The Silver Pavilion (Ginkaku-ji) and Daimonji-yama

29 October 2011

I love
My hut
At the foot of the Moon-awaiting Mountain
And the reflection
Of the sinking sky.

        -Shogun Yoshimasa (1436-1490)

     Saturday was perfect (warm) fall weather.  So we decided to make an early start for Ginkaku-ji, known as the Silver Pavilion.  The temple originated in the 1400's as a villa for the Shogun Yoshimasa, who being weary of the political world of the time, withdrew to devote himself to the arts.  The garden is spectacularly beautiful, consisting of a pond garden with seven stone bridges.  A sea of raked sand spreads out from the main hall and reflects the moon light onto the gardens. The large sand cone (Kogetsudai or moon-viewing platform) had various meanings attributed to it: possibly meant to be a source of sand for the sand garden, or a representation of Mt. Fuji, or meant to reflect divine light into the hearts of viewers.  The Silver Pavilion (not silver but ancient weathered wood) is small and exquisitely graceful.  The main hall was open for the month for tours of its treasures, and so we were able to see some of the gardens in the back and some wonderful screens, both ancient and 19th century impressionist, and the kaisho (or gathering room) where arts such as tea, poetry, flower arranging, incense appreciation were practiced and refined.  As you climb up the hill behind through the moss gardens, you get a wonderful view of both Kyoto and the temple.  I look forward to returning in winter.  The gardeners sweep the moss with delicate straw brushes, pick up maple seeds and stray leaves etc., and generally leave the landscape impeccably tidy.  Many trees have their longest branches resting on bamboo poles, a common sight in all the gardens.

     After a cup of matcha, we set off to climb Daimonji-yama, the mountain seen easily from all over Kyoto which has a vast dai kanji slashed into the upper slope (dai means great and is one of about 4 kanji I can recognize!).  The climb was a short, somewhat steep and very well-used trail which leads to an overlook which seemed to be a popular picnic spot for young and old alike.  Every year on Aug 16 (Daimonji no Okuribi),  great fires are lit (see photo), first on Daimon-ji and then on other surrounding mountains in succession.  The fires are burned to bid farewell to the spirits of ancestors after the spirits have visited the earth for that day.

    We hope all our friends are surviving the untimely October snow we have read about!  Not a sign of cold weather around here yet.

     We miss everyone and send love

Daily Life

October 27, 2011

Our blogs have been filled with fantastic images, but we also have an ordinary life that goes along beside it. We live in a small apartment that has a spare bedroom. We have a nice view of the hills around Kyoto, which are just beginning to get their fall colors. Our bathroom is a bit bigger than the head on North Star, and the shower works fine. We have a kitchen/dining room, so we spend much more of our time together than we do at home. So far, so good.

The apartment building is right next to the Eizan Railway, and there is a crossing gate just below us. The gate goes "ding, ding, ding" cheerfully enough, but somewhat sharply, and monotonously about every 10-15 minutes between 5:00AM and about midnight. It's a good alarm clock, and we're pretty used to it by now. We'd rather it was a temple gong, but the rent is very reasonable.

I leave for work at about 8:00AM, and ride my bike, which is too small for me, and has two tiny wheels. I feel like a circus bear when I'm on it, but nobody has laughed out loud. Within about 15 minutes, I arrive at my office at Kyoto University. The sidewalks are mostly very wide, and are filled with bicycles going fast in both directions, as well as pedestrians. Japanese don't seem to acknowledge each other much on the city streets, but I have seen no collisions. Japanese are extremely "sharp" dressers. No slobs allowed. Even the Otaku with their wild hair dyed all colors are sharp and clean. Janitors and all other workers wear spotless uniforms. All school children are in uniform. All uniforms are pressed and spotless, and some are very stylish. Young women seem all to look stunning; each one is both very individually turned out, and, at the same time, part of a crowd, like a chorus where each member wears a uniform that is both different and the same.

Japanese move in the city like a flowing river or a school of fish. They are dense on the streets, both walking and on their bicycles, but the flow is never turbulent. It is a meditative experience to watch a crowd from an overpass, each person moving to his or her own destination, without the slightest interference with anyone else. New York City, this is not!

That gets me to work; more in the next post.

