Whew, I’ve been quite busy last week. My usual flurry of deadlines at the end of the month was enhanced by a couple additional ones, but I managed to get through them all on time. Rinse and repeat later this month…
On top of work-related business, I also put in some work in my garden because now seems the best time for some maintenance. Back in spring, I cut off some of the tallest branches already, but not only did they regrow over summer, the additional light their absence created let other plants shoot up to new heights as well.
This time, I took a much more brutal approach to gardening. My tiny garden has lots of large plants with big leaves that overwhelm what little space there is. But over the last few weeks, I got rid of most of them. I was even able to tear out the roots of those annoying vines that swamp one corner of my garden every summer. Interestingly, it was fairly easy now – in spring it was practically impossible – and since I tore off roots that were thumbs-thick, I hope I got most of the major ones so they won’t regrow again next year.
There are still things left to clear up and cut away, but overall, I’ve made good progress. Right now, the garden looks almost naked, but I want to plant smaller flowering bushes or something like that. Plus: some grass for Pumpkin, which he can later throw up again all over my staircase…
But there’s no rush, I have all winter to think about the details here.
Japan’s long history was shaped by the warrior class and there are many samurai whose fame has reached outside of Japan as well. One of these, Minamoto no Yoshitsune (1159–1189), is still revered as one of Japan’s greatest warriors, and numerous true stories as well as legends are centered around him, most certainly the reason for his enduring popularity.
Yoshitsune – whose childhood name was Ushiwakamaru – was born around 1159, in the late Heian period. His father Yoshitomo was the head of the Minamoto clan, a powerful noble family deeply rooted at court. When his father was killed in a rebellion in 1160, Yoshitsune had to flee Kyoto with his mother. Turning 10 years old, he was placed in the care of the monks at Kuramadera in the northern part of Kyoto. According to a popular legend, he there received training from Sōjōbō, the king of the tengu who lived in the mountains surrounding the temple.
Be that as it may, fact is, that Yoshitsune was an accomplished swordsman from a young age, so much so that he defeated the famous (and much older) warrior monk Benkei in a duel at Gojo Bridge. Benkei promptly became Yoshitsune’s retainer and would fight side-by-side with him until the very end.
From 1180 to 1185, both fought for Yoshitsune’s brother Yoritomo in the Genpei war against the Taira clan. This war was immortalized in the Heike Monogatari, where Yoshitsune’s exploits take up most of the 3rd part of the story. He was a successful general and eventually led the Minamoto to victory at the final battle at Dan-no-ura in 1185.
Sadly, his success did him no good. His brother Yoritomo, established as head of the Minamoto clan, was jealous of the younger Yoshitsune’s popularity and feared that he might be deposed by him in the long run. He conspired against Yoshitsune, who was finally betrayed in 1189 and forced to commit suicide, with Benkei defending him to the last and dying with him. Today, Yoshitsune is enshrined at Shirahata Jinja in Fujisawa.
As mentioned above, many legends surround Yoshitsune and he was very popular among the people. For example, it is said that he escaped his forced suicide and made his way up to Hokkaido, or even farther to the Asian continent, where he re-emerged as none other than Genghis Khan. Many of the stories from the Heike Monogatari were turned into Noh plays and have inspired visual artists for centuries.
These are five novellas about (forbidden) love from 17th century Japan.
Seijuro in Himeji loses his father’s (financial) support and, instead of spending his time in the local pleasure districts, has to find serious work. There, he promptly seduces his master’s daughter Omatsu…
The Barrelmaker Brimful of Love tells of a happy marriage between two people from its beginning to the tragic end of Osen and her lover…
What the Seasons Brought the Almanac Maker is another happy marriage destroyed by an adulterous prank instigated by Osan, the wife…
The Greengrocer’s Daughter with a Bundle of Love meets a dashing young man after a fire burned down her house. When Oshichi loses sight of him, she is ready to commit a serious crime to see him again…
Gengobei, the Mountain of Love, is a samurai from Satsuma who only loves young boys. Enter Oman, who is determined to change his ways for her own happily ever after.
These five stories are filled with eroticism, even though they are quite tame from our modern perspective. What makes them special – groundbreaking in fact, when they were written – is the detailed depiction of the life and affairs of Japan’s lower class townspeople in the Edo period. At that time, having an affair outside of one’s class (in general: with a higher-class woman) was forbidden and punishable by death. Yet, four of five women carry on such affairs regardless, and seem to take their inevitable punishment in their stride.
All five stories are based on real events that often happened just a few years earlier. This familiarity to the readers may have been one reason why they were instant bestsellers – the other one being the eroticism – and Saikaku quickly became one of Japan’s best-known novelists and poets of the time.
