{"id":568,"date":"2020-08-25T09:33:08","date_gmt":"2020-08-25T09:33:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/spiritofjapantours.com\/staging\/8667\/?p=568"},"modified":"2020-08-31T06:07:50","modified_gmt":"2020-08-31T06:07:50","slug":"the-rabbit-in-the-moon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spiritofjapantours.com\/staging\/8667\/the-rabbit-in-the-moon\/","title":{"rendered":"The Rabbit In The Moon"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id='full_slider_1'  class='avia-fullwidth-slider main_color avia-shadow   avia-builder-el-0  el_before_av_section  avia-builder-el-first   container_wrap sidebar_right' style=' '  ><div   data-size='featured'  data-lightbox_size='large'  data-animation='slide'  data-conditional_play=''  data-ids='573'  data-video_counter='0'  data-autoplay='false'  data-bg_slider='false'  data-slide_height=''  data-handle='av_slideshow_full'  data-interval='5'  data-class=' '  data-el_id=''  data-css_id=''  data-scroll_down=''  data-control_layout='av-control-hidden'  data-custom_markup=''  data-perma_caption=''  data-autoplay_stopper=''  data-image_attachment=''  data-min_height='0px'  data-src=''  data-position='top left'  data-repeat='no-repeat'  data-attach='scroll'  data-stretch=''  data-default-height='28.666666666667'  class='avia-slideshow avia-slideshow-1  av-control-hidden av-default-height-applied avia-slideshow-featured av_slideshow_full   avia-slide-slider '  itemprop=\"image\" itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\" ><ul class='avia-slideshow-inner ' style='padding-bottom: 28.666666666667%;' ><li  class=' av-single-slide slide-1 ' ><div data-rel='slideshow-1' class='avia-slide-wrap '   ><img src='https:\/\/spiritofjapantours.com\/staging\/8667\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Tsukimi-1-1500x430.jpg' width='1500' height='430' title='Tsukimi' alt=''  itemprop=\"thumbnailUrl\"   \/><\/div><\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/div>\n<div id='av_section_1'  class='avia-section main_color avia-section-small avia-no-border-styling  avia-bg-style-scroll  avia-builder-el-1  el_after_av_slideshow_full  el_before_av_section   container_wrap sidebar_right' style='background-color: rgba(10,90,130,0.19);  '  ><div class='container' ><div class='template-page content  av-content-small alpha units'><div class='post-entry post-entry-type-page post-entry-568'><div class='entry-content-wrapper clearfix'>\n<div  style='padding-bottom:0px; margin:0 0 0 0; ' class='av-special-heading av-special-heading-h1  blockquote modern-quote modern-centered  avia-builder-el-2  avia-builder-el-no-sibling  '><h1 class='av-special-heading-tag '  itemprop=\"headline\"  >The Rabbit In The Moon<\/h1><div class='special-heading-border'><div class='special-heading-inner-border' ><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><!-- close content main div --><\/div><\/div><div id='av_section_2'  class='avia-section main_color avia-section-small avia-no-border-styling  avia-bg-style-scroll  avia-builder-el-3  el_after_av_section  avia-builder-el-last   container_wrap sidebar_right' style=' '  ><div class='container' ><div class='template-page content  av-content-small alpha units'><div class='post-entry post-entry-type-page post-entry-568'><div class='entry-content-wrapper clearfix'>\n<div class=\"flex_column av_three_fourth  flex_column_div av-zero-column-padding first  avia-builder-el-4  el_before_av_one_fourth  avia-builder-el-first  \" style='border-radius:0px; '><section class=\"av_textblock_section \"  itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/BlogPosting\" itemprop=\"blogPost\" ><div class='avia_textblock  '   itemprop=\"text\" ><p>READING TIME: 5 MINUTES.<\/p>\n<h1>The Temple Of The Bright Moon<\/h1>\n<div id=\"attachment_591\" style=\"width: 439px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img alt=\"Meigetuin Window\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-591\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-591 \" src=\"https:\/\/spiritofjapantours.com\/staging\/8667\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Screen-Shot-2020-08-25-at-21.12.04.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"429\" height=\"321\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spiritofjapantours.com\/staging\/8667\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Screen-Shot-2020-08-25-at-21.12.04.png 712w, https:\/\/spiritofjapantours.com\/staging\/8667\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Screen-Shot-2020-08-25-at-21.12.04-300x224.png 300w, https:\/\/spiritofjapantours.com\/staging\/8667\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Screen-Shot-2020-08-25-at-21.12.04-705x527.png 705w, https:\/\/spiritofjapantours.com\/staging\/8667\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Screen-Shot-2020-08-25-at-21.12.04-600x448.png 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 429px) 100vw, 429px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-591\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Moon