The (Un)official write anything you want page
- Thread starter circus_brimstone
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dorian gray
Returning videotapes
- Apr 8, 2004
- 21,258
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hahahaha oh, I see. The camera is heading east while the bike dude is heading west. You can see him turning the corner.
dorian gray
Returning videotapes
- Apr 8, 2004
- 21,258
- 489
- 83
EricT
Don't you ever get...
http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&s...yer=c&cbll=40.642157,-112.288801&cbp=1,0,,0,5
If you turn it a bit, you can see my house.
Someone had to of been using my truck that day since the truck is not in the driveway. Wondering where the hell I was coming back from. I'll ask google... haha.
If you turn it a bit, you can see my house.
Someone had to of been using my truck that day since the truck is not in the driveway. Wondering where the hell I was coming back from. I'll ask google... haha.
JontRevolting
FALSE ARREST! FALSE ARREST!
LOL nice man!! just got the new Metal Maniacs mag in the mail,bloody good issue and the new glossy cover is sweet!!
dorian gray
Returning videotapes
- Apr 8, 2004
- 21,258
- 489
- 83
EricT, this clearly deserves its own thread with a googlerrific title. It might bring in the new blood that RC so desperately needs.
Billions of dollars and google chooses to watch Eric ride his bike around Utah, God Bless America.
EricT
Don't you ever get...
Thanatopsis123
ç½é¬¼
Conspicuously Absent
Linguistically Confused
This just in: Microsoft owned by dude in bathory shirt.
http://www.theage.com.au/news/secur...password-needed/2008/03/04/1204402423638.html
Ubuntu laptop, beer, and a firewire cable and you win.
http://www.theage.com.au/news/secur...password-needed/2008/03/04/1204402423638.html
Ubuntu laptop, beer, and a firewire cable and you win.
EricT
Don't you ever get...
Hahaha... I have all that. Just not the awesome beard.
Funny part is, most XP admins have yet to fix the stupidest fucking security error in XP where you can login to the hidden Admin account on the local computer by going into safe mode. Thats it. Microsoft should have disabled that years ago, but have yet to even do it, leaving it up to the idiot techs (not all are idiots, but this latest xbox generation of techs are fucking dull as bricks and just handed jobs because they can network 2 xboxes together) to figure this out, most of which ignore it. Leaving everything open for people like me to fuck with.
Kind of like the people who are on Efnet, decide to troll rooms and what not, but have a default password on their router so people like me can go in and fuck with it in any means possible.
Funny part is, most XP admins have yet to fix the stupidest fucking security error in XP where you can login to the hidden Admin account on the local computer by going into safe mode. Thats it. Microsoft should have disabled that years ago, but have yet to even do it, leaving it up to the idiot techs (not all are idiots, but this latest xbox generation of techs are fucking dull as bricks and just handed jobs because they can network 2 xboxes together) to figure this out, most of which ignore it. Leaving everything open for people like me to fuck with.
Kind of like the people who are on Efnet, decide to troll rooms and what not, but have a default password on their router so people like me can go in and fuck with it in any means possible.
Conspicuously Absent
Linguistically Confused
Yep, of course, the best part here, is that if you can sneak into the company, and manage to convince jim bob moron employee that you're the new IT guy (or any IT guy, depending upon the size) and you#re just doing an inventory check or some other menial task...
click click click. you've got yourself into a host, the first step in taking over the network. Hell, you can do this with a PDA with linux on it. They exist.
Then theres also the great security vulnerabilites of those large Xerox printers...
click click click. you've got yourself into a host, the first step in taking over the network. Hell, you can do this with a PDA with linux on it. They exist.
Then theres also the great security vulnerabilites of those large Xerox printers...
Thanatopsis123
ç½é¬¼
So, have any of you ever done something in order to test if somebody else is messing with something when you're not there? Like setting it at a certain angle, putting a hair on it, etc and checking later if it's changed or not? I did that sort of thing when I was little.
