Beautiful Museums

Costumes & Crafts

After walking Nara, we made our way back to Kyoto to visit the Museums and sites we had skipped earlier on in our tour (due to the evening viewing of the famous Kamogawa Odori, the annual dance festival performed by Pontocho maiko).  It does pay to be flexible!

Fuzoku Hakubutsu-kan, the Period Costume Museum, shows costumes from the different periods of Japan’s history; Samurai, fire fighters and Edo-era kimonos.   I fell for Ainu costumes, having initially seen one at our workshop with Master Indigo Dyer, Mr Kenichi Utsuki.

Ainu Costume

We were also treated to a demonstration of yuzen silk painting. Kimono lengths and obis were being hand painted in an intricate, multicolour process.   I must admit that I’ve quite forgotten where we saw this painting and stencil dyeing demonstration but am hazarding a guess that it was the Yuzen-en Gallery.  Whilst there we saw the most magnificent kimono of gingko leaves in yellows on a background of grey and white mountain mist.  What a shame I didn’t get a photo of it!  Kyo-yuzen silk dyeing (actually stencilling) is special to Kyoto.

After the museums we headed back to the Shinmonzen-dori Antique shopping district in the Gion area for one last look and to purchase yet more fabrics.  These were rather special as these were antiques!   

Having arrived at our hotel rather late (& a wee bit weary) that evening, we stopped long enough for a noodle dinner at a small shop in the Kyoto railway station complex.  Unbelievably, it was our last night and we wanted to celebrate this wonderful tour and thank our excellent host, Margaret.

Tucking in to cook-your-own noodles

That night we went to sleep to the sound of Bosozoku, motorcycle gangs, who noisily rev their bikes and speed off in races through the streets.

Miso Soup for the Soul

Back to Gion

After a Western breakfast served Japanese style and bidding our hosts farewell, we did a quick last minute shop in Takayama (as you do!) before boarding our train to glide silently down the mountains and back to busy Kyoto. 

With a few hours to spare, we made for Nishiki-koji Food Market. Considered Kyoto’s Kitchen, the complex started as a fish market in the early 1300’s and is now an amazing array of traditional timber shopfronts lining narrow covered alleys. 

Needless to say, whilst we enjoyed nosing about the fresh foods section, we were waylaid by a patchwork shop, K's Bee Quilts.  Unlike some of the fabric stores we had already seen, this shop was selling the latest in American goods.  We couldn’t help but admire the amazing work on display.

 

Somehow we also managed to fit in a visit to a famous Kimono shop.  The staff kindly displayed a few of their absolutely amazing kimonos, despite guessing (correctly) that we couldn’t possibly be able to afford them.  Just to round off our cultural costume experience, we also gazed in the window of the shop of a master obi and braid maker.

Later that evening, we walked to Gion Corner through Gion area with its well-preserved old houses that spoke to us of the old days in Kyoto.  

We descended upon a wonderful antiques shop and managed to find a few textiles and other souvenirs of our trip. 



By now we were well aware that our tour time was drawing to a close.   Surely we couldn’t go home empty-handed! 

Luckily, we caught site of a Maiko whilst there: it must have been late, perhaps 7 or 8pm, as this is the time they leave their studios for their ochaya (tea house) appointments. She was most obliging and graciously allowed us to take photographs before hurrying off to her duties.

 

Butterfly Dancing

Glimpsing Geisha  

First stop on our itinerary was Ryoanji Temple raked gardens in the Rakusai precinct.  These gardens feature in the movie “Memoirs of a Geisha” not to mention many famous artworks since they were built. This Zen karesansui (dry landscape) is made up of large rocks set in a landscape of sand & pebbles. It is meant to induce a state of “unadorned bliss”.

After not quite achieving a state of serenity due to the influx of fellow travellers, we moved on from Ryoanji, to the nearby Kinkakuji Temple, renowned for its Golden Pavilion and spectacular walking gardens.

Although we came across few textiles, it was certainly clear that artists could not fail to be inspired by these wonderful surroundings.

Inspired after our garden visit, we were treated to a wonderful reminder of Kyoto’s traditional past.  The Kamogawa Odori is an annual dance festival performed by Pontocho geisha (or geiko as they are known in Kyoto) and maiko (geiko in training).  These performances allow visitors a glimpse into the exquisite Japanese art that is usually only available to the affluent.

Pontocho, designed by the Portuguese in the Edo era, is now full of restaurants and teahouses – and tourists!  The Pontocho entertainment district is set along the west bank of the Kamogawa River and has long been renowned for the beauty and theatrical abilities of its dancers. In the Odori (1872), make-up, textiles, costumes and stage design must all meet the demanding standards of the long-established geiko’s world. 

All performances we watched were sophisticated and very colourful with an obvious high criteria to meet.  We were reminded of what remains (and once was) Japan’s famous “flower & willow” world.  This world is symbolised in the “Dream of the Butterfly” dance.  We were fortunate to have tickets at Pontocho’s Kaburenjo Theatre to watch maiko perform. Sadly, we were unable to take photos (but understand why) so my only reminders are a few brochures and tickets we picked up along the way. 

I should add that geiko (Kyoto geisha) means refined person.  They continue to be entertainers of the highest order (& well beyond our budget to see perform).  We are so fortunate to have these women maintaining a tradition and cultural heritage in our modern society.

One of my favourite reads is the classic work of Murasaki Shikabu, “The Tale of the Genji”.  This work is considered the world’s first novel and dates from the Heian Period (794-1185) .  Even more amazing is that it has been written by a woman (given the very strict codes of conduct prevalent in society at that time).  More about it on wiki here & a little on a previous post.

Utagawa (1797-1861) - a stunning print based on the novel

Mitsuoki (1617-1691) portrait of Murasaki Shikabu

Travelling with Locals

Cherry Blossom

Next morning we met to begin our tour.  On the way to the bus station and through the Kyoto Train Station, we explored food options including a huge food hall (depachika) in the Department store basement.  DJ’s, move over!  Here we came into contact with Japan’s favourite takeaway, the bento box lunch.  We were able to collect our Japan Rail passes inside the train station. Thus armed, we took off by bus to explore Kyoto’s offerings.  

We made our way up “Tea Pot Hill” climbing steep cobblestone paths lined with wonderful pottery shops.  Our destination, providing we didn’t stop too often to admire delicate Japanese tea sets, was Kiyomizu temple. 

The temple is a vast complex of shrines and pagodas built into a hillside with wonderful views across Kyoto.  Kiyomizu means “pure water” and many Japanese visit to take the sacred waters of the Otowa-no-taki Falls that flow through the complex. 

We were lucky enough to catch site of some maiko in beautiful traditional costumes amongst the madly flowering azaleas.  It was too late in the season for that burst of sweet pink cherry blossom (sakura) though.

Maiko with their red collars



Gion, on the eastern bank of the Kamogawa River is Edo era Japan and was developed to suit the needs of travellers and tourists in medieval times.  It became known for its tea houses (ochaya), famed for its geisha (geiko), and popular for its auspicious temples.  We learned that apprentice geisha are locally called maiko and their quarters, okiya. 

After exploring the Heian Shrine and its beautiful surrounding gardens (where we met an Australian exchange student), we made our way to the Museum of Traditional Craft & Industry.

Sadly I can’t remember a lot about this museum, however I have a couple of photos of some delightful silk fabrics that were on display.  Many silks are only woven in Kyoto and some are still loomed by hand.

Perhaps one of the best references I have for Japanese textiles is the book written by Sunny Yang and Rochelle M. Narasin "Textile Art of Japan" (2000).

  

Silks from the Museum of Traditional Craft & Industry

Fun & Excitement

Green Tea 

We arrived in the night and fell, full of airline food into our beds.  Our rooms in the New Miyako just across from the Kyoto Train Station, were cosily European, even with a fridge and tea making facilities.  So we unloaded our pre-purchased “tipple of choice”, arranged breakfast cereals and other snacks (we had carried from Australia) then, after a cup of green tea, promptly went to sleep.

Even small gardens were filled with beautiful blooms

Our tour based itself in Kyoto, which meant we had an easy time – no constant packing and unpacking with only an overnight bag for our trip up into the Japan Alps.  Of course the serious danger of this strategy meant that our bags began to bulge almost immediately. Kyoto was Japan’s capital for over 1000 years, so delightful fabric (of society?) can be experienced on every corner, almost.

(Doing my research, I’ve discovered that a number of venues we visited have changed since 2000.  So please don’t head off to Kyoto before ensuring that the places you might want to see are still in existence. This is an excellent information resource for Kyoto.)

Flowers even graced a weaving factory workplace

Visiting Kyoto in 2000

Konichi-wa again!  At last it is time to collect all my Japanese bits & bobs together and write something of our too brief tour (May 2000).  Luckily we had signed up for a textile specific tour.  I was really excited – largely because someone else was producing all the historic textile detail and special workshops or visits were arranged for us!  So just sit back and enjoy the ride.

Wonderful views

Speaking of ride, the group consisted of 12 ladies.  We based ourselves in Kyoto, Japan's ancient capital for over 1000 years.  We bussed and trained locally, rode the fast train to Tokyo and took a scenic train ride into the hills to visit Takayama. We walked through markets and narrow streets, explored monuments and shopped at busy city department stores.  We ate at local cafés, experienced traditional foods and customs, made good use of the nearby train station’s supermarket and got to really like sushi. All this without speaking a word of Japanese!  Margaret, our tour leader, had language skills which stood us in good stead but we were always treated with kindness and good humour.  Even waiting resolutely in line to use the only European toilet in the train station ladies block…. 

and inspiration

I’ve deliberately left descriptions quite simple given the historical information packed into the previous historical notes.  I don’t have as many photos as I’d like either.  Pre-digital of course! Despite taking endless “rolls”, they’re invariably poor quality and I’m disappointed to have so few photos of the truly amazing things we saw and did.  I don’t intend to give a detailed account of each and every textile experience we had; there’s too much learned study out there and being some 13 years ago, my memory is hazy.  Besides you really have to live the experience.  Books, photographs or videos can never replace the thrill of really being there. Just go!

on every corner.