Longest Entry Yet pt. 1

Pictures: Moon from Daikakuji, Screen inside temple, traditional women's Heian dress, temple at Daikakuji, train stapler!, maiko>geiko fans in cafe in Gion, crossing the Kamogawa!

So the past few weeks since writing my last blog entry (which are roughly a week longer than I’m willing to admit!) have been somewhat dull, and blissfully so. Due to rain on both Wednesday and Friday, we were unable to make our weekly field trip in The History of Kyoto and instead watched an…interesting movie (re: glorified slash fan fiction) on the Shinsengumi, the police force of the Bakufu during the Edo period. Interestingly enough, they were actually stationed at Komyouji temple, where Jenna, Kyle and I went not a few weeks ago! It was completely unbeknownst to us—this is not a fact the temple likes to promote—and so we fully intend to return in the spring and take appropriate photos! Interestingly enough, the steps we walked on were actually in the film. The three of us were excited to say the least.

Friday held the usual lazy festivities. We went to a restaurant called Donguri, which has mostly okonomiyaki (Japanese “pizza”) but I ended up having sukiyaki, which was equally delicious! I suggest this restaurant to anyone going to Japan simply for tourism, especially if you don’t really speak Japanese. Though Kyoto is a tourist city, not every restaurant is English friendly (obviously, and why would we expect them to be?). Anyway, their staff doesn’t speak English, but they have an English menu!

Afterwards, our group headed off to Lipton, a tea and cake restaurant somewhat further down Karasuma, but Becky, Patrick and I went to the Kamogawa River and sat on tarps (it had rained considerably that day) until we got tired and went home! Nice and relaxing.

Saturday was incredibly busy once more! Sometimes I wonder if I’m doing too much, but I always feel fine after a relaxing Sunday afternoon at home. Anyway, first stop was the Cosmopolitan Club, a club run by Doshisha students who want to make international friends. Unfortunately for their international friends who want to make Japanese friends, there are far more international students than Japanese students. The club proves to be fun anyway!

Before adventuring, we all got lunch at the convenience store by the Kamogawa River near the Keihan railway and hopped across the river stones to the middle for some tasty food! I was wearing tights but stood for a while with my feet in the river. It was an absolutely gorgeous day and the water felt wonderful!

Anyway, so the Cosmo-Club explores cool places in Kyoto and yesterday we went to Sanjusangen-do, a temple which houses one thousand and one statues of Kannon Buddha. On paper it sounds impressive, sure, but not nearly as impressive as actually being in their awe-inspiring presence! They stand in an equally impressive temple, which is nearly as old as they are. The original collection was built in the 1100s, during the decline of Buddha. Buddhism has three stages and the decline happened in the Kamakura period of Japan (this is after the Heian period and before the Ashikaga Muromachi period). Kyoto especially felt the wrath of this decline, experiencing earthquakes and devastating fires throughout the period. In one such fire, the majority of the collection was either damaged or fully burned away and was rebuilt or restored in the 1200s along with the temple. The temple, too, is impressive. Built like any other temple or pagoda in Japan, the slats of the roof are built to slide and rock with the motion of an earthquake, thus protecting the national treasures within.

But what is most fascinating yet is that I did not learn any of this from the pamphlets or plaques, but from an ojii-san (old man) who called us over while we were walking through the temple! He has been studying English for five years and he told us all about the temple, it’s reconstruction, the Kannon Buddha’s, etc. Firstly he urged us to remember, if anything, two facts. The first is that the name of the god is Kannon Buddha. The second is that the oldest of the collection—the ones which survived the fire—are eight hundred and fifty years old. They are made out of Japanese cypress and were constructed separately. He told us that because some of them are hollow, more than a few carry sutras, hidden away inside their stomachs. I am constantly amazed at what you can learn if you really pay attention!

I had to jet out not forty minutes after arriving, however, because I was to meet up with Lizzy, a friend of mine from Smith who is studying at Nanzan University in Nagoya—about an hour by bullet train from Kyoto—to attend the Onshukai in Gion. This event is held once a year, each year with a different theme, and mirrors the Maiko Odori in the Spring. Maiko and Geiko perform a number of dances or plays. Unfortunately English separates the two and so it can be difficult to imagine, but in Japanese theater, the two are very closely related. If you know anything about Noh, Kabuki, Bunraku, Kyogen, Bon Odori, or a combination of any of these, you know that there is at least a little bit of dancing, if not dance movement in them, as well as elements of plays and ancient stories.

Part Two--details of the Onshukai-- can be found here:http://agingerinwonderland.blogspot.com/2009/10/longest-entry-yet-pt2.html

After attending this performance there’s no way I can’t at least try to get tickets for the Maiko Odori in spring! There are seriously juicy tidbits regarding the invention of that particular event, so I suppose…look forward to it?

Anyway, since doing only two cultural things in one day is clearly not enough, Lizzy and I met up with Carolyn and Julia and headed off to Daikakuji Temple near Arashiyama for the Tsukimi Matsuri (moon viewing festival). The temple has a large lake on which they have boats with little red lanterns for moon viewing. Very Heian period. Anyway the line for the boat was way too long so we instead explored the temple. First we grabbed some takoyaki (octopus inside a dough ball…mmm), yakisoba (pan fried soba noodles with meat), and dango (sweet chewy dough balls). All were absolutely delicious!! After that we explored the temple complex, which is absolutely gorgeous and dates back to 876AD. It was the palace of Emperor Saga and he eventually designated it as a temple for the Kobo Dashi sect of Buddhism. The building itself has actually been moved to its current location. The complex is absolutely gorgeous at night, especially lit up at night during a special festival!

It took us a while, but we eventually found the moon! It was a perfect night for moon viewing with somewhat mysterious clouds covering it up once in a while. The air was cool, but not brisk, and I managed to find some nice gifts for my host family, which they really seemed to like.

Overall it was a wonderful but absolutely exhausting day. I ended up sleeping until 11:45 the next day, today, that is. So far my current plan for the day has been holding fast: DO NOTHING. I’ve been sitting here writing my blog and soon I’ll get some studying in if I feel like it! Other than that, I’m going to be as much of a lump as I can.

Thursday we are heading off to Tokyo so there will most likely be another large post the following Monday if I’m not too exhausted to actually write it!

Also, still famous. A woman at the little café Lizzy and I went to in Gion recognized me from NHK. HAHA.