Author: Iris

Visiting Hideyoshi

It’s cold in Kyoto – apparently we’re in the middle of gokkan, the extreme midwinter season. Well, it certainly feels this way.

Nevertheless, my friend from Tokyo visited me last Friday, and together we braced against the cold and went on a special tour inspired by Hideyoshi. Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536-1598) was the second of the three great unifiers of Japan, and even though his family ultimately did not retain power, many of his reforms were taken over by the following Tokugawa Shoguns and considerably shaped the Edo period.

Hideyoshi himself spent enormous sums on restoring Kyoto to its glory after most of it was destroyed in the Onin Wars of a century earlier and/or in the Sengoku period that ended with his unifying the country. It is therefore quite easy to find Hideyoshi’s legacy in Kyoto. My friend and I, however, went all the way to find his tomb.

After his death in 1589, Hideyoshi was interred according to his wishes on top of Amidagamine mountain, and below, a huge shrine was built in order to worship him. Once the Tokugawa’s power was cemented in 1615, however, the shrine was destroyed and only the tomb remained. Some 300 years later, both shrine and tomb were restored, and they can be visited.

And that’s what we did; we first went to the shrine and afterwards, all the way up the mountain to see Hideyoshi. More than 200 steps lead to his impressive tomb, and even though the day was rather cool and we walked quite slowly, it was exhausting. The tomb itself is from 1898, a huge five-tier pagoda-type stone monument which, interestingly, bears no inscriptions at all. Only in front, a little altar where people left money, sake, and other offerings, showed the Toyotomi family crest.

It is said that Hideyoshi wanted to be buried there so he could see Kyoto forevermore. This may have been the case in his day, but now the trees are too high to see anything from his tomb directly. On the northern side, however, is a clearing that allows a peek over the city, including a truly special viewpoint over Kiyomizudera Temple.

My friend asked the one important question: Was the temple there in the 16th century? Yes, kinda. It was founded in 782, but burned down during the Onin Wars. Only the third Tokugawa Shogun rebuilt the main hall, so the temple as you can see it here dates back to roughly the 1650s.

It seems that many Kyoto people don’t know where Hideyoshi is buried. This may change, however, since the 2026 NHK Taiga drama is called “Toyotomi Kyodai – Brothers in Arms” and tells the story of Hideyoshi and his younger brother Hidenaga. Maybe something to watch?

The Kamogawa Food Detectives

Hisashi Kashiwai

Nagare Kamogawa and his daughter Koishi run a detective agency of a special flavour: From their inconspicuous little restaurant, they track down lost recipes for their clients. Together with the food, they also offer their clients insights into the memories that made the dish so unforgettable in the first place.

This is not so much of a novel, but rather a collection of six loosely connected stories, all centered around a single dish, a single memory. They run the gamut from the funny to the deeply moving, and show how much of our memories are connected to tastes, as well as sights and sounds.

Foodies may want to try and recreate the dishes – from Japanese beef stew and mackerel sushi to Neapolitan spaghetti – and those familiar with Kyoto will enjoy following the Kamogawas on their way through Kyoto’s neighborhoods.

Hisashi Kashiwai was born in 1952 in Kyoto and worked as a dentist. Kyoto city and its neighborhoods features prominently in his writing.

Whether you’re a foodie or a lover of Kyoto, or just somebody who likes escapist little stories, this one’s for you – and available on amazon.

Shopping Spree

Sorry for not posting; despite my best intentions, I was a bit under the weather right after the holidays and now have to play catch up pretty much everywhere. And that although the weather was, so far, rather balmy for the season with 15 degrees and more during the day!

Those days are over, however, today there were even warnings of heavy snowfall in Kyoto until Sunday. And, looking out of the window, it is indeed snowing right now! I hope there will be lots of snow tomorrow morning! Pumpkin is snuggling up to me already, I guess he’ll be sleeping underneath the covers tonight.

The other day, I went out for a little shopping spree. There are two second hand shops nearby that I find hard to resist, and I’m glad they are not directly on my usual way to town.

Anyway, the other day I dropped by both of them. Result: A gorgeous red winter coat in 60% wool that fits me perfectly. And they had sales, so I got it for 50% off, in other words: 500 yen.

At the other store, I found a treat for Pumpkin: A nice and sturdy cat carrier in plastic, in a somewhat ugly brown color, but hey, it’s not meant for decoration. It needed a bit of cleaning, but otherwise, it’s in perfect condition. Price: 1000 yen.

I was so happy about my purchases that I decided to do get some groceries as well. And I dropped 4000 yen on a bag of rice… To be fair, those five kilos will last me several months, but it still hurts. That’s double the price from 2 years ago, and we’re even talking a special offer here!

Oh well, can’t be helped. I’m glad I lost so much weight over the last couple of years, surely that will help with my grocery bill in the long run. Right?

Haru Urara, the Racehorse that Never Won

Haru Urara is probably the most famous of all Japanese racehorses, even though, or rather: because she never won a single race.

Starting out promising with a pedigree full of winners, she lost all of the 113 races of her lifetime. However, her unwavering spirit – perfectly in line with the Japanese ganbatte attitude – made her a household name, saved an entire racetrack, and inspired films, books, and manga.

Read about her life in this free article over on Yamato Magazine: https://yamatomagazine.substack.com/p/haru-urara-japans-most-inspiring-loser

I’ve written about her on this blog before, but now there is so much more information available about her life after retirement, so the article justified an update.

I’m Back!

Happy 2026 again!

