Today's Picture: 050 (March 17, 2009)
Mar. 18th, 2009 01:25 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
akujunkanIs of:
water scattering. Walk down any street in Japan during the morning and you're likely to see at least one homeowner or storekeep sweeping the sidewalk and/or splashing it with water. This has its origins in Shinto purification ritual (also the reason why you can sometimes see little pyramids of salt outside buildings, especially traditional eating and drinking establishments or artisan shops).
Some people also claim the water scattering began as a way to lower the temperature (and thus attract more customers). An NHK study a few years ago did find that splashing water about does lower the ground temperature where it's been scattered (which is common sense if you consider that the same principles involved in human perspiration are at work here too).
Incidentally, I saw storekeepers performing a more elaborate water scattering ritual in Hindu Bali.
I really am doing my best to post these things on time; unfortunately my web host seems to be goingup and down like the Dow Jones this week.
That will be all.
water scattering. Walk down any street in Japan during the morning and you're likely to see at least one homeowner or storekeep sweeping the sidewalk and/or splashing it with water. This has its origins in Shinto purification ritual (also the reason why you can sometimes see little pyramids of salt outside buildings, especially traditional eating and drinking establishments or artisan shops).
Some people also claim the water scattering began as a way to lower the temperature (and thus attract more customers). An NHK study a few years ago did find that splashing water about does lower the ground temperature where it's been scattered (which is common sense if you consider that the same principles involved in human perspiration are at work here too).
Incidentally, I saw storekeepers performing a more elaborate water scattering ritual in Hindu Bali.
I really am doing my best to post these things on time; unfortunately my web host seems to be going
That will be all.