Shokoku-ji and Kyoto Imperial Palace

The first 2 pictures are Kyoto Imperial Palace, the rest are Shokoku-ji.

I tried, but the last two won't be turned upright somehow. Sorry for that.

The autumn leaves are at their peak, turning pure red (and yellow)!

I can spend hours watching these beautiful trees.

Yellow ones are Japanese ginkos.

I love the combination and contrast of a ginko and maple tree.

Often times you can find them planted next to each other to enjoy the viewers.

Cheers,

Keiko

More aumtumn leaves pictures!!

These photos were taken at Konkai-Komyo-Ji Temple and Shinnyo-do Temple in Kyoto.
They have best Momiji(autumn leaves) in Kyoto!!

Got autumn leaves??

Lovely meal and lovely lady at HIRANOYA

Hello all! What's up?
I'm just back from the short trip to Arashiyama area of Kyoto,
one of my favorite places here, surrounded by mountains and rivers!
Me and my friends went over for lunch at a very famous Japanese restaurant, Hiranoya,
which is the picture above.

It's famous for its quality dishes( the mountain behind the restaurant is one of their properties, and many of the vegetables served there are cropped there.), and therefore, the price as well, is what you can't easily afford to. So even though I have known about the place since I moved to Kyoto, I thought it's the place only for high-class people.

But then, a friend of mine just told me that his dad actually did designing of their guest bathroom , and he knows quite well about the people there for years, and said he could take me there for lunch with the discount charge. Who could resist that offer??
It was very nice outside and a perfect day for a day trip!
This lady in a nice kimono in the photo welcomed us with a warm, charming smile.
(I love her hairstyle by the way!)

This is one of the appetizers. An assortment of seasonal farm products; sticky potato, butterbur flower stalk, bracken, and so on. They were amazingly delicious!!!!! Very delicately cooked and such soft texture! Surely it's good for digestion and your health!!

And we were served Tofu in a pot, tempura, cooked vegetable, rice, and dessert.

Almost no meat nor fish was included, still this lunch set costs about 10,000 JPY(110USD).

Believe it or not though, it's worth it.

Needless to say, none of these were artificially made. What surprised me most was that

they cook rice with a big iron pot like they did in old times.
One of the waitresses told us some guests say rice is the best dish here!

We were eating in this room, with a nice view of the pond garden with lovely red maple leaves..

You can actually walk there!

I can't say anything better about this place, IT IS THAT GOOD!

If you ever come to Japan, with your budget affordable(this is the most important),

this is the place you should go to.

People here don't speak good English, nor they have English menu, so you should bring someone

who understands Japanese.

Have a nice weekend....

Japanese puppet - B U N R A K U

Hope you readers are well!


Look at this poster.. it's called Bunraku, Japanese traditional puppet theater, having existed here more than 300 years since it got developed today's style.
Its origin even dates back to the 12C.


I joined the Bunraku lecture today set up by the guide federation I belong to to enrich my knowledge of it.

Having living in Osaka over 20 years where the culture was originated, I didn't have any opportunity to watch it, but now that I was so much fascinated by its tradition and the passion of puppeteers and Tayuu (a mixture of a narrater and voice actor ), it makes me feel I really gotta see it.






What grabs your attention when you first watch Bunraku is that puppets are manipulated by as many as 3 people. The main puppeteer does the body, head, and the right hand, while other two do the left hand and legs respectively. It used to be just one puppeteer, but as more improvements were done on puppets, they got difficult to manipulate and came to require more than one.

And like other Japanese traditional arts, there are no female players as in old times women were strictly prohibited to perform on stage of any art form for moral reasons.



So this is how puppets are usually manipulated.

The omozukai who does the head can show his faces. Others must wear hoods. To become omozukai, it takes nearly 30 years. You have to start off from doing chores, opening and closing the stage curtains, etc to manipulating legs for about 10 years, and then a left hand for another 10 years. Being a great puppeteer is not just about technique and skill, it's more about how much life experience one has, how you live your own life. Every single day of your life makes up who you are, and it naturally builds up your own taste in playing puppets.

