I had a great time in Korea visiting friends last week. I even managed to do some other things on my list: Getting cash (ATMs in Korea are working), buying some clothing and getting other pieces changed, and: stocking up on food (Nutella costs still twice as much as in Europe, but at least the jars are of normal and not homeopathic size).
I also ate a lot of Korean food, but there are still things on my “to eat” list for next time. My friend’s husband made his infamous kimchi pizza on Saturday evening. I do love kimchi, but unfortunately my body does not share my enthousiasm for it and usually, unless I only have a few pieces, tries to get rid of it as quickly as possible – which is all fine and good every now and then, but not while travelling… By the time I came home in the early evening I was totally exhausted and had to go to bed immediately.
Anyway, I’m much better now – and I came back just in time for O-bon, the Japanese Festival of the Dead, which, of course, is quite a big thing here in Kyoto… I shall report accordingly.
I am taking a week’s vacation, visiting a friend in Korea.
In this time there will be no posts – nothing interesting can be happening in Kyoto without me anyway. 😉 My next post is planned for Monday, August 12th.
I needed to buy a present for a friend (or better: her son), so I went shopping today, to the Yodobashi Camera near Kyoto station. They sell mainly electronics, cameras, and household appliances, but I have also seen bicycles, watches and jewelry, and some clothing.
It was an interesting experience to say the least. First of all, the store is huge and spreads over five floors altogether, one of them underground. Everywhere there was something bouncing on a screen, some voice coming from a device, some other announcement from the speakers, and I did not even go to the HiFi and TV departments… The choice in all departments was almost overwhelming: there were dozens of similar but not quite the same printers, cameras, fans, refrigerators… crammed into the tiniest space next to each other, with only rather narrow aisles between the displays. I would call this a constant sensory overload – I am glad they didn’t do anything with smells outside of the “beauty” department – and I am seriously wondering if the shop assistants, neatly clad in blue uniforms, actually still hear any of the noise.
In any case, I was quite surprised by the prices – but I have to admit that I haven’t bought any electronics in years, thanks to my frequent moving. Scanners, printers and faxes for 20000 YEN, one very small photo printer for only 8000 YEN (but I assume the ink and the photopaper will earn the company enough). Interestingly, the small pocket dictionaries many people carry around unless they have a smart phone were much more expensive than that, about 30000 YEN and more. And then there were the thinnest computer screens I have ever seen, tiny laptops that barely weigh anything, huge, A3 sized touchpads… I can understand why some people – men especially – drool over those things. Not me though. Not now. Not until I need a phone. And a new laptop. And general household stuff for my new apartment…
Sorry, no picture today – didn’t think of bringing my camera.. Next time though!
Besides the large parades and processions that involve all the inner city and the Gion area in Kyoto, there are many small events taking place in July that are somehow connected to Gion matsuri. For example, last week there was a biwa recital at one of the stages of Yasaka shrine.
A biwa is a traditional Japanese instrument, a type of lute, originating in the 7th century. It is associated with Benten, the Shinto goddess of music, poetry, and education, and has seen a revival in recent years.The biwa is a lute with four strings which are struck with a large triangular plectrum, and it is held so that the neck is pointing upwards, with the body resting on the lap of the player, who has to sit in seiza, a kneeling position. So I went to the recital last week and found it very interesting. I had not expected it to be such a drawn out affair though; there were 11 players, each of them playing a song of about 15 – 20 minutes. Interestingly, the order of the artists was according to increasing proficiency (or years of training), with the two masters at the very end. Just as with the Noh, I did not have that amount of time or patience, so I left long before their performance, but next time I’ll know what to expect.
Also, I did not know that the players had to sing as well – I expected a purely instrumental afternoon and was quite surprised when the first song started. Once again, it was highly formalized, but I cannot say for sure whether the songs were traditional or modern Japanese – I did not understand much of them in any case. I found the recital very interesting, but it is not one of those things for every day, just like the Noh. Nevertheless I will try to catch another performance at some point in the future – knowing that I’ll have to arrive towards the end to hear the really good players.
Last Wednesday the last main event of Gion matsuri took place – the Kanko Sai festival, where the three mikoshi were taken from their temporary display on the Otabisho, carried on different routes through the inner city, and then returned to Yasaka shrine.
The parade started at 5 pm at the Otabisho. All of the things that can be seen in the picture of Wednesday’s post were removed and the mikoshi stood there for easy removal. The first one to be removed was the centre one. First there was a blessing of both the mikoshi and its bearers in front of the shrine to the right of the Otabisho. The mikoshi was then fixed to two long wooden beams and, amid shouts and clapping, was carried through the narrow streets of the inner city.
Blessing the mikoshi - note the knots!
The same was done with the other mikoshi, first the “west” one, and finally the “east” one. One of them was carried through the narrow streets of Teramachi, and then through Nishiki food market, and I am still amazed how its bearers could manage to make the very narrow 90 degree turn between the two streets… Each mikoshi was accompanied by a person on a horse – the centre one by the chigo, by the way – and finally, around 9 pm, the individual parades turned towards Yasaka shrine, lead by a procession that carried all the things that were removed from the shrine to accompany the gods in the first place.
mikoshi carried through teramachi
Once again, the bearers of the mikoshi showed off their strength by turning it around on its long wooden beams whenever possible, always accompanied by a rhythmic shouting of “hoi-tto”, “hoi-sso” or “ri-ssa”, and at Yasaka shrine itself each mikoshi was carried three times around the centre stage before it was placed in there again. The men carrying the mikoshi must have been exhausted at the end, but there was a certain excitement that went through them and the spectators, although I have seen a few with blood stains on their shoulders…
Mikoshi arrives back at Yasaka shrine
All of this took a very long time, partly also because of the fastening and unfastening of the heavy ropes that were used to tie the mikoshi to several wooden beams. Finally, around 11:30, all mikoshi had been placed again on the stage at the centre of Yasaka shrine. Then, all the lights were turned off and only the moon lit the final, most important scene: the return of the gods to the main shrine. A path was made with sacred rope between the centre stage and the main shrine building. Accompanied by music and hidden from view by screens, two priests went from the main shrine to the centre stage and at each mikoshi in turn either perfomed a rite or actually removed something they then brought back to the main building to enshrine there again.
Except for the music, it was quiet, the hundreds of remaining spectators were completely still, many of them had folded their hands in prayer. A palpable relief went through the crowd when the gods were returned to their proper home and the lights were turned on again. Many people then went to the shrine and offered a quick prayer. The scene was strangely touching, even though I am not religious.
It was midnight by then and I had to walk home. About 5 minutes after the gods had returned home, it started to rain. Well, the main part of Gion matsuri was over anyway.
Japanese people enjoy going out to eat and drink. And summer time is a perfect excuse to go all exotic and try something new. So, they have invented the Japanese idea of beergardens, which are often – due to a certain lack of space on the ground – rooftop affairs on large tall buildings.
I just came home from an outing to the beergarden (biagaaden as they write it in Katakana) on top of the Takashimaya department store in Kyoto. It was a nomi-hodai (all you can drink) and tabe-hodai (all you can eat) event, where you pay a fixed price (women 3200 YEN, men 3500 YEN) and then you can, well, eat and drink as much as you like within the time frame: last orders were at 9:30 and the place closed down at 10 pm.
The ambience could have been better, there were long rows of plastic tables and chairs on a part of the roof without aircondition outlets. Unfortunately it was not possible to get close to any edge of the building to look over the city, but when we arrived there was a quite spectacular sunset, almost on eye-height. Afterwards, some blue fairy lights were lit, and the atmosphere became a little less drab, but still a far cry from the real setting.
There was a large food buffet in the centre with mostly meat – even barbequeued – but there were also Udon noodles, some potatoes and veggies and a little bit of fruit as desert. And then there was the beer, apparently even a type especially imported from Germany. I don’t drink beer, so I cannot say which one, or even discuss differences to Japanese beer, I’m afraid. I was happy about the fact that they had divided the drinks counter into “beer only” and “all the rest”, but the soft drinks became more popular later in the evening, so this was quickly crowded too.
