Plum Blossoms

Hiroshige

Hiroshige

Plum Blossom Viewing

Plum Blossoms at Kitano Tenmangu Shrine

25 February 2012

Seeing the plum blossoms
I wait for the song of the warbler
Spring has come
Veiled in mist

    -Izumi Shikibu (c.1000)

The plum trees are beginning to show their blossoms around Kyoto, though the weather is not particularly spring like most days.  Plum trees were brought to Japan from China, and their blooming is celebrated as a marker of spring.  The trees can be quite ancient.  The zig-zag  pattern made by the branches and trunks (as in the first print above) has a specific name; "fukaku".   Plum blossoms can be red or white, or light yellow. They have a delicate, sweet smell.  Their image represents happiness.  Salted, pickled plums, known as "umeboshi",  ward off danger and are good for health.  Sometimes plum trees are planted at the northeast corner of a home to ward off danger and evil, since here, since before the founding of Kyoto in the 8th century, bad things are most likely to come from that direction.

We enjoyed our trip to the Plum Festival at Kitano Tenmangu Shrine (always 2/25).  We stood admiring the trees, and drank salty tea, in a cool misty drizzle, with a large crowd of others.  All the sweets for sale have suddenly become pink and pale green.  They, like everything, follow the rhythm of the seasons.

Happy end of winter to all.

Shikoku: A Pilgrimage to the Mariner's Shrine

We made it up 753 steps

Will Win be allowed in the bath?

Ume (plum) blossoms

Ritsurin Koen

Steps up to Kotohira cho

19 February 2012

We arrived during a snow squall at the city of Takamatsu, and not having our bearings, took a cab to the Ryokan (Japanese guest house) New Grand Mimatsu.   It did not seem either new or grand, but the room was large, clean, and warm.  So we made some tea and settled in with our Japanese TV until dinner time.  In spite of the inauspicious beginning, dinner turned out to be a wonderful seafood feast, in a tatami room all to ourselves.  When we got back to our room, the futons were laid out and the table pushed aside, so we called it a night.  Truthfully, as lovely as ryokans can be, and as much as we desire to adapt to our new country, it is hard on us Westerners of a certain age to get used to sitting, sleeping and eating on the floor.  The pillows were like medium sized bean bags...

In the morning the sun was shining though the day was cold.  We had a not-very-tasty Japanese buffet breakfast, and then managed, with a little Japanese, to find out how to get to Kotohira cho on the train (about an hour inland).  Not much English spoken in Takamatsu...and little or no English tourist information.  I should mention that the island of Shikoku is famous for having 88 shrines and temples, and people come here to make a pilgrimage to all of them.  Kotohira cho is the most famous.  It is the  called the Mariners' Shrine, and is the home of the god of marine safety.   Sensibly, this god lives well inland, and high on a hill.  There are said to be 753 stone steps leading up to the main shrine.  You can borrow a bamboo stick from a merchant and upon returning it buy something from his or her shop.  We did not find the steps as arduous as some we have encountered, and there were interesting sights along the way.  Horses and elephants seemed to have a place there, in addition to some marine paraphernalia and pictures, and one odd boat, a solar powered, one-man, covered canoe-like thing, sponsored by a beer company.  The boat had been through hard times, and looked bashed-in on the foredeck.  We paid our respects, made wishes for safety for all seafarers, including ourselves, and bought a wooden charm to install on North Star.  We had udon soup for lunch,  as the island is famous throughout Japan for its udon noodles. 

On the way back we stopped at the Ritsurin Koen Garden, built by various feudal lords over about 100 years, being completed in 1745.  When we arrived, a guide took us under her wing immediately and brought us to a grove of plum trees that were just beginning to bloom.  The buds provide the color as there are no leaves yet, and the colors vary from white to a beautiful red (see above photo).  Several others were there observing the coming plum blossoms, and having tea.  We were treated to a cup of matcha and sweeta. Then we strolled around the rest of the garden, famous for ancient pine trees, ponds, hills, and a different view at each turn ("One step, one scenery").  We also visited the Folk Art Museum on the grounds which was quite fun. 

Back at Grand Mimatsu, Win put on his yukata and went to the hot bath, which he found very pleasant.  We then had another sumptuous feast, with fish and a large sukiyaki, again in our own dining space.  In the morning we checked out and decided to walk to the "Jumbo Ferry" dock, which Win thought was quite close, but which was quite far.  We had plenty of time luckily so there was no problem.  We took the Jumbo Ferry to Kobe (4hrs) affording us great views of the Inland Sea (where unfortunately heavy industry creates a certain haze in the air).  It was very relaxing and then we took the train from Kobe to Kyoto (less than an hour), but no sight seeing in Kobe.

