of Fujiwara family.
Then, it was given to a branch of Hosokawa family.
Ryoanji temple is worldwide famous
as a symbol of "shallow landscape'' garden style.
The special attraction here
is the rock garden or the zen garden
built in late 1400s
by the talented color-designing artist Soami
along with Daisen-in.
Each rock in the garden
is carved with proper names Kotaro and Hikojiro,
who were real people
and were those who built it.
In this garden,
the ocean is emulated with a range of white gravel
on a wide expanse,
making people think about waves
nearsmall islands symbolized by 15 rocks.
The scene on shallow coast looks like a garden style
made by rocks and gravels.
The zen garden is created just with dried sand and rocks
without plants, water nor life,
being quiet, solitary, silent and empty space.
everybody has their own feeling.
When being in meditation and looking at the garden,
However, maybe in their heart,
everybody wants to return to their peaceful mind
and send their sadness into nothingness.
Unlike Edo Wonderland,
in this village,
people wearing traditional dresses
are actors to reappearthe Edo period.
In Kyoto,
tourists can come across lots of Japaneses wearing kimonos,
not just in festivals.
Kimonos are like traditional long-dresses in Vietnam.
It's considered traditional clothes in Japan.
Kimono originally meaned clothes in general,
but through time and changes,
it has become a proper name
forthis originally traditional dress.
Traditionally,
kimono is made from woven fabric
such as linen, cotton, silk.
Kimono is an overcoat
which is fixedly kept by a wide shawl
to twine around the body
along with some belts and strings.
The sleeves are long and very wide.
The way of wearing this garment is very complex.
It requires skills from the wearer.
Kimono is a costume without any zippers or buttons,
and it is closely connected by strings.
how to make a knot is the most complex thing.
To wear a kimono,
To wear a belt well,
it needs to accompany with many enclosed things:
a wide belt 3-4m long to tie round the waist,
a piece of hard paper beneath the belt forsmoothing,
a small pillow put at the back
to keep smooth puff of the belt,
And a knot-belt enclosed for aesthetic factor.
Decorations such as wooden shoes, a handbag, white tabby socks
are used to add the charming element
for kimono wearers.
The kimono wearercan't dress by oneself
because there are many difficult acts
such as tying a belt tightly,
or binding a knot at the back...
Kinds of kimono look similar,
but their meanings and using purposes are different.
Men's kimonos are rather simple
but they aren't less meticulous.
Besides pagodas,
Kyoto is also famous for weaving silk
to make traditional kimonos ofJapanese women.
Therefore,
when coming to Kyoto,
tourists usually don't forget to enjoy kimono performances.
Women's kimonos usually have many patterns
such as flowers, leaves and other natural symbols,
reflectingJapaneses' love of nature.
Depending on the age of the wearer,
colors are strictly considered.
The bright colors, especially red,
are used forchildren and single young women.
Kimono colors usually represent seasons in a year.
Besides,
each social class also has a particular kimono color.
There are many kinds of kimonos
in orderto classify women as being single or married
and to wear in different festivals.
The Japanese has put a special love on Kyoto
because until now, in many Japaneses' thought,
Kyoto is still their capital.
Kyoto is their cultural refuge.
Kyoto not only has more than 1600 pagodas and 200 temples,
but somewhere on the city streets,
still remain rhythms of the last thousands of years
To tourists,
it is a greeting of old artisans.
To Japaneses, it is a message,
and an essential sound of the present life.
That's not only the sound of festivals,
orfrom Geisha or Gion streets,
but also the sound from handicraft workshops.
As Buddhists,
when visiting traditional careers in Kyoto,
we decided to visit
a Buddhist tool manufacturing and restoring workshop.
This workshop specializes in making altars,
decorating patterns at temples/pagodas.
It was set up by the Koboris in 1775.
Mr. Kobori introduces the production process of utensils
used fordecorating altars
through a Power Point screen.
Most of the Buddhist tools here
are from wood imported from abroad,
through a careful process of selecting and checking
before being assembled and manufactured.
It requires high technique and exactness.
Rulers and planes are in all sizes.
Particularly,
lacquering rooms are completely isolated to avoid dust.
We are guided to the gilding room.
This place just has a worker,
he is doing things in details,
putting sheets of gold on every pattern.
Finished products are carefully tested before leaving the workshop.
After visiting around,
our group is instructed by Mr. Kobori and his employees
in practising gilting on a small bowl.
We follow them palpitatingly and excitedly.
Next, ourgroup comes to Hichizo Kan-shun-do Bakery
in Higashi Yama District.
