Minoh must-do: Katsuo-ji Temple

High up in the hills behind Minoh I was lucky enough to visit Katsuo-ji Temple. 

This is a Buddhist Temple that is said to have hosted supreme rulers across various periods in history to worship and pray for fortune in war and it is now known as a the temple of good luck. The word "katsu" in the temple's name refers to winning.

We each got a daruma dolls hoping to obtain "winner's luck". A local monk explained the significance of the dolls and custom of drawing in the facial patterns, giving thanks, lighting an incense stick and immersing it in your wish. And through that process found some further inner calm.

Dozens of daruma dolls returned to the temple after wishes have come true.

I've now got it in the lounge so I can focus on my wish and make it come true. When the wish is fulfilled, I'm invited like other visitors to return my daruma to the temple and have it placed somewhere on the grounds as a gesture of thanks.

We visited at the tail end of summer and although the leaves were still very much green the bold colours this temple offered was impressive.

This temple and its environ is as good as (in fact, better than) any of the photos I've seen of this Temple across the four seasons of snow, Autumn reds and Spring greens! Try a google image search on Katsuoji Temple now.

Make sure you leave a good couple of hours to create your own daruma and soak up this beautiful place. Get there by Hankyu bus or a taxi - 15 mins from Minoh Station.

Katsuo-ji Temple on Tripadvisor

Katsuo-ji Temple official website

 

BY JAMES LAMB, HMHFT SECRETARY

 

 

NZ's first public Kyudo Dojo here at Minoh House

GUEST BLOG BY SUE LYTOLLIS

The first public Kyudojo in New Zealand opened on 27 September at the Hutt Minoh Friendship House Spring Festival. It is managed by the Wellington Kyudo Club. 

New Zealand now has an official 28m Kyudo shooting range complete with wooden shooting platform and a tidy wooden path to reach spent arrows. The Hutt Minoh Kyudojo now has 10 members with ages ranging from 10 to over 60.

"We enjoy the beautiful surroundings of our dojo, a place to rest our minds and practice the beauty of Kyudo in New Zealand," says Ms Okazaki.

Celebrating this historic event were founder Satsuki Okazaki from Kyoto, nidan having learnt Kyudo for 17 years. In 2003 Satsuki came to New Zealand and started Kyudo practice at the Randwick Archery club. In August 2004 Satsuki was asked to perform Kyudo at a Budo event hosted by the Hutt Minoh Friendship house and this began a strong relationship with this house and it's beautiful grounds. Soon the club had moved to the grounds of this Friendship house and members of the club were growing. 

Ms Okazaki recalled the Japanese Ambassador to New Zealand, His excellency Mr Saito seeing a demonstration the club gave at an event in Hutt city in 2005. "He sent our club a letter of congratulations and gave us a bottle of Sake, it meant a lot," says Ms Okazaki. She said in the early days, the Japan Information and Cultural Centre provided a great deal of support to her club, too. 

The club may not have been formed without the persistent requests from Ms Okazaki's first student. He was an American man called Olatunji who had dreamed of doing Kyudo since he was much younger and had seen a Kyudojo in America. Mr Olatunji moved to NZ and while taking Archery at the Randwick Club saw Ms Okazaki doing Kyudo. "Ola san saw me at the Randwick club and kept asking me to teach him, but as a typical Japanese bushi (martial artist) with only nidan (second level black belt grade) I kept refusing," says Ms Okazaki. "Then he asked me to buy him a bow and his equipment. When it arrived he then said, well now I have it, please teach me how to use it!"

Mr Olatunji, who is currently the Director of the NZ Acupuncture School has also grown in his study of Kyudo to reach 4th dan black belt, now he is the highest graded Kydosha (practitioner of Kyudo) in Wellington and the President of this Dojo. 

From these humble beginnings and the support of other kiwi Martial Artists who encouraged Ms Okazaki to teach local people what she knew, this Kyudo club has blossomed. So it was serindipidous that it was under the blossoms of the beautiful Spring festival that this historic event took place.  

Post Scriptum:  The Hutt Minoh House Friendship Trust has supported the establishment of this dojo through a grant to the Wellington Kyudo Club who have constructed it (with input from Hutt City Council) and continue to manage it. 

New teacher exchange

Minoh and Lower Hutt have now signed an agreement for a new teacher exchange starting next year.

Known to the group who are putting it together on the Lower Hutt side as MINTEX - MINoh Teacher EXchange - the exchange will involve two teachers for up to 2 weeks in schools of both cities.

It's expected the teachers will co-teach classes, engage with teachers and students and will include cultural and sightseeing activities too.

We're fortunate to have the close support of the Minoh City [Council] Office for this as their remit is to oversee the education of students in Minoh as well as other social welfare portfolios.

Tony Stallinger, Ray Wallace, Tetsuro Kurata and Toshio Guda signing an agreement committing to the teacher exchange. 

Tony Stallinger, Ray Wallace, Tetsuro Kurata and Toshio Guda signing an agreement committing to the teacher exchange.
 

BY JAMES LAMB, HMHFT SECRETARY
 

Group photo!

Photo. Cameras and more photos. Go to any tourist hot spot here in New Zealand and you'll see visitors to our country taking photos. As locals we might think it's overkill. Until you do it yourself!

Perhaps social media has now made us more eager to snap away!

Recently I've heard a great piece of advice a couple of times recently. "Put the camera down, put your phone down and soak it up through your own eyes."

I'm glad I did.

Admittedly it's just 4 days back in New Zealand now, though the moments I remember the most vividly are those where I did in fact forget about my camera and phone.

So picture a serene hillside lake surrounded by what seem like a hundred well kept semi-bonsai trees, acres of dense bush folding over the lush hills around us and fish calmly meandering around the lake that enshrines a beautifully kept golden building...

Just for you, here is my favourite group shot taken at Kinkaku-ji Temple of "the temple of the golden pavilion" in Kyoto.

Taking some time to appreciate the special places around us in Japan. 

Taking some time to appreciate the special places around us in Japan.
 

BY JAMES LAMB, HMHFT SECRETARY

 

Sharing our little slice of paradise

The Mayor met with the Osaka-based Japan New Zealand Centre while in Minoh last week. 

Since 2006 Lower Hutt has been very fortunate to welcome 78 teachers, 272 students attending a Rugby Camp based at Petone Rugby Club, a dozen on a Wellington regional gardening tour and more high school English Language students to Wainuiomata. Last year Hutt Valley High School also hosted several students from Higashisumiyoshi Ward of Osaka in a new programme created by the Japan New Zealand Centre which was appraised very highly by the ward level education office. Thanks Hutt High!

We at the Hutt Minoh House Friendship Trust have also recently supported these trips which stemmed from a relationship with Hutt City Council and the Hutt City i-SITE Visitor Centre. 

There's potential to bring many more visitors to Lower Hutt with the potential for a new tour or two and we thank Yuriko Tegoshi and the team at Japan New Zealand Centre for allowing us to share our little slice of paradise with visitors from Japan. Arigato gozaimasu!