Month: December 2013

Reflecting on our recent trip to Japan, we felt there were a few things worth sharing that hadn’t made it into a posting. Read on.

On Actually Wearing a Kimono

Going to our fitting at the local kimono shop, I had no idea what wearing a kimono actually involved.

When I arrived at the venue, the owner of the kimono rental shop met me with three attendants from the venue. Starting with a t-shirt and leggings, they proceeded to wrap four thin white hand towels around my neck and waist, secured in place with surgical tape. Next came a kimono style slip secured with a plain sash. It was pretty tight, but when asked while sucking in my stomach, I assured them that it was fine. Next came the kimono I selected. (I had chosen one with bright red accents. Of course, I was later told that it was a kimono for a younger woman, but I wore it well.)

The kimono was hiked up in the back, then secured in place with another plain sash. This time I mentioned that maybe it was a little too tight, but was told that that particular sash was an important one. So, I sucked it in a little more. The final touch was the obi sash. A stiff piece of cardboard was concealed in the fold in the front and there was a little pillow under the knot in the back. It took two attendants, pulling and pushing, to get the whole thing in place. With perfect posture guaranteed and walking limited to dainty small steps, I was ready to go. There was one more thing the kimono owner needed to tell me: what I needed to do if I had to go to the bathroom. With that explanation, I decided that I just wouldn’t need to go.

I did feel glamorous and, in spite of the discomfort and giggles from some of the Japanese people at the venue (not at our party), it is something I am glad I did.

The Up-do

The owner of the kimono rental shop diplomatically let me know that my short wavy hair wasn’t going to work with the kimono and asked whether or not I would let the attendants at the venue style, and therefore touch, my hair. I assured her that it was all good. The hairdresser worked her magic, first with hot rollers, then teasing and securing my hair in place with a lot of bobby pins and hair spray. I was amazed at the result; I looked like I had long hair put up in an elegant up-do. My curly hair was tamed, but afterwards it took two washings to get all of the hair spray out.

Thinking about Toilets

It’s something all of us need for at least a once-a-day engagement. And, the toilets in Japan are not a straightforward subject. They are found at two extremes, the ultra-modern and the bare minimum. The ultra-modern or “western” toilets go beyond the standard two flushing options to include heated seats, a bidet feature, a derriere washing option, a deodorizer spray and a sound option that runs water to mask any bodily sounds. The guidebook we consulted cautions: do not get up until the water stops. An in-home version of this toilet can also include a small sink above the tank doing double duty as water flows for hand washing and then drains to fill the tank for the next flush. At the other extreme is what the guides on our trip to Russia referred to as a Japanese toilet. It is a porcelain trough in the floor with a flushing option. It was my experience that in public restrooms, Japanese style toilets outnumbered “western” toilets even in recently constructed buildings. Remember my quick resolve to avoid the need for a toilet while wearing a kimono? Use your imagination, but since all ages use this form of toilet, their legs will remain fit (it’s a “two step” in other parts of the world). In either case, the public restrooms were consistently very clean wherever we went (even at McDonald’s) , and free (unlike, for example, France). Generally there were no paper towels and only feeble, if at all, electric hand dryers, so women carry a small hand cloth in their purses, terry on one side and a marvelous Japanese print on the other.

Japanese – Language Lessons

First of all, it ain’t easy. Learning a few Japanese phrases (enough to behave somewhat politely, but not actually communicate with anyone) isn’t all that difficult. The sounds you need to make are pretty straightforward, at least to the point where listeners think they know what you’ve just tried to say. However, reading the language is insanely difficult. We have immense respect for Kyle and the undertaking on which he has embarked to become not only a proficient speaker, but a reasonably literate person in Japanese.