Love to all,

Kyoto Jidai Maturi: Festival of the Ages

23 October 2011

October 22 was the date of two major festivals in Kyoto: The Jidai Matsuri or Festival of the Ages and the Kurama Fire Festival. The Jidai Matsuri was postponed to today because of heavy rains and thunder storms yesterday. The fire festival, dating back to the 700's, occurs in a the small town of Kurama, as means to guide the spirits of hell through the earth by means of giant fire torches carried through the town. We decided not to go as it was very rainy and the small trains were said to be impossibly crowded though we live right by a stop...Instead we made a trip to the Kyoto International Manga Museum, a great place to read any of some 300,000 manga (with some shelves in English). Actually there were some fun activities for kids, including some wonderful story telling and also a showing of very unique animations made by students from one of the art colleges. We thought of A and D...

In the evening we went to a tiny local bar with a couple of postdocs, French and Italian, whom Win had met in his Japanese lesson. It was a mellow and welcoming hole in the wall, with some folk singers and an animated story teller while we had beer and fried sardines (?), curry and rice, etc. Language is always a hash, but it was fun. Maybe a little like Harvard Sq in the 60's...

Today was the Jidai Matsuri Festival, which originated in 1895 to celebrate the 1100th year of Kyoto's founding as capital of Japan (though the capital moved to Tokyo in about 1868). I will not in any way try to recapitulate the history, but the Festival is a grand and stately parade with about 2000 costumed participants and many horses and a few oxen, which winds its way from the park of the Imperial Palace (where the above photographs were all taken) through the streets to the Heian Shrine. Costumes are exceedingly elaborate and authentic and the parade represents various eras in a reverse order. Colorful, ornate, representing many historical persons and events, great weapons and armor, straw foot gear, marvelous hats of all descriptions, a little music (drums, bamboo flutes, conch shells). The dignity of the parade was interrupted at times by balky horses (one coach at the beginning had a horse that refused for some time to walk along, resulting in all sorts of pulling and pushing the coach). I believe that the last picture might show some fellows laughing at someone who stepped in dung (though it being Japan there were dung sweepers along the route). Of course they were wearing straw shoes. The entire parade takes about 2 hrs to pass by. Better than costumes in a museum!

Much love

Gion and Maiko

2o October 2011

No matter what they say,
I love Gion.
Even in my sleep,
the sound of water flows
beneath my pillow.

-Yoshii Isamu, 1886-1960

As of today, we have our official alien resident cards, so I guess we can't be considered tourists any longer. We also found out that we have to pay into the Japanese national health care system because of being senior citizens, though we have absolutely no idea what we might be entitled to.

Yesterday was another warm and sunny day, so I loaded all my camera stuff on my long suffereing back and set off for Gion, the old Geiko district (Geisha are known as Geiko in Kyoto). It is much livelier at night, but lovely to walk around by day. The historic parts by the Shirakawa River are famous O-chaya (tea houses) still in use today (and probably off limits to westerners unless by special invitation). Yoshii Imasu was an impoverished poet cared for by geiko, and the above poem is carved on a stone by the river, just down from the Shinbashi Bridge. Maiko are geiko in training, a process that can take 6 or more years. For your pleasure, I was able to catch a daytime photo (with their permission) of two maiko taking a stroll.

Later I went to the old Zen temple, Kennin-ji. There were many wonderful paintings and Zen gardens. I thought S, Q and E. would like the dragons (which were painted on a ceiling) and the sweet bunny (painted on a screen).

We miss everyone, and send love

The Philosopher's Walk, Street Cats and the Botanic Garden

18 October 2011

My pattern seems to be to take long walks on Mondays and Wednesdays when there are no Japanese lessons etc. Yesterday I set off for the Philosopher's Walk (named for a certain Kyoto University professor of the early 20th century who took daily constitutionals there). It is a pleasant walk in Higashiyama (eastern mountains) by a pleasant canal. There are no cars, so it is a quiet place to walk. There are a small shops and restaurants, great blue herons in the canal, well-fed stray cats (cats send their best to E, S & Q), cherry trees and willows. Altogether very pleasing. A perfect place for Nelson. I stopped by the famous temple, Eikando Zenrin-ji. It is a series of buildings connected by walkways. It is especially famous for The Looking-back Buddha. The story goes that the head priest Eikan was walking around the altar when the Amida statue stepped down. The amazed priest stopped in his tracks, and Amida looked over his shoulder to encourage him to come along. (NB: the first three photos are not mine).