Saikaku Ihara (1641 – 1693) was a citizen of Osaka, then as now one of Japan’s commercial centers with a thriving population. He was one of the first to write exclusively of the chonin, the townspeople and their (love) affairs, and he was extremely popular among the people.
Contemporary writers found his style less appealing: Basho famously thought Saikaku’s style vulgar and uninspired, for example. In any case, Saikaku was very prolific and known for his marathon poetry performances, where he composed hundreds of poems on the spot. The “Five Women” were published in 1686 and remain one of his most popular pieces.
If you’re in for something … well, not really erotic, but depicting “real” life in 17th century Japan, get this one from amazon.
In the last couple of weeks the evenings became quite cool. I’ve changed my clothing and my duvet too, and even Pumpkin sleeps under his blanket much of the time. The days are still nice and sunny, so the koyo will be a few more weeks, the final sign for me to move my futon into a smaller room for the winter.
Two weeks ago, a friend invited me to an exhibition of watercolor flowers; she also had two of her paintings shown. It was an exhibition of hobby painters, but the teacher is a professional who specializes in realistic paintings of flowers. His pieces are incredibly detailed with strong colors, and according to my friend, he always works with real flowers, so all of his paintings are unique.
I was very impressed by a small, post-card sized painting of a single momiji maple leaf, bright red with but tiny spots of withered brown, set in a dark blue frame. My friend and I wondered how long it might take to paint such a picture, but we couldn’t come to a conclusion, so we left it there.
Or rather: I did, because fast forward a week and my friend presented me with her own take on “autumn leaf”. She said it took her roughly 30 minutes to finish, so I’m guessing the master can do it in maybe half the time. In any case, all I need now is a frame.
In Japan, being, or at least: seeming “genki” and able to “ganbatte” at all times is very important. Of course, the hapless salaryman sitting at a desk for long hours of mind-numbing tasks needs the occasional pick-me-up.
Enter Japanese Energydrinks like these:
These particular bottles contain just a few sips of taurine or caffeine-infused drinks, and they can be found pretty much everywhere. The largest variety to be bought offline seems to be available in convenience stores, I guess that’s where many office workers go for a short break anyway. Of course, there are different prices to these energy drinks, depending on the quality and possibly the amount of the supplement contained.
What I found interesting is that they were less sweet than I had expected; so far, my exposure to energy drinks was limited to Red Bull (yes yes, the Austrian connection here). I’m not sure if I keep drinking those because at least caffeine doesn’t do anything for/with me – I could drink a cup of coffee now and go straight to bed without problems.
On the other hand, these little bottles were a gift from a friend of mine – is it a good sign if your friends think you could do with more energy?
It was a busy week with a great finale! Yesterday was Okafes, the World Music Festival in Kyoto’s Okazaki, and I spent most of my day there. The Okafes is an outdoors festival that invites musicians and dancers from Bali, Korea, Thailand, and of course, Japan to perform traditional music. It’s fun to watch and learn something new!
The highlight this year was Apetunpe, a female duo from Hokkaido singing Ainu tunes. Interestingly, they had no instruments, and the songs they brought along were canons (aka rounds) with a strong rhythm, which surprised me. Of course, they sing in the Ainu language, but even though I couldn’t understand anything, their soothing music touched me deeply.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t find Apetunpe on youtube, but it seems that they are a part of a larger group called Marewrew, and they do have a few albums online. Here is Sikata Kuykuy, with a significantly more happy sound than what they performed yesterday.
Sorry for not writing yesterday, I was out all afternoon and came home soaking wet after dark. But since it’s a holiday today (Sports Day), I had some time for a recap. As you may know, thanks to WUIK, I count as “member of the press” and so I got a preview for the special exhibition “All About Toji” that started today. The preview lasted four hours, and it was worth every second, despite all the rain. Below are my impressions and some photos I took yesterday.
From 794, Toji, the “Western Temple” and its 5-story pagoda marked the entrance to Heian-kyo, the then-new capital of Japan. Today it still stands (unlike its sister temple to the east) just south of Kyoto station, and this month, it celebrates the 1200 anniversary of Shingon Buddhism.
The monk Kukai, after his death revered as Kobo Daishi, was given Toji temple in 823 and expanded it greatly. He also oversaw the construction of several buildings, among them the pagoda that is now a landmark of Kyoto. Although there are several large temples in Kyoto affiliated to Shingon Buddhism, Toji remains the headquarters of Shingon Buddhism to this day.
Sadly, most of the temple’s original buildings were destroyed one time or another by earthquakes, typhoons, or fires. They have been rebuilt, however, sometimes even according to old plans, and many now count among Japan’s National Treasures.