If you count Arabic numerals separately, English speakers use two writing systems: Roman letters and Arabic numerals. Counted the same way, speakers of Japanese use five. Fortunately for us, they use Arabic numerals. They also use Roman letters when throwing odd bits of often nonsensical English or other European phrases into signage or onto clothing. A way of writing syllables called Hiragana is used to write traditional Japanese words and it’s the system that kids start out learning in school. A different way of writing syllables called Katakana is used to write words that have been borrowed from other languages. Can you imagine using a different alphabet to write words in English that were derived from French, Latin or Greek? Then there is a completely different set of symbols that don’t represent syllables, they represent ideas. To write Japanese you need to master a set of symbols called Kanji that were derived from Chinese writing. In order to be literate, you need to be able to recognize and write over 2,000 of them. Moreover, they are quite important and enable you to distinguish between different ideas that sound the same and are written the same if rendered in Hiragana.

Kanji are also ubiquitous. Having studied a bit of Hiragana to help us sort out signage while traveling on our own, we were dismayed on the ride into Tokyo from Narita airport when we noticed that “Tokyo” was written on the highway signs in Kanji, not in Hiragana. Interestingly enough, on the local trains the writing indicating the names of stops is first in Kanji (large and prominent) with smaller writing adjacent for those not fluent in Japanese in Roman letters and in Hiragana. So, if you are a young school child who hasn’t mastered sufficient Kanji yet, you can make out your stop in Hiragana.

Getting Around in Japan

We saw quite a few young school children (early elementary school) riding the trains either in small groups or completely alone. This says two things about Japan. First, it is a very safe country where parents don’t hesitate to allow young children to go about on their own. And, it has a very reliable and comprehensive public transportation system.

Other than recognizing that we frightened little children whenever they spotted us and attracted the curiosity of young and old alike, we felt very comfortable making our way around both Tokyo and the Osaka/Kyoto area. Most people were very courteous and friendly. Quite a few were indifferent, but no one was unfriendly or at all hostile (something that can’t be said about traveling in quite a few countries).

It’s finding a building, however, that can make getting where you want to go a challenge. We discovered this when looking for specific stores or galleries when someone had not drawn us a map. Japanese people also find it to be challenging. The reason? Rather than identify buildings by the street or road on which they are situated and then by sequential numbers from one end of the street to the other, the Japanese have a totally different system for identifying buildings. Often, in our experience, the basic starting point isn’t a street, but a neighborhood. Then, starting with that street or neighborhood, there are sectors that are numbered in the order they were developed and then another set of numbers that identify the buildings in that sector by reference to when they were built. So, “3” refers to the third building constructed. Obviously, they aren’t going to be in any particular order walking down the street. So, the best thing to do is use your smart phone to find a website (in English) that has a map, i.e. use GPS (although your usual map program may take you in the wrong direction).

Another thing we discovered was that a well-meaning hotel clerk can send you on an impossible errand. One of the clerks at our hotel in Tokyo (which we loved) was kind enough to give us directions to a very good katsu restaurant. The problem was that he wrote the name of the restaurant in Roman letters. The restaurant didn’t have any signage in Roman letters, only in Kanji. We went up and down the street, trying to figure out which restaurant we were looking for. We asked passersby. No one could figure it out. Finally, we went into a likely looking place and asked if it was the place we were looking for. No, but a customer at the restaurant was consulted and he left his table and walked us down the street to the restaurant that had been recommended to us (and that we thoroughly enjoyed).

Finally, the streets themselves are consistently much more narrow than anywhere we’ve been. Having lived for a time in Europe, a number of two-way streets in Japan would be designated as pedestrian zones in Europe. One close to where we were staying was so narrow taxi drivers were unwilling to drive down it. Some were defined by steep, straight-edged gutters on one side or both. We were cautious walking in those streets and can’t imagine driving on them. A key difference with Europe is that there the insanely narrow streets are from the Middle Ages. In Japan, they are from the latter half of the twentieth century.