Later Win came home and we took the bus over to the Kyoto Botanical Garden, of which we only saw a small portion, including a marvelous exhibit of bonsai (from ancient gnarled trees to fruit trees, grasses, rice and a fern forest), water garden, bamboo garden, Japanese native plants and trees, lots of fall-blooming shrubs, and so on. There is an immense conservatory which we will visit on another trip.

Today were morning and afternoon Japanese lessons for me and teaching for Win. At least I can say "where is the toilet" (and hope to find a western style toilet though I'm slowly getting more adept with the squat sort and now know to face backwards)!

With all our love

Traditional Japanese Dance and a Lesson for B.

16 October 2011

We were invited through a group known as Kamogawa-kai (International Friendship Group) to watch a dance performance at a small Shrine. It was a beautiful clear and warm day. The dances were very traditional, each dedicated to a season and with a story, usually of heartbreak I think. One dance was done by a charming girl with streamers. Afterwards we were invited to learn how to use a fan expressively - as in catching falling petals, moving like waves, pouring sake, being a love letter, etc etc. I could barely get by opening the fan, which was surprisingly stiff. Anyway, as you can see I am trying my hardest to hold it properly! Hand gestures are amazingly subtle.

The Japanese love the clover bush which is now about at the end of its blooming time. You can see wishes tied to the branches. We walked back along the Kamogawa River, where families seemed to be enjoying a relaxed and warm Sunday. In the photo you might be able to see that the river is formed by two forks right below the bridge. Also the river is quite shallow and at that point can be crossed by stepping stones, some of which you might see are shaped like large turtles. This spot is about 15 minutes walk from Kyoto University and a 10 or 15 minute train ride to where we are living.

Much love

Kiyomizu-dera, The Love Shrine, Chado, and Chion-in

15 October 2011

It's just a rumor
that this is a small pine,
these are actually the branches of a tall pine
that hold up the clouds.

-Honen Shonin

October 13 marked a month since our arrival. Japanese language skills not much improved, but increasing familiarity with Kyoto, and our neighborhood (and Japanese manners etc), makes day-to-day life relatively smooth. Since it was a teaching day for Win, I set off for the famous hillside temple, Kiomizu-dera. It was quite mobbed, but the main hall is a grand sight - a huge wooden structure with a large veranda hanging over the hillside, supported by over a hundred wooden pillars 15m high. Wonderful views of Kyoto. The photo is one of the smaller buildings.
The next picture is of school girls (who have just visited the "love stone" which is two stones about 18 meter apart and if you can walk accurately between them with your eyes closed you wish for love will be fulfilled). Japanese temples and shrines abound with ways of making wishes and sending prayers. I saw one in which you wrote a wish on a paper doll and put it in a tub of water. When the paper dissolves you wish comes true. The next photo shows people drinking from the sacred Otawa-no-taki spring which is felt to have therapeutic properties.

In the evening we were given a "welcome" dinner by Win's department at a very nice restaurant, Manzara Hon. Very nice food, especially the abalone stew, and a very delicate dumpling sort of thing in broth. Conversation not always the easiest.

I saw an old Japanese silent film (I Was Born, but...from 1932) on Thursday at the International Center with Hou, a Chinese woman who lives in the building. She speaks Japanese pretty well, but barely English, so it was not too easy to communicate. She has been in Japan for a long while with her husband, who is in Asian Social Studies and interested in something like whether an EU model would be feasible for Asian countries...

Friday was mostly Japanese lessons. I think we are supposed to be able to learn Hiragana pretty quickly but 48 characters is too many for me! I keep trying to think how each sound goes with some visual mnemonic but that doesn't work very well. At least three characters look like mice and way more than that look like kites.

Today we were invited for a visit to the Urasenke Chado Research Center, a school devoted to the study of the way of the tea. It was a special occasion for foreign visitors. We were treated very graciously, given a short talk about the tea ceremony, a demonstration by students of the school (who were variously from Poland, Jamaica, South America, Finland etc), and then served an appropriate fall sweet and matcha tea. The study of tea is from the Japanese perspective a life time endeavor. It fits with the ideas of tranquility, harmony, graciousness.

After lunch we headed to another famous temple, Chion-in, where we understood there would be a crafts flea market on the 15th of the month. Perhaps the on and off rain, or the timing, or something else, but no market in evidence. (I later found out I had confused Chion-in Temple with Chion-ji Temple where indeed there is a crafts market every month. An honest mistake.) Instead bus load upon bus load of Japanese heading in groups to the temple to partake in various ceremonies, including beating wooden drums (hundreds of these) while sitting on the floor, chanting of monks and so on. We could not quite figure out the meaning of the occasion, but it certainly gave one the feel of being in the midst of a pilgrimage of some sort. The temple and the gardens are very beautiful. The 4th photograph shows some monks chanting prayers, and the last were the participants sitting on the floor drumming and the monks up in front. The small sculpture is of Honen who founded the Pure Land Buddhist sect.

