Last Day in Kyoto

Today I got up reasonably early and took a cab back down to the Gion District, not too far from where I was yesterday in the Geisha quarter. There is a huge Buddhist temple where you can purchase small strips of paper in tiny envelopes. You can pick the general kind of fortune you want: health, business, love, etc. I took a pass; at 69 years old, maybe you don’t really want to know what’s heading your way. I’d post some pictures, but they don’t allow it. I understand why, but by the same token, they have many food stands where they sell local delicacies such as whole bamboo shoots, crab legs, and what looked like crucified squid on skewers, which seemed incongruous, but I’m in no position to judge.

I wandered through small side streets with tea houses, restaurants, and lots of places where you can rent formal kimonos. There were lots of couples dressed up like that, and there are apparently an equally large number of professional photographers there to take their portraits. I’m not sure what it means; is it like getting dressed up in a tuxedo? Its so hard to understand the context. I’ll ask the next Japanese person who speaks English fluently and get back about it.

One thing I didn’t realize until later was that the bridge I used to enter Gion was a famous part of Japanese literature and legend. Minamoto no Yoshitesune was the leader of the Minamoto clan of Japan in the late Heian and early Kamakura periods, which ran from 790 AD until the 1300s. He was the military leader of the Minomoto clan and led them against the powerful Taira clan. He had a famous fight against Benkai, known as the Demon Monk, on the Goyu bridge in Kyoto; the original bridge is gone, but a new one has been built, and that’s the one I used to get to the Geisha District in Gion.

Benkai was a warrior monk who had never been defeated in battle. He would challenge all comers, and when he defeated them, he would take their swords as trophies. At the time of his encounter with Yoshitsune, he had collected 999 swords from his defeated opponents. At the time of his fight with Benkai, Yoshitsune was just a boy, but he had been trained by the Tengu spirits, who were supernatural beings with long noses, red faces, and wings.

They combine the best qualities of humans, monkeys, and birds; they were said to have magical powers, including the ability to fly, change their forms, and control the wind. They were also known as incredibly skilled martial artists and swordsmen.

Benkai was looking for his 1000th sword and met Yoshitsune on the Goyu bridge at night. Despite his huge size and martial skills, Yoshitsune had no difficulty defeating him. Benkai was so impressed that he gave up his quest for the last sword and became Yoshitsune’s retainer, much like Robin Hood’s Little John.

I wanted to see the house of Kawai Kanjirō, who was a renowned potter, artist, and writer in the post-war years.

I thought this might be a sculpture because it was so beautifully composed, then the cat got up and ran away.

This is an authentic wood-burning, hill-climbing kiln for firing stoneware. It takes 3-5 days to get it up to heat (2300 degrees), and you have to keep feeding it wood the whole time.

The place was incredible, but I think I must have gotten dehydrated and tired; I’d put about 7 miles in at that point; it was not scorching hot, but it was humid, and I realized I was starting to get shaky. I decided to walk to the nearest restaurant but got a bit disoriented and ended up in a residential neighborhood. It was interesting; it looked like many of the Japanese contemporary movies I’ve seen. 

There were no cabs, and Google Maps let me down, leading me to nonexistent restaurants and cafes. I finally managed to find a place to eat and sit in the AC and felt a little better, and I made my way back to the hotel and crashed for a couple hours. Once I recovered, I went out for dinner. I went into a little place and ordered edomame and oden. Oden is a bunch of ingredients slow simmered in a dashi broth. The tofu was good, and so was the daikon radish, but there was a block of konjac, which is made from some kind of root. Its grey and gelatinous and has no real taste, but I managed to choke it down. Not my favorite. I thought I’d turn in early tonight; I have to get to the station and figure out how to get the bullet train to Kanazawa, to the north along the Sea of Japan.