Fuck Yeah ChihayArata!

Mmmmm a physical copy of my fave volume and cover.

My 2nd visit to Omi Jingu last May 2019. See posts of my visits to Omi Jingu here.

Still as beautiful as when I first saw it and I finally got to take a a shot of the entrance without the temple girls and cleaning guy haha!

Unfortunately, there’s no exhibit anymore like last time so I just got myself some Chihayafuru Hyakunin Isshu cookies. I don’t remember if I took pics of the cookies. They looked cute but the taste is just like a typical cookie.

Because they both love Karuto to death. It’s not just a phase to them; it’s their life. They have devoted the totality of their being to this one passion: to be the best in the field of Karuta.

One of the irritating aspects of shipping war in Chihayafuru is the lack of emphasis on what Chihaya actually wants. Arguments like how can she be with Arata when they don’t hang out together, when they don’t know each other too well, when they only know Karuta, miss the whole point. Exactly because they are both Karuta-lovers that no matter what, no matter how far they will drift away, that they will always end up meeting each other. That’s why I ship them, in part because, as someone who’s never has that kind of passion, the idea of spending your entire life to one thing is baffling, and in part because that kind of drive is just too strong I don’t think it will break at all.

In more elementary level, Chihaya shows more romantic desire to Arata than to Taichi. The difference in the way she reacted to each guy’s confession speaks volume to me. With Arata, she is genuinely happy, sincerely in cloud nine. With Taichi, she was devastated. Not only because she can’t return his feelings, but she didn’t like that Taichi had to severe his ties to Karuta because of it. She loves Taichi, but not in the way Taichi wants it. And even then, even when they are on the road to fixing things, Chihaya is still seen to be harboring some yearning for Arata. With Taichi’s confession and the drama attached to it, it seems to be already solved. And the problem is not about Chihaya finally realizing her feelings for him, but for Taichi to truly admit to himself that he does care about Karuta, that he can’t possibly severe his ties with it, because he loves his friends, because at the end of the day, he is a very good guy who thinks about the happiness of the people around him.

» 428 icons of Chihaya Ayase. » All from the manga. » Free to use, just like or reblog if you’re going to use them. » Dropbox: Here. » Examples: