Dark Night

Immersed in culture. A lot of culture.

After an early breakfast, we said goodbye to Mom and Dad and went to the airport, getting off in the old imperial city of Kyoto. Today was culture day, Grandpa told me, and we had a guide to take us around the city. The first stop was the Kyoto Museum of Traditional Crafts. A free museum, it had displays of a huge range of different crafts, ranging from bamboo baskets, stone lanterns, weaving, embroidery, lacquerware, tatami mats, tansu, temple and shrine goods, Japanese swords and armor, and musical instruments. From there, we went to a two-hour "samurai experience," where an instructor explained the major precepts of Bushido, the way of the warrior, andgave us wooden practice swords and instructed us on the proper grip, posture, and form. After we'd become comfortable with that, the next step was to wield a real katana and use it to cut though a goza mat that was placed vertically on a stand. The swords are very sharp and it was a little shocking how little effort it took to cut through the mat.  After this excitement, we wrapped up the course by learning Zen meditation techniques using singing bowls, which are a type of bell, the sounds of which help to clear and calm the mind. From there, our guide took us to a nice restaurant for a quick lunch, then on to more culture.

We were taken to a private residence for a short class in ikebana, Japanese flower arranging. We were given an introduction to the art that included history and background, the different styles, and we  were told that it's not a feminine thing to do; cultured men including samurai were expected to know how to do it too. We learned the basic concepts by watching instruction, then we were turned loose to practice it ourselves with some gentle guidance as we went along. We couldn't take the arrangements with us, unfortunately, since we were traveling. From there, we went to a center to learn Taiko,  which are large Japanese drums. We put on happi, a traditional coat, had a brief warmup to prevent injuries during the energetic practice, and learned the history of the drums as our instructors, who were professional drummers, taught us the basics, like how to hold the drumsticks, and where to strike the drumhead, different beats. We could play a simple song at the end of class.

We stopped then to check into the New Miyako Hotel, conveniently located by the train station, before being taken to a Zen-consecrated center that was specifically for performing the Japanese tea ceremony. We knelt on tatami mats as a very nice lady went through the ritual of boiling the water and whisking matcha powder. It was served with Japanese sweets. It was very calming and serene, and I felt connected to centuries of tradition as we observed the ritual. I didn't care much for the taste of the matcha, but that was an afterthought. Thus fortified, we went to Nijo Castle, a plains castle which was built in 1601 by Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the Tokugawa shogunate. It's one of seventeen Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto and another World Heritage site. It has two rings of defenses, each of which is a moat and a wall. There is an immense karamon main gate to the five buildings which comprise the  Ninomaru Palace, constructed almost entirely with Hinoki cypress. It's decorated extensively with gold leaf and wood carvings, very impressive. The sliding doors and inner walls boast beautiful paintings.

Our guide told us how the castle is an excellent example of social control through the use of  architectural space. Low-ranking visitors were received in the outer regions of the Ninomaru, whereas high-ranking visitors were shown the more restricted inner chambers. Rather than attempt to conceal the entrances to the rooms for bodyguards (as was done in many castles), the shogun displayed them prominently. The construction was great at intimidating and showing the weight of power to visitors. The buildings house several reception chambers, offices and the living quarