Texas Shinto Study Group

Events

New Year's Day Misogi
Sunday 10:00 AM, January 1st, 2006
Barton Springs Park, Austin, Texas

On Sunday, January 1st, 2006 at 10:00 AM We will be holding a New Years's Day Misogi at Barton Springs Pool, Zilker Park. Details can be found at http://www.texasshinto.org/2006misogi.html. For a more information on Misogi see http://www.tsubakishrine.com/test/Misogi.asp

If there are any questions, comments, ideas, additions or concerns, please free to contact John Hidalgo at (512) 310-2142 or oniyama@texas.net.

Texas Shinto Study Group Meeting in Fort Worth
Sunday 2:00 PM, December 18th, 2005
Japanese Garden at Fort Worth Botanical Garden

We will be holding a Texas Shinto Study Group meeting on Sunday December 18th at 8:30 PM at the Japanese Garden at Fort Worth Botanical Garden. This probably one of the best Japanese Gardens in Texas and certainly worth the visit. We will be discussing creating a Shibu of the Tsubakli Shrine of America and upcoming events for next year. If there are any questions, comments, ideas, additions or concerns, please free to contact John Hidalgo at (512) 310-2142 or oniyama@texas.net.

Texas Shinto Study Group Demonstration for O-ChibiCon in Houston
Sunday Noon, August 7th, 2005
Houston

We will be shinto presentation/dicussion panel at O-Chibicon (www.o-chibicon.com) on Sunday August 7th at Noon at the Clarion and Hmpton Hotels in Houston. If there are any questions, comments, ideas, additions or concerns, please free to contact John Hidalgo at (512) 310-2142 or oniyama@texas.net.

Report:
I would like to thank Michael and Ricard for helping with the moving aand setting up of Display Temizuya and Kamidana and all the other Shinto items we brought. For a first time doing such a demonstration I think it went pretty well, though I certainly made plenty of mental notes for next time. We had set up our space in such a way as to give participants a sort of "virtual tour" of a shrine visit. We went over using a Temizuya, entering a Shrine, bowing, various Shinto items and general Shinto concepts.

Photos can be found at http://www.texasshinto.org/tsgallery.html.

Texas Shinto Study Group Meeting in Houston
Saturday 8:300 PM, July 8th, 2005
Houston

We will be holding a Texas Shinto Study Group meeting on Saturday July 8th at 8:30 PM at the Miyako's Japanese Restaruant. If there are any questions, comments, ideas, additions or concerns, please free to contact John Hidalgo at (512) 310-2142 or oniyama@texas.net.

Report:
I would like to thank Emily for joining me for this meeting. In this meeting we looked over a variety of Shinto items and books and discussed Shrines that Emily had visited. It was really nice to meet Emily and hope we see her at future events. Thanks for the green tea, Emily!

A photo can be found at http://www.texasshinto.org/tsgallery.html.

Misogi at Hamilton Pool in Observance of Nagoshi no Oharai
Saturday 9:00 AM, June 18th, 2005
Hamilton Pool, Driftwood, Texas (see http://www.co.travis.tx.us/tnr/parks/hamilton_pool.asp)

We will be holding Misogi at Hamilton Pool in Driftwood, Texas on Saturday June 18th at 9:00 AM. this is being done in observance of the Nagoshi no Oharai that will be done at the Tsubaki Shrine in Granite Falls, Washington the next day. If there are any questions, comments, ideas, additions or concerns, please free to contact John Hidalgo at (512) 310-2142 or oniyama@texas.net.

Notes on Nagoshi no Oharai from www.tsubakishrine.com:
Nagoshi-no-O-Harae is one of the two great days of Purification during the yearly cycle... This Taisai involves the passing through of the "Chi-no-Wa", ring of Ki as part of the purification ritual. Please attend with your families and friends in order to purify any Kegare (obscuring energy) accumulated during the 1st 1/2 year and to receive the "Ohmitama", the renewing power of great nature for the 2nd 1/2 year by passing through the Chi-no-Wa......there will be the "potluck Naorai" afterwards.

Report:
First, I'd like to thank Richard and Michael for joining me for Misogi. This was their first Misogi and I think they really enjoyed it. Fortunately the weather was very cooperative, though we could tell it would get hot later. The waterfall was not as strong as the last time I did Misogi there but it was still good. Morning was defintely the right time to be at Hamiton pool and there were few people there. We almost had the site to ourselves. Richard, Michael and I definitely enjoyed our Misogi at Hamilton pool and look forward to going there again.

Photos can be found at http://www.texasshinto.org/tsgallery.html.