To be continued..

Gion Festival

Please enjoy photos...

Can you believe these floats were handmade and they are pulled only by men?
The wooden-made floats weigh around 1 t on average...
Good job guys!

Tourist Maikos

Hi all,

This idea suddenly came into my mind.. so I have no photos for this entry.
Anyway, what is [tourist maikos]?

In Kyoto we have tons of places where you can get dressed up and make-ups like maikos if you pay a certain amount of money so that you can have a touch of being one.

This kind of places are very poplular especially among young Japanese girls.
It's been one of the must-dos when they travel in Kyoto.
By the way, I've never done it myself simply because I don't want to.
I don't think you can easily find a place like this in other parts of Japan.

So what they do is get dressed like maiko and take some photo shoots like a model..
plus, if you pay extra money, you can walk outside to do more photo shoots.
What happens there is that foreign travellers who don't know anything about the existance of that kind of place accidentally find those fake maikos, and go crazy to take numorous pictures of them.
Of course when you are asked to be photographed, who can reject it?
Those travellers happily leave there feeling they have captured true Japan...

How many times have I seen that scene,, and how many times have I tried to tell them that they were fake ones.
In some cases, people don't care if they are real ones or not. It's totally OK for me!

But I'm the one who've seen real ones so often and know their austhentic beauty.
So everytime I take my guests around Gion area, I can't help but tell them to be aware of the fakes.

So for those who really want to see real maikos, here are some tips on how to tell the difference.

1. Real maikos don't show up in their formal costume during the day.

2. Kimonos that real ones and fake ones wear are so different. Good kimonos just appeal to your eyes.

3. Maikos act very elegantly and don't show their teeth when they smile.

These can be very difficult for you..
but easiest way is to go to a kagai(geisha district) around 6pm or 9pm when they start and finish working.

Good luck!!

Maiko san, Geiko san

Maybe some of you think this way,
"oh it's a Geisha!!"
No, she isn't Geisha, but Maiko san!
It is a name fondly used among people in Kyoto.

Who is Maiko san then?
Well, some of you might know already, but it literally means " dancing girls!"
Maiko is an apprentice female entertainer at ages of between 15 and 20.
They live in lodging houses to get a full-time training to be the one with a great skill and grace.
This picture was taken by my guest last week near a lodging house..

They show up in make-ups( well actually they are just walking to their work place ) only before
and after their working time. But we were lucky enough to encounter several of them!
We were striken not only by their beauty and elegrance, but also by kimono..
It's hard to describe how impressive they were!!
I want to wear kimono like that!

Do you think it's another picture of Maiko san?
Nope, it is Geiko san! hehe, Geiko is an experienced female entertainer.
After training as Maiko for several years, they are eligible to be Geiko,
which means they will have to be self-empolyed.
The easiest difference on look between Maiko and Geiko is the hair.
She puts on wig, while Maiko makes their hair style with real hair.
It's important to be mature looking, so Geiko tend to dress more simply,
which also signifies their firm will to rely less on apperance and more on skills.

In Kyoto we have 5 kagai(where maiko and geiko are) districts.
Kamishichiken, Pondo cho, Gion toubu, Gion koubu, and Miyagawa cho.
The moment you capture Maiko-san or Geiko-san could be one of your best memories in Japan.

Garden @ Heian Jingu Shrine

Hello!
This week we entered the rainy season. The air becomes slightly humid..
I can feel summer is coming soon...
Heian Jingu Shrine（平安神宮） is one of my favorite places in Kyoto because of its beautiful garden.
It's most famous for its weeping cherry blossoms called Yaezakura(八重桜).
But summer is another good time to view a variety of seasonal flowers.
The photo above is pink flowers.
The panel with Japanese writing on it is showing the poem in the ancient time whose motif is a pink flower.
Likewise the other kinds of plants here have their panels by side.

This shrine was constructed in 1895 to commemorate the 1100th anniversary of the old capital here in Kyoto. So the poems dating back to the time have been picked up.

There are even the poems of mos, fern, and pampas grass!!