I enjoyed the evening, but I have to admit that I overindulged in the food… There is always something new to try, something more to have. I have to get used to the fact that I am not on holidays, that there will be many more opportunities to try everything – and that that will take quite a while anyway.
Today is the last major event of Gion matsuri. The three mikoshi which have been transferred from Yasaka shrine to their temporary abode in the Otabisho in the city centre will be moved back to the shrine today. The ceremony starts with the procession of the mikoshi through the inner city at 17:00 and will end at Yasaka shrine around midnight. It was raining in the morning but hopefully it will clear up until the evening… I shall report on Saturday again.
Yesterday was election day in Japan, and Shinzo Abe and his right-wing nationalists have won the majority in the Japanese upper house. He has a long list of things he wants to do, and it seems that the world is watching him very closely.
The biggest thing he plans is a change to the post WW II constitution of Japan, away from the “peace” constitution where Japan is only allowed self-defence, towards one that allows a standing military. Of course, the constitution as it is right now has not hindered Japan to have a very strong military to begin with and to declare missions to Iraq for example as “peace missions”, but writing it down is a different animal altogether.
Other things on Abe’s list are designed to strenghten Japan’s economy and to lessen its National Debts, for example turning on the nuclear power plants again, raising sales tax, or lowering taxes for companies.How all of this will turn out, and if it turns out to begin with, is something only time will show.
Anyway, the elections have prompted me to get my own files ready. The elections for the Austrian National Council will take place on September 29th, and I must do extra paperwork as I will not return to Austria for that. Even if I did, I don’t have an official residence there anymore, so I need to fill in lots of forms anyway, and I have done so every time there were national elections in the last 10 years.
I once had a very hot and very short argument with a friend of mine who stated that in her opinion … people who live abroad shouldn’t be allowed to vote … I can see the point insofar as I don’t care for local politics and I’m not allowed to vote in the small ones without residence there anyway. However, Austrian national politics, especially the foreign one, affects me probably more than the random Austrian citizen as I am the one who has to defend the outcome – whether I like it or not – against my foreign acquaintances. So yes, vote I will, no matter where I live.
Last Wednesday, July 17th, the festivities of Gion matsuri reached their peak. In the morning, there was the Yama Hoko Junko parade through the inner city, and in the early evening the three deities of Yasaka shrine were moved to their temporary residence at the Otabisho.
The procession in the morning was beautiful. In total, there are 32 floats, nine of them called hoko and the others yama. Both types date back to the 17th century or earlier, their wooden base is constructed without any nails or screws, only heavy ropes are used to tie the timber together. They are finally draped with tapestries – replicas of the real ones by now of course – which have been imported from as far off countries as the Netherlands, and thus sometimes depict strangely un-Asian scenes like camels, lions, or the departure of Ulysses from his wife. The originals are exhibited in the respective community houses during yoiyama, from July 14th – 16th and can be visited together with the more or less finished versions of the floats. Constructing a float – even the big hoko – takes only about two days, and this takes place from July 10th – 14th, after the Mikoshi Arai purification rite.
owl tapestry and ropes for pulling a hoko
Anyway, back to the two types of floats: A yama is essentially an elevated platform on wheels, maybe four metres high. It is covered with tapestries and shows a well known scene from myth or real history on the platform. The almost life-sized wooden figures used for that are also exhibited during yoiyama, in fact, they are often placed at the centre of an altar and I have seen people placing offers in front of them and praying to them before they are moved onto the platforms. I am not entirely sure, but it seems that the figures used are really the originals, different than the tapestries.
ashikari yama with lion tapestry in front
The second type of floats are the hoko. They are enormous things resembling mobile war towers, on man sized wheels, with a roofed platform on which musicians (drums, flutes, bells…) sit and play throughout the procession. On the roof sits a long wooden pole, making the hoko up to 25 metres high in total, and the pole is decorated with straw and paper in the lower part and bears a special type of tip which gives the hoko its name. A hoko can weigh more than ten tons and it is pulled by 40 – 50 men with two thick ropes fastened to the front. Some of the hoko carry wooden images together with the musicians, and all of them are hung with beautiful tapestries.
