Now Kyoto Seems Far Away


We have been home for a little over a month.  Our life here is very much more complicated than it was in Kyoto, giving us only a little time, so far, to put the experience in perspective.  We feel both that we know much more about Japan and Japanese culture than we did a few short months ago, and also that we can be certain of even less.  We have joined the ranks of countless Westerners who will always feel a bit in love with, but also, as has been said before, "Wrong about Japan".  We miss the people we began to get to know in Kyoto, and hope to stay in touch, but know from experience that keeping lively communication going between two such different worlds is easier said than done.  We have heard from Ibata sensei that he is willing to keep giving us calligraphy lessons via the fax machine.  We are hoping for a return invitation in October, but know not to count on it.  We miss our slow but steady progress in the Japanese language, and the visual world is emptier without all the hiragana and katakana everywhere, which I was getting pretty good at sounding out, even though the meaning of the sounds usually remained  beyond me. Awakening from a dream, we know the sense of loss that can accompany the fast-fading of strange and fascinating visions.

Much love to all who have read these posts.

That's all for now...

Leaving Higashiyama Machiya and Kyoto

"Monkey Reaching for the Moon" by Hasegawa Tohaku

Garden at Kochi-in Temple

Win with Junko and Ritsuko on the Philosopher'sPath

15 April 2012

Just after Adam, Diana and Ella left our little rental machiya, named "Cotoriya" (meaning - appropriately - small bird's nest), Junko and Ritsuko came for a visit.  It was a perfect afternoon, so we went to visit Konchi-in Temple, a subtemple of Nanzen-ji.  In the afternoon light, the gardens and ponds were peaceful and very beautiful.  There is a rock garden with a turtle and a crane in the background.  We also had a chance to view the special treasures of the temple including the "eight window tea house" and a number of great wall paintings.  The picture above was our favorite: the famous monkey reaching for the reflection of the moon.  Then we took a last walk along the Philosopher's Path, admiring the trees and the falling petals.  Later Junko taught us the words to "Sakura, Sakura,"   Sad to say goodbye to them this morning.  We leave tomorrow for home. 

Haiku by Basho

The old pond-
a frog jumps in,
The sound of water.

We  jumped into a very ancient pond, and we hope we will carry home lasting music.

Love and see you soon-

Hanna mi, Family, and more Farewells

Tea House in the Garden of Okochi Sanso

 Adam and Diana and friends

Ella and a Nihon Zaru

Arashiyama Bamboo Grove

Sakura at Nijo Cast

13 April 2012

Adam, Diana and Ella arrived on April 6, which we had excitedly anticipated.  They brought with them the full flowering of Sakura, which was a bit late this year due to chilly weather.   The trees flower for just a few days, but the sheer numbers of trees along the Kamogawa River, the canals, in the parks and temples makes a wondrous sight.  Japanese have picnics and parties for days, and call viewing of trees "Hanna mi."  When the petals blow off, there is white snow everywhere, and this is called "Hanna fubuki" or flower blizzard.  We were thrilled to have delayed our departure to be here for this frenzy.

We had some wonderful days with Adam, Diana and Ella including a visit to Nijo Castle, a walk through Gion which allowed Ella to spend her stash of change on the tantalizing array of adorable little things that fill the stores.  The traditional Japanese change purse, made of old kimono cloth or imitation thereof is called a "Gama guchi" or frog mouth.  We had tea in our favorite tea shop in Gion, Ella enjoyed the roasted nori-mochi,  She was also good at getting her udon noodles with chopsticks.  Our last day was a trip to Arashiyama, where we visited the monkey park with Mayo-san and Satoki, much to everyone's delight. In the afternoon we strolled through the magical bamboo grove, and visited the magnificent stroll garden and tea house at Okochi Sanso, the private villa of a famous silent film actor, Okochi Denjiro. 

It was sad to see them go, and of course it reminded us of our imminent departure.