Our final visit to a World Heritage Site during our first family trip to Japan was to the town of Uji and the Byodoin temple. (We don’t think we’re quite ready to drive in Japan. The roads are extremely narrow and most signage is, to us, unreadable.) There are a number of compelling reasons for visiting Byodoin. In its modern underground Treasure House are some magnificent National Treasures. The most interesting (among many interesting treasures) were the Worshipping Bodhisattvas on Clouds. In Pure Land Buddhism, Bodhisattvas help in attaining buddhahood or perfect enlightenment. The 52 Worshipping Bodhisattvas on Clouds are the only surviving group of Buddhist statues from the 11th century. About half of them are playing a variety of musical instruments. Copies are being sculpted of them so that they may be touched by the faithful and fulfill their mission of allowing people to create a connection with the divine. Another reason to visit Uji is to see the building that graces the 10 yen coin, the Phoenix Hall at Byodoin.

It was Day Two and there was a lot more of Kyoto out there to be explored. Once again, we had the help of our guide Hiroe.

The first stop was Sanjusangen-do, a temple founded in the 12th century with the principle building long enough (120 meters) to boast an annual archery tournament alongside the building. But, it’s what’s inside this building that truly impresses and requires the exceptional length to house. Indeed, Sanjusangen refers to the 33 expanses between columns that comprise that expanse. Flanking a large Kannon with 11 heads and 42 arms (1000 arms when the extra arms are multiplied by the 25 planes of existence) are 1000 human size thousand-armed Kannon, 500 on either side.

On a more intimate scale, we joined a tea master for a tea ceremony and a lesson in the basics of preparing the tea with green tea matcha. The whisking required to make it properly was a lot more difficult than we expected. All of us needed help from the tea master.

We made our way through the Higashiyama District, up the winding approach and into the grounds of the Kiyomizudera temple with its enormous wooden balconies overlooking the landscape below. Drawn since the 8th century by the waters flowing from the Otowa waterfall, visitors drink from cups mounted on long poles from three streams each said to have a different benefit: longevity, success in school and a good love life (naturally). Back in the Edo period (prior to the Meiji Restoration), there was a tradition of jumping the 13 meters off the balconies to assure the granting of a wish. Surprisingly, some 85% of the 234 who jumped during the Edo period survived. There is no record of the percentage of wish fulfillment. Jumping is no longer permitted.

After a nice lunch of buckwheat every way imaginable, including (of course) in soba noodles, we headed out again and saw two familiar sights in tourist areas: young women touring in kimonos and young men offering rickshaw rides. Actually, we saw a fair number of people in rickshaws, especially where there was a steep paved path leading to an attraction.

Another retreat for a retiring shogun is Ginkakuji, turned into a temple after the death of Ashikaga Yoshimasa, the eighth Muromachi shogun and grandson of Ashikaga Yoshimitsu who built the Golden Pavillion. There are a number of suggestions of why it is now known as the Silver Pavillion. One is that he intended to cover it with silver, but it remained incompleted. Another is that the original shiny black lacquer, reflected in the pond, created a silvery appearance. Well, it is rather nice and the gardens are quite beautiful. The sand garden reportedly portraying waves and Mount Fuji as a moon viewing platform, however, suffered from the crowds swarming past it. Yoshimasa was a significant figure because his shogunate was blessed by a great flowering of traditional culture known as the Higashiyama Culture, during which there were important cultural advances in the tea ceremony, Noh theater, flower arranging, poetry, architecture and landscape design (which certainly shows here at Ginkakuji).

Although a very large and bustling modern city, Kyoto and its environs are filled with very significant (and fascinating) historical and cultural sites, most of which seem to be World Heritage Sites. Our first day in Kyoto with our guide from Osaka was a full one.

Among many interesting features were the so-called “nightingale” floors (tweet, tweet) around the wooden castle’s perimeter. They were designed with metal nails underneath to squeak as a warning of Ninja attack.

We next headed to Kinkaku-ji, a temple in a Golden Pavillion.

