Oideyasu! Please take off your shoes.
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Also known as Heihachi-jaya, a famous old (at least 400 years) ryokan/ kaiseki restaurant/kamaburo sauna by the Takano River in Sakyo-ku. Simply take Kyoto Bus (the brown one, not green City Bus) No. 17 from Kyoto Station or Kawaramachi bound for Ohara to the Heihachiya exit at their front door. This was a point of departure and return to and from Kyoto proper on the road through the mountains past Ohara and on to the Japan Sea for fishermen of bygone ages. A quiet place to get away from downtown if you are so inclined, and a famous clay sauna heated from below by firewood cut in the northern forests. You do know that the finest tokobashira (decorative and sacred pillars in tokonoma alcoves in japanese homes) come from northern Kyoto, right?
More images: Main building and Gate to garden.
Oh, whaddya know, they have a website.
Photos take Saturday in Miyagawa-cho, kyoto
The Tozai (east-west) subway under Sanjo Street was under construction when I arrived in Japan in 1994, and has been a great help. It made obsolete the streetcar that ran from the Sanjo-Keihan station just east of the Kamo River. For the intervening years I've been wondering what would become of the premium parcel of land where the station was. This would be the commercial anchor point for a segment of Sanjo ripe for revival running east from Kawabata Street. Wonder no more, it is here, and it sucks:
The Kyoen shopping center is made of prefab buildings, with some kind of lattice encircling some of them, trying without success to hide their obvious prefab-ness. One can only hope that this is a temporary solution for a depressed economy, and that this site will be redeveloped with tasteful Kyoto elegance at a later date, when budget allows.
I believe that the white-collared kimono layered underneath indicates that a maiko has advanced to the rank of "geigi."
A few drips of color from last night's bon odori in Miyagawa-cho, which takes place right outside Mama's house. All the neighborhood folks, the apprentice maiko (younger girls in yukata), and maiko coming and going to their appointments. Does Peter know EVERYONE in Miyagawa-cho? The answer appears to be yes.
My photo of garden geta appeared today in Nadine's snappy Tokyo Shoes guest blog feature. Take a look.
Before this evening's bon dance.
Page scans of old magazines
The Maiko Odori - The Cherry Blossom Dance at Kyoto, Harper's Magazine, May 1896
Notes From a Traveling Diary, Lafcadio Hearn, Harper's Magazine, April 1895
(Long) A Trip to Kyoto, Atlantic Monthly, Lafcadio Hearn, 1896.
At Imadegawa street, the Kamo and Takano rivers meet, the Kamo coming down from the northwest, and the Takano from the northeast. I live along the Takano river.
Nishimura is a famous ukiyo-e dealer (not a gallery) in an old building in Tera-machi, easy to miss without blinking signs. Quality prints (all they sell at such an establishment) can be had for quite affordable prices.
From the Kyoto Shimbun, photos and RealVideo.
I just saw a program teaser a few minutes ago on TV plugging Mie's moblogging segment on CNN International, which will be on tonight during the 11p.m. hour.
A visitor to this site asked the meaning of the kanji for Kyoto. You can see the kanji for Kyoto (more accurately "kyouto" in romanized form) at the top of this page in grey, bracketing the title.
京 = "kyou" (the extra "u" doesn't change pronunciation, just makes it a beat longer) = capital
都 = "to" = capital
So, in summary, capital + capital = capital. The second kanji can also be interpreted as "district", and capital district sounds good, I think. Originally, Kyoto was called Heian-kyou (平安京), the "capital of peace and tranquility," when emperor Kammu moved the capital here in 794 from nearby Nagaoka-kyou, where it stood for just 10 years after Nara. This moving was going on because the aristocracy was feeling threatened, with good reason, by the more grassroots power of the Buddhist clergy. Peace and tranquility, ahoy! Kyoto would remain the capital for over 1,000 years, until 1868, but for most of that time it was capital in name only, because the imperial family was there, and real power was elsewhere with the movers and shakers. In 1868, Edo became Tokyo (東京) (actually "Toukyou" with two two-beat "o" sounds ). The kanji for Tokyo means "eastern capital", And Tokyo Prefecture is called Toukyou-to, 東京都. Kyoto Prefecture is Kyouto-fu, 京都府.
