A European's move towards Japan
Today, on the third Monday in July, is the Japanese national holiday called umi no hi, often translated as Marine Day. As I have written about it last year, and the year before, I thought I’d simply share another Japanese ukiyo-e woodblock print with ocean theme. It is called “Waves” and was made by Konen Uehara (1877 – 1940) in 1910.
As I had to go to town on Saturday, I took the opportunity to go to an art exhibition at the Takashimaya Department Store.Yes, that’s right: at a department store. Takashimaya is one of the largest chains in Japan with stores in every large city. They are selling upscale goods and all of the international luxury brands, but not everything is prohibitively expensive. They also have a range of Japanese goods like kimono, futons, furniture, and of course, souvenirs. In the basement, there is usually a large food court, where all sorts of prepared foods can be bought, starting from onigiri to tempura, raw and fried fish, Japanese sweets and French style cakes, chocolate… On the top floor are restaurants, they are usually very good, but also rather expensive.
And on that top floor in the Takashimaya in Kyoto was the 44th Japanese Traditional Arts Exhibition. The arts ranged from woodcarving, lacquerware, to glassware and pottery. There were also little sculptures, mainly the little dolls the Japanese love so much. Of course, three walls of the grand hall displayed kimono. Although all the pieces were made in the traditional fashion, they were very modern looking.
When I entered, I was a little shocked at the amount of people. That was because somebody – probably the artist himself – gave a lengthy explanation of one of the exhibits. Once I could pass that bottleneck, the rest of the exhibition was not overly crowded.
At the exit of the grand hall was a little separate room where numerous sake cups were on display. Sake cups are interesting, they come in all sorts of sizes, shapes, and materials. I think that at least some of them were made by the artists exhibiting, and one could even buy them. A staff member came up to me and invited me to a sake tasting. At first I did not want to – it was barely noon – but I then asked whether she could explain a little about the sake and when she said she would try, I bought a ticket after all. It is not easy to find an opportunity to taste different types of sake, and this one was quite amazing.
After I had chosen three of the cups on display, I sat down on a little bar to drink. All three sake offered at the tasting were from Kyoto city itself, from Fushimi, where allegedly Kyoto’s best water can be found. Although the taste of sake is not very strong – remember that rice itself has hardly any taste at all – and I found all three of them very mild and pleasant, there was still a quite distinct difference to them. Although the taste was pretty much the same, one of them felt very heavy on my tongue, another very light – for lack of a better word, forgive me, I am not an expert. Interestingly, both of them had the same alcohol percentage, so that cannot have been the reason. I am glad I took the opportunity to do this, it is always nice to try something new.
Today was the Aoi matsuri, the hollyhock festival that takes place at the Imperial Palace, Shimogamo Shrine and Kamigamo Shrine. When I came to Japan two years ago, this was the first festival I went to, and I have written about it then at length. Today, I had the opportunity – thanks to a friend – to see the parade again, this time from the special seats in Shimogamo Shrine.
It was just as I remembered, almost a deja-vu, but now the beautifully dressed men and gorgeous women on foot or on horses were passing underneath the large trees of Shimogamo Shrine instead of the open space of the Palace, which gave the parade a whole different feeling. I also think that it was a bit more compact than the first time I saw it – whether this was due to the different location or because of different timing, I cannot tell. The weather was nice and warm, but not really sunny, so I still have to wait for my first sunburn this year.
After the parade had passed the long sandy road up to the main buildings of Shimogamo Shrine, my friend and I had lunch at the few food stalls that were permitted at the shrine. We had yakisoba – grilled noodles with bacon and cabbage – and as dessert kasutera – a sort of small sweet buns made of pancake batter – and ichigo daifuku – sweet rice cakes with a strawberry on top.
This year, I did not stay for the horse race as I had promised another friend to see her, but it was nice to go to the Aoi festival again. There is still a part I have not seen yet, the one from Shimogamo to Kamogamo Shrine, so there is something left to explore for next year. I am already looking forward to it!
