Seasoning the Seasons S01E16 · Millennium Guardians: The Buddhist Statues of Kyoto

Overview

Kyoto is a treasure house of Buddhist statuary. The many statues there include 37 designated national treasures and 416 important cultural properties, second only in number to those of Nara. Jizo, the bodhisattva Ksitigarbha, is especially closely entwined with the people's lives in Kyoto and small roadside shrines housing Jizo statues can be seen all over the city. Local residents sweep in front of the shrines each morning and it is only normal here for people to pause and hold their hands together in prayer as they pass by on their way to school or work. The city has grown with the images and those images provide the people with precious moments of tranquility. This is the story of how much the statues to which they pray mean in the daily lives of Kyoto people.

Torrents

Subtitles

Episodes

1. 1 1. Kyoto: Coloring the Season2012-04-04Kariyasu, kuchinashi, and moegi -all are Japanese words for colors. The Japanese language has a lot of words for expressing subtle tints. Many have their origin in Kyoto and are st
2. 2 2. Kakunodate: Stories of Old Families2012-04-18Kakunodate is the "Little Kyoto" of Tohoku, a castle town and popular tourist destination where the streets are lined with traditional-style buildings dating from the Edo Period (1
3. 3 3. Spirited Away to Tono2012-05-02The folklorist, Kunio Yanagita, wrote his "Tono Monogatari" (Tales of Tono) about a century ago. The book related how mysterious beings such as the kappa river goblins, the zashiki
4. 4 4. Japanese Towers: Memories Past and Present2012-05-16Towers that reach to the skies. Towering tourist attractions around the country have precursors in the stupas of Buddhism. Since the late nineteenth century, they have been built a
5. 5 5. Matsushima: Islands of Beauty and Prayer2012-05-30The beautiful islands of Matsushima in Miyagi Prefecture are known as one of the three great scenic spots of Japan. The view of the more than 260 islands dotting the placid waters
6. 6 6. Suwa: A Celebration Down Through Time2012-06-06Suwa was a center of culture in Japan in the Jomon period before rice cultivation arrived. It is said that in those ancient times, too, people transported many great tree trunks fo
7. 7 7. Niyodo River: Living with Japan's Clearest River2012-06-20With its glass-like translucency, the River Niyodo on Shikoku is renowned for possessing the clearest water in Japan. 124km long, it has its source in the highest mountains of West
8. 8 8. Mt. Fuji2012-07-04Mt. Fuji is Japan's highest peak at 3776m. Its magnificence and beauty have impressed the Japanese over the millennia. Climbers flock there each night once it has been formally ope
9. 9 9. Awa Dance: Obon Festival with 100,000 Dancers2012-08-01The Awa Odori dance is the highlight of the 4-day Obon Festival of the Dead in Tokushima, Shikoku, in August each year. About 100,000 people join in the dancing and 1.3 million com
10. 10 10. Kamakura: Samurai and Zen2012-09-05 · 30mKamakura, like the two old capital cities of Nara and Kyoto, also served at one stage as the nation's political center. Minamoto no Yoritomo chose Kamakura as the seat of Japan's f
11. 11 11. Itsukushima: Island of the Gods2012-09-19Miyajima, an island 30 km around in the Seto Inland Sea, is known as one of the 3 most beautiful spots in Japan. It has been thronging with more than 3.4 million tourists a year ev
12. 12 12. Hand-Made in Japan2012-10-03Our theme this time is traditional crafts. The Japanese have a long history of making good handicraft use of natural materials. From pottery and woodwork to textiles and metalwork,
13. 13 13. Dolls: Bearers of Dreams2012-10-17The Japanese fascination with dolls extends through Neolithic clay figures to Girls' Day festival dolls, puppets and now cartoon character figurines as well. The dolls embody diver
14. 14 14. Tracing Rice in Japan2012-11-07Rice is special to the Japanese. Since rice cultivation arrived here millennia ago, it has molded Japanese society, the landscape and religious beliefs. That history is reflected i
15. 15 15. Blowfish: A Secret Taste from the Deep2012-11-21The blowfish is an expensive delicacy in Japan that has been eaten here for thousands of years, judging from the presence of blowfish bones in prehistoric remains. The flesh is fir
16. 16 16. Millennium Guardians: The Buddhist Statues of Kyoto2012-12-05Kyoto is a treasure house of Buddhist statuary. The many statues there include 37 designated national treasures and 416 important cultural properties, second only in number to thos
17. 17 17. Nights of Snow2012-12-19Areas of Japan experience the heaviest snowfall in the world. The people there have come up with various ways to spend those cold, silent, fearful winter nights when human companio