The preview started out with a short press conference in a building adjacent to the abbot’s quarters. While it looks fairly recent outside and has a lovely garden, I was taken by the modern paintings on top of the fusuma. They reminded me of Insho Domoto, but were actually by a contemporary artist called Taisuke Hamada.
We were then free to walk the temple grounds. First stop: The Miedo, aka Daishi-in, which was originally the residence of Kobo Daishi, even though the current building is from 1390. Instead of a Buddha, it has a statue of Kobo Daishi; people come and worship him all the same.
The Homotsukan temple museum is home to temple treasures. This time, letters from Kukai are on display, as well as letters from emperors to the temple and some treasured mandala. For me, however, the most spectacular exhibit was on the second floor: an enormous 6m-tall statue of Kannon, Goddess of Mercy, with her 1000 arms. The statue was once housed in another building, but was greatly damaged when a fire destroyed the hall. It took years to reconstruct her, and one can only imagine how impressive it must have looked like before the fire.
The sub-temple Kanchin-in was home to the temple’s guest house, built in 1359. It is a very large complex with interlocking building and boasts wall paintings by one of its famous guests: Miyamoto Musashi. The eagle painting shows its age, but the bamboo still looks fresh. I liked the little gardens that are fit between the buildings, and in a more modern part that has several tearooms, there were more paintings by Taisuke Hamada, this time depicting seasonal scenes.
The main part of Toji Temple consists of three buildings in a large garden: The Kodo Lecture Hall was established by Kobo Daishi in 825; the current building is from 1491. Inside is an unusual three-dimensional mandala with 20 Buddhist statues, also created by Kobo Daishi and all centred around a seated Dainichi Nyorai. Personally, I prefer the statues of the so-called Wisdom Kings, they are much more dynamic in expression and posture than the serene seated Buddhas.
Three Buddhas make up the entire interior furnishings of the Kondo Main Hall, just south of the Kodo, which was commissioned by Hideyori in 1603. It shows the distinct architectural style of the Momoyama period.
The 5-storied pagoda is the symbol of Toji Temple and one of Kyoto’s landmarks. The current one is from 1644, built under the 3rd Tokugawa Shogun, Iemitsu. Its shock-absorbing construction is said to have inspired similar designs used in Tokyo’s Skytree. On the ground floor, are four seated Buddha statues, each facing a different cardinal direction. The interior of the pagoda is covered in colourful patterns and paintings, in stark contrast to its dark and sombre exterior. I wonder what the other floors may have inside, but these are off limits at all times.
Finally, there were two more exhibitions of beautiful close-up photographs of statues and buildings of Toji temple which I greatly admired – I wish I could take photos like these. There were also two brand-new mandalas by a contemporary artist, which, to be honest, I didn’t find that good, but they were dedicated to the temple on this day.
For me, the best things were the Kannon statue, the 3D mandala and the interior of the pagoda as well as Kanchiin House as a whole. It was my first time entering the buildings of Toji Temple and I can wholeheartedly recommend it!
If you’re in Kyoto this October, do take the time to visit this exhibition “All About Toji” where you can see all this with a single ticket and a special audio guide in English.
More outings last weekend! After our moon viewing on Friday, my friend and I decided to spend Saturday on the Nuit Blanche events. This art and performance festival has its roots in Paris, but many cities all over the (francophone) world have taken over the concept.
Originally, Nuit Blanche really was a single night, but since Corona, the program has been stretched to avoid congestion at the venues. I’m not sure this is a good thing. When hearing Nuit Blanche, I expect all events to be on that day/evening, and this wasn’t the case; I’m not going to remember to return in 3 weeks time. Anyway, two events stood out to my friend and me.
First, “Une Monde Parfume”. A young woman in a red dress sat on a high chair, with her velvet skirt draped all over the floor. Visitors were invited to approach the artist underneath the 15 m long “skirt”. But once at the chair, there were cushions, a lamp, and notebooks in which you could leave your impressions. Performance art – where the spectators do all the performing.
In contrast, a photography exhibition by Daisuke Takashige, a young man from the island of Tanegashima. A nearby, uninhabited island is being transformed into a naval base for Japanese troops, and he is documenting the changes it causes in his own community. Besides a clear environmental impact, the lines between those who oppose and those who welcome the military base run through families. Takashige says he’s the only one against the base in his family, which can’t be easy.
There was also a surprising bonus concert, and I felt as if it was just set up for me. When we arrived at the ROHM square, we found out that the performance we wanted to see was scheduled in 3 weeks. Instead, we were treated to a short concert by KING-BATIHOLI, the “next generation BATI-HOLIC”, or, in other words, Kuro-chan and two of his students. I’ve met one of the students before, but never heard him play, and I was really impressed by the boys. Of course, they have been playing for 10 years now… The boys (and Kuro-chan and one other BATI-HOLIC) will perform again at the World Music Festival on October 14. Just sayin’.