Color me surprised when I found out my boss did the same kind of shit to me recently. She's always giving me shit about my car (the car she's forcing me to rent and that I've hardly used and can't use now even if I wanted to), when's the last time you took it for a drive, how far, how often, you should drive to blah blah blah, go put up your wipers, clean the snow off, etc etc. But usually this harrassment comes in the form of incessant questioning. However, that wasn't the case the other day. She outright accused me of not even starting the car in a long time. Now granted, she lives right next door and can pretty easily hear me trying to start the 15 year old piece of shit...when she's fucking home. But as that often isn't the case, especially on the weekends, I usually get the questions and then the doubtful responses when I answer them.
Therefore, I was quite confused about her sudden confident accusation. But later that day I went out to start it and found out where this confidence came from. I'm a compulsive door locker. I never forget to lock a car door. EVER. I even quite vividly remember the last time I had used it, and remember locking it. But lo and behold, it was unlocked. And not only that, the parking brake was on, which I never use while parked on a perfectly flat surface. I'm just a bit amazed by this childish behavior.
Ah yes, and I think I mentioned being accused of something else early on in 2007: sexual harrassment. Well, I was never told who it was that made the complaint and it's been haunting me ever since. Well anyway, I met with one of the women I think it might have been over the weekend. And long story short, because of some awkward language barriers, I think I accidentally made her think I wanted her to come up to my hotel room with me.
I've got to get out of this country.
Color me surprised when I found out my boss did the same kind of shit to me recently. She's always giving me shit about my car (the car she's forcing me to rent and that I've hardly used and can't use now even if I wanted to), when's the last time you took it for a drive, how far, how often, you should drive to blah blah blah, go put up your wipers, clean the snow off, etc etc. But usually this harrassment comes in the form of incessant questioning. However, that wasn't the case the other day. She outright accused me of not even starting the car in a long time. Now granted, she lives right next door and can pretty easily hear me trying to start the 15 year old piece of shit...when she's fucking home. But as that often isn't the case, especially on the weekends, I usually get the questions and then the doubtful responses when I answer them.
Therefore, I was quite confused about her sudden confident accusation. But later that day I went out to start it and found out where this confidence came from. I'm a compulsive door locker. I never forget to lock a car door. EVER. I even quite vividly remember the last time I had used it, and remember locking it. But lo and behold, it was unlocked. And not only that, the parking brake was on, which I never use while parked on a perfectly flat surface. I'm just a bit amazed by this childish behavior.
Ah yes, and I think I mentioned being accused of something else early on in 2007: sexual harrassment. Well, I was never told who it was that made the complaint and it's been haunting me ever since. Well anyway, I met with one of the women I think it might have been over the weekend. And long story short, because of some awkward language barriers, I think I accidentally made her think I wanted her to come up to my hotel room with me.
I've got to get out of this country.
Mormagil
bring back the corvee
Thanatopsis123
ç½é¬¼
A story to go along with those pictures I posted in the picture thread.
I got to Obama at around 11 and met an ex-student that lives there. We went to check out Jinguji shrine where Omizu Okuri (water seeding) begins. Not much was going on there but it was good to see it before it got insanely crowded. We got to see what the main hall, what was to become a bonfire, and some giant torches looked like up close and personal before they were put into use.
We then got directions to a very small local shrine a bit farther into the mountains. I'd heard they had a strange ceremony at this shrine to protect against evil but the translations I'd seen had been very odd so I thought the translation was off. Nope, it was dead on. We got to the shrine, saw a few cars parked outside but saw nobody and heard nothing. Just behind the shrine is a small wooden building with no windows, and one door with a lock on it (on the outside, which is freaky). Outside that building were a bunch of shoes, so we knew there were people inside, despite still not hearing or seeing anybody. I went up to the building and peered through a small crack between two of the boards and could make out about 15-20 people just sitting silently at one end of the room. At the other end were around 4 priests, also sitting silently. When I looked back at the other people, some of them were staring at me which freaked me out a bit because the crack is so small and was to their side. I didn't see much happen. It's about an hour long ceremony and they only let in "special" people. I don't know much about it other than that they throw some leaves around and lick red mud. As with most religious events in this country, it was agonizingly slow so we quickly left and got something to eat.
