japanFirstly, sorry I haven't uploaded pictures, I have to resize so many and I've fallen behind. I will try and do it sometime soon, maybe after this, maybe tomorrow, who knows.
So, I left off after the Skapara concert day. The day after that, I did nothing, except try and get my feet to feel something other than intense pain. First time dancing in a decade = agony the next morning. Day 14 (the 29th... although I think I'm buggaring up what day I'm on) was better: I went to see a Kabuki show at Koyodai. Now, I guess I should try and explain what kabuki is, for the uninitiated... but screw that: wikipedia did it for me.
Practically, Kabuki is an extension of puppet theater, its actors are well respected and play important roles in Japanese film and television to this day (Shichinosuke Nakamura, a young onnagata (actor of female roles) is a good example, playing the young Meiji emperor in The Last Samurai). We watched two different plays in this one show: the first seems to come from the Tales of Genji, and it was actually only act 3 of a 5 act play (with two hours for this one act, I'm glad I didn't have to watch the others). The second part will be familiar to anyone who watched the anime (or read the manga) Ayashi no Ceres: an angel lost her scarf while wandering the earth, and a fisherman happens across it. In Ayashi no Ceres, the man essentially extorted and held the angel captive by withholding the scarf, but in the show it was returned. Now I will list the distinctive things I noticed during the show:
- The hanamichi, the path that effectively makes an entrance from stage front possible, made for an excellent extension of immersion. Characters parade along it, allowing prolonged entrances... which always receive applause. However, being in the upper level, we couldn't see most of the entrances until the clapping had abated.
- The stagehands come on while the play is going, wearing either all black, or if they are just moving about in snowy parts of the set, all white. They look like ninjas, following characters like a shadow. However, in the second part of the show, the stagehand wore a kimono and hakama, moving rather more visibly. They are considered invisible, but it can be quite funny to see them moving around (particularly the way they produce stools for characters to sit down on).
- The costumes are fantastic. If anything, Kabuki is a great way to see traditional Japanese costume. Also, the make up on the actors and the characterisations performed all made the experience very authentic. These are true character actors, with nuance being their forte.
- The use of narration and musical accompaniment is integral to the plays, the narrators sit, fully visible at the side of the stage with musicians too. The narration is in classical Japanese, and ranges from a little faster than normal to slower than hell. In fact, I imagine if the narrator had spoken at normal speed for the first part of the show, we could have escaped an hour earlier! Oh, and I didn't understand a word, weirdly enough Miyuki didn't understand much either.
- Finally, the set design is bloody fantastic. Along with the hanamichi, there are bits that go up and down (allowing characters to escape or appear in the middle of the set - not exactly exclusive to Kabuki though), and twirly bits (like secret doors in a castle - the narrator sat on one of these rotating things). In the first show, the stage was taken up by a huge traditional-style building: open-fronted, with steps down into a genkan, and a gate, with a snowy outside bit that attached to the hanamichi. There were trees too, and snow fell later in that part. Whereas the second part was more minimalistic, but used a heck of a lot of dry ice at the end, smoking out the first 5 rows or so.
- Finally, the people who go to Kabuki are primarily women... Foreigners go (for obvious reasons). It is a traditional sort of outing for traditional, older couples. Kimonos and the clippity-clop of geta aplenty. However, one guy (and maybe a group of other people) also had 3 maiko accompanying them. So, add the rich to people you are most likely to see at Kabuki.
Day 15 was a lazy day, with an evening walk. We walked along the streets to the west, and then down towards where the Skapara concert had been held. This saw us at a restaurant where I had some karage and more importantly: a 2 litre pitcher of beer to myself. Safe to say, I fell asleep quite soon after we arrived back home, but on the way we walked along the Kamogawa. It was a pleasant, but warm evening.
Day 16 was an adventure and a half. We planned to see Kiyomizu and Koudaiji temples (the latter by night). We set off on foot (it's an hour and half to that part of Kyoto), and halfway there we decided to travel to the Ginkakuji temple. This was first based on the assumption a sign pointing to it meant it was close, I am glad to say I did not think that. I was right! About an hour later (with a detour up a bloody steep hill to a park) we arrived at the temple, it was up a hill with plenty of souvenir shops. Interestingly enough, these souvenir shops stocked the same things, but as you went up, each one seemed to sell just that bit more. The Ginkakuji was nice, but there wasn't really much to see. I don't know if it justified the entry price, which I think was about 3 or 4 quid.