Built at the end of the 14th century, the Golden Pavillion has gold leaf over lacquer covering the exterior of the top two floors. Each floor represents a different style, with the first level in the style of the 11th century imperial aristocracy (more traditional, if you will), the second in the style of the warrior aristocracy and the top level in a Chinese style.

Ashikaga Yoshimitsu was a shogun during the Marumachi era (early 14th to late 16th centuries) and created the buildings and garden to represent “the Pure Land of Buddha in this world.” Among other things, the Shogun used the Pavillion as a guest house for the Emperor. According to his wishes, his son converted it into a temple on his death.

Medieval Jizo statues are a protection for travelers, children and the weak.

Sekka tei teahouse, sitting well above the Pavillion, is another embodiment of wabi sabi.

Close by the teahouse is Fudo-do temple where the main image for worship is Fudo myoo, a deity who transmits the teachings of the Buddha, battles evil, and helps the recently deceased become buddhas.

We jumped back in our van and headed for Ryoan-ji, a mid15th century temple with a famous rock garden. With our mid-November through early December visit timed perfectly to the peak of the fall foliage season in Kyoto, we became more and more amazed at the wild range of color afforded by the leaves. It was quite stunning.

The arrangement of 15 rocks is such that all 15 can never be seen from one vantage point. After contemplating them for a while, we came to appreciate why the garden is so highly regarded as a place of meditation and why Queen Elizabeth was reportedly so taken with it when she visited some long time ago.

Persimmon trees are everywhere in the region and were ready to be picked. It’s a very popular fruit. One variety is eaten fresh and another is strung up to dry with a cord to sweeten more. Kyle and Ai had a strand of persimmons hanging on the balcony back at the apartment.

The Miho Museum in Shiga Prefecture is well worth the ride out there to see. The museum was designed by I.M. Pei to house the private collection of the founder of the Shumei religion, Mrs. Mihoko Koyama (known as “Miho”). You take a little tram through a hill from the reception area and across a small ravine. 80% of the museum is underground out of respect for nature (an emphasis of Shumei). Of course, to build it underground, the entire hill in which it has been placed was removed and put back after construction. The entrance area affords a view of the Shumei headquarters and a belltower. The collection is a tight overview of artifacts of the ancient world from not only Japan, but also Egypt, West Asia, Greece, Rome, South Asia, China and Islam. The modest size of the museum and attractive display make it an enjoyable place to visit. Photography is not permitted in the galleries, but you can find more photos and info at miho.or.jp, including on the medieval Japanese lacquerware exhibit on show during our visit.

It starts just a few steps from the Inari train station, a series of Torii or gates that define a boundary between profane and sacred space. But here there are thousands upon thousands of them up into the mountain. It feels like an almost infinite transition into ever more sacred space, with what seem to be thousands of small shrines just off the main paths on the mountain slopes leading upwards.

It began pouring rain almost as soon as we disembarked from the train. Although it did dissuade us from going all the way to the inner shrine atop Inari mountain, it likely helped us to avoid larger crowds at this popular shrine. It also gave us photographers a chance to capture those kimono-clad tourists carrying umbrellas.

We couldn’t help but recall walking through The Gates, the Cristo installation in New York’s Central Park, a number of years back with our friend Aidi from Hong Kong. The shrine at Inari was, of course, his visual reference. As inspiring an experience as that was, it was a mere abstraction of the incredibly rich experience of walking through more than a millennium of Shinto devotion. Since the 8th century people have been building structures here to honor the patron of rice and of business. The foxes or kitsune are the messengers of Inari and they are everywhere, many with satchels of rice or keys to the granary in their mouths.

Little did we know just how complicated kimonos are to wear! Naively, we went off to be fitted. 

Nara has a large population of wild deer in the city, especially in Nara Park which has over one thousand. They are protected as National Treasures and are traditionally sacred messengers of the gods. In the 8th century, accidentally killing one was punishable by death. They can get rather aggressive if you don’t just hand over the food!