Blog 1

This picture is of a shrine in Hirakata City. These shrines can be found all over the City. Usually nestled in between building or hidden in alleyways. You also see the occasionally worshiper silently praying. This I find strange for a country where most people will say they aer not religious yet you can find shrines like these all over the country. Another reason why I took this picture is because it has a symbol we know as the sawstika. But in Buddhism it represents universal harmony. This symbol can be found in popular anime and manga. Here it lacks the negative connations that the nazis gave it and hence why we do not see in America.

This is a photograph of a tanuki statue. A tanuki is a Japanese racoon dog. It not only exists as a real animal, but it can also be found in ancient folklore. The tanuki is often depicted with a large scrotum, a sake jug, straw hat, and a promissory note (Schumaker). This statue was found outside a restaurant, but I have seen them near shrines and temples as well. They are seen as inviting guest and are signs of good luck similar to Maneki Neko (Schumacher). I chosse to post this picture because it very Japanese and you wold not see something like this in America. We do not have anything that is equivalent to a tanuki. I thought it was a good representation of Japanese culture and also a very humorous part of Japanese folklore.

Schumacher, Mark. "Tanuki - Japanese God of Restauranteers." A to Z photo dictionary Japanese Buddhist Statuary. 27 Aug 2007. 10 Sep 2007 .