Features

Time travel Kyoto Style

30 Jun 2015 by Marisa Cannon
Faces covered in white paint, a huddle of kimono-clad women shuffle down a drenched alley under a transparent umbrella. To the untrained eye, it’s unclear whether they are geisha or just tourists playing dress-up (which, a local tells me, is a popular activity among Asian tourists visiting Gion, Kyoto’s geisha precinct). It becomes apparent they’re not the real thing, when the group stops to assemble for a V-sign “selfie”. Kyoto’s geisha culture propelled the city to international stardom thanks to Arthur Golden’s bestseller Memoirs of a Geisha, and the Hollywood blockbuster that followed in 2005. But even before the fanfare, Kyoto was regarded as the cradle of Japan’s traditional culture, a label that continues to the present. Remnants of the city’s glittering past have been well preserved, offering an historical treasure trove for visiting weekenders. Kyoto, or Heian-Kyo as it was originally named, was founded in 794 and remained Japan’s imperial capital until 1868, when the Meiji Restoration began – a period in the nation’s history that is widely considered to have brought about the Westernisation of Japan. Between 794 and 1185, Kyoto was the centre of Japan’s golden age, and there's no better introduction to the art of this time than at the Kyoto National Museum, which recently built the Heisei Chishinkan wing for extended and special exhibitions. Designed by Yoshio Taniguchi, the architect behind the revamp of New York’s Museum of Modern Art (Moma), the new wing is a modern departure from the museum’s main building – a French Renaissance redbrick built in 1895. Modernist and earthquake-safe, the new design doesn’t stray much from the clean lines and glass panes that Taniguchi used for the Moma expansion, offering a minimalist and open-plan setting for the 12,500 works of art housed inside. The first floor’s sculpture exhibit is the wing’s largest. It boasts a collection of enormous Buddhist and Shinto effigies in stone and bronze from the Heian (794-1185) and Kamakura (1185-1333) periods. Ceramics, archaeological relics, textiles, lacquerware and paintings fill the remainder of the wing’s three floors, which, when accompanied by the museum’s bilingual audio guide, give an informative glimpse into the former glory of an imperial capital. kyohaku.go.jp Less than a 20-minute walk from the museum is Kennin-ji Temple – another cultural behemoth and the oldest Zen temple in Kyoto, founded in 1202. Visitors are invited to pad barefoot through the temple’s rooms, which are adorned with Japanese watercolours and scrolls of calligraphy, and admire serene karesansui – the raked gravel gardens that are typical of Zen temples. Across from the temple’s main entrance is the Dharma hall, home to Kennin-ji’s newest and arguably most impressive feature – the Twin Dragons – a 175 sqm ceiling painting of two fire-breathing dragons, installed in 2002 to celebrate the 800th anniversary of the temple’s founding. kenninji.jp Just north of Kennin-ji you’ll find the quiet backstreets of Gion, where 50 years ago a glimpse of a geisha wandering between ochaya (Japanese teahouses) would be less of a rarity than it is today. Just under 100 years ago, there were supposedly 80,000 geisha in Japan, but the tradition is dying out. The Japanese National Tourism Organisation reports that today, only 100 maiko (apprentice geisha) and 200 geiko, (established geisha) remain in Kyoto, with only 2,000 in the entire country. The intrigue surrounding Japan’s geisha is rooted in the misconception that they are glorified escorts. Like many things in the East, a geisha’s role is difficult to define in Western terms, but can be best described as a hostess trained in entertaining businessmen (and women) through sophisticated conversation, dance and music. In their heyday, geisha were considered to be the social lubricant at dinners, credited with the tact and grace to facilitate conversations that often led to the founding of business partnerships and deals. Gaining access to geisha will cost you, and even if your pockets run deep, arranging a private performance can be difficult to guarantee if you don’t have existing connections. Fortunately, the Miyako Odori offers a view into the exclusive world of geisha in April every year: a performance that was started in 1872 to boost morale after the imperial seat relocated from Kyoto to Tokyo. In Gion’s Kaburenjo Theatre, geisha demonstrate a traditional tea ceremony before performing seasonal dances to an audience sat on tatami mats. The dances are highly stylised, graceful and slow, which means there’s no chance of hiding any mistakes, and geiko and maiko compete fiercely to take part. Luckily, tickets are more than affordable, with cheap seats priced at ¥2,500 (US$20) or ¥4,800 (US$38) if you want to participate in the tea ceremony. miyako-odori.jp After a long day of temple treading, tourists need not stray from Kyoto’s history trail when looking for a drink or two. Sake, Japan’s national beverage, has been brewed in the country for over 2,000 years. Made from fermented rice, sake has a unique taste, described by the Japanese as umami, a moreish, savoury flavour which Western scientists have only recently recognised as the ‘fifth taste’, after sweet, sour, salty and bitter. Interest in sake has recently piqued in restaurants worldwide, and it is popular paired with Chinese, French and Italian cuisines, with sommelier exams in Europe and North America now posing questions on the Japanese tipple. For aspiring connoisseurs, sake tasting at Ozu Maison du Sake is a must. Housed in a traditional wooden townhouse, the shop-cum-school offers its visitors seminars on the distillation process along with a demonstration of the implements and traditional wood and bamboo utensils used for storing and serving the beverage. Once more on tatami mats, visitors are served a selection of sake to try with different Japanese sweets and cheeses, while experts explain the qualities of each type of sake. This all happens in the shop’s salon upstairs, a traditional room typically used to gather groups for tea ceremonies and other low-key performances. Downstairs in the shop, stylish bottles line the display shelves. The manager tells me visitors regularly clear out the stock. ozushop.jp/en Set in a valley among rolling hills and swathes of lush foliage, Kyoto is also a hive for hiking and nature lovers. On the city’s outskirts in the Arashiyama District, the Sagano bamboo forest was historically sought out for its peace and quiet, and is also the site of Tenryu-ji, one of Kyoto’s five major temples (Kennin-ji is also one) and a Unesco World Heritage Site. Here, thousands of stalks of Asia’s most resilient plant loom overhead, throwing ethereal shafts of light through the enormous grove. These days, peace and quiet are more elusive here, but arrive early and you’ll avoid the day’s first bout of tourists. A half-hour walk through the forest will lead you to Otagi Nenbutsu-ji, a temple where over 1,000 moss-covered rakan, statues of Buddhist disciples, animate the undergrowth with different facial expressions, some laughing, others composed. It’s a beautiful spot, and it's hard to imagine that much has changed from when the stalks were still shoots. Wandering through the tranquil grove, it’s easy to see why Japan’s brightest laid claim to this city centuries ago, and why its present day fans flock to see the many relics of its striking history. Where to stay Economy Ibis Styles Kyoto Station 47 Higashikujo Kamitonoda-cho, Minami Ku, Kyoto 601 8002 ibis.com Mid-range Hotel Monterey Kyoto 604 Manjuya-cho, Sanjo-sagaru Karasuma-dori, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto 604 8161 hotelmonterey.co.jp Luxury The Ritz-Carlton Kyoto Kamogawa Nijo-Ohashi Hotori, Hokodencho, Nakagyo-Ku, Kyoto 604 0902 ritzcarlton.com/kyoto
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