We then went back to Jinguji and saw an archery contest. They stood on a small wooden platform and hit various small targets (including a folding fan) from about 30 meters away. At the mud licking ceremony there was only one other person there not inside the building and at this contest there were only about 20-30 spectators. Seeing the lack of popularity for these events, I wasn't quite prepared for the crowds I was soon to see.
My friend went to work and I checked into my hotel. I had some extra time on my hands so I took a little walking tour of the town and checked out some shrines and temples. At one up on a hillside behind the train tracks, I met with a Buddhist priest that tried to speak with me and insisted I look around the temple garden.
I went to where I'd been told the shuttle buses were to start to take people to Jinguji. I'd gotten there about a half hour early and there was already quite a long line. Eventually they let us on the bus and we were taken to the shrine. (I also have to comment quickly on the people I met that day. The priest at that temple, random people smiling and saying hello, and then a guy on the bus stopping in the aisle to let me out and even patting me on the back as I go? Why must I live in bizzaro Japan?)
There were masses of people walking up to the shrine, getting off buses, telling people where to go, etc. I got up to the shrine and waded my way through the crowd to buy one of the torches we were to use later on. Thankfully I can't write in Japanese so I didn't stop to write a wish on the torch like most people. I say thankfully because if I had, I surely would not have gotten my good spot on the temple grounds. I was right in the very middle of the crowd. Many people couldn't even fit up at the top and had to wait down below and couldn't see this part of the event.
I sat there, closely surrounded by a sea of small, old Japanese people (not many young people come to this apparently) dotted with the occasional gaijin. Many of these people come from hours away for this from Nara, Kyoto, Osaka etc. We all waited as the sun slowly set behind the mountains. Out of nowhere I started to hear some strange noise coming from the main path. It got louder and people started to get more excited. I then saw a ton of camera flashes going off at the far end of the crowd and soon some white clad priests (and their helpers) came walking up. Some were blowing conch shells, one was carrying a wooden ax, some came empty handed. I didn't know what to think of it, but things were getting started and there was a lot of excitement in the crowd.
They entered the shrine, lowered some curtains so that we could hardly see anything and then started chanting. It was a lone voice accompanied by strange sounds, from what, I couldn't see. Prayer beads being scraped together? I don't know. This continued for quite some time as night completely fell. Before we knew it the temperature started dropping and the area was only lit by a small light on the temple and a few braziers.
The chanting stopped, and we heard some running inside the main hall. Then under the curtain we saw a few burning coals move across the doorway. And was that a priest in bright red? Only people in white went inside. I heard a few surprised people in the crowd saying "red?!" This was just a little teaser of what was to come. Next, the priests ran in circles inside, each one stopping at the doorway to do a little unique performance, be it simply shaking bells and jumping up and down or hitting the floor with a kendo sword. After this ended, more and more light began seeping out of the door from around the curtain. The helpers outside started scurrying. The curtain was lifted and out came the red clad priest with an enormous torch, bathing the shrine and spectators in an orange glow. As he waved it around and walked to each side of the hall with it, his helpers followed to help keep the shrine from burning to the ground by sweeping away falling embers and using staves to keep some of decorative curtains out of harms way.
The giant torch (a bit smaller by this time) was used very effectively to part the crowd very near to me and down came all the priests blowing their shells, following the torch to the nearby wood pile topped with some shinto paper on top of a staff. People (including me) tried following the priests in their wake but the crowd collapsed in on itself and left me in a less favorable position to see the next step of the ritual.
