Rise of the Siblings - Part XXXVI: Nara - Part II

We will be following the light blue line for the second half of the Nara walking tour:

We left the restaurant where we had lunch and found these guys waiting for us. Jim gave us all crackers that we could feed to the deer. They were so funny and very aggressive! 

Jim told us that there are some great knives that are made in Nara. I told him that I would like to buy one for Josh, so we went to the Kikuichi Monju Shiro Kanenaga Main Store. According to their website:

"Kikuichi Cutlery has a history of bladesmithing dating back to the days of the samurai.  Our company was established in the 13th century during Japan’s Kamakura period (1185-1333) which saw not only the rise of the Samurai class, but also of the sword smiths who elevated the art of sword making to new heights. At the time, five schools were competing to forge weapons for Nara’s famous warrior monks. One particular maker, Kanenaga of the Tegai school, was renowned for his superior skills as a sword maker and made the Tegai school the leading sword makers in all of Japan. It is from this master craftsman that Kikuichi Monjushiro Kanenaga, Inc. was born."

I picked out a beautiful knife and they asked me to write down my last name. I did, and then this man translated it into Japanese. He then proceeded to engrave our last name in the knife. 

[The deer were waiting for us just outside]

After buying Josh his knife, and watching Jim yell at the Bros for chasing the deer, we all headed to the Kasugataisha Shrine.

This Shinto shrine was was founded over 1300 years and is famous for the bronze and stone lanterns.

[Prayers - I love the one that says "The end of war"]

[Wisteria tree known as "Sunazuri-no-Fuji"]

This large tree is so big that it's growing into the building next to it.

[Lantern with the Shogun symbol]

Keishoin (1627–1705), the mother of the fifth Tokugawa shogun Tsunayoshi, famously donated this copper lantern to the shrine:

We walked through the Fujinami-no-ya Hall where there were hundreds of hanging lanterns.

To people who practice Shintoism nature is sacred. So when this tree started growing into the building they just made a hole for it instead of cutting the branch.

Our last stop was too see a 100 year old traditional Japanese house, Nigiwai-no-le. This house is located in a former merchant district called Naramachi.

The interior has been decorated to reflect the 24 seasons of the year according to the traditional almanac.

[Luke would fit in well here]

I loved walking around in just my socks. The floor was surprisingly soft and our tour guide told us that he had floors just like this in his home growing up. 

After walking through the historic house we made our way back to the train station. I am so glad we made a quick stop in Nara! The deer were a hoot, the temples and shrines were gorgeous, and I got an awesome knife for Josh!

Next stop: Universal Citywalk!