We then continued along the Philosopher's Way, following it to the Nyakuouji shrine, a nice shrine, but not much to see (but more importantly, free). The walk along the Philosopher's Way follows a stream, or rather minor canal. It is dusty with grass borders, and I got bloody bitten... more on that later. We had planned to go to the International Community Centre for a midway refreshment, but when we arrived we discovered that as it was Monday (a day off for public facilities) it was bloody closed. Reluctantly (we were really hot, and really tired at this point), we headed up towards Koudaiji (having already missed the opening hours of Kiyomizu). We got up to Chioin temple where we were approached by a rickshaw tour guide. They often do this around the major places. We had joked on the way up the hill towards the temple that we should get one. We told the guy we were heading to Koudaiji to see it at night, and he apologised... they only did that on Fridays!
Long story a little bit shorter, we got on that guy's rickshaw. He was a nice guy, budding actor (told us he had a small part in Yamato). I was also lucky in that he spoke some English, with the help of Miyuki we could have a decent conversation. We only had a short ride around a nice spot in Gion where we passed a camera crew (one of them waved at me... I waved back, but I have no idea why he did). We basically did a lap of a willow-lined stream and then disembarked. It was about 15 quid for an almost 20 minute ride, but it was a great experience. I felt really regal. I recommend you try it, but only if you have someone who can interpret for you (unless you are competent).
Day 17 was another rest day.. that was the day I buggared up my PC. We did go out, but it was only local, nothing much to brag about I think. Same with Day 18, but I finally sorted out my PC on that day. I was also contending with the bites I'd received. I had about 10 in all, and these were big and itchy. Like no other insect bites. I have been told that there are insects similar to but bigger than the mosquitos here, and I can only assume that it was them. I had bruises from these, I looked like I'd been beaten around the legs.
Day 19 saw us going to the Kyoto Botanical Gardens... sounds nice, but actually when you consider that we paid 5 quid to get in, there wasn't much to see. The problem isn't that they don't try, but rather one of seasons. Rainy season is through, we are truly into summer now. The sun is beating down and all life is miserable and/or dying (I am both when I step out of this lovely air conditioned room). I imagine that spring and autumn are the best times to see the gardens, indeed, the best time to see Kyoto itself (with hanami (flower watching) in spring, and the autumn colours). We walked around, for quite a while too, but eventually we arrived back underwhelmed.
Day 20 was better. We started off by going to an art exhibition. Well, actually we started off by going to a completely different museum. This is no small matter, the temperature was about 35 degrees C, and more importantly, it felt like it was touching the 40s. We eventually got to the Museum of Kyoto and got into the exhibition. It was a collection of Hokusai and Hiroshige ukiyo-e, in fact, I imagine the Hiroshige part of the collection was pretty complete. For those not in the know, Hokusai painted 'The Big Wave' and Hiroshige is the most well-known name in the art. It was nice to see these original prints, which were smaller than I imagined. There were also some of Hiroshige's paintings too. Also in the museum was a history of Kyoto and another exhibition called 'The Sense of Women'... it had some nudes
Next we walked around that part of town (very central and very expensive) before heading over to Koudaiji on the bus. On top of the hill where the temple is located, there was a fantastic view out over Kyoto. I got a 'soft cream' ice cream, essentially a 99 without the flake, which prompted dribbled down my hands. I took a long video of the sunset, but it wasn't very good. The sun dropped behind the Kyoto hills and lit the sky for quite a while after. However, I took quite a lot of pictures... although most were blurred from my very shaky hands.
We then went into Koudaiji temple as it grew darker, paying an entrance fee that wasn't quite justified (but hell, it helps the upkeep). We walked around, and there was live music (from a violinist... but Disney music). It was pleasant, but a little disappointing (considering we tried to go there about 4 times before).
However, when we got back, Miyuki had a fever. I think the heat hit her hard (or rather the contrast between AC inside and scorching outside. So, I spent that night and yesterday looking after her. Day 21 saw a Pizza Hut delivery: Meat Paradise in a sausage and cheese crust. So nice, but so filling, and rather expensive (10 quid for a medium pizza? I don't know). I went to bed about 11, but woke up about 2am... so I headed out to the 7-11 to get some drinks and some melon-pan for breakfast and headed back.
So here we are, Day 13... I plan to go to Nagoya to see a pen pal. Miyuki is still ill and I can only hope she gets better before we head to Tokyo, otherwise I'm going alone. What's most difficult is, from Monday I can no longer speak to Keiko, I will be in communicado (at least I expect to be). So, this might be my last entry for a while. I will be back in Kyoto in September, and I should be able to go on the internet in Hiroshima, but I just don't know.
Until then, be good folks.