Much love

Benesse Art Site on Naoshima

View from Benesse House

Inland Sea

Win and Pumpkin

17 February 2012

On 2/17 we left Kyoto for our journey to the Inland Sea (Seto naikai), inspired by Donald Richie's book, The Inland Sea, and a general longing for salt air.  We traveled by train to Uno via Okayama.  At Uno, we took a short ferry ride to the island of Naoshima, where Benesse Art Site is located.  Benesse is a spectacular and quite unique blending of wonderful architecture, art works of many sorts, and a naturally magnificent setting.  The hotel sits seamlessly in the middle of it all.  There are numerous art projects on Naoshima and neighboring islands.  On Naoshima we explored first the Art House Project.  In the village of Honmura, about six old houses have been restored and transformed into works of art, each by a different artist.  In one house there were large paintings on all four walls resembling water falls, in another walls that looked sometimes like a wild sky and sometimes like a wild sea.  Another had a dark, bath like space with small blinking electric light numbers floating about like aquatic fire flies.  It is hard to do it all justice with words.  Back at Benesse House Park, we found our beautiful room looking over a park and the sea.  Beautiful pieces of art inside and out adorn the house and grounds.   The amusing pumpkin sits on a small dock and is perhaps the iconic image of Benesse.  Win posed in the Japanese fashion.

The next stop was the Benesse House Museum, with a small but wonderful collection, each piece in a space that seems specially created to show it best.  In the photograph above (not mine - no inside photography allowed) is Jennifer Bartlett's "Yellow and Black Boats".  Then dinner in the museum, a lovely, refined Kaiseki meal including 8 small courses served in beautiful dishes.  The soup was "oyster minced and steamed [like a soft dumpling], carrot, spinach and thin-sliced turnip".  The grilled dish was "butterfish broiled with salted entrails of sea cucumber [!!], and salad".  You get the idea...There appears to be nothing dwelling in the sea that Japanese won't eat in one form or another.

The next morning, after an excellent breakfast, we visited the Chichu Museum, mostly underground but with marvelous sculptural spaces and day light coming in from everywhere.  Inside and outside seem intertwined...Aside from the architect, there are only three artists shown in the museum: Monet, James Turrell, and Walter De Maria.  Do visit this museum someday, if you possibly can, to see the five late Monet waterlily paintings hung in a vast white room, lit only by naturally changing day light.  Words fail, but the physical sensations remain when I think of it.

Unfortunately we did not have time to see the Lee Ufan Museum or bathe at the whimsical Naoshima Bath (see first photo).  We took the ferry in the midst of a snow storm to Takamatsu on Shikoku for the next part of our short journey.

 We feel so grateful to Darcy Bacon for suggesting the trip to Benesse!

Love to all

Dinner en famille

11 February 2012

We went to Yokohama to see our old friend from 20 years ago, Junko, and to meet Junko's mother and her younger sister Ritsuko.  We were given a huge dose of Japanese graciousness and "over the top" generosity. Junko came to our hotel and took us to her mother's house in a taxi.  The house was about average size by Japanese standards, in the suburbs of Yokohama, which means that small  farms are still around.  Most of the farmers have too little land left in agricultural use, in such locations, to make a living off it, but they often rent out housing they have built on the rest of their land, and continue to farm small bits as a sideline.

As soon as we had entered the house, taken off our shoes, and exchanged bows with Mrs. Inokuma and Ritsuko, we were asked to come and "say hello" to her husband.  I half expected to see an elderly man in bed, but, in the room, there was a photograph of a distinguished parliament member, looking in his 70's, and, next to the picture was a small alter with some greenery and incense.  Then I remembered that Junko's father had died.  I'd forgotten when, but was reminded that it was about five years ago.  We knelt at the alter, bowed with our hands together, and lit incense sticks which we left burning in a tray of sand.  Mrs. Inokuma beamed and said she knew he was very glad to meet us.

Then we went upstairs in our slippers.  The "family" room is cozy and small.  It has not only the dining table, and all the books and DVDs, but the "big screen" as well.  There is no central heating in most Japanese houses, but there are electric space heaters and, if you move under the warm comforter that is under the dining room table, and stick your feet into the clandestine foot well (it looks as though you are sitting on the floor, with your legs tucked behind you, as if you were a proper Japanese, but only you and your hosts know that you are "cheating"), you will stay warm.  I even took off my jacket, whereupon the patriarch's  honored sweater was brought out and put over my shoulders.