Lotus

Iris

These are "renowned" stepping stones!

Why are they famous?

Well, if you've ever seen "Lost In Translation," you must've seen this sight with Scarlet stepping on them!

When I talk about this to my guests at the garden, they go crazy and try the same thing as Scarlet did.
Very fun moment, I should say.

Overall, you can fully enjoy the beautiful cherry blossoms here in spring, but summer time is also a good season. Or if you would like to enjoy viewing a variety of flowers, then, definitely you should come now!!

Toji-Surrounded By The Colourful Garden

Hello all!!
How are you?
My guiding job seems to slow down now.. this year maybe I can't expect many tourists from overseas because of the world financial crisis. But that's how it is.. I still believe more and more people are attracted by Japanese culture and WILL travel here..so meanwhile I will stroll around Kyoto and find more {off-the-beaten-track} spots I can show you.















[oh it feels so good...] say the sunbathing turtles on the rock.
This lovely garden is the one at Toji Temple which is near Kyoto Station and fairly accessible from my apartment!!!
I often come visit here for business and private.
Everytime I come here I find new things, and IT IS this garden this time.















Irises and azaleas.. Lovely color, aren't they?? Through May, they are in bloom. In Japan we have many gardens where you can enjoy these flowers. This garden is definately a nicest place to go with your loved ones.
All these flowers help the atmosphere of the garden be quite peaceful.















When I was about to head back to the entrance, a heron just landed by the pond!! Who could just leave there without taking a photo????!!!!
Yes, it made me so excited, but it's not rare that you encounter this kind of moment at parks or gardens in Kyoto. You can see another photo with a heron in my previous post.




















It's a renowned Goju-no-to(五重塔), a five storied pagoda, which is located on the ground of the temple.
Being a landmark or symbol of Kyoto city, it's been cherished by so many people. It is the highest wooden structure in Japan, about 55m.

To most of you, this temple may sound unfamiliar, but along with Goden Temple and Nijo Castle, it's been designated as UNESCO's World Heritage Site for its history of over 1200 years.
Toji Temple is so famous for its 3D Mandala, a group of Buddhist statues representing the "cosmos" of Buddhism. They are so overwhelming.
Pictures are not allowed, so I can't show you the photos of statues. But check the web site which I above gave the link to and see if they make you thrilled!!!

A Day In A Forest

The beautiful cherry blossoms are gone now, but in turn we welcome the season of fresh green. And I am just back from Yabusame shinji( a ritual of horseback archery) at Shimogamo shrine in Kyoto.

It is famous for its huge forest, and May is definately the best season to view it. This ritual of archery has been held , with some halts in the past, for about 1000 years, in a riding ground inside the forest, 12 days ahead of the main festival called Aoi Festival. Needless to say, it's one of the most attractive traditional events in Kyoto.

It's been on my To Do List for these couple of years, and I finally could see it!!

The purpose of this type of ritual is to pray for the safe execution of the festival, and to entertain the deities of the shrine.

A young archer in court noble's kimono.. he is coming back from his first turn. So cool!!

Best archers from all over Japan are selected for this. So he must be the one with great skill.

Usually Yabusame is held in warrior's style, but this event includes noble's style, which makes it very unique and attractive.


Actually, there were about 25,000 people who came here to see Yabusame.
There were lots of foreigners too, therefore ,the annoucement was made in several languages,
which surprised me a bit.


This was taken after the ritual. You can see how long the tail of the archer's costume is.
When he rides on a horse, he folds it up around the hip. Plus he had to put on a pair of wooden shoes!


This is the starting point of the gound.
The guy in the middle is showing the sign that the next archer is ready to go, waving a holding fan gracefully.



Start!!

Good picture, huh?

This archer is in warrior's style. Once horses enter the riding ground, they break into a trot and dash about 500m straight to the end. Archers have to shoot the arrows to the target at 3 different points. This whole movement is really fast, exactly like an arrow. I wanted to capture the moment where the arrows pierced the targets, but soon I realized that I was in a wrong position to do that. I should take revenge next year and surely I will reserve the special seats that are offered to spectators.