Texas Shinto Study Group Meeting in Austin/Round Rock
Saturday 7:00 PM, June 11th, 2005
Austin/Round Rock, Texas

We will be holding a Texas Shinto Study Group meeting on Saturday June 11th at 7:00 PM at the Origami Japanese Restaruant located in Round Rock. If there are any questions, comments, ideas, additions or concerns, please free to contact John Hidalgo at (512) 310-2142 or oniyama@texas.net.

Report:
I would like to thank Raye, Richard and Michael for joining us for this meeting. In this meeting we signed and put red thumbprints on our Hitogata for the upcoming Nagoshi no Oharai that will be held June 19th at the Tsbuaki Shrine. At the end of the meeting the Hitogata were gathered up so that they could be mailed to the Tsubaki Shrine.

Photos can be found at http://www.texasshinto.org/tsgallery.html.

Texas Shinto Study Group Meeting in Waco
Saturday 5:30 PM, May 28th, 2005
Waco, Texas

We will be holding a Texas Shinto Study Group meeting on Saturday May 28th at 5:30 PM at the Shogun Japanese Restaruant located at 1623 North Valley Mills Drive in Waco. If there are any questions, comments, ideas, additions or concerns, please free to contact John Hidalgo at (512) 310-2142 or oniyama@texas.net.

Report:
First of all I would like to say a big thank you to Larry, Tina and Riva for driving from Dallas and enduring heavy traffic and rainy weather to come to this meeting. It was really nice to meet all of you. We had a really nice meeting where we talked about various Shinto topics, looked over some Shinto books had a look at some different Shinto items (Ema,Omamori, Shimenawa, etc.). It was great to meet all of you and look forward to seeing you again in the future.

Photos can be found at http://www.texasshinto.org/tsgallery.html.

Iresai and Aiki Tai Sai at the Tsubaki Shrine
Friday through Sunday, April 22nd - 24th, 2005
Tsubaki Grand Shrine, Granite Falls, Washington

Aiki training and ceremony for Kaiso (Ueshiba Morihei, the founder of Aikido)
For further details see http://www.tsubakishrine.com/test/ceremonies/ireisai.asp or contact the shrine directly at kannushi@tsubakishrine.com.

Report:
First of all I would like to thank Rev. Barrish how providing this wonderful event. If you are able to attend this event next year I highly recommend it. Between the Aikido training, Misogi, Iresai and other Shinto ceremonies, it was a very full weekend. The weather was very cooperative. In fact, I do not think we could have asked for better weather.

While I was there Rev. Barrish did a Yakuyoke prayer ceremony for me. This is done women at the ages of 19 and 33 and men at the ages of 25 and 42. The ages are considered to be dangerous or critical years. (This past December I turned 40. Maybe a little early but it certainly can't hurt.)

I really enjoyed the Aikido training. The approach is very different from the Budo Taijutsu that I do here in Round Rock, or, for that matter, other Aikido instructors with whom I've trained. Rev. Barrish taught the workshop in a light, fun manner the went a long way in making the training enjoyable.

The Misogi was really good this year, partially because of the pleasant weather but also because we had a good group of people participating. I did Misogi all three days of the event, all the while making careful observations for my own Misogi for when I got back home. The Pilchuck River where we did the Misogi, for me at least, was a very pleasant temperature; definitely enough to awake and refresh your soul.

All in all I had a great time. It was a very full visit and one I encourage everyone to make. My thanks again to Rev. Barrish for hosting this event.

Photos can be found at http://www.texasshinto.org/tsgallery.html.

Social Get Together
Saturday 1 PM, March 12th, 2005
Round Rock, Texas

I would like to extend an invitation for a social get together to everyone on the Texas Shinto list. Activities will include Sushi at Origami Japanese Restaurant and Lethargathon over at my place. See the details below. While this is not a Shinto event per se, Shinto discussion is definitely welcomed. This will actually be the second half of a larger event that is being hosted by my martial arts class (www.roundrockbujinkan.com ). If you interested in the martial arts portion of the event contact me privately and I will be glad to give you the details. If there are any questions, comments, ideas, additions or concerns, please free to contact John Hidalgo at (512) 310-2142 or oniyama@texas.net.

Report:
I am have posted a couple of photo's from last night's get together. Honestly, there was only some brief discussion about Shinto, but we some great food and a great time. Here is the direct link: http://www.texasshinto.org/tsgallery.html. Additionally, for those who are interested, here is the link to photos taken earlier in the day at the Hattori Hanzo Memorial Shuriken Range: http://www.roundrockbujinkan.com/rrbgallery.html.