Love to all-

Another National Holiday

10 October 2011

We start the day early and Win leaves on his bike for the University to work on his talk. Not too much later he comes home and reports power is out at the University and nothing is open or functioning. Turns out it is National Health and Sports Day, quite unbeknownst to us. So we have our own Columbus Day substitute. This Japanese holiday was started in 1964 to commemorate the Olympics of that year. So now there is a holiday for the mind and body, as well as the many holidays for concerns of the spirit.

That's it for now.

With love

Kamigamo Shrine, Weddings and Tsukemono

9 October 2011

The twilight dim, the gentle breeze
By Nara-no-Ogawa stream
The splash of worshipers who wash
Before the shrine, all seem
A perfect summer's dream.

-Fujiwara Iyetaka, 1237

A beautiful, warm day. Took the bus to Northwest Kyoto to explore yet another old neighborhood, Shake-machi, meaning shrine family township. It is the old area around the Kamigano Shrine (794). Legend has it that Wakeikazuchi, God of Thunder and Rain, resides at the shrine. The sand cones (there's an idea for any eager castle builders in our family) are thought to represent the mountains through which Wakeikazuchi communicates with the mortal sphere. The shrine is very popular with the local community. We saw at least three very stylish weddings in progress while we were there (no photos), and several blessings of newborn babies. The main building of the shrine is under renovation, but we liked the wooden rabbit (don't know the significance), and the vermilion bridges and gates.

Afterwards we took a neighborhood walk by the old houses which boarder the stream, and made a stop at the famous pickle shop, Narita, where we bought a whole pickled turnip and something else reddish and cut up - often it's just a guess...perhaps we can bring some tsukemono home, but I'm not sure how long they last...

We miss everyone and send love

Cable Ride up to Mt Hiei and Enryaku-ji: 1300 Years of History

8 October 2011

We decided to visit the ancient temple complex of Enryaku-ji early in the morning before the crowds (recommended to us by our old friend in Tokyo, Junko). It is perched near the top of the sacred Mt Hiei, and one way to get there is by a short cog railway, followed by a cable car. Unfortunately the cog didn't start until 9am, so we had a while to wait, but we were on the first train of the day, chugging steeply up through pine and larch forest to the cable. I will give only the simplest history of the area: it is said that in ancient times (788), crude buildings were built on the mountain top so that a priest could watch the northeast horizon day and night, from where it had been determined evil spirits would come. Then if evil spirits were sighted, the monks would beat drums and ring gongs. From these humble beginnings, the temple complex grew to vast size and power over the centuries. The emperor at that time was Shinto, but the Buddhist monks "found" Shinto gods on the mountain and incorporated them into their Buddhist beliefs. The powerful monk armies kept the emperors (and other Buddhist sects) at their mercy. Finally in 1571, the vast monastery was burnt down (some 3000 buildings and the monks); it was later rebuilt to have a mere 125 temples. Of which we saw a small but lovely handful, nestled into the sides of the mountain. Our favorite spot was Jodo-in (2nd photo), the mausoleum of one of the famous 9th century monks. A very austere and tranquil spot.

We thought maybe S, Q and E would like the dragon water spigot. I don't know its story, but Win was brave enough to rinse his mouth out which is for good fortune! We had a long hike back uphill to the top to get the cable. We were quite starved so had some sort of Japanese hot dog on a stick and Win had a roasted corn. You can see Lake Biwa (largest lake in Japan) from the top, and the view from the cable (above photo) shows Kyoto spread out in the valley. We had a great day and entirely avoided any study of Hiragana!

Love to everyone

Teaching and Learning in Kyto: OMG!!

5 October 2011

Kyoto University is a big bustling place, now alive with flocks and flocks of students, all cuter than we have ever imagined people could be.