I had some wonderful days off, perfectly bookended by two BATI-HOLIC concerts on December 27 and January 5. Last year’s concert was especially exciting. Their 2-man show with the Shamisenists – a group with two tsugaru shamisen and one drummer – was practically perfect, even though I was the only one dancing. Not that this is something that needs to be captured on camera. Or shared with a wide audience…

https://x.com/Iris_Reinbacher/status/2008567925167587443

Monday’s concert was a blast too (as you can see above, I’m still dancing), even though the first band was not quite so good. The highlight here was that I could get a BATI-HOLIC T-shirt for more than 80% off since the band is moving to a new practice space and wants to reduce the baggage they have to carry. Also: I fit into an S-size now. Also also: I’m still eyeing some of those half-priced tenugui…

Other than this, the days were very quiet, and comparatively warm for the season. I even took some strolls up my mountain and explored the wider neighborhood.

As for new holiday traditions, I tried toshikoshi soba on New Year’s Eve for the first time. This is a Japanese-style buckwheat noodle soup that is traditionally eaten late at night, when all the preparations for New Year are done. And today, I had a bowl of nanakusa gayu. I tried this dish before, and I have to admit that this time a) I did stoop so low as to just buy a pack of dried herbs and b) it did taste nicer than what I cooked up myself all these years ago. So much for my cooking skills. Ahem.

And now: back to work for realz.

Nitten 2025/26

Last Friday, I was invited to the press preview of the 118th Nitten, one if not the largest exhibition of contemporary Japanese artists. It is a touring exhibition where each stop features about 50% local artists, in this case from Kyoto and Shiga prefectures.

The Nitten comprises five art faculties; namely Japanese Style and Western Style Painting, Sculpture, Craft as Art and Calligraphy. Each of the departments features works of the great masters of the modern Japanese art world alongside the works of new talents. At the press preview, each section was introduced by one of those great masters (I believe) but since the whole preview was limited to one hour, there was not enough time to really appreciate the whole exhibition.

In any case, here are a few of my personal favourites from this Nitten exhibition.

This one is a nihonga – Japanese painting called “Ray of Light”, and on closer inspection it’s red leaves in a forest.

This one is another nihonga, it looks quite abstract on first glance, but it isn’t. I would call it wabi-sabi.

The next images are from the “Crafts as Arts” section. My favourites were the lacquer pieces, but thanks to their shiny black surface they are incredibly difficult to photograph. Hence just an overview. The pieces on the wall are not paintings, but textiles, either woven or in yuzen-dyeing.

My favourite part are always the sculptures. I remember the very first Nitten I want to, where about 90% of the exhibits were nude females standing like soldiers, looking straight ahead. I was so disappointed – what a waste of medium! However, things have improved considerably as you can see, I wonder if the people who choose the art have changed.

This was my favourite piece of the whole exhibition. She looks defiant and confident in herself, yet sensual at the same time. As with most of the art that I like I can’t really say why exacly I like her. Apparently the piece is called “Dusk”.

And here are yoga, Western-style paintings. Tokyo Tower stood out to me, a bustling evening scene in the big city with bright colors and lights everywhere.

And here is Ojii-san, he comes every year to the exhibition and brings his grandchildren. They are growing up! With the horses in the background, it’s probably a nod to 2026, the Year of the Horse. I’ll have to check the other paintings if there’s a similar theme.

That was the Nitten, the last big exhibition for me this year. This is also the last post before I go on my annual Christmas holiday; I’ll be back on January 7th next year or thereabouts.

Xenophobic Japan?

As I mentioned in my post on my new visa requirements, there has been a rise in anti-foreigner sentiments throughout Japan. The causes are obviously manifold, and since I’m not super involved in current politics, I would have a hard time getting to the bottom of things.

However, my favourite Japanese comedian/language teacher, Dogen, has recently published two videos on the issue that I’m happy to share here. Both are well worth watching and provide a rather nuanced view on what’s happening right now and why.

The first one goes back to Shinzō Abe’s assassination and the entanglement of a Korean church in Japanese politics.

The second one talks about the new prime minister and the issues she and her party are facing in different parts of the country.

Bedtime Routines

It’s getting colder and colder by the day, and Pumpkin is almost always hiding somewhere warm: In his bed in the living room (where he has a little heating pad), in his bed in the office (which is heated for me too), in my bed upstairs… If he chooses to sleep upstairs, he often cries until I go and tuck him in. This will be important later.

In the evenings around eleven, he does come to me and squeezes himself at the back of my office chair, where he becomes a slightly fluffy, slightly bony, but ever so hot extra cushion. It’s his way of telling me that he wants to go to bed, and my cue to turn on the hot carpet I put underneath my futon. It takes roughly half an hour to heat my bed, and that’s when I go upstairs as well.

And then…. things get complicated. Now that I have closed the office door, Pumpkin has to decide where he wants to sleep – in the living room or upstairs with me. Of course, he’s still cold and now he starts crying again: because the office is closed, because I need to tuck him into his kitty bed, because… I don’t know.

By that time, I’m already in bed, calling out to him while slowly drifting off, and it takes him quite some time to realize that I’m expecting him to settle down or to come upstairs on his own. Which he does, eventually – with a complaining cry when he makes it to my bed, waking me up again… It takes us a while to finally fall asleep.

To be fair, I shouldn’t complain too much. He has now learned to sleep between my thick duvet and the fleece blanket on top of it, and he can manage to slip in there without my help. In other words: At least he’s not waking me up in the middle of the night anymore. Small wins, I guess.