Japanese people are not fond of conversation, so,  before dinner,  Junko had us do calligraphy, which is a quasi-ceremonial thing people do to welcome in the New Year.  We see endless possibilities, and have already bought beginners' sets for use at home.  Then came dinner which was an endless number of small and large dishes, some Western, and most Japanese.  I couldn't, and won't list them.  The evening was sentimental to a degree we aren't used to, but to which we responded like kids.

When we left, we weren't allowed to pay for the taxi home.  We learned from Junko, who has risen in the government and is now working internationally to attract other Asian investment to Japan, and Ritsuko, who is a journalist, expert in Japan's  problems with the "greying" of its population, about "giri", and "ninjo", which consider the inter-weaving of the emotions related to "gratitude" and "obligation" and emotions related to "generosity" and "dependent intimacy". 

Yokohama

Win and Yusuke-san

Training ship Nipponmaru from the ferris wheel

Intercontinental Hotel and Yokohama port from the ferris wheel

Enoshima Island

Hands of the Great Buddha, Kamakura

Junko-san, B, Ritsuko-san, W in front of the Great Buddha

13 February 2012

We set out by train for Yokohama Saturday morning, arriving uneventfully at the Intercontinental Hotel in Minato Mirai just before noon.  Junko's mother had made the arrangements herself, having decided our original choice of hotel would not give us the correct impression of the city.   Well, you really can't beat the view from a large window on the 26th floor looking out over Yokohama Harbor!  Mirato Mirai is the extensive water front development in Yokohama, which makes Boston seem like a small town in comparison.   Yusuke, a student Win had met on the plane in Dec picked us up at the hotel, and we went out to lunch and had a whirlwind tour of the city, including the waterfront, Chinatown (the largest in Japan), and the foreigners' cemetery, dating back to the early 20th century.  In the late afternoon, Junko met us and brought us to her mother's home for dinner.  This was such a memorable occasion that it will be a separate entry.

Sunday was clear, sunny and remarkably warm.  With Junko and Ritsuko, we took the train to nearby Kamakua, an old seaside town of temples, shrines and tourists.  We visited the Hachiman-gu Shrine, a nearby garden with a gorgeous display of blooming peonies, and then the statue of the Great Buddha (Daibutsu), cast in 1252 and a survivor of fire, earthquakes, tidal waves etc.  It seems to have an eternal calm.  After this we had lunch and then took the old train to catch the old boat to Enoshima Iwaya Cave facing Sagami Bay and Fujisan in the distance.  It is said that the caves lead to Fujisan; also that the legend of a heavenly maiden and a terrible dragon originated in the cave.  In any event, it was fun to walk along the rocky shore and walk into the caves holding a candle to keep from knocking one's head.  I think these were places Junko and her sisters visited frequently as children. 
We had a wonderful Chinese dinner (incuding shark fin soup, Peking duck) at a restaurant in Yokohama, all arranged by Seiko-san (their mother). 

Monday we decided to take a turn on the ferris wheel, one of the largest in Japan (takes about 15min to go around once).  I thought it would be terrifying, but the day was calm and the motion mercifully minimal.  The maritime museum was unfortunately closed, so we peeked into the nearby CUPNOODLES MUSEUM, dedicated to Momofuku Ando, a clever man who alone invented ramen packets in 1958 and went on to make his fortune with Nissin food products, most especially cupnoodles.  At the museum, you can make your own individual package of cupnoodles with your own label and flavors and also make noodles - looked like fun but we didn't do it...very entertaining!

Then back to Kyoto.

Love from both of us-

The Moss Temple and The Cricket Temple

Moss Garden at Saiho-ji

Bell Crickets and cage

10 February 2012

Having written ahead to the monks at Saiho-ji (the Moss Garden Temple or Koke-dera), we received permission to visit on the 10th (a requirement for all visitors due to the need to limit the number of people and buses in the area of the moss garden).   Since we arrived early, we were able to have a nice lunch in a nearby, very ancient soba noodle shop (this time some sort of foamy arrangement on top of the soup plus and egg yolk).  The temple is a many centuries old Zen temple.  After being let in, visitors first recite sutras with a monk, and then write a wish on a wooden board (the man next to me, speaking to me in English, suggested with a twinkle in his eye that I just write I hope to be rich, but I thought it more appropriate to express a more compassionate sentiment).  When the ceremony was over, we were able to walk through the beautiful, peaceful garden.  The pond is shaped like the Chinese character for "heart".  Apparently the original gardens designed in the 14th century,  fell into disrepair and were eventually covered by moss, now very much treasured.  There are said to be 120 species of moss growing there.  Even in winter, it is quite green - the softness of the moss and the many shades of green lend a quiet and gentle feel to the landscape.