I could see over the majority of the heads between me and the action, but I still could see almost nothing. They'd lit some more torches so I could see them swinging the axe around a bit and shooting an arrow into the woods, but little else. I then saw two of the main priests (you can tell which are higher up because they're more covered and more purely white) take two of the torches and approach the wood pile. Now, covering that wood pile was a great amount of evergreen branches. Those burn short, bright, hot and produce an amazing amount of smoke. They put their torches into the base of the pile and shortly, a massive plum of smoke arose from the pile, briefly illuminated by camera flashes. A glow appeared from below and slowly made it's way up the smoke as if consuming even it. The smoke gave way completely to a pillar of bright fire. All faces in the crowd were illuminated and in equal parts awe and joy. I was a ways back and was surprised to feel the heat on my face. We all sat there transfixed by this lone beacon of light on the mountain. The priests began throwing large white things onto the fire and it made an increased amount of sparks arise from the flame to which people exclaimed "It looks like fireworks!" I don't know what it was they threw.
The priests then took small individual torches such as those the spectators had, thrust them into the bonfire and exited the scene. Their helpers took the giant torches from nearby and lit them as well. 3 or 4 people had to carry each on their shoulders and they followed the priests. Then, it was our turn. The crowd surged forward toward the fire. Pushing, elbows, people trying desperately to not get separated from loved ones. It was decidely un-Japanese. I loved it. I think an old lady even kidney punched me to get ahead of me. As people lit their torches, they started streaming behind the priests and their helpers. Or they tried to. It was chaos. People pushing forward, people with lit torches trying to escape without burning anyone, and me just along for the ride.
Shit I have to go back to work. To be continued.
I got to Obama at around 11 and met an ex-student that lives there. We went to check out Jinguji shrine where Omizu Okuri (water seeding) begins. Not much was going on there but it was good to see it before it got insanely crowded. We got to see what the main hall, what was to become a bonfire, and some giant torches looked like up close and personal before they were put into use.
We then got directions to a very small local shrine a bit farther into the mountains. I'd heard they had a strange ceremony at this shrine to protect against evil but the translations I'd seen had been very odd so I thought the translation was off. Nope, it was dead on. We got to the shrine, saw a few cars parked outside but saw nobody and heard nothing. Just behind the shrine is a small wooden building with no windows, and one door with a lock on it (on the outside, which is freaky). Outside that building were a bunch of shoes, so we knew there were people inside, despite still not hearing or seeing anybody. I went up to the building and peered through a small crack between two of the boards and could make out about 15-20 people just sitting silently at one end of the room. At the other end were around 4 priests, also sitting silently. When I looked back at the other people, some of them were staring at me which freaked me out a bit because the crack is so small and was to their side. I didn't see much happen. It's about an hour long ceremony and they only let in "special" people. I don't know much about it other than that they throw some leaves around and lick red mud. As with most religious events in this country, it was agonizingly slow so we quickly left and got something to eat.
We then went back to Jinguji and saw an archery contest. They stood on a small wooden platform and hit various small targets (including a folding fan) from about 30 meters away. At the mud licking ceremony there was only one other person there not inside the building and at this contest there were only about 20-30 spectators. Seeing the lack of popularity for these events, I wasn't quite prepared for the crowds I was soon to see.
My friend went to work and I checked into my hotel. I had some extra time on my hands so I took a little walking tour of the town and checked out some shrines and temples. At one up on a hillside behind the train tracks, I met with a Buddhist priest that tried to speak with me and insisted I look around the temple garden.
I went to where I'd been told the shuttle buses were to start to take people to Jinguji. I'd gotten there about a half hour early and there was already quite a long line. Eventually they let us on the bus and we were taken to the shrine. (I also have to comment quickly on the people I met that day. The priest at that temple, random people smiling and saying hello, and then a guy on the bus stopping in the aisle to let me out and even patting me on the back as I go? Why must I live in bizzaro Japan?)
There were masses of people walking up to the shrine, getting off buses, telling people where to go, etc. I got up to the shrine and waded my way through the crowd to buy one of the torches we were to use later on. Thankfully I can't write in Japanese so I didn't stop to write a wish on the torch like most people. I say thankfully because if I had, I surely would not have gotten my good spot on the temple grounds. I was right in the very middle of the crowd. Many people couldn't even fit up at the top and had to wait down below and couldn't see this part of the event.
I sat there, closely surrounded by a sea of small, old Japanese people (not many young people come to this apparently) dotted with the occasional gaijin. Many of these people come from hours away for this from Nara, Kyoto, Osaka etc. We all waited as the sun slowly set behind the mountains. Out of nowhere I started to hear some strange noise coming from the main path. It got louder and people started to get more excited. I then saw a ton of camera flashes going off at the far end of the crowd and soon some white clad priests (and their helpers) came walking up. Some were blowing conch shells, one was carrying a wooden ax, some came empty handed. I didn't know what to think of it, but things were getting started and there was a lot of excitement in the crowd.
They entered the shrine, lowered some curtains so that we could hardly see anything and then started chanting. It was a lone voice accompanied by strange sounds, from what, I couldn't see. Prayer beads being scraped together? I don't know. This continued for quite some time as night completely fell. Before we knew it the temperature started dropping and the area was only lit by a small light on the temple and a few braziers.
The chanting stopped, and we heard some running inside the main hall. Then under the curtain we saw a few burning coals move across the doorway. And was that a priest in bright red? Only people in white went inside. I heard a few surprised people in the crowd saying "red?!" This was just a little teaser of what was to come. Next, the priests ran in circles inside, each one stopping at the doorway to do a little unique performance, be it simply shaking bells and jumping up and down or hitting the floor with a kendo sword. After this ended, more and more light began seeping out of the door from around the curtain. The helpers outside started scurrying. The curtain was lifted and out came the red clad priest with an enormous torch, bathing the shrine and spectators in an orange glow. As he waved it around and walked to each side of the hall with it, his helpers followed to help keep the shrine from burning to the ground by sweeping away falling embers and using staves to keep some of decorative curtains out of harms way.
The giant torch (a bit smaller by this time) was used very effectively to part the crowd very near to me and down came all the priests blowing their shells, following the torch to the nearby wood pile topped with some shinto paper on top of a staff. People (including me) tried following the priests in their wake but the crowd collapsed in on itself and left me in a less favorable position to see the next step of the ritual.
I could see over the majority of the heads between me and the action, but I still could see almost nothing. They'd lit some more torches so I could see them swinging the axe around a bit and shooting an arrow into the woods, but little else. I then saw two of the main priests (you can tell which are higher up because they're more covered and more purely white) take two of the torches and approach the wood pile. Now, covering that wood pile was a great amount of evergreen branches. Those burn short, bright, hot and produce an amazing amount of smoke. They put their torches into the base of the pile and shortly, a massive plum of smoke arose from the pile, briefly illuminated by camera flashes. A glow appeared from below and slowly made it's way up the smoke as if consuming even it. The smoke gave way completely to a pillar of bright fire. All faces in the crowd were illuminated and in equal parts awe and joy. I was a ways back and was surprised to feel the heat on my face. We all sat there transfixed by this lone beacon of light on the mountain. The priests began throwing large white things onto the fire and it made an increased amount of sparks arise from the flame to which people exclaimed "It looks like fireworks!" I don't know what it was they threw.
The priests then took small individual torches such as those the spectators had, thrust them into the bonfire and exited the scene. Their helpers took the giant torches from nearby and lit them as well. 3 or 4 people had to carry each on their shoulders and they followed the priests. Then, it was our turn. The crowd surged forward toward the fire. Pushing, elbows, people trying desperately to not get separated from loved ones. It was decidely un-Japanese. I loved it. I think an old lady even kidney punched me to get ahead of me. As people lit their torches, they started streaming behind the priests and their helpers. Or they tried to. It was chaos. People pushing forward, people with lit torches trying to escape without burning anyone, and me just along for the ride.
Shit I have to go back to work. To be continued.
Conspicuously Absent
Linguistically Confused
Sounds really cool actually. Thanks for that.
