Number of Centenarians In Japan Increase

According to the Japanese government, for the 55th straight year, the number of people aged 100 and over has increased, now to a record 99,763. The government started the Centenarian Survey in 1963, when the number was 153. 

Women make up about 88% of the total, at 87,784, and the number of men at 11,979. The oldest person is Shigeko Kagawa, a 114 year old woman in Nara Prefecture. The oldest man is 111 year old Kiyotaka Mizuno in Shizuoka Prefecture. The average life expectancy of Japanese people is 87.13 for women and 81.09 for men, according to the Japanese government.

Shigeko Kagawa

Kiyotaka Mizuno

Togan-ji Temple - Nagoya

This was an interesting place! Giant bright green statues in a jungle-like area full of mosquitos. Benzaiten is also the goddess at the Ueno Park shrine, Shinobazu-no-ike Bentendo.

Temple description from the internet - 

It is a temple of Soto sect of Buddhism. Oda Nobuyuki, the 3rd son of Oda Nobuhide (the father of the famous warlord, Oda Nobunaga) established this temple to pray for the repose of his father's soul. In its site, gorinto (a gravestone composed of five pieces piled one upon another) is built. Today, Toganji is widely known as the temple of Benzaiten (a Goddess of eloquence, music and art) and show-business personalities visit and pray for a better performance. This temple possesses several temple treasures in the motif of men and women united in conjugal acts including the so-called Sleeping Benzaiten. A 10-meter high statue, the Great Buddha of Nagoya, was erected in 1987.

Friday Finish - Blackwork Rose Pillow

Front and Back with 30x30 cm cushion inside. The blackwork design is an EGA pattern designed by Carol Algie Higgenbotham. I finished the stitching in 2012! About time I finished the piece into this pillow.

Suemori Castle Site - Nagoya

Nothing is left of this castle and now a shrine sits on the site. There are many steps to get to the shrine/castle site.

History from jcastle website:

Suemorijō was built by Oda Nobuhide in 1548. Alongside Moriyamajō, commanded by Nobuhide's younger brother, Oda Nobumitsu, Suemorijō was part of a defensive line of fortifications to protect against invasions from the Matsudaira (Tokugawa) Clan of Mikawa and the Imagawa Clan of Suruga. In 1552 Oda Nobukatsu (also known as Oda Nobuyuki), Oda Nobunaga's younger brother, took over command of Suemorijō. Nobukatsu rebelled against Nobunaga along with Shibata Katsuie and Hayashi Hidesada. The rebels were defeated at the Battle of Inō and Nobukatsu fled back to Suemorijō where he was quickly surrounded. The siege ended peacefully after the intervention of the boys' mother, Tsuchida Gozen, who was also at Suemorijō, having moved in after the death of Nobuhide, her husband. Nobukatsu had always been her favourite son! But Nobunaga could not ignore his mother's request for mercy, and pardoned Nobuyuki - and his fellow conspirators - for his illigitimate rebellion. However, another rebellion attempt would come in 1558. This time Shibata Katsuie betrayed Nobukatsu to Nobunaga, and Nobukatsu was summoned to Kiyosujō under false pretences whereupon he was killed. At that time Suemorijō was sacked by Ikeda Nobuteru (also known as Ikeda Tsuneoki). Although Suemorijō was thought to have been abandoned at that time, it was also re-purposed during the Battle of Komaki-Nagakute in 1588, and the date of its final desertion is not known.

Work In Progress Wednesday

Beady fob progress, DMC thread colors L-R: 106, 94, 108, 111.

Blackwork progress - I’m adding some black beads.

Atsuta Jingu - Nagoya

I visited this important shrine in December 2019 and posted about it here. It was busier back then. On this more recent trip, I visited early in the morning and the shrine was pretty quiet.

From the Nagoya City website -

Atsuta Jingu Shrine, Home of the Sacred Sword

Atsuta Shrine is Japan's second most revered Shinto shrine after the Great Shrine of Ise, and dates back over 1900 years. The shrine is home to the sacred Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi sword, likened to the legendary Excalibur, it is one of the Three Imperial Regalia of Japan.

Despite having the Imperial sword, it is never displayed, however Atsuta Jingu (Jingu means shrine) does have a large and impressive collection of samurai swords on rotational display in its Treasure Hall, featuring over 6,000 relics, including Important Cultural Property and National Treasure ranked items such as sacred garments, manuscripts, masks, mirrors, furniture and its large array of swords and blades.

The atmosphere is different at Atsuta Shrine. It is a special place, a holy place. A place to find some peace, and feel the ancient culture of Japan. 

Amongst the ancient trees and smaller shrines of Atsuta Jingu, is a tall, sturdy, tile-topped wall made from traditional kawara roof tiles. This is the Nobunaga-Bei, a protective wall built around Atsuta Shrine by the warlord of Western Aichi, Oda Nobunaga, following his 10-1 victory in the Battle of Okehazama in 1560, in which he successfully defeated the 25,000 samurai of Imagawa Yoshimoto with his own army of just 2,500 men! Nobunaga had prayed for victory at Atsuta prior to entering the battle, and in gratitude, constructed the impressive "Nobunaga Wall". Unfortunately, little of the original wall remains, as much was destroyed during the air raids of WW2.

 The shrine is open 24 hours a day and free to visit.