We send love

Farewells to New Friends

W and B with Akiko-san

6 April 2012

Suddenly our last week is nearly here.  Which means among other things saying goodbye to new friends.  Last night we had a wonderful dinner with Akiko-san at a little kaiseki restaurnat called Go Ken Shimo (five doors down).   It was the kind of place we wouldn't be able to find on our own.  We made our own yuba and tofu in a pot of simmering soy mild, and had all sorts of other delicious seafood and vegetable creations.  Most of all we had a delightful evening with Akiko, whom we will miss dearly.

Hakoniwa

This morning another of Win's students. Taro-san, met with us to present his therapeutic work with a boy he had seen for a number of years.  We deeply appreciative of being able to learn about sand play (Hakoniwa or small garden) and the Japanese way of listening and being with patients. Once again it felt very sad to leave and say good bye, but we will have much to learn from and think about once home.

Adam, Diana and Ella arrive this evening, and it will be wonderful to see them and see Kyoto afresh!

We send love.

Our Higashiyama Machiya

Higashiyama machiya

Neighboring Vegetable Shop

Old Street

Natsumi in Gion

Early Sakura

5 April 2012

An eventful past week.  We moved out of Shugakuin International House on March 28, the last day of Win's appointment.   Staying on was non negotiable, so we have moved into a small renovated machiya in the heart of Higashiyama (eastern hills).  We find ourselves in a very traditional little house with no chairs, a tiny kitchen, a tiny garden with a Japanese maple, and extra futons awaiting the arrival of Adam, Diana and Ella tomorrow.  But all we need is here. 

Just before we moved, we had a visit from Natsumi, who was on her way to a job interview in Osaka.  We spent a lovely sunny afternoon being her Kyoto guides, and had a fine tempura dinner.  She described the ordeal of job interviews in Japan, starting with the mandatory "uniform" of a black suit, white shirt, black bag and most certainly no red hair (which she didn't like one bit).  Then there is there are the group interviews, where one might be asked something like: if you were and animal, what one would you chose...Originality may not get you too far, with "lion" being the most acceptable answer.  Anyway it is clearly extremely nerve wracking.  How does one stand out when standing out is frowned upon?

Sakura are a little behind because of unseasonably chilly weather, but we saw a few early trees in the botanical garden.  Hanami (tree viewing) is a time of deep excitement in Japan.  Instructions to visitors are pretty simple - enjoy looking at particular types of blossoms, and enjoy watching entire groups of trees.  We hope to do plenty of that when A, D and E arrive.

Much love

The Way of the Brush (Shodo)

 Ibata sensei

Ibata senei's brushes

Shotei Ibata's studio

31 March 2012

For the past four weeks, we have embarked on a new learning adventure: shoto, or the way of the brush (calligraphy).  Our Japanese tutor introduced us to our teacher, Shotei Ibata.  For reasons best known to himself, since he is an eminent artist and teacher, he agreed to meet with us in his studio and teach us the rudiments of holding the brush, mixing ink, making lines, and then simple Kanji and Hiriagana.   Feeling very clumsy, the equivalent in brush work of trying to get out a Japanese sentence, we spent a wonderful, peaceful hour and a half in his studio each week - we making awkward lines and characters, he cheerfully showing us a more proper way with his vermilion ink, and saying "oh, betta" from time to time to encourage us.   We hope we may continue to study calligraphy in Boston.  At the end, he and his wife took us out to sushi dinner, a great kindness. 

In his younger years, Ibata-sensei was a world-wide performance artist, combining music (heavy metal his preferred style), dance and large brush paintings on the floor.  His biggest brush was made from the tails of several horses.  He still teaches and and gives demonstrations in his studio.  We felt pleasded to buy a wood block print of a rooster in the wind, with the calligraphy saying "spring wind."

Love to all

Hokusai Prints and Manga

24 March 2012

This is the 250th year anniversary of Hokusai's birth.  The Museum of Kyoto held a wonderful exhibit of prints and manga, on loan for the first time from the Honolulu Academy of Arts (having been donated there by James Mitchner).  It was a spectacular collection, and one could have easily spent days peering at each print, thinking about marvelous color and design, the fascinating details of daily life, the many different scenes of Japan and so on.  I restrained myself to just the eight pictures above, but that was difficult.

It was a great way to spend a cold and rainy spring day.

Much love to all.

Evening out in Oksaka

Osaka - Dotombori District

20 March 2012

We took the train to Osaka for an impromptu dinner with Giovanni and his Italian mathematician friend Philippo.  After some homestyle food (Izakaya), we walked to the the Dotombori district - a sort of neon madness which one guide book describes as the "survival of the flashiest."  I think that means shops and people.  The best people watching ever!

Much love

Ise Grand Shrine and Meotoiwa (Wedded Rocks)

Hoshidekan Ryokan

Bridge at Ise Inner Shrine

Ise Inner Shrine

Meotoiwa

17-18 March 20

We decided to take a last weekend trip before our move, and chose the Ise Peninsula, the site of Japan's noblest shrine, Jingu, the spiritual home of Japanese people.  The ancient shrine is comprised of two sites, and outer shrine, Geku, devoted to Omikami, deity of the protection of food, and the inner shrine, Naiku, devoted to Amarterasu (the supreme ancestral deity of the Japanese Imperial Family).  Amarterasu was thought to be enshrined in this location in the forest about 2000 years ago.  Amarterasu is the symbol of the sun and the deity that nurtures peace and harmony.  We found the shrines to be beautifully austere, nestled among ancient Cypress trees (Cryptomeria).  The architecture is more representative of the ancient Japanese style.  Gold leaf is only apparent on roof supports, and there is little decoration.  Shrine are rebuilt every 20 years in accordance with Shinto beliefs.  After visiting the shrines we returned to the old ryokan where we were staying, a wonderful old rambling building with a lovely interior garden with a water koto.  After dinner we were treated to listening to some OLD records of Josephine Baker, Louis Armstrong etc which the inn keeper played on an ancient wind up record player!  Great!

Next day we took the bus to Futamiura, famous for the Meotoiwa (wedded rocks) and the Futami Okitama Shrine ("Frog shrine"), devoted to the sanctity of marriage.  The rocks are part of the shrine, and are dedicated to Izanagi and Izanami (the marriage of the creator gods).  They have been tied with a rice straw rope (Shimenawa) for thousands of years and the rope is changes about 3 times a year by the monks and visitors.  You can guess which rock is the man and which the woman.  The Japanese word for frog is kaeru, which is the same as the verb for to return or come back...There were dozens of frog statues of every description and size.  We ate some exquisite grilled-in-the-shell oysters from Ise, certainly the best we have ever tasted - plump and tender, just barely boiled in their own juice) before getting on the bus again.

We took a walk in the Kawasaki, the old section of Ise by the river, poked into some little shops, and headed for the train home.

Love to all

Kamogawa Kai (International Friendship Group)

Detail of Screen showing Game of Chance

Repaired Roof of Founder's Hall

Repairing the Roof of Amida Hall

14 March 2012

Kamogawa Kai is an organization devoted to organizing trips and cultural events for foreign visitors to Kyoto.  The March trip was a tour of Higashi Hongan ji Temple, devoted to the memory of the Buddhist teacher, Honan, who died in 1262.  It is a magnificent wooden temple complex, currently under renovation (see above photo).  We were fortunate to be able to see many of the inner areas of the temple including beautiful tea rooms, with screens we could walk right up to (almost never possible at most temples where you see them in a dark room from a distance).  It was a great privilege.  The temple is also known for its hair ropes, made from the donated hair of female followers from all over Japan and used to transport the huge beams (hair makes hemp ropes much stronger).  The last stop was the Shosei-en detached garden surrounded by a marvelous stone wall.

Bye Bye Genpatsu (Nuclear Power Plant): Protest in Kyoto

10 March 2012

The question of nuclear power in Japan is complex, and a deeply emotional question for the Japanese, and there is clearly growing antinuclear sentiment.  The day before the first anniversary of the Great Eastern Earthquake and Fukushima disaster, there was an energetic protest march in Kyoto against nuclear power which started in Maruyama Park.  We decided to join in, having been given balloons and yellow flowers by other participants and made to feel welcome.  The participants were young and old, monks, babies in strollers, families, etc.  There were many explicit banners, some amusing costumes, musical encouragement.  Everyone was headed to Kyoto City Hall with a sense of purpose but orderly in typical Japanese fashion.  We did not get that far, but were glad to have participated.