window at Meigetsuin<\/p><\/div>\n<p>A few days ago I visited a beautiful little Zen temple in Kamakura called Meigetsuin, or the temple of the Bright Moon. The temple is famous for its Zen garden and for its iconic moon shaped window. The window opens to the garden behind the Hojo main hall and serves as a frame to its scenery. I found the Moon window mesmerizing. It was like an opening into another world and its scenery, ever changing with the seasons to be like a magical kaleidoscope offering a different view every time we look at it. You almost expect a magical creature to suddenly jump through it and surprise you. And I hear it sometimes does &#8211; a bunny! But why a bunny you may ask?<\/p>\n<h1>Bunnies, bunnies everywhere<\/h1>\n<div id=\"attachment_577\" style=\"width: 399px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-577\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-577\" src=\"https:\/\/spiritofjapantours.com\/staging\/8667\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/IMG_2809.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"389\" height=\"292\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spiritofjapantours.com\/staging\/8667\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/IMG_2809.jpeg 1000w, https:\/\/spiritofjapantours.com\/staging\/8667\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/IMG_2809-300x225.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/spiritofjapantours.com\/staging\/8667\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/IMG_2809-768x576.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/spiritofjapantours.com\/staging\/8667\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/IMG_2809-705x529.jpeg 705w, https:\/\/spiritofjapantours.com\/staging\/8667\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/IMG_2809-600x450.jpeg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 389px) 100vw, 389px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-577\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Meigetsuin bunny<\/p><\/div>\n<p>From ancient times in Japan, it has been believed that rabbits live on the moon. This folklore comes from the same shapes on the moon&#8217;s surface that gave rise to the &#8216;man in the moon&#8217; stories overseas. Having the Moon in its name gives Meigetsuin a connection with the Moon \u00a0rabbits, and following the folk tale the monks have placed a number of rabbit ornaments throughout their temple.<\/p>\n<p>It is a lot of fun to look for these bunny figurines as you walk the grounds of Meigetsuin. I was met by a bunny and its friend, a Tortoise at the very entrance of the temple. There were more of them, hidden under the hydrangea bushes and in the bamboo groves. I even saw some real rabbits that the temple took care of!<\/p>\n<h1>Moon Viewing<\/h1>\n<div id=\"attachment_578\" style=\"width: 400px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-578\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\" wp-image-578\" src=\"https:\/\/spiritofjapantours.com\/staging\/8667\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Screen-Shot-2020-08-25-at-18.05.29.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"390\" height=\"256\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spiritofjapantours.com\/staging\/8667\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Screen-Shot-2020-08-25-at-18.05.29.png 721w, https:\/\/spiritofjapantours.com\/staging\/8667\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Screen-Shot-2020-08-25-at-18.05.29-300x197.png 300w, https:\/\/spiritofjapantours.com\/staging\/8667\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Screen-Shot-2020-08-25-at-18.05.29-705x463.png 705w, https:\/\/spiritofjapantours.com\/staging\/8667\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Screen-Shot-2020-08-25-at-18.05.29-600x394.png 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 390px) 100vw, 390px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-578\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tsukimi Moon Viewing<br \/>Photo: orientalsoul.com<\/p><\/div>\n<p>The Moon plays an important role in Japanese folklore and traditions. One of my favorite Fall festivals\u00a0<em>Tsukimi<\/em> (moon viewing in Japanese) honors the Harvest moon. The best night in the year for observing the Moon is said to be the fifteenth night of the eighth month of the lunar calendar, known as <em>j\u016bgoya<\/em>. On this day people decorate the place they will view the Moon with special offerings: stalks of <em>susuki<\/em> pampas grass as a symbol of a bountiful rice crop and small, moon shaped rice cakes called\u00a0<i>tsukimi dango. <\/i>When\u00a0my children were young we would sit on the balcony and enjoy\u00a0<i>tsukimi dango <\/i>under the light of the beautiful full moon. And, of course try to spot the moon bunnies on its face that, according to the legend were making their own<em> tsukimi dango <\/em>too.<\/p>\n<p>This year <em>Jyugoya<\/em> falls on the 1st of October. If you are not in Japan you can create your own moon viewing and celebrate the Harvest moon with cakes and drinks for a taste of <em>tsukimi<\/em> magic.<\/p>\n<div class=\"_2cuy _3dgx _2vxa\">Makayla<\/div>\n<p><em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div><div class=\"flex_column av_one_fourth  flex_column_div av-zero-column-padding   avia-builder-el-6  el_after_av_three_fourth  avia-builder-el-last  \" style='border-radius:0px; '><div  class='avia-builder-widget-area clearfix  avia-builder-el-7  avia-builder-el-no-sibling '><section id=\"archives-3\" class=\"widget clearfix widget_archive\"><h3 class=\"widgettitle\">Archives<\/h3>\n\t\t\t<ul>\n\t\t\t\t\t<li><a href='https:\/\/spiritofjapantours.com\/staging\/8667\/2025\/05\/'>May 2025<\/a><\/li>\n\t<li><a href='https:\/\/spiritofjapantours.com\/staging\/8667\/2024\/08\/'>August 2024<\/a><\/li>\n\t<li><a href='https:\/\/spiritofjapantours.com\/staging\/8667\/2023\/05\/'>May 2023<\/a><\/li>\n\t<li><a href='https:\/\/spiritofjapantours.com\/staging\/8667\/2022\/07\/'>July 2022<\/a><\/li>\n\t<li><a href='https:\/\/spiritofjapantours.com\/staging\/8667\/2021\/09\/'>September 2021<\/a><\/li>\n\t<li><a href='https:\/\/spiritofjapantours.com\/staging\/8667\/2021\/03\/'>March 2021<\/a><\/li>\n\t<li><a href='https:\/\/spiritofjapantours.com\/staging\/8667\/2021\/02\/'>February 2021<\/a><\/li>\n\t<li><a href='https:\/\/spiritofjapantours.com\/staging\/8667\/2021\/01\/'>January 2021<\/a><\/li>\n\t<li><a href='https:\/\/spiritofjapantours.com\/staging\/8667\/2020\/09\/'>September 2020<\/a><\/li>\n\t<li><a href='https:\/\/spiritofjapantours.com\/staging\/8667\/2020\/08\/'>August 2020<\/a><\/li>\n\t<li><a href='https:\/\/spiritofjapantours.com\/staging\/8667\/2020\/07\/'>July 2020<\/a><\/li>\n\t<li><a href='https:\/\/spiritofjapantours.com\/staging\/8667\/2020\/06\/'>June 2020<\/a><\/li>\n\t<li><a href='https:\/\/spiritofjapantours.com\/staging\/8667\/2020\/05\/'>May 2020<\/a><\/li>\n\t<li><a href='https:\/\/spiritofjapantours.com\/staging\/8667\/2020\/04\/'>April 2020<\/a><\/li>\n\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\n\t\t\t<span class=\"seperator extralight-border\"><\/span><\/section><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><!-- close content main div --><\/div><\/div><div id='after_section_2'  class='main_color av_default_container_wrap container_wrap sidebar_right' style=' '  ><div class='container' ><div class='template-page content  av-content-small alpha units'><div class='post-entry post-entry-type-page post-entry-568'><div class='entry-content-wrapper clearfix'>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I found the Moon window mesmerizing. It was like an opening into another world and its scenery, ever changing with the seasons to be like a magical kaleidoscope offering a different view every time we look at it. You almost expect a magical creature to suddenly jump through it and surprise you. And I hear it sometimes does &#8211; a bunny! But why a bunny you may say?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":598,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","nf_dc_page":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[26,22,24,25,23,27],"class_list":["post-568","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-japan","tag-meigetsuin","tag-moon","tag-rabbit-on-the-moon","tag-temple","tag-zen-temple"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/spiritofjapantours.com\/staging\/8667\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/568","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/spiritofjapantours.com\/staging\/8667\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/spiritofjapantours.com\/staging\/8667\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spiritofjapantours.com\/staging\/8667\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spiritofjapantours.com\/staging\/8667\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=568"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/spiritofjapantours.com\/staging\/8667\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/568\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":601,"href":"https:\/\/spiritofjapantours.com\/staging\/8667\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/568\/revisions\/601"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spiritofjapantours.com\/staging\/8667\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/598"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/spiritofjapantours.com\/staging\/8667\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=568"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spiritofjapantours.com\/staging\/8667\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=568"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spiritofjapantours.com\/staging\/8667\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=568"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}