Today sucks, half the transit system is on strike until the 14th, and its snowing like a bastard out there, and cold. Yay for lots of extra walking to take the long way to work.
Today sucks, half the transit system is on strike until the 14th, and its snowing like a bastard out there, and cold. Yay for lots of extra walking to take the long way to work.
Thanatopsis123
ç½é¬¼
And the conclusion...
After I too decided to stop being so Japanese and mowed down a few old ladies, I got up to the fire, lit my torch, and joined those slowly making their way down the steps and away from Jinguji. We were packed together like cattle and it was at this point that I realized how dangerous this was. Giving this many torches to random people walking fairly close together (as we did eventually space ourselves out a bit) was bound to cause some problems. And I saw that it quickly did. The torches are made of a tightly coiled rope inside 4 thin boards held together at the bottom by two small metal bands and at the top by two pieces of decoratively tied paper. Why paper on a torch, you ask? Shinto has an oddly loving relationship with this particular material for many reasons. It's white, it was difficult to make way back when and was considered an art, and it's name is "kami" the same name for gods. Despite these reasons, it was a bad idea. I saw one of the paper bands enveloped in flame, fall off a torch and onto an old man's jacket. With this many torches, things falling everywhere, low visibility, etc you have to really be on your toes.
I made it down the steps and had a little more room to maneuver which I appreciated. Also, my friend who'd gone to work managed to get off early to come join the event so we began the mile long walk along the river. The line was huge. I couldn't estimate how many people had come. Not everyone had a torch and the line stretched far ahead and behind me. Torches started to come undone or firey pieces fell off so the road was littered with coals and fire. At one point I was behind a little old lady wearing a wool hat and I saw an ember fall onto her hat so I went up and started trying to brush it off. She quickly turned around and not speaking the language I tried to mime her head being on fire and went back to trying to get it off. I eventually did get it off. I think she was more surprised to have a gaijin beating on her skull than she was grateful for not catching on fire. And later I saw a couple of people trying very hard to put out an old man's coat. It took them a good 30 seconds before they could get it under control. It didn't help that he just kept on marching like it was no big deal to be on fire.
I had quite a few old ladies tell me they wanted a picture of me. My friend told me afterward that they said it was because they loved my smile. My friend also informed me of others taking my picture that I hadn't seen. I find this odd behavior since so many of these people were not from this rural area but from large gaijin infested cities.
We walked along the river deeper into the valley until we came to Unose, a shrine with a ledge above the river. We all packed in there and by the time my friend and I got in, they already had braziers going and another huge bonfire. The bonfire was so close and hot that most people left the area after getting in so I got a good position to see the final step of this whole ritual. For those whose torches had not burned completely and/or been discarded, we had to put them out and give them to the priests.
The priests went to the ledge and the head priest read a prayer, all the while flanked by two others with torches. He was handed a bambo water carrier and with a few more words, poured the sacred water into the river. This is a 1200 year old tradition with connections to Buddhism, Shinto, and Japan's first capital: Nara. In Nara there is the largest temple in Japan that houses the largest Buddha statue in Japan. In fact, it's the largest wooden building on earth. And it's here at Todaiji that the water supposedly flows, to a well that is always dry, but 10 days after the Water Sending ritual the well produces water and they begin the Water Receiving ritual with more water, fire, and craziness. This also marks the traditional start of spring in Japan.
With a few more chants, conch blows, and prayers, the priests joined us at the second bonfire for yet more praying. They then took what was left of our torches and added them to the bonfire. One final chant, and it was over.
We streamed out, some helping themselves to complimentary hot sake provided by the locals, and called it a night. My friend and I walked back up the valley which without the help of the torches, was all too dark. I might also now mention that once the last part of this whole thing started, a lot of people seemed to disappear and walking back there were a lot less still. I don't know where everyone disappeared to. Anyway, we got something to eat at an izakaiya and went our separate ways. I stayed the night in Japanese style room and got a good nights sleep.
All in all, it was a very good day. I wasn't even that upset that my hotel charged me extra for being white.