Yesterday I went to a photography exhibition, titled “Last Samurais, First Photographs” near the Imperial Palace. A number of 150-100 year old photographs of samurai were display, and I found them very interesting and beautiful.
Apparently, photography was introduced to Japan only in the last decade of the Edo period (late 1850s), but it spread relatively quickly, and by the late 19th century, there were both foreign and Japanese photographers working in Japan. The exhibition – from the collections of the French Guimet National Museum of Asian Arts – showed photos for example from the Japanese photographer Kusakabe Kimbei, a protegé of the Austrian photographer Baron Raimund von Stillfried who worked in Yokohama for 20 years until he returned to Europe in 1883.
Of course, at that time photographs were black and white, but almost all of the exhibits were carefully hand colored, which gave them a somewhat dreamy appearance. The interesting part about this is that they show the samurai’s armor as very bright and colorful in yellow, red, and blue, with brightly patterned kimono underneath.
Although the exhibition started with two photographs of the then shogun Tokugawa Yoshinobu, most of the pictures did not show real samurai, because they had been taken after the shogunate had ended and the samurai class was abolished. Although the armor is real, the people wearing them were normal people without samurai ancestry, or actors of the kabuki or noh theatre.
This can also be seen by the choice of subject. Most of the photos were just portraits, focusing on the armor and different weapons. However, a whole album was on display that depicted – again, in carefully hand colored photographs – the famous story of the 47 ronin, who avenged their master who had been forced to commit suicide. Once they had achieved their goal, they went to his grave and also committed seppuku. Another example is the photo below. It depicts two famous people from the Heike Monogatari. At the left is the accomplished female warrior Tomoe Gozen, who followed her lover Minamoto Yoshinaka (right) into the war with the Taira.
As I said, the exhibition, although small, is certainly worthwhile. It takes place in the Toraya Gallery on Ichijo dori, near the crossing with Karasuma dori, and will be open until the end of May.
Today is the second of the three holidays that mark Golden Week in Japan. Midori no Hi means Greenery Day and goes back to the Showa emperor who was particularly fond of plants. It is celebrated on May 4th since 2007, between 1989 and 2006 it was celebrated on the Showa emperor’s birthday on April 29th.
The day is also called Arbor Day, and one of the duties of the Emperor and the Empress include planting seeds and a tree somewhere in the countryside of Japan. Unfortunately, I could not find any detailed information where they went this year, but I am sure as from today, there will be a few more trees growing in Japan.
And maybe, they will become as glorious as this one, the Jomon Sugi cryptomeria on Yakushima island, which is estimated to be at least 2000 and maybe even up to 7000 years old: 
Today is a national holiday in Japan, called Showa Day. It is celebrated in remembrance of the last – the Showa – Emperor (Hirohito) who was born today in 1901, acceded to the throne in 1926 and died in 1989.
Showa Day has only been called that since 2007, when the main opposition party finally gave green light to the renaming of the day (which had been celebrated since 1989 as Greenery Day). However, they proposed that the day was not supposed to be a holiday to celebrate, but rather one to reflect on the Showa emperor’s 63 years of reign. His reign – the longest of any monarch in Japanese history so far – was a quite turbulent one with lots of major events taking place, not just in Japan, but all over the world.
Just to name a few of these events:
Economic collapse starting in 1928 leaving many people unemployed and starving.
Japanese invasion of Manchuria in 1931 and the installment of a government there under the Chinese emperor Pu-Yi. Some historians count this as the start of the World War II.
The second Sino-Japanese War starting in 1937.Entering World War II by creating the Rome-Tokyo-Berlin Axis in 1940 and the attack on Pearl Harbor one year later.
Surrendering in 1945 after two atomic bombs had been dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the total Japanese death toll mounting to around 2.7 million people, among them 600.000 civilians.
Occupation of Japan, which saw a complete change in government and the first democratic elections in 1946, where women were allowed to vote for the first time.
Japan became a sovereign nation again in 1952, after the signing of the San Francisco Treaty with the United States.