We send all our love

Our Dinner Invitations

Five Story Pagoda at Horyu-ji

Satoki and his JR Train Set

Harada-san, Ryosuke-san, and Win at Horyu-ji

9 &13 March 2012

Now that we are getting ready to leave, our social life is heating up.  We've had four dinners in Japanese houses, which is a lot.  Only family and close friends are invited "home", so we are honored.  Once in the house, one is shown all the "special" things such as treasures from trips abroad, the small garden, the bonsai, and always, the photographs.  We didn't bring ours, which we've regretted, though we're not really sure if guests should show photos or focus on admiring the ones they are shown.  There is a kind of cozy intimacy "at home" that is charming and makes us want to cry.  In Japan, "how" you are depends on "where" you are.  Our issue, of deciding "how we really feel", and how and whether to express that seems to be a less conflicted matter (we think; we don't know).

One of our invitations was to visit one of my students in Nara, Japan's capitol city before 794CE.  While there we visited his favorite temple, Horyuji, a vast and peaceful place, bult in about 607CE, and dedicated to the life of Prince Shotoku who was one of the early advocates of Buddhism in Japan.  It may, or may not, have burned down in 670CE, but has stood since that time, giving it some claim to the title of the oldest wooden structure in the world.

Love to all,

Boston "Baked" Beans at Kinokuni Children's Village

12 March 2012

Nami-sensei, our Japanese tutor, teaches part time at Kino Kuni Children's Village, an alternative school for grades 1-12 located in a remote, mountainous setting.  (Above photos are not mine.)  The school's founder was deeply influenced by the writing of John Dewey and especially A.S.Neill (founder of Summerhill in England).  The school, as I understand it, is an open and democratic community (eg teachers are not addressed as so-and-so-sensei, no uniforms etc) which stresses the dignity of each child.  The children learn from projects, which include architecture, construction, farming, theatre, crafts, and, of course, cooking.  Classes all include children of various ages, and are often facilitated by students themselves instead of teachers.  There are also formal academics in the schedule, mostly interdisciplinary.  80% of the students board, even 6 year olds (!), going home each weekend for 3 nights.  The physical setting is definetely rough, but computers seem plentiful.  In one elementary school class I observed, children were studying India, and seemed to be giving reports on a variety of topics, while the teacher used the opportunity to practice writing, teach about time changes around the world, do geography, talk about the size of Bengal tigers etc etc.  The class lasted an hour and a half.  Older kids look out for the younger ones.    

My assigned role in the morning was to join the lower/middle school cooking class, where the children have been learning about the use of beans in various cultures (they had made tofu, shoyu, miso from soy beans, cooked "Mexican chili" and "Brazilian black beans" and now it was time for BOSTON BAKED BEANS!).  So armed with molasses and Worcestershire sauce brought over by Tim and Marg, and with the rest of the ingredients supplied by the school and the beans boiled earlier in the morning, we went to work.  The onions and bacon were perfectly diced and cubed by small children wielding sharp knives.  With no measuring, we added all the necessary ketsup, mustard, molasses, etc, etc, put the pot on the stove, boiled the mess for a while, and ended up with something remarkably like baked beans!!!!  This was a big relief to me, since every recipe calls for 5 hours of baking.  Then we had questions about American food and the role of beans...I described Native Americans helping the Pilgrims keep from starving in 1621, then about Thanksgiving (no one eats turkey in Japan), taught them to say Massachusetts (!), was asked it that was near the Kennedy Space Center, and then we all had lunch and ate beans.

I had a great time, wished I could learn more about the school.  It is so different from the usual school here, where children all wear blazers, knee socks neatly pulled up, pleated skirts, shorts for little boys, sometimes sailor shirts, ties etc.  In some schools, older boys wear military type uniforms.   Summerhill it is not for most Japanese kids.

Arrived back in time to have a great last dinner with Tim and Marg at Iroha, a lovely Suki yaki restaurant on Pontocho.  We all enjoyed the meal, and have become accustomed to dipping the cooked meat and vegetables into raw egg.  

With love