Thanks to Ms. Michiko's introduction,
we are instructed to make a wagashi,
a traditional Japanese cake.
Wagashi is a general name oftraditional Japanese confectioneries
for many generations.
It's usually made from mochi, adzuki bean and fruits,
and beautifully decorated
to serve in tea ceremonies.
Wagashi is named in accordance with its origin
and its way of decorating,
which means the natural beauty.
Although Wagashi has been affected by overseas cultures
in some last decades,
it still maintains particular cultural features,
which are indispensable in Japan.
Wagashi is seasonally made.
In each season,
people use ingredients in each season
to make Wagashi confectioneries.
For example,
Sakura Mochi and Kashiwa Mochi are made just in springs.
Wagashi is served in tea ceremonies,
creating a four-season picture in a year.
Then, after finishing,
ours are not worse than those made by bakers here.
Besides Wagashi,
we are also introduced about the tea ceremony.
Nowadays,
most of Vietnamese simply think
"T ea ceremony" is a traditional Japanese way of tea drinking.
In many materials about Japanese cultures
written by non-Japanese writers,
it's said
"T ea ceremony" is a traditional Japanese way of tea drinking.
In Japan,
the tea ceremony is performed anyime in the day time.
Because of zen factors,
time factor is not important in the tea ceremony.
Meanwhile,
in the Japanese tea ceremony,
tea taste doesn't play an important role as its name.
The only kind of tea used forthis ritual
is Matcha green tea powder.
This tea tastes bitter and in powder form.
The most important in the tea ceremony
is way of making tea of the makers,
and way of drinking tea of drinkers.
Both tea makers and tea drinkers
pay attention to neither the tea taste
nor what they are making and receiving.
Despite they respect this,
what they focus on are manipulations.
They mix themsleves with manipulations,
with one another,
and with simple plain atmosphere
so that their minds are calm and peaceful.
The tranquility helps them focus on their concerned issue,
and these will help them explain the issue.
Firstly,
the tea maker coats tea cups
by boiling water in the thermos to warm the instruments.
Then, they are dried by a cloth.
Next, the water used for making tea
put in a pot without a lid
is put above the little-burned brazier
to keep the water at about 80-90°C.
Then, use a wooden spoon
to scoop two tea tablespoons into the cup
pour boiling water, us a bamboo stick for stiring
until the tea mixture becomes densed as bean flour.
Then offer guests to enjoy it.
The way of enjoying tea is ratherspecial.
the drinkertakes the tea cup,
turns a cup around in their hands to warm his hands,
then drink a few sips to enjoy its taste.
When a cup of Matcha tea is served,
the receiver have to raise the cup left-handedly,
the other hand turns the tea cup gently 3 times
before and after drinking.
this means offering to the Heaven and Earth, Gods
before enjoying the tea cup
and expressing their gratitude after enjoying it.
After drinking, turn the cup 3 times and putt it down.
This means the drinker returns to the ritual.
In accordance with zen philosophy,
The Japanese tea ritual represents Zen Buddhism philosophy.
According to the zen philosophy,
human beings are minor universes
in a major universe -the natural world.
Human life has many things
whose causes and nature have not been explained yet.
To answer questions,
men should integrate their minds into the nature
in other words, mix minor universes with the major universe
by purify and calm their minds,
without being affected by outside factors.
When tourists come to Japan forthe first time,
they may think this country doesn't have any religion.
There is a reason for that
most Japaneses seem to pay little attention to religious issues,
except in special events
such as festivals or funerals.
Particularly,
when the young is asked about their religious belief,
they tend to answer surprisingly
or smile showing they don't undertand.
To elderly people,
they mainly understand that religion creates social unity
or helps one another in daily life,
especially when being in misery.
Japan is considered a country of Buddhism
and most people follow some schools of Buddhism
Buddha-Dharma is little known.
This partly explains
why there is a a great number of ancient pagodas in Kyoto
In Kyoto,
Besides the above-mentioned pagodas/temples,
there is a famous temple
which is always introduced to any tourist coming to Kyoto.
It is Kinkaku Temple.
KinkakujiTemple (or Rokuonji Temple)
also means Golden Pavilion Temple
was built in 1397.
It was the resort of Ashikaga Yoshimitsu Shogun.
Then, his son converted this place into a Zen temple
for Buddhist believers in Rinzai School.
This temple was burned in Onin war,
but then it was rebuilt.
It was burned again in 1950 and reconstructed in 1955.
In 1987,
it was covered with a new golden layer
and repaired its interior.
Its roof was restored in 2003.
This temple has 3 floors reflecting its shadow on a pond
both superbly and magnificently.
The 1st floor is called the Chamber of Dharma Waters,
built from natural wood and simple white plaster wall
to bring more bright to two above floors.
The two floors called The Tower of Sound Waves and Kukkyoo-choo
are covered with gold leaves
with a statue of Bodhisattva inside.
It is built in a traditional style of Chinese temples.
Only the 3rd floor is covered with gold
both inside and outside.
On the rooftop of the temple is a bronze phoenix
rising up its body proudly.
The most specific feature of Kinkakuji
is its impressive position
between a green canopy of leaves
and pure light reflecting from a quiet pond.
It looks like a picture painted from the thought
that of an existence between the heaven and earth.
The harmony of the temple and the water light
makes Kinkaku both exquisite and splendid.
In the evening,
our group visits Chion-in monastery,
the Patriarchal temple of Japanese Pure Land Buddhism.
It was established late in Heian period (1175)
by Honen Shonin,
Who was the Patriarch ofJapanese Pure Land Buddhism.
Then, in 1234,
it was rebuilt by His disciple Genchi.
Through historic periods,
and the services of kings as well as aristocratic generals,
the temple has been gradually built and developed.
Until now, in Chion-in Temple,
there are over 106 small and large wooden buildings.
Chion-in monastery,
the origin of theJapanese Pure Land Buddhism,
is one of the big and famous temples in the capital of Japan.
Through earthquakes and fires,
its ancient architecture is not maintained.
Its present architecture was mainly restored around 17th century.
With masterSamada's instruction,
our group is invited to take part in the death anniversary of Honen Shonin.
At the beginning ofthe ceremony,
to invite noble monks,
the ritual organization board play melodious but mighty tunes.
In the solemn and tranquil atmosphere,
the monks walks slowly into the main hall
and begin the ceremony with specific rituals of Buddhism.
lt is one of the greatest ceremonies of this temple,
with the attendance of monks and abbots
from monasteries in Pure Land Buddhism.
The event lasts from April 18th to 25th every year.
Honen Shonin is the Patriarch of Japanese Pure Land Buddhism.
He left home at the age of 15 with Eikū.
After a long time's self-improvement in Mt. Hiei,
He went down the mountain to save sentient beings.
Through many ups and downs,
he brought the Dharma Gate of Buddha recitation
to people's life,
creating a new school
in the system of traditional schools of Japan.
In the last days,
He stayed at Chion-in monastery
and passed away here at the age of 80.
Kyoto has given us
the most practical insight
into the Buddhism in Japan.
Through studying,
we know that the Nationwide Buddhist Program
is widely spread on television and radio station every morning.
Newspapers, praying booklets,
and documents related to activities of pagodas
or Buddhist organizations are distributed
to the public and members.
Praying-books and magazines on Buddhism
are also published
and brought to the public.
The magic development ofJapan
has also favorably helped the propagation in this country.
One of the propagation issues is
The Royal Grand Hall of Buddhism built in Hyogo.
After many years of vowing and two unsuccessful efforts,
the Most Venerable Dr Kyuse Enshijoh
the founder of theJapanese Amitabha Chanting Sect
discovered an ideal land
to build a pagoda like the one in his dream
so that it would be a spiritually vocational center
for monks and believers of the Amitabha Chanting Sect.
The land is located in the Seto national island park
in the central ofJapan.
This land is in an area of 148 square kilometers,
and covered by eight mountains
represented for an eight-petal lotus.
To complete this great project,
3.5 million workers including architects, engineers, craftsmen, etc.
from Korea and China
worked during seven years.
The Royal Grand Hall of Buddhism
is a big Buddhism center ofthe world.
The center is highly evaluated thanks
to having a world record-breaker of architectural works.
From November 1st to 5th 2008,
the 5th World Buddhist Summit Conference
was held there
with attendance of over three hundred
delegates of Buddhist leaders
from 33 countries
and ten thousand members of the Buddha Chanting Sect, Japan.
Then, Ven. Toyida guided us
through the Bhutatathata bridge of 141 meters length,
crossed through the Moonlight Canna
to the main gate of 3S.7 meters height,
34.5 meters wide
to go into the Pure Land Garden.
At the main entrance
stand two guardian deities flanking either side gate
to remind people when walking sanctuary steps,
they should keep their mind pure,
do good and avoid evil.
Along the road leading to the main hall,
nestled among beautiful tree gardens
is the Shōtoku Taishi shrine in octagonal shape.
It is considered the largest octagonal shrine in Japan today.
Nearby is a five-story stupa, 32.7m high
with a wooden structure
with the traditional iridescent colors
drawn by thirty artists from three countries of
Japan, China and South Korea
having finished in two years.
Landscape around the temple is an overall park
looking like one of the most beautiful Japanese Zen gardens
with many rare plants,
including roots of the old trees of 800 years old.
A park of Five Hundred Arhats
is decorated with five hundred Arhat statues
in the real human size.
The most impressive Main Buddha Hall imposing hilltop
is decorated with floral patterns of skillfully carved,
sculpted works modeled Infinite Life Sutra
of 108 Bodhisattvas and 1008 Buddha's transbodies.
Our group reached the centerto chant sutras,
recited Buddha s' name and admired the artistic masterpieces.
The Main Hall is known to open only on special days
orto welcome heads of states.
Then, responding the invitation of the organization board,
Abbot Senior Ven. Thich Chan Tinh, on behalf of our group
has a representation and a warmly talk
to the students at The Royal Grand Hall of Buddhism.
Today we are so glad
to see the youth
who comes to the pagoda to cultivate
and practice the Buddha's teachings
in orderto make themselves
as well as theirfamily better.
They are not only the sprout ofJapan
but also the one of the world.
Therefore, all of us
not only learn about knowledge,
culture, modern technology
but also have morals
known as the basic of Five Precepts
as the Buddha taught.
If each of us
can keep and spread to othersthese five precepts,
the world will be stable and peaceful.
On behalf of all Vietnamese monks and Buddhists,
we thank for your listening today
...Thank you...
The Royal Grand Hall of Buddhism was the final place
we visited in Japan
to end the twenty-day journey here.
At this time, the cherry blossom season was over,
so the petals of cherry blossom couldn't see us out
However, there was an unexpected thing which we did not know
that it was resulted from predestination or other reasons.
It was in The Royal Grand Hall of Buddhism,
when the Japanese Monks and Buddhists
and we beat the Great Bell Chant together,
it rained lightly.
Perhaps,
once again, the rain and the grey sky in this land
reminded us about the present moments.
Maybe there were some time
when illusion, knowledge,
and delusion had made our mind dull,
and delusion had made our mind dull, created a grap for ourselves
when stepping on a strange land,
but it is the nature that reminds us
about returning to the present.
Possibly, we will be able to return toJapan,
Tokyo, Nara, Hiroshima, Kyoto,
or The Royal Grand Hall of Buddhism
and some old friends,
but we couldn't return
to this moment again.
Therefore,
we really treasure this causation
and accumulate our spirits,
pray and believe that
Buddhism is immortal
will advance with the ringing tone of the bell
not only in this world
but also in the Ten Directions,
even the places where misery will no longer exist.
Just one more day,
we will leave Japan.
In days of making this documentary,
we met many Vietnamese nationals
and received much help from them.
Therefore,
after leaving Royal Grand Hall of Buddhism,
our group moved to Himeji,
reaching Phuoc Vien temple of Ven. Thich Quang Niem
to meet lay Buddhists in this region and the surroundings.
Ven. Thich Chan Tinh gave them
friendly inspirational words.
He preached on
impermanence of life,
advising that they should believe in the law of causality,
make offerings such as building a temple,
donating Buddhist sutra books
or disks for saddharma propagation.
"Don't do superstitious things.
Rely on ourselves
because the Buddha said
happiness or unhappiness results from ourselves,
nobody else has a right
to bring blessings or misfortune to ourselves" .
He recommended lay Buddhists
to bring into play solidarity,
build a temple for self-improvement,
cultivate perfect almsgiving
and be rightly mindful of their every deed.
Afterthat,
the group returned to Hoa Lac temple,
saying goodbye to lay Buddhists there.
Ven. Thich Chan Tinh, on behalf of the group,
thanked the abbot and the others
for their kind help in many days.
Leaving Japan
and noble Vietnamese nationals in the homeland of sakura,
we would return one day,
a return for a heart-to-heart
and jointly making inner wishes
at Royal Grand Hall of Buddhism come true.
In this journey,
the Senior Venerable also visited
INTERCULTURE, LANGUAGE ACADEMY University
in Kobe city.
It has many different departments.
Currently, there are 150 students
from Singapore, Malaysia, China,
Russia and Vietnam studying here.
The leaders of university
facilitated Hoang Phap Pagoda's Venerables
to meet and talk to Vietnamese students
The talk took place in compatriotic atmosphere.
The Senior Venerable advised students to study well
in orderto build the homeland when they return later