I have now met my two classes, each for the first time. How did it go? Don't ask me. The first session was me telling them who I was, and them starting to tell me who they are. I am speaking English (what else?), and they seem to be listening. I have told them again and again that it's my responsibility to make myself understood to them; not theirs to struggle unduly to understand me. A few of the students speak English quite well, and I think most all of them understand it much better than they speak it. I'll keep trying to make it O.K. for them to ask for a translation, or to ask me to slow down or say it again. Both classes are quite big; 14 students in each, which is many more people than I'm used to having in clinical seminars. Some of them are just beginning to work with their first cases, and others have up to three years of experience. Fortunately the material is so familiar to me that I feel right at home with it even after having been away from teaching for three years.

B. and I had our first intensive hiragana class this afternoon. Over a period of three hours we were drilled on making and recognizing the 40 odd hiragana characters (see above). It seems pretty hopeless. Even after we learn them, we then have to learn 40 odd katakana characters, and even then we won't be able to read the simplest Japanese text. We could, however, write any Japanese words we wanted to, phonetically.

It feels like we're really underway now. I'll tell you more about our daily lives in the city in the next post.

Love to everybody,

Ippodo Tea Co.

4 October 2011

Past two days have been beautiful and clear. Finally a hint of fall in the air. Today Win began his teaching, and promises to describe his experiences after tomorrow's class. I continue my Japanese conversation class at the International House, and we will both try to enroll in a class at the university. I always seem to blank out on my limited vocabulary when I am out in public so we'll see how it goes.

This afternoon I finally found the famous old tea store I had been hunting for - Ippodo. (Photos are from the web.) I had decided our green tea bags from the grocery store were pretty so-so, and we should celebrate Win's survival of the first class with something more tasty. Only problem is that the store has dozens of teas to chose from, each meant to be brewed in its own particular way. Sencha tea is described as "a perfect harmony of sweetness, sharpness and fragrance...A favorite among tea lovers, sencha is the ideal drink to revitalize your mind and refresh you spirit." I picked, for no special reason, 100 grams of Sho-ikeno-o (probably because it was the middle of a list of 7 types). I also bought a starter matcha (powdered green tea) kit (including bamboo chasen or wisk, chawan or bowl, bamboo chashaku or ladle, cotton cloth, and small tin of matcha), but we decided to stick with the more familiar sencha for our afternoon tea and it was excellent (as described, for sure). I was given a small teapot as a promotional gift so now we are all set. Later when we have seen a tea ceremony, I will attempt to make matcha tea. Green tea lovers among our friends should let me know if they would like me to bring some home for them.

We send much love

Nara: The Great Buddha, Buddha's Nostril, and Map-eating Deer

2 October 2011

Nara lies about 40 minutes south of Kyoto on the JR Train Line. Known as the cradle of arts and culture in Japan, it was the capital in the mid 700's. Successive emperors cultivated Buddhism in Nara, and the many spectacular temples and works of art attest to this. Some of the largest, if not the largest wooden buildings ever constructed still standing. Many of the temples and shrines are located in Nara Park, home to 1200 tame deer who are considered sacred. Biscuits are sold to feed them, and so the deer join in with the crowds without a shred of fear. However, we saw that the occasional small child was knocked over, even butted and left quite terrified and tearful. We can attest to their boldness, as Win was carrying a map which is now missing a large corner due to a deer coming up behind and grabbing it (?thinking it was a deer biscuit). It happily munched the paper. Top that off, we watched a large crow take a piece of lunch from the hand of a shrieking school girl... But I think the deer would definitely like Ella, especially the little fawns.

Kofuku-ji Temple has a very famous 5 story pagoda (see photo above) last rebuilt in 1462. Other lovely octagonal buildings are still wonderful to see, and we rang the gong and lit incense for the well-being of all our friends. The main buildings are shrouded due to being rehabilitated, so most of the artwork could not be seen. Todai-ji Temple is truly astonishing. A vast wooden hall is home to the Great Buddha, some 53' high. Apparently when it is dusted, at least 3 monks can stand on its upturned palm. Fierce heavenly guardians carved of wood watch the entry way. The ornamentation is also enormous as you can see from the lotus above me where I am taking a picture. Behind Buddha is a pillar with a hole said to be the size of the Buddha sculpture's nostril. Those who successfully crawl through are said to be able to obtain Nirvana. You can see a lucky child in the photo. I considered a try but decided a gaikokujin (foreigner) stuck in a hole would be embarrassing for all concerned. Needless to say, there was no hope for Win.

Win starts teaching Tuesday, and we will begin studying Japanese at the university very soon, including learning the syllabic writing (hiragana and katakana) but not Kanji. Who knows how far we can get with that...

We send love to all