Very convenient downtown location just a bit south of Sanjo-dori and west of the Nishikyogoku shopping arcade. This ryokan is a bit expensive at JPY25,000 - 60,000. I've never been inside but it is highly reputed; I've heard the owners are tea ceremony aficionados, have decorated accordingly and do demonstrations.
Looks inviting, too bad I couldn't go in. I'll be back.
More photos will be posted after I get out from under a couple of deadlines. This year I photographed "Hou" from Kitamyama-dori, for a change (usually the focus is on "Dai" above Ginkakuji, as it is the first lit and biggest of the fires. Last year I photographed all but "Torii" from the roof of a restaurant, so I'll post those photos too. There was a nice carnival atmosphere on Kitayama street last night, something I enjoy about living in Kyoto.
This temple was founded by Prince Shotoku in 587, even before Kyoto city itself. It is wedged into downtown, backed by taller buildings, and seems unimpressive for a temple, but look at the hexagonal "Belly Button Stone" on the right. The day I was there not one visitor took notice of this unimposing if odd-shaped little stone off to the side.
However, this very stone marks the geographic center of the ancient capital. The center of a city like Kyoto must emanate some powerful ki, so come here to absorb some. It's easy to find on Rokkaku-dori, just a block south of Sanjo-dori east of Karasuma-dori. In Kyoto dialect, that's Karasuma-Rokkaku higashi-iru. This is just south of the Museum of Kyoto (not to be confused with Kyoto Municipal Museum near Heian Shrine). Prince Shotoku was a big promoter of Buddhism, founding the marvelous Shi-tennoji in Osaka. He is commemorated at Koryu-ji Temple in Uzumasa, which is one of the most significant temples in Kyoto.
Jizou statues like this are all over Japan, in neighborhoods and at crossroads. Jizou is a kami who represents an Indian bodhisattva, and he is thought to watch over and protect mainy travelers (thus the crossroads) and children (neighborhoods). Not only neighborhood children, but those who died prematurely, as well as the stillborn and aborted. In the Jizou-bon festival which finishes the bon season of the spirits, children gather at the local Jizou statue and pay homage, then play games and receive candy and toys.
Freshwater fish
lake trout - masu
rainbow trout - nijimasu
river trout - ayu
koi - carp
unagi - eel
Saltwater fish, blue
tuna - maguro
pink, fat belly tuna - toro maguro
swordfish - kajiki maguro
yellowtail - buri
bonito - katsuo
pacific mackerel - saba
horse mackerel - aji
pike, saury - sanma
salmon - sake, shake
sardine, anchovy - iwashi
herring - nishin
shark - same
conger eel - anago
pike conger - hamo
flying fish -tobiuo
whale - kujira
Saltwater fish, white
blowfish - fugu
flounder, halibut - hirame
sole - karei
cod - tara
sea bass - suzuki
sea bream, red snapper - tai
Shellfish and mollusks
oyster - kaki
clam - hamaguri
baby clam - asari
scallop - hotate
crab - kani
shrimp, prawn - ebi
lobster, crayfish/crawfish/crawdad - Ise ebi
abalone - awabi
conch, whelk - sazae
squid - ika
octopus - tako
urchin - uni
Roe
urchin roe - uni
salmon roe - ikura
herring roe - kazunoko
cod roe - tarako
These are the kanji that will be lit up with firewood on the hillsides near our house in northern Kyoto in the Daimonji Festival on Saturday, an annual tradition since the 1600s. These are about 500 meters apart on two different hills, but count as one. The "myou" kanji is behind Takaragaike driving school. There is a Myouhou Temple south of Gojo street on Higashioji. Also see the post below. I'm going to a wedding party in Osaka on Saturday, but I hope to be back in time to get a few photos.
Alpha Station, Kyoto's FM radio station, just five minutes from my house by bicycle. Sing the jingle with me:
"Alpha ci~ty, Alpha Sta~tion, eighty-nine-point-fo~ur FM..." they used to have all the jingles online as sound files, too bad they are gone. Some of them are really poetic. I don't know about Tokyo, but here in kansai there are just a few FM stations, and format-wise, they are all over the map. I remember when I first came to Japan, writing down the songs as they played: Barry White, Nirvana, Paul Anka, and some breathy French cabaret number, in that order. This morning, they played Disco Duck, for whatever reason.
