serendippity doo dah

Long-range plans are not my forté. Sometimes,they are neccesary, but in general, I prefer to make it up as I go along, follow my instincts, and see what might appear. Sometimes this results in a clash with my scientific husband who is a more linear thinker. He has called my seemingly random excursions, “aimless wandering.” That’s the whole point, but I think you have to be wired a certain way to enjoy it. It has been known to drive him crazy, but today, happily, we were on the same wave length.

This kind of travel is serendipitty doo dah for me. This is a look I seem to get when visiting a temple. I am calling it my quasi-spiritual look.

What can be more fun than coming upon some wonderful place that is unexpected? Seeing a flower for the first time or the final time in the season? Taking in the complexity of the stone work pathways. Looking at the details and beauty of a bamboo fence. Listening to the sweet sounds of birds, so high in the ancient trees, I can never spot them. It’s eye and ear candy, pure and simple.

As far as temples go, I hear tourists saying they’re “templed out.” As far as I’m concerned, temples can be like people, they have a lot of similar characteristics that are arranged differently. No two are ever just alike. But you can’t be rushed in meeting them. Each entrance, gateway, walkway, garden, bell tower, hondo, etc. are different. Do I have a fave? Not really.

Today, we traveled a few miles north of central Kyoto to visit a trio of small temples in the foothills. The Japanese maples are just beginning their autumn displays at this slightly higher altitude. Bus loads of tourists will descend in a week or two, I imagine, when the colors are more vivid and cause the viewer to gasp in disbelief. Today, all was calm and peaceful. Probably the calm before the storm. It allowed me take in details that in more crowded circumstances could be overlooked.

Today the quiet on the temple grounds felt heavy and dense. Today, I noticed for the first time that there can be different qualities to quiet.

By the time we toured all three temples we were ready to eat lunchee. (adopted Japanese word.) There were no immediate restaurants, so we began to walk along the narrow country road towards what we thought might be the nearest town. We didn’t have to go far before coming to a small restaurant with no English spoken and no English menu. If you show a willingness to “work” with the staff, it’s been our experience that you will always get something to eat. Today, it was okonomyaki Just the best, simple and delicious.

Knowing Love

Today, visiting my umpteenth Kyoto temple ( this time, Shoren-in )I thought how each time I reconnect with the places, things and people I love here, it’s like meeting an old friend after a long absence. You can’t explain its satisfaction and happiness, but you sure know it and feel it.

The delicate maple leaves in the temple gardens are certainly familiar as is the smile on a loved one’s face or the twinkle in their eye. The junction of wall and roofing always pleases too, not to mention the koi in the ponds, the stones, the quiet, the moss, the flowers, the mysteries hidden in the darkened sanctuaries. How wonderful to be reunited!

People often ask me, how many times have you come here? I truly don’t know, I stopped counting years ago. It’s irrelevant anyway. There’s always a First Time feeling to each visit. I revere the integration of Nature in daily life. The physical buildings of temples, generally hundreds of years old, are such a part of each temple landscape, looking as if they might have emerged from the earth itself. The carefully constructed gardens are often sublime. It’s easy to feel a part of them as they have become a part of me. As loved ones influence and mark our lives, so does this place for me.

BTA (Before the Age of Trump)

Just about two years ago in 2016 BTA (Before the age of Trump), we found ourselves in Kyoto on Election Day. Anxious about the outcome of the election and not quite knowing what to do with ourselves, we headed for a museum for some much needed distraction, while waiting out news of the returns. While there, my husband glanced at his phone repeatedly. I didn’t pay much attention until his face grew darker. I mean on a scale of 1 to 10 it was a 10. I was afraid to ask him what he’d seen, but I had to. “It’s all over,” he announced somberly. Unwilling to comprehend what he was saying, I said “impossible.” There must be a mistake I insisted. Ah, denial! No, he repeated to me, Trump has an unbeatable lead. I could not detect any uncertainty in his announcement. End of story. End of so many things I held dearly. Continue reading “BTA (Before the Age of Trump)” →

A Foreign Eye on Kyoto’s Jidai Matsuri

Who doesn’t love a parade?

Kyoto has three important matsuri during the year. JIdai matsuri is one of them. I’ve seen the other two, one in spring and one in the suffocating hot summer. I had not heard of the Jidai matsuri until a few days ago when a Japanese friend of mine confided that this was her favorite festival of the year. Given all that takes place here, that’s saying a lot. I decided to check it out.

The main attraction is the parade of over 2,000 people, all of whom are dressed in meticulously crafted costumes that represent each era of Kyoto’s 1,100-year history. The parade follows a reverse chronological order, starting with the Meiji Restoration in 1868 and working backwards to the Imperial Court of Emperor Kanmu’s reign, and includes members depicting famous historical samurai or politicians, as well as members of the merchant and commoner classes.