The “economic miracle” of Japan starting in the 1950s, where the economy grew three times as fast as that of other major nations. By the end of the Showa era (in fact until 2011), the Japanese economy was the second largest one in the world.
The Geisha – or Geiko as they are called in Kyoto – are the incorporation of everything Japanese, not only for foreigners, but for the Japanese as well. A Geiko is a manifestation of tradition in everything she does, a masterpiece of art in everything she wears, and a showpiece of that Japan that is all but gone and only survives in tiny enclaves like Kyoto’s Gion. In short, they embody everything that is beautiful, sophisticated, and rare in Japan. And rare they are indeed as their art is a dying one, and an evening of personal entertainment with a Geisha is a costly enterprise.
So, you can probably imagine the lengths to which people are going to even only see a Geisha. People flock to the few yearly events with public appearances of Geiko and Maiko. They spend hours wandering the streets of Gion in the early evening in the hope of catching a glimpse of a Maiko on her way to an appointment. Some very obnoxious fellows even follow them around when they are going out, just to get that one perfect picture.
I can certainly understand the first thing – I have done so myself – but I find the second a little odd and the third outright rude and impolite. That’s probably the reason why after two years in Japan I only have taken very few photos of Geiko and Maiko. But then again, it’s not as if I had to resort to such methods, my approach is much more casual…
A while back, it was such a nice and sunny afternoon that I decided to go out. There is a tiny little cafe near the Philosopher’s Path, with maybe 15 seats, interesting decor, and great hot chocolate. I had been there before and I felt like walking a bit. When I arrived, there were five or six men occupying the largest table at the back – never before had I seen so many customers there. Well, that was not how I had envisioned my quiet afternoon, but I ordered and crouched down over my notebook anyway.
Then, suddenly, they arrived from the room in the back: a young Maiko, flawlessly dressed and made up, with perfect coiffure in which stuck those little seasonal hair ornaments that are often worn during only a few days. She was accompanied by a somewhat older woman, obviously a senior member from her teahouse. Both women then took seats on the large table and started chatting with the men waiting there.
I was very surprised and tried very hard not to stare. After a while of talking and drinking coffee the women got up and everybody left. The whole meeting – from the time the women came out from the back until the cafe was empty again – took not more than 15 minutes. Interestingly, it was the older woman accompanying the Maiko who paid the bill, which makes me assume that the gentlemen paid for the meeting including drinks beforehand.
Afterwards, the owner of the cafe, an old lady who speaks a little English, confirmed that that had indeed been a real Maiko. See, that’s how you get to see them close up, just go to the right cafe…
Today is a national holiday in Japan. Actually, it is THE national holiday in Japan, called Kenkoku Kinen no Hi, National Foundation Day. It is meant to celebrate or commemorate the day when the first emperor of Japan – Jimmu Tenno – ascended to the throne.
However, the whole thing is a little bit more complicated than that. It starts with the fact that emperor Jimmu is more a mythical creature than a real person. He is said to be the direct descendant of the sun goddess Amaterasu and was the first to unite all the clans of Japan under one rule. Traditionally, his ascention to the throne is said to have happened on the first day of the lunar calendar in 660 BCE, but with the switch to the solar Gregorian calendar in 1872, the day got moved around a bit until it was finally settled to be celebrated on February 11.
Before WW II, Kigensetsu, as it was then called, was a way to celebrate the Japanese nation and empire and its ruling family. As such it had a deep nationalistic meaning and was promptly outlawed after the war when overt displays of nationalism were discouraged by the occupying forces. The day was reinstated as a national holiday in 1966 and then renamed to Kenkoku Kinen no Hi. Since then, it is a minor holiday, and although the hinomaru, the national flag, is ceremonially raised on government buildings, the celebrations overall are quite subdued.