I realize that I take this kind of picture more often than necessary, but I like this perspective on the Kamo River.
is the framing method used for most Japanese homes. (And barrell distortion is really annoying on pocket-sized digicams with tiny lenses)
Summer dining on the yuka (balcony) at Kamogawa Hanabi restaurant, between Gojo and Shijo. Inside you can order a la carte, outside on the bacony you get a course menu, by reservation.
The old movie theater (background) was being noisily torn down as I waited to meet my wife in front of the new Movix multiplex across the alley to see the Big Fat Greek Wedding movie. Natsuko Toda talked about translating that movie in a hurry last spring when we went to her lecture.
She was trying to come up with a gag in Japanese for the obvious line, "It's all Greek to me." In the end, there was no gag, it was just literally translated as "chinpun-kanpun," no joke. But my point here is the buildings. The old building, with it's old-world interior and graceful balconies has been closed for a year, and there was a sign on the front, "Thanks for 88 years of patronage." The new theater is comfortable with nice cushy chairs, but really lacks that movie theater ambiance. You just get on an elevator and go up to your floor, all of which are decorated to look like blinking video arcades.
(Haphazardly) Stitched together view from roof of centrally located Kokusai Hotel. Gozan Okuribi fire festival, often just referred to as Daimonji, is coming up on Aug. 16. This image includes the sweep of ridgeline between the two "大" (dai) kanji, where all the fires will be lit. Our house is very close to the Hou in Myou-hou, "妙法".
I hope to be able to afford my own moat someday. And bearers, bearers would be good.
Oda Nobunaga killed himself in this little temple in June of 1582, surrounded by the soldiers of his putative ally (after he betrayed the ally's trust, though). What would he say now if he could see that the temple where he ventilated himself is tucked into a corner of a shopping arcade.
You can see Hiei-zan in the background toward the right. This picture was taken a few hours ago (typhoon No. 10 approaching and looking mean) from Kamo Oohashi. Aoi-bashi is the bridge that crosses the promontory. The area between the rivers is called Shimogamo, and contains the famous Shimogamo Shrine (UNESCO World Heritage Site), the forest of which hasn't been altered in 1400 years, despite being in the city proper. I find it very spooky and powerful.
View of Sanjo oohashi in Kyoto looking south over Kamo River from Oike Street.
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I was taking a walk a few minutes ago and came across a lost family of deer that had wandered down the river from Hiei-zan (mountain) to this spot below Hanazono Bridge on Shirakawa-dori, in the northeastern corner of the city. They looked scared, and were trying to hide in the tall grass. I hope they can find their way back in the morning. Sorry about the graininess. it was dusk, and I certainly wasn't going to strobe them.
Hiiragiya is widely regarded as the finest ryokan in Kyoto. It's said that every corner you turn in this place presents a meticulously designed and landscaped view. Hiiragiya (tel 075/221-1136, fax 221-1139) is across from Kyoto City Hall on the south side of Oike Street, but you can't see much from the street. Very private, and renowned kaiseki ryori, a Kyoto course dinner. Hollywood big shots and captains of industry stay here, so prices go into the thousands of dollars, but you can have the Hiiragiya experience for as little as ¥15,000 ($130) per night per person (Charges at ryokan are per person, rather than per room). The cheaper accommodations are in a nearby building, Hiiragiya Bekkan(tel 075/231-0151, fax 231-0153), but I'll bet it's pretty nice for the price, considering they attach their name and reputation to it.
Beyond the modern clutter of downtown, Kitayama looms, mysterious and powerful. The weather can change in a minute up there, and it often does. Blue skies and sunshine suddenly become turbulent thunderstorms. The mountains to the north of Kyoto are the home of the Tengu, do not anger the spirits up there.
View of bar (with available light only, hence the time exposure fuzziness) in this apartment converted to restaurant/bar; evening view out window over Kamo River to eastern mountains. We had a great dinner, very fresh ingredients, including chicken sashimi and Kyoto specialty beer
notice that the strong light is down low. If you are tring to achieve a Japanese effect, that's one way to do it.