Besides these, we went to a number of other exhibitions that we found of varying interest, had sweets at the Tamayuran and a Chinese dinner. Unfortunately, late evening wasn’t as nice as the one before. Just when I wanted to cycle home, a thunderstorm arrived and forced me to sit at a hotel lobby for almost an hour until the rain stopped. In the end, I came home slightly damp at 12:30 in the morning, and Pumpkin wasn’t happy about my fun day out…
Photos above were taken by my friend, thank you! 😉
It was full moon last Friday, and because this harvest moon is considered the most beautiful in Japan, there are moon viewing parties at many shrines and temples in Kyoto. This time, my friend from Tokyo joined me for the kangetsu at Matsunoo Taisha all the way out in the Western part of Kyoto.
It started off with a fairly short religious ceremony with prayers and a dance ritual by a miko shrine maiden. These dances are meant to attract the gods to the shrine, so they can take part in the ceremony and can later enjoy the performances that are put up for the gods (and earthly visitors as well). While those can vary and include martial arts or theater for example, at Matsunoo Taisha, visitors usually are treated to concerts for moon viewing.
First, there was a shakuhachi – bamboo flute – concert. I like shakuhachi very much, and they do have a plaintive sound that is essentially built-in. Still, I felt that the music wasn’t chosen well, it felt more appropriate for a slumber party, and that’s not the point of moon viewing. Something more upbeat would have suited the occasion better; surely there must be fun modern pieces for shakuhachi as well.
Afterwards, a koto & shinobue duo came on stage, and the mood lightened considerably. As I’ve explained before, koto is a zither-like instrument, and the shinobue is also a bamboo flute, but much smaller and with a higher pitch. The combination was fun and light-hearted, exactly what my friend and I expected.
At last, the main attraction and the reason why we went all the way out to Matsunoo Taisha in the first place: Wadaiko drums. I had planned this the moment I found out that one of the Bati-Holics (lead singer Nakajima) would perform with his students, and I was not disappointed. Altogether there were five groups performing one song each, and finally, there was some power behind the music, literally.
By then, the moon had risen over the dance stage and the shrine was packed with fans and friends of the players (mostly female laypeople except for the teachers) and the atmosphere was very lively, as always when taiko are involved. The free cup of sake did help too, I’m sure. Of the five pieces, one of them stood out to both my friend and me, and we were later told by the owner of the taiko school who organizes these concerts every year that it was his wife’s song (sorry, Nakajima-san).
We skipped the haiku contest at the end, but it was a lovely night just as well. The weather was pleasant, and even though I only got home past 11, I didn’t need the jacket I brought. My friend was also glad she came; it was her very first traditional moon viewing in a shrine. Things are indeed very different in Kyoto and Tokyo…
Over the quiet and hot days of summer, I had some time for smaller improvements in the house. I can’t afford anything substantial, but it’s nice to clean things up a little and make them look better at least.
First thing: I painted my toilet. Directly opposite the door was an old hole with an anchor still inside, and every time I had to use the toilet in the evening, it scared me a little. It was just the right size and dirty color for a small spider…
So, out came putty and paint, and because the toilet is very small, this turned out to be the perfect project to finish over the weekend. The walls now look much smoother than before, except for a small bit where the previous owner tried to close a crack with something that feels like glue and the paint didn’t stick properly on top of that. I’ll have to go over this spot once again.
I also closed some other holes in the stairwell, but I’m out of paint now, so the final finish will have to wait. Also, I’ll need to figure out how to reach all the walls in the stairwell without falling to my death while painting, so we’re probably looking at some time next spring.
Second thing: I mended some tears in the fusuma in the upstairs living room. This didn’t turn out as well as I had hoped, mostly because are essentially hollow inside. They use the same underlying wooden frame as shoji, just with opaque paper on both sides. In other words, without any firm ground to glue the paper onto, it’s really hard to fix torn fusuma paper properly.
Many people just stick some paper on top of the hole, but even though this is easier, I don’t think it looks as neat. And since my fusuma are already anything but clean, there’s no need to bring any further attention to that. To me, it still looks better now.
I would love to say that I made some progress in my garden, but I didn’t. Even though I trimmed some smaller trees in spring, other plants took advantage of the increased light and shot up to new heights. Not to mention the prolific vines I have in one end of my garden that seem to be difficult to kill. I would have to weed almost weekly to get rid of those, I guess. Well, it’s getting cooler now, so I can give it yet another try…