From an outsider’s point of view, I viewed the procession largely as a fashion show. I quickly lost interest in the boring narrative related to us by a Japanese woman reading.about the procession from a book in English. After a half an hour of trying to make sense of her narrative, I pulled the earpiece out and watched the procession in blessed silence, moved by the historical legacy of this city and the role it played as Japan’s capital for a thousand years!

I cannot relate to you who’s who or which historical period they represent. I hope you don’t care. There were a lot of warriors.There were lots of dressed up horses too. There were striking Shinto elements as well. There were dozens of men in the emperor’s retinue. Many looked tired of walking.

Much of Kyoto’s earlier history was about one war after another. Bloody times. (and don’t their shoes look surprisingly flimsy?) Life for commoners was challenging and short. Life for the aristocracy brought with it great privilege but seldom peace, except in certain periods.

**The straw outcropping on this warrior’s back is a raincoat.**

**Maybe not fleet of foot, but don’t underestimate his marksmanship ability on his steed.**

**This warrior needs his own role in the next Star Wars sequel, I believe.**

I hope you enjoy the images and the pageantry I witnessed. All costumes are guaranteed to be authentic reproductions, right down to a specialist who just does the hair of the participants! I was amazed at the bright colors and patterns of the attire. Of course, this procession celebrated the who’s who of Kyoto over hundreds of years. The aristocracy and members of the court as well as the priests and warriors dressed to impress, no doubt!

I was grateful that the timing of this Kyoto visit coincided with this matsuri. It’s one of life’s experiences that I was delighted to witness, but feel no need to witness again!

**the beginning of polka dot love? Shinto priest, I believe.**

**young princess? Would this dress be for going to a birthday party?**

**empress or favorite concubine? I doubt that the empress would be walking.**

**Women from neighboring countryside of Ohara who would come to Kyoto to sell their produce.**

**Look at these colors! The artisans worked long and hard to produce these textiles!**

Things My Mother Taught Me

It’s impossible to overstate the role that ceramics plays in daily life in Japan. It’s equally impossible to deny my obsession with it. Another impossibility is to give a comprehensive overview of the role ceramics plays in Japanese history and culture. There are books and experts on this subject. I consider my self an admirer. A slightly obsessed admirer.

It’s all my mother’s doing. She loved dishes! She loved good china and antiques. One of the strongest memories of my childhood is going antiquing with her while we were away at the beach on a rainy day.. She came across an antigue epergne made of cranberry glass in a small antique store. It was instant infatuation but very expensive for an independent grocer’s wife. No Matter. She bought it and made me promise never to tell my Dad what she paid for it. It graced every special dinner table at our home for the rest of her days. I doubt that my Dad who had little interest in such things, even noticed it. Her secret was safe.

**cranberry glass epergne, Bess Kaplinsky’s pride and joy centerpiece.**

If only she had been set loose in Japan. the land where dish mix and match has been raised to an art form! Today’s young people might go in for only one set of matching dishes now, but they’re missing out,in my opinion. Many districts in Japan have their own style of pottery, some adorned and some extremely simple. It’s a matter of local tradition, clay and taste. There are pottery traditions within families that go back a dozen or more generations! It’s quite remarkable.

You could spend a lifetime studying Japanese ceramics, but I don’t have that sort of brain. For me, it’s just like my taste in wine, I know it when I taste it, but don’t ask me for its provenance.

kyo-yaki (made in Kyoto ceramics) teapcups

**Tea cup towers: John Derian eat your heart out!**

With all this in mind, I made my way to a pottery sale yesterday, astonished at the low prices and feverish with desire to try to make a ceramic sculpture. Kyo-yaki (pottery made in Kyoto) can be quite decorative, some to my liking, some not. Most of what was on sale was functional. There was a fine selection at the sale and I left feeling very satisfied with myself (yet again). Nothing that seemed of collector’s quality, but ceramics I can use daily with no qualms. Or experiment with (see above).

Prices are often high here for high quality ceramics. A lot of thought goes into choosing ceramics for dinners and tea ceremony Serious students of ceramics apprentice and study for years and years.

I think a lot on sale was surplus stock, but there were bargains to be had, for 200-300-500 yen. My mother also taught me to like a bargain. That’s approximately $2-$5 per dish for pieces that originally sold for up to $200 each.

At the other end of the local pottery spectrum, I visited an off the beaten path museum, the Kansetsu Hashimoto Garden and Museum. Unexpectedly I found a splendid display by the Kyoto Ceramics Assoc. of Kyo-yaki ceramics in a old building adjacent to the early autumn garden. Many works were made for the tea ceremony, I’m sure.http://www.e-yakimono.net/guide/html/kyo-yaki.html