Blue Day for Environmental and Energy Awareness

Today, and February 6th annually, is Blue Day for Environmental and Energy Awareness (環境・エネルギーに取り組むブルーの日). The anniversary was created by Blue Conscious Co., Ltd., an Osaka‑based energy and marketing company. The aim is simple; to encourage people to think about protecting the planet’s “blue” spaces - the sky, sea and earth. 

The company chose February for its crisp winter blue skies and selected the 6th to evoke rokkon shōjō. Rokkon shōjō (六根清浄) is what we call “purifying the six senses” in English. But the "rokkon" refers to the six "roots". That is, the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and mind. In Buddhist thought, these are the gateways through which desire, attachment, and suffering enter.

Through this anniversary, Blue Conscious promotes actions that help preserve a clean, vibrant environment. I took the photo in this post in Kashima, Ibaraki, in the month of September. Believe it or not, it is not edited. It was a very "Blue Day", that day!