I love how they yelled before and after their shooting arrows, "ye---------!!!!" "yo----------!!!!" I wish I could have recorded the scene.

It was such a lovely day, I was lucky I could see Yabusame ritual under good weather in a beautiful green forest. I enjoyed myself in many ways..

I will try to post the main festival, Aoi maturi in a next few weeks!

Welcome to the country of Sakura!

Yes, spring has come!! Japan is now full of blooming cherry blossoms.

Here are some Sakura( cherry blossom ) picutures I want to share with you!!

from above:

Konoe-tei( court noble's house ) at Kyoto Imperial Palace

Suika Tenmangu Shrine

Beautiful Blue heron in the pond garden of Heian Jingu Shrine

Osaka Zohei Kyoku ( Mint in Osaka )

Oh! Sumo-san!!

Look who I'm with in the picture!
I came across two sumo-wrestlers in Osaka! In Japanese they are called お相撲さん(osumou-san)
Who are they?? What ranking are they in?
I'm sorry,, I don't know :p

Waving flags with the names of the supporters ...these are displayed around the big dome in Nanba, Osaka, where I came to work today.
Sumo tournament is held here in this time of the year. I didn't know about that..

Actually never have I thought that sumo tournament, our traditional sport has been held in middle of the downtown area like this.

This is the entrance gate! not so crowded... because matches were already started by then.
It was around 4 p.m. when I passed by here.. the highly ranked osumou-sans will show up for match later than this. So I guess the ones I took pictures with could be the lower-ranked. But I'm happy anyway!!

It's time for Ume!

Everybody who comes to Japan in spring is so excited to see Sakura, cherry blossom.
It's coming soon! But before that why don't we enjoy another special flower??
This time of the year is the best time for viewing 梅(ume) or plum blossom.
Plum flower is another famous flower, and lots of historical buildings have them in their gardens.
Here, Kitano Tenmangu(北野天満宮) is the best place if you want to see a lot of beautiful plum blossoms.

Why it's famous for plum blossoms? The deity worshiped here was said to be a plum blossom lover. He is called Michizane Sugawara(菅原道真) , also renowned as a great scholar in ancient time. This episode gives a great influence on the fact the shrine crest here is the design of plum blossom.
Plum was brought from China and originally used as a medicine.
When one said {flower}, actually it often referred to plum blossoms.
So it started to be one of their favorite flowers to view.

What do you think they are doing here??
This is the place to make wish to the deity who is enshrined in the main hall, which is located behind the building in the picture. They are lining up for wishing.. and most of the time their wish is connected with study for Michizane himself was a great scholar in Japanese history.
I used to line up like them when I was a student!

Michizane was also a competent politician, climing up the ladder in Imperial Court, and won the strong trust from the emperor. As a result, he succeeded in being his right arm.
But there came up a group of people who were so jealous of him(he was not from the higher class of family and many of the bureaucrats were from prestigeous families)and whispered to the emperor about his bad rumor, which made Michizane fall into their trap. He was demoted to a minor official of a further western island of Kyushu, where he later ended his life by disease.
What happened after his death was epidemic disease and thunders and storms attacking Imperial Court and Kyoto, which made them believe that all this were invoked by Michizane's anger.
So people started to build small shrines for him to appease his anger. That is the story behind the establishment of this shrine.. Things never change! We can not escape from being jealous.. I guess it's the fate of human beings.

These are wooden votive tablets at the shrine.

People write down wish on them. There are lords of them!!

Kitano Tenmangu is one of the major spots not only in Kyoto, but Japan to make your scholastic wish! This season is the time of entrance examination at schools, so I saw a lot of young people today.

Back to Ume..

I'm taking the picture of a man who is trying to take photo of ume.

What flexible legs he has!

Unlike sakura, ume stay in bloom more than a week, so it means you have more time

to enjoy them and it's hardly possible that you miss viewing their beautiful blooms. These are parts of the reasons why I like them.

I'm so excited to see more beautiful flowers in coming spring..!

I'm a bit crazy photo person, so I'll post more pics of flowers as soon as I take some.