The procession starts at 9 am, goes along three main streets of the city centre, and has to make three 90 degree turns on the way. I was at the intersection where the first turn would take place at about 8 am, and luckily enough I could still find a spot in the front row – it was surprisingly crowded all the way. Police lined the already empty streets and and many of the shops in this otherwise busy shopping arcade were closed. The people waited patiently, until, as final act before the procession, the overhead traffic lights and signs were folded away. Soon after, you could hear the tune of the musicians, and the very first hoko came down Shijo dori and reached the intersection.
naginata hoko - and official photographers
The procession is always headed by the naginata hoko, which has a Japanese halberd, a naginata, on top of its pole. It is the one that has the chigo on board, a child performing rituals from the hoko, to drive evil spirits away. He is chosen among the 10 year old boys of Kyoto’s best families and wears heavy white makeup, golden headgear, and an orange robe with long sleeves.
chigo on naginata hoko
Recall that a hoko is a 10 ton affair pulled by 50 men. They can only go straight and cannot be steered. So, any large change of direction – as the 90 degrees necessary at any of the three curves of the route – is an interesting spectacle. First, the hoko’s front wheels are placed on bamboo poles, slit in half lengthwise, while the back wheels are held in place by large woodblocks. The men standing in the lower part of the hoko, close to the wheels, shout their commands, wave their fans, and then the hoko is pulled to the side in a swift effort. One hoko was turned with only two strong pulls, the others needed more, so the whole operation can take a while. In any case it was very exciting to watch every time, and the musicians on top never ceased to play or even missed a tone.
turning the kikusui hoko
Turning a yama is less of an issue as they can be simply lifted off the ground, although some groups made an effort to show off their strength and made one, even two full turns with the yama – to the great satisfaction of the spectators!
After the naginata hoko come all the others in random order as drawn by lot on July 2nd. The whole procession of all 32 floats takes about three hours to pass any one point. There are many breaks in between though, clearly because of the time the turning of the hoko takes, which cannot be predicted. All in all I found the procession very interesting, but also very tiring, especially as my front row spot meant I had to sit on the hard street with folded knees all the time. I now understand why people bring little folding stools with them – even those who accompany the hoko on foot take a break to sit down during the turning.
In the evening, the second part of the festivities take place. All three mikoshi of Yasaka shrine – and with them their deities – are moved to their temporary residence at the Otabisho, located at the intersection of Shijo and Teramachi. Once again, young men dressed in white carry the mikoshi through the streets of Kyoto to their destination. There are three routes through town, and the atmosphere is light again, with lots of encouraging shouting by the carriers and spectators as well.
Blessing the Mikoshi before their departure from Yasaka Shrine
I may have mentioned it before: It’s hot! One side effect of this are the crickets you can hear all day long, starting as early as 7:30 or so. I don’t mind them although we have quite a bit of greenery around the house in which they are hiding and chirping; their sound quickly recedes into the background anyway.
Tuesday morning, however – I had just finished my morning round of kanji study and was sitting down in front of my laptop – a new sound was mixed in with the crickets, with a similar pitch and rhythm, but still different enough to be noticable. Somehow it sounded like it was only a single animal, and soon enough I became quite annoyed by it. After a while it stopped again, and with a thought of “Oh, the others finished you off” I could concentrate again on something else.
Imagine my surprise when I finally went downstairs a while later – and discovered a note from one of my housemates, tucked underneath a dismantled smoke detector: “I could find neither smoke nor fire, so I thought it was just an empty battery alarm and pulled it…”
Conclusion:
Not every animal is what it seems.
Our smoke detectors’ alarms are annoying, but not alarming (enough) – checking out the noise never entered my mind.
I hope any fire in our house starts when I’m out or at least not home alone.
Edit: I have now found out that the animals making all the noise around here are not called crickets, but cicadae. Sorry about my ignorance, I’m not really good with insects…
