Have you heard about the three biggest festivals in Kyoto? One is Aoi Matsuri (葵祭) in May, the other is Gion Matsuri (祇園祭) in July, and another is Jidai Matsuri (時代祭) in October. First of all, Aoi Matsuri is the oldest of the three biggest festivals. This ceremony shows costumes of the Heian Period (794-1185) and things that are decorated with hollyhock flowers that originated from this festival. Next, Gion Matsuri has more than 1,000 years of history. The highlights of this festivals are Yoiyama and Yamaboko Junko. Everyone can see unique floats and eat some food at the stands. Finally, Jidai Matsuri is held for the celebration of the Heian Jingu Shrine which is one of the shrines in Kyoto. This festival has a parade displaying traditional costumes. In this presentation, the presenter will explain the characteristics and origins of the three festivals represented by Kyoto.
Last week, we took a trip to the Southwest for 7 days. This trip was an absolutely wonderful memory. I had never been to these areas so I was stimulated by every things, for example, cactus, adobe style buildings, Native American culture and amazing dessert views. It is one of the most interesting trips I ever took, because I experienced some rare things like visiting Grand Canyon, visiting high school and so on. On this trip I could understand about Indian culture from a folk art museum. I would like to introduce some my best memories on this Southwest trip. My first best memory is Georgia O’Keef museum. Actually, before this trip, I was not familiar with her and didn’t know about any of her artworks, but I was looking forward to visiting here because I like art museums. Her artworks were very unique, abstract and absolutely fabulous, and these were very fresh to me. I especially liked bone’s paintings which one of the most famous her artwork, because the color contrast is very c...