We had an hour or so before the return bus was to leave, so we wandered around the area and up a long flight of worn stone steps, finding ourselves in a small crowd entering a temple called Suzumushi Temple.  Suzumushi means cricket, and the priest who founded this temple was inspired by the summer song of the bell cricket, and determined to keep the song year round.  Thus crickets were raised and nurtured inside the temple and indeed can be heard loudly all year round singing from their cages.  While they sing the priest delivers a talk to the audience who relax and enjoy tea and a sweet.  It is said that the Kofuku Jizo (or happy Jizo) whose statue is outside, will deliver one wish to each person if he knows your wish and your address.  That is why he has straw sandals on his feet.  So lots of young people come to this temple to make wishes about jobs, success in school, marriage etc.  This is one example of why wandering around Kyoto is such a joy!

We send love and wish you could hear the crickets too, B&W

Oni wa soto; fuku wa uchi! (Oni begone; good luck come in!)

Yasaka Shrine - Setsubun in the snow

Geisha about perform at Yasaka Shrine

Oni pelted with beans

Hokusai print of Oni pelted with beans (mame)

Fuku mame (Happiness beans)

Mamemaki (throwing beans at the Oni)

3 February 2012
Setsubun

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=C_4m5HJsC9o#!

On February 2 and 3, Setsubun festivals took place in Japan, both in temples and shrines and in homes.  Setsubun (lunar calendar spring) is a time of casting out bad spirits and demons (called Oni), and bringing in good fortune.  It is an ancient tradition, and at some of the temples and shrines resembles something that is a blending of a serious pilgrimage for Japanese people and a carnival, complete with stalls lining the streets and walkways selling marvelous (mostly) foods of every sort (especially sardines),  little games for children, fortunes and other temple paraphernalia, even cotton candy and candied apples and oranges.  There are a lot of things demons don't like which include: foul smells and sharp needles (hence fish heads impaled on holly leaves), smoke (hence bonfires at temples in which New Year's decorations and wishes are burned), arrows, and most especially mame (beans).  The tradition is to throw roasted soy beans at the Oni (or the person in a family pretending to be an oni),  and out the doors and windows of your house shouting "Oni wa soto; fuku wa uchi!" In schools small children make Oni masks, etc, and you can buy them with the beans.  People also eat long (uncut) nori maki rolls while facing Northwest and not speaking (I'm not sure about the exact significance of this...).  Much of this information came from Araki-sensei.

On Thursday, a cold and intermittently snowy day, I visited the Yasaka Shrine in the afternoon where there were performances of musicians, geisha etc every hour (see first two photos).  After each performance small packets of fuku mame were thrown out to a very enthusiastic (and cold) audience.  I think beans acquired at the shrine are especially significant...Wanting to warm, I went into what I thought was a tea tent, but what was served turned out to be Amazake which is a sweet drink made of fermented rice (a bit thick and milky and warm with little rice bits and a pinch of ginger).  Just what I needed to warm up!

Thursday evening we went to the Yoshida Shrine with Berg and Somdev, our American friends in this apartment.  We ate various street foods and then at 6pm went to the short drama of scaring of the oni being acted out while priests read prayers.  Couldn't see much but the sound effects were excellent.  The above youtube address is a 4 minute clip which is excellent (other than the moment when the oni actually scares a small child, though mostly kids are having a great time).  You can cut and paste it...  It definitely conveys the night scene!  Also shows the next day when people go to pray at the sub shrine up the hill.

Finally, on Friday, we went together to the Mibudera temple to see a famous Noh comedy (Kyogen play) having to do with Setsubun.  The characters wear wonderful masks and the action depicted through stylized gestures and dance (no dialog), with a gong, drum and flute punctuating the story.  We were sitting outdoors which was pretty nippy.  I learned later that the play concerned the greed of an old lady visited by an Oni in disguise, and in the end she loses her greed and chases him away by pelting him with you know what...No photographs allowed unfortunately.

I think this is more than enough information.

Oni wa soto; Fuku wa uchi!  Love, B&W