A Classic from Ayumi. The full version of Marionette live at the 2008 Asia Tour - 10th Anniversary. This was a Fantastic Concert and this is a kick butt must see video. I love it.
O-bon is a Buddhist festival celebrated in August. During this time the spirits of your ancestors are invited back into the home to visit with the family.
In the West the first Halloweens were Hollow’s Eve, the day before All Saint's day. This date commemorates the death of Christian martyrs. These are two very different celebrations.
The start of western styled Halloween in Japan can be traced back to 1983 to Tokyo Disneyland. On Halloween they presented a Halloween parade down Main Street. The same year, a toy store sponsored the first "Harajuku Pumpkin Parade", now a very popular Halloween celebration in Tokyo. Western styled traditions and celebrations are now very popular in Japan.
Kosupure is a Japanese fan term for Costume Play or Cosplay. The players dress as their favorite characters. Fans insist that you not only play the character in dress, but you must also play the character's nature. You must be in character at all times while in costume.
While different in nature from Harajuka styles Goth and Lolita, Kosupure and all venues of play, even Noh, seem to all come back together during Halloween week in Tokyo.
At Tokyo Disney the Haunted Mansion has been revamped into Tim Burtons’ Halloween Town with Jack and Sally.
A songwriter, singer, actress and dancer from Kanagawa Prefecture, Ami-Go was discovered by the Sony Music talent show Asayan in 1998. In 2000 her career came to an halt when AG Communications, was convicted for tax evasion. She filed a claim against the parent company Sony. In 2003, Ami negotiated an out-of-court agreement . Her contract with Sony ended December 2004 with no products released since 2001.
The unwritten rule of the entertainment business in Japan: artists who get into legal disputes with their masters are blacklisted.
In October 2005 Ami-Go released her first studio album in five years, on Avex Trax, “ Around the World”. This is her hit song “Eventful". Her style is electronic Euro-Pop Dance.
According to Hindu legend the holy Pushkar Lake sprang up when a lotus petal fell from the hand of Lord Brahma, the Creator. Legend has it that Lord Brahma in search for a place to hold his yagn, dropped the lotus from his hand, the three spots touched by the flower were turned into lakes. The view of Pushkar Lake and surrounding temples and landscape is simply magical to see.
The lake has 52 ghats built by different nobles and kings. Lord Vishnu is said to have appeared at the Varah Ghat. Pushkar has over 400 temples. The most famous of these is the Brahma Temple, the only one in India where Lord Brahma, is worshipped. The temple is marked by a red spire and the beautiful statue of a swan over the entrance. Guru Govind Singh recited the sacred Guru Granth Sahib at the site.
The towering Rangaji Temple dominates the area. . The Savitri Temple, dedicated to Lord Brahma’s consort, stands on a hill behind the Brahma Temple.
The water of the Pushkar Lake is very sacred and the ritual of taking dips in the holy water is to bestow salvation.
The town of Pushkar is transformed into a spectacular fair in the month of Kartik. The highlight of the Pushkar Fair is the trading in Camels bought, sold, dressed up and paraded on the sand dunes. A beauty pageant for camels is held and the competition is great.
Huan Ching, who lived during the Han Dynasty (206BC-220AD) was studying the immortal arts from the Taoist monk Fei Chang-fang. Fei Chang-fang gave Huan Ching a warning:
"On the ninth day of the ninth moon, great calamity will strike your home. You must quickly tell your family to sew a cloth bag and fill it with dogwood branches. This you must hold tightly in your hand and ascend to the mountain top and there drink chrysanthemum wine. If you do all of these things as instructed, you will be able to avoid disaster."
Huan Ching led his family to the mountain top on the specified date. When the family returned again at dusk, they discovered that all their animals had been violently killed. When hearing of this news, Fei Chang-fang said
"All of this has been done so that you may escape death!"
And since this early time, the customs of ascending high to fly kites, chrysanthemum wine, and dogwood branches have all become part of the Double Ninth festivities.
All major holidays in Taiwan are characterized by special traditional dishes. Double Nine Day Cakes are eaten to symbolize luck on this date.
Double Ninth Cakes are steamed flour and sugar cake, stuffed with chestnuts, and wrapped with a colorful paper flag on top.
In 1966, the Ministry of Interior in the ROC designated Double Ninth Day and the week beginning on this holiday as Senior Citizen's Week.
Exo-Chika (vocals) and Raveman (music) compose the electronic band Aural Vampire from Tokyo. They perform electropop, darkwave and synthpop music. The above video mix is a Tribute to the J-Pop, K-Pop Bands. Dark Wave Music by Aural Vampire.
Electropop, darkwave and synthpop music fans cover the Underground Tokyo night rave events with Tokyology and Carrie Ann Inaba. Above Tokyo Goth Party at Dark Castle. Carrie Ann played the sister "Fook Yu" in the Austin Powers movie Goldmember.
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