HOW TO play "Ａnimal shogi"

I'm menber of Japanese chess association Auckland branch. I'm going to introduce a game called" Animal Shogi" 　Shogi is a Japanese game similar to chess.

"Animal Shogi" was invented last year by two Japanese women leading shogi players.　It is becoming popular around the world.

Nomal Shogi pieces have chinese chractoer written on them to indicate thier position.　The "Animal Shogi" have pictuer of animal on them.

I demonstoreated this game at Japanese cultural festival in march this year. It is a game that　can be enjoyed by anyone no matter where they are from, young or old.　This game looks very simple but lot deeper than you think!

This game is a simple variant of Shogi(Japanese chess), played by two players.Each player has four pieces at first: Lion, Giraffe, Elephant, and Chick. Two players move one piece to one position in turn. When Chick moves into the farthest row, it can promote as Hen.

Players can reuse all the pieces captured at any time they want.

A historical event

On the 8th May, the Wings of Hope Charity event was organised by the New Zealand Japanese Society of Auckland (NZJS) and was held at Auckland Town hall.

The NZJS organised this cultural event for the people of Japan. All proceeds from the event were donated to the Japanese Red Cross.

In the afternoon, there was a cultural festival and a music concert in the enening.

I was involved in the "KARUTA" booth during the cultual festival.

What is " KARUTA" ?

Karuta is a type of card matching game where players try to find the second half of the poem written on a card when the first half of the poem is read out by a reader.

The poems were compiled into an anthology in the 16th century. The oldest poem is about 2,000 years ago from Heian period in Japanese history. What an old card game this is!

This poetry is very popular in Japan as it deals with topics such as of love, the seasons and scenery.

I think most of the poems are about love. I'm so surprised that even those poems were written by more than 1,000years ago, people now still feel the same way.

I really enjoyed this historical cultual festival. We were also able to raise a huge sum in aid of Japan. Also, people who were in the event, all prayed for Japan.

A place I have visited

Kyoto Japan


Acommodation

I went to Kyoto with my mother.We stayed in the Brighton Hotel, just 500 meters from the Kyoto Imperial Palace. We enjoyed walking there in the morning. They have a fantastic garden. The hotel room was elegant. There were professional and friendly bilingual staff who offered a full range of services. However it was quite an expensive 5 star hotel.



Event

I went to a festival called Aoi Matsuri. This is an annual festival and it is one of three big festivals in Kyoto. People were wearing traditional costumes. It was a gorgeous parade idone in an ancient style. We felt like we had gone back in time.

Activities

There are so many beautiful temples in Kyoto. We went to RYO-AN temple. This temple was built in 1450. The garden comprises fifteen rocks in grouping. Its looks perfect. I felt very peaceful seeing this amazing temple.

Transportation

There were all day passes for travel within Kyoto by bus and subway.

One day : 1200yen( NZ$20)
Two days: 2000yen(NZ$30)

The bus and subway were useful for getting around various places within Kyoto.


Recommendation

You shouldn’t miss a trip to Kyoto. There are so many beautiful temples, gardens, crafts, amazing museums, traditonal events and delicious foods. You definitely will enjoy your holiday in Kyoto.