After I too decided to stop being so Japanese and mowed down a few old ladies, I got up to the fire, lit my torch, and joined those slowly making their way down the steps and away from Jinguji. We were packed together like cattle and it was at this point that I realized how dangerous this was. Giving this many torches to random people walking fairly close together (as we did eventually space ourselves out a bit) was bound to cause some problems. And I saw that it quickly did. The torches are made of a tightly coiled rope inside 4 thin boards held together at the bottom by two small metal bands and at the top by two pieces of decoratively tied paper. Why paper on a torch, you ask? Shinto has an oddly loving relationship with this particular material for many reasons. It's white, it was difficult to make way back when and was considered an art, and it's name is "kami" the same name for gods. Despite these reasons, it was a bad idea. I saw one of the paper bands enveloped in flame, fall off a torch and onto an old man's jacket. With this many torches, things falling everywhere, low visibility, etc you have to really be on your toes.
I made it down the steps and had a little more room to maneuver which I appreciated. Also, my friend who'd gone to work managed to get off early to come join the event so we began the mile long walk along the river. The line was huge. I couldn't estimate how many people had come. Not everyone had a torch and the line stretched far ahead and behind me. Torches started to come undone or firey pieces fell off so the road was littered with coals and fire. At one point I was behind a little old lady wearing a wool hat and I saw an ember fall onto her hat so I went up and started trying to brush it off. She quickly turned around and not speaking the language I tried to mime her head being on fire and went back to trying to get it off. I eventually did get it off. I think she was more surprised to have a gaijin beating on her skull than she was grateful for not catching on fire. And later I saw a couple of people trying very hard to put out an old man's coat. It took them a good 30 seconds before they could get it under control. It didn't help that he just kept on marching like it was no big deal to be on fire.
I had quite a few old ladies tell me they wanted a picture of me. My friend told me afterward that they said it was because they loved my smile. My friend also informed me of others taking my picture that I hadn't seen. I find this odd behavior since so many of these people were not from this rural area but from large gaijin infested cities.
We walked along the river deeper into the valley until we came to Unose, a shrine with a ledge above the river. We all packed in there and by the time my friend and I got in, they already had braziers going and another huge bonfire. The bonfire was so close and hot that most people left the area after getting in so I got a good position to see the final step of this whole ritual. For those whose torches had not burned completely and/or been discarded, we had to put them out and give them to the priests.
The priests went to the ledge and the head priest read a prayer, all the while flanked by two others with torches. He was handed a bambo water carrier and with a few more words, poured the sacred water into the river. This is a 1200 year old tradition with connections to Buddhism, Shinto, and Japan's first capital: Nara. In Nara there is the largest temple in Japan that houses the largest Buddha statue in Japan. In fact, it's the largest wooden building on earth. And it's here at Todaiji that the water supposedly flows, to a well that is always dry, but 10 days after the Water Sending ritual the well produces water and they begin the Water Receiving ritual with more water, fire, and craziness. This also marks the traditional start of spring in Japan.
With a few more chants, conch blows, and prayers, the priests joined us at the second bonfire for yet more praying. They then took what was left of our torches and added them to the bonfire. One final chant, and it was over.
We streamed out, some helping themselves to complimentary hot sake provided by the locals, and called it a night. My friend and I walked back up the valley which without the help of the torches, was all too dark. I might also now mention that once the last part of this whole thing started, a lot of people seemed to disappear and walking back there were a lot less still. I don't know where everyone disappeared to. Anyway, we got something to eat at an izakaiya and went our separate ways. I stayed the night in Japanese style room and got a good nights sleep.
All in all, it was a very good day. I wasn't even that upset that my hotel charged me extra for being white.
skeptik
Member
- Feb 7, 2003
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dill_the_devil
OneMetal.com Music Editor
I don't know why, but picturing that is absolutely tickling me. I can almost see this little old Japanese guy shrugging nonchalantly in a blazing coat, muttering "It ain't no thang..."
