The real benefit of having one’s birthday halfway across the globe is the ability to recognize it for 37 hours! When I woke this morning in whatever version of the heavenly bed the Ritz Carlton offers up I had many birthday wishes from time zones across America and Europe. Was quite nice to have a second day of nice messages from friends near and far. I frittered away the morning, despite my best intentions to work out or swim or run, mostly on FaceTime in my bathrobe, eating the macaroons the hotel had sent up the night before. Totally ridiculous and I didn’t care one bit! I did catch one bit of something very “Japanese” on a bridge over the river. Five workmen, moving along the bridge, with 1 checking and tapping the bolts holding the bannisters in place and the other 4 watching and bracketing him, moving a traffic cone to ensure safety. Five guys to tap some bolts. And all seemed engaged and focussed on the job at hand, although only one was doing the job. Imagine that on a job site in the U.S.
Then I got my act in gear and met Karen back at the regular hotel and we sorted out a plan for the afternoon. A walk through the Gion district brought us to Maruyama Park and Yasaka-jinja shrine. The Park is 25 acres of green with several temples and shrines throughout, as well as flowering weeping cherry trees. We had read about the gardens of one Monzeki sect temple — Sho-ren-in — being particularly special so we headed there. Designed utilizing the base of Mt. Awata it is said that this tranquil and profound garden is designed by So-Ami and then added to by Enshu Kobori. It follows many of the aesthetic elements of many of the gardens we’ve seen, with a pond and weaving paths, and stones from various parts of Kyoto. All during our walk in the park, and through Gion, we found young people dressed in formal kimonos, many taking selfies in front of temples like tourists. And some in front of the Hermes store too. We came across a young many making music on an instrument like an inverted bowl with various indentations which each made a different sound. It was a lovely sound, sort of like a steel drum, so I took a video and dropped some coins in his case.
Then it was back to Gion to secure tickets to the show at Gion Corner. Featuring 7 programs from Japanese culture, and sponsored by the Kyoto Traditional Musical Art Foundation, it provided a taste of such traditions as the Tea Ceremony, Flower Arranging, Koto Music and Maika Dance. It was just an hour long, and clearly designed for tourist consumption, but it felt as it if was all coming from an authentic place and did provide a window into some long-standing Japanese culture. The first three were presented sort of simultaneously — Chado (tea ceremony), Koto (Japanese harp), and Kado (flower arranging). Then there was Gagaku, which was elegant music and classical dancing by a guy in an elaborate costume. And ancient comic play (Kyogen) followed, about two workmen who got into their master’s sake despite his best efforts to prevent them. Then the Maika, an apprentice geisha, performed the Kyomai, the Kyoto style dance, which was born in the 17th C and developed during the courtly culture of the Tokugawa period. Lastly, the Bunraku, a puppet play. This art was developed in the 16thC and the stories are generally based on the daily life of merchants. The puppet is controlled by as many as 3 people dressed in black, and it’s amazing how one can lose the view of those puppeteers during the story telling.
And that was the show. We both enjoyed it, and then headed out for some Kobe beef, which we also both enjoyed a great deal. And that was the day.
So…are you officially a Geisha?
I love all your shots of the tall thin trees/bamboo!