New Year's Day Misogi
Saturday 1 PM, January 1st, 2005
Barton Springs Park, Austin, Texas

Details can be found at http://www.texasshinto.org/2005misogi.html. If there are any questions, comments, ideas, additions or concerns, please free to contact John Hidalgo at (512) 310-2142 or oniyama@texas.net.

Report:
First of all I would like to thank Mark and Stephen for joining us for our first New Year's Day Misogi. Overall it went pretty well. This was our first time to do this as a group, so we had the usual beginner fumblings. The only realy complaint that we had was that the water wasn't really cold enough. (Apparently, because Barton Springs pool is naturally spring fed, the water temperature is a constant 68 degrees regardless of the weather.) Otherwise, we had a really good first misogi and everyone is looking forward to doing another one soon. A photo from this event can be found at http://www.texasshinto.org/2005misogi.jpg.

Texas Shinto Study Group Second Meeting
Saturday 5:30 PM, November 20th, 2004
Acrotex Gymnastics and Origami Japanese Restaurant, Round Rock, Texas

Below is the current agenda for our second meeting. Please look it over. If there are any questions, comments, ideas, additions or concerns, please free to contact John Hidalgo at (512) 310-2142 or oniyama@texas.net.

Meet and Greet/Introductions
Discussion: "What is Shinto?" (Reference: http://www2.gol.com/users/coynerhm/shinto.html )
Discussion: Shrine Etiquette (Reference: "Shinto Norito: A Book of Prayer" by Reverned Evans )
Discussion: Kamidana (Reference: "Shinto Norito: A Book of Prayer" by Reverend Evans )
Discussion: Misogi (Reference: "Shinto Norito: A Book of Prayer" by Revernend Evans )
Discussion: Chinkon (Reference: "Shinto Norito: A Book of Prayer" by Reverend Evans )
Norito: Misogi no O Harae prayer (Reference: "Shinto Norito: A Book of Prayer" by Reverend Evans )
Business Discussion: Regular Meeting Schedule
Business Discussion: 2005 Events Calendar (Proposed Events: New Years Celebration, Shumbun no hi Start of Spring Vernal Equinox, Geshi Summer Solstice, Shubun no hi Higan Autumn equinox, Shichigosan)
Business Discussion: Tsubaki Shrine Membership
Business Discussion: Spring Visit to Tsubaki Shrine (Aiki Taisai and Ireisai)

Locations:
Acrotex Gymnastics
708 Round Rock West Drive
Round Rock, TX 78681
(512) 244-5437

Origami
110 N I35, Suite 200B
Round Rock, Texas 78681
(512) 238-6522
For maps to these location, see www.mapquest.com . If you still need directions or have any ohter questions, please feel free to contact me privately at oniyama@texas.net or (512) 310-2142. I hope that you all can make it and look forward to seeing you there.

Report:
First of all I would like to thank Richard, Matt, Michael and Brandon for joining us for our second meeting. In this meeting we were able to get into more presentation about what Shinto is, shrine etiquette, misogi, kamidana, shimenawa and omamori. We also did a brief nutrition (Misogi no Harae). This meeting was held in conjunction with a larger budo event sponsored by Round Rock Bujinkan. After the event, we joined the rest of the budo event participants at Origami Japanese Restaurant. Most likely our next meeting will be held at Barton Springs Park for a New Year's Day Misogi.

Texas Shinto Study Group First Meeting
Sunday 9:30 AM, October 17th, 2004
Barton Springs in Zilker Park (Exact map and directions to be posted soon.)

Resecheduled to Saturday 6 PM, October 23rd, 2004
at Origami Japanese Restaurant, Round Rock, Texas

We will be holding our first Shinto Study Group Meeting to discuss a general outline of what we will be practicing and how. Participants are encouraged to wear loose, comfortable clothing and bring note taking materials.

For more information contact John Hidalgo at (512) 310-2142 or oniyama@texas.net.

Report:
First of all I would like to thank Chris, Christine and Acadiana for joining me last night for our first meeting. Naturally, as this meeting was held in a restaurant, it was more social than business. That is quite allright as we had a good time and definiely good sushi. At the meeting we talked about misogi, chinkon and generally how we might want to approach Shinto practice. We talked about how often we wanted to meet for practice. So far it looks like we will initially meet once a month. Later we may meet more often. I will be making a separate post soon about next month's meeting. Hopefully next month's meeting will have more actual Shinto practice. I will also discuss that in a separate post. It was great to meet everyone and I hope to meet more of you soon.