I almost missed it! Yesterday was the last day of the 43rd “Nitten” exhibition here in Kyoto. It is the largest open-entry exhibition of Japanese artists, and it shows exhibits from calligraphy to applied arts to paintings, which are divided into Japanese and Western style paintings. The Nitten claims to be “the largest artist’s organisation with the most glorious history in japan, since 1907”, which I find gloriously funny…
Anyway, I realised around noon yesterday, that it was the last day of the exhibition, and despite my plans for a lazy afternoon at home in bed with books, chocolate, and chips, I made my way to the museum. Once again I was lucky and didn’t pay for it: Just when I wanted to buy a ticket, another visitor walked up to me and handed me one for free. I thanked her profusely and then went to enjoy the exhibition.
Just like last year, I passed on the calligraphy. A friend once suggested to view it simply as art, but I’m not very much into abstract stuff. I think the meaning behind the characters is an important part of the value of these pieces.
I enjoyed the sculptures, they were much less static than last year. Again, the (nude) female body dominated, and there are only so many poses a human body can achieve – yes, most of the sculptures were done after nature. My favourite was a simple piece showing a young woman sitting and reading a book; but part of the attraction may have been the title of “my time”. Yes, I can certainly relate to spending “my time” with a book…
Except for one o
r two snowy scenes in the high mountains the paintings were less to my taste this year. There was a single one, depicting two eagles (in a non-kitsch, matter-of-fact kind of way), that captivated me. Afterwards, I tried to find a postcard of it in the shop, but this particular one they did not have, unfortunately.
They did sell a photo of my favourite piece this year, though: The little, robot-like metal statue you see at the left of this post. It was maybe 50 cm high and had the title “flexible”. Although it had the same posture as in the photograph here, I still think that the parts can move. I took a very close look at the fingers, and they certainly seemed to be flexible. My own fingers itched terribly; I really wanted to try and see, but touching the exhibits was probably not allowed, and I was not finished seeing the whole exhibition yet…
All in all, I did not like this exhibition as much as last year’s. There were less outstanding pieces, less art that I could imagine owning; and although I think that the sculptures have improved, I found the paintings – which form the largest part of the exhibition – rather mediocre. I am looking forward to see the next Nitten, though.
I am very tired these days. I am busy looking for a new place to live and it proves to be very difficult indeed…
As I said, I would prefer to rent a house if possible, but all of the old houses I have seen so far are rather small and somewhat unpractical, and incredibly dark. There was this lovely old house I have been to, where the genkan, the front entrance, had three stepping-stones amidst a floor strewn with pebbles. I loved the house immediately. Unfortunately, the rest of the interior was not quite up to scratch… The top floor appeared to have been newly renovated, the two rooms were both very light and had an airy feel.
However, the ground floor… The kitchen was tiny, very old and could have used at least some cleaning, if not outright renovation. Ditto the bathroom. Given the amount of time I spend in the bathroom each day, I really don’t need one of those huge “oasis” kind of things that are so popular in the West these days. However, when I bow to spit during my toothbrushing, I prefer not to hit the wall opposite the wash basin with my behind. And I think it is a bonus if I can get to the shower without squeezing through the 30 cm that are left once the washing machine is in its place. If the bathroom had been in a better state, one might convince me to live with a Japanese squatting toilet though. I’m not a big fan of those – I still don’t know how to go “big” there – but if the rest of the house is okay, I’d just suck it up I guess.
It was not, however. The house was old enough to have a little garden in the back and a whole glass front between it and the adjacent living room – but still, the light from the garden did not even reach half of the living room, which was only six tatami, 12 square metres. Given my almost life-long intimate knowledge of depression, a dark place is something I definitely cannot live in. I certainly have no need to invite depression to follow me to Japan… Maybe, if the ground floor was renovated like the rooms upstairs, and painted with lighter colours, the house would actually be quite pleasant. But it’s not something I can wait for.
I have seen a number of apartments so far, and they are equally drab: rather dark and pretty small. I know now that the size of tatami must have changed over the years. I am quite sure that the six tatami from my room would not fit into any of the six tatami-rooms I have seen on my quest for a new place so far.
Anyway, I’m not giving up. Although it is exhausting, I will keep looking for that perfect place. You’ll hear from me when I find it.