The Heart of the Real Japan
It was six o’clock in the evening when I arrived in Kyoto and it was my first time in Japan. I had seldom been so excited when travelling before. I fell onto the bed after having sprayed on the pillow the mixture of essential yuzu oils that the hotel had provided for me in my room. Just a few typical Japanese details. Small ones which, as a matter of fact, are hardly very small at all.
I woke up and it was raining. It was March and with Shin, my interpreter, I left the hotel in search of the city. We visited Kyoto castle. Very softly and very sweetly, but swiftly, I felt that the culture of this country was permeating right inside me. At lunch I was fortunate enough to watch a geiko show – in the rest of Japan they are called geishas but here in Kyoto, where the tradition is still strong, the name they bear is geiko. Beside her there was a maiko, an aspiring geiko who was attending the school: many a year is required in order to complete a course that teaches the art of dance, of song, of music, of preservation as well as many other art forms. The geiko told me how they prepare themselves, how they apply their make-up and how they dress. The younger ones decorate their hair with flowers which change every month according to the seasons.
Just details, as we were saying. Details that make all the difference. “Everything which is natural creates a sentiment,” Shin told me and i believe that I have at last found a place where my sentiments might be explained. The Japanese change the decoration of their houses and their crockery according to the seasons. They possess words to describe atmospherical and natural effects. They say that there is, “a smell of nitrogen in the air;” they stop to admire the trees during the Autumn, when the leaves turn russet and fall, so that the travellers on the trains can admire the scene. These are just a few examples.
I was visiting Kyoto during the time of the cherry tree blossom. In truth, however, I visited the city in two different moments, separated by a week in between. When I first arrived, there were only the little buds on the trees but when I returned to the city it had completely changed and everything was blooming and blossoming and I was unable to prevent myself from looking at the scene before me. There’s a word which describes such an action: hanami, looking at and admiring the flowers. One of the most beautiful places in Kyoto to do this is the path of the philosopher that joins the Ginkakuji temple (The Silver Temple) and the area of Higashiyama in Nanzenji.
Also known as Tetsugaku no Michi, the path of the philosopher is a pedestrian pathway of two kilometres in length which follows the course of the canal of Lake Biwa, passing by important sanctuaries and temples. The path is named after Nishida Kitaro, a professor at Kyoto University and an influential twentieth-century Japanese philosopher. It is said that he walked along this path in meditation every day.
Kyoto is the most traditional of Japan’s great cities. As proof of its importance, in every prefecture in the country the city which better preserves its historical character is called “Little Kyoto.” Once upon a time, it was an imperial capital and is still to this day a sanctuary of Japanese culture, a place where traditions and an ideal image of the country continue to thrive. Kyoto has over two thousand temples and sanctuaries, each and every one with its own history, architectural style and protective deity. The Kinkaku-ji (The Temple of the Golden Pavilion) and the Ginkaku-ji (The Temple of the Silver Pavilion) are the most visited temples and it is easy to understand why: their gardens are reflected in the water and are a symbol of the quest for beauty and perfection. Next to the Buddhist temples in Japan there are many other Shintoist temples. Just outside of Kyoto there is the stunning Fushimi Inari-Taisha, famous for its thousands of red thorite metals; a sort of enchanted pathway running towards the sacred mount of Inari, inhabited according to long-held beliefs by spirits of Nature. All over Japan there are forty thousand Shintoist sanctuaries dedicated to the Inari deity (the god of rice and by extension, the god of wellbeing). Fushimi Inara, founded at the beginning of the Eighth century, is the most important.
A week wouldn’t be enough to visit all of the temples. A visit, however, to Ryōan-ji cannot absolutely be missed. It is celebrated for its rock garden, the most fascinating and mysterious dry garden. These so-called Zen gardens are poetic narratives of Zen philosophy that invite you to reflect upon the deepest meanings of our existence. One of the most fulfilling experiences to enjoy is to take part in a session of meditation in a temple. You will need to get information on days and times upon arrival. Inside the Ryōan-ji temple there is also one of the city’s most enchanting restaurants. It’s a little hidden yet you’ll notice it if you have the sharpest of eyes. It only serves vegetarian food and you’ll be tempted to linger there all day imbued by its aura of peace.
Nara is approximately a one-hour train journey away. It is a little city with an age-old history from which Japanese civilisation first flourished. When it was founded in 710 A.D. by Empress Gemmei, in imitation of the ancient myth-ridden Chinese city of Chang’an, Nara was Japan’s window on the world. Many of the most ancient treasures and temples have been lost but you can still see some from the Seventh and Eighth centuries. A real surprise are the 1,500 tame deer that live in the district of Nara-koen, the largest city park in Japan with some of the country’s most important treasures.
Last of all, a special treat: every 25th of the month, at the Kitano Tenmangu sanctuary, a vintage market takes place – Tenjin-san – where you can find some true bargains. Along the streets surrounding the sanctuary stalls are laid out where a multitude of wares are sold: records, all manner of various articles, furnishings and furniture and clothes. You can pick up kimonos for anything from two to twenty-five euro and ceramic dishes at one euro. This sanctuary is not very far from the Temple of the Golden Pavilion and is located in the north-western part of the city.
My trip to Kyoto ended where it began, in Gion where, while I was walking among the ancient machiya (traditional wooden houses), I could perceive the echo of the geiko’s steps, as well as the many traditional restaurants that are generally managed by couples. The husband cooks and the wife looks after the dining-room. Each time a customer finishes their meal they are accompanied to the door by the couple themselves, or at least by the wife. This is an important and very beautiful concept of Japanese culture which is summed up in the word omiokuri, which means accompanying someone whilst gazing at them. The Japanese possess a highly developed sensitivity towards everything which connects to the end and to nostalgia. The custom of the omiokuri is one such example and to our western eyes it might appear non-sensical and even ridiculous since it also involves prolonged goodbyes each and every time you leave a place, right up to the moment you disappear from view. It is, however, a precious custom and it represents the profoundest of teachings: no departure, no separation, it all takes place in an instant. Bidding farewell is accompanying and prolonging the affinity between people. And so, at this point I took my leave of Kyoto and of Japan. I tried as hard as I could to prolong my gaze from the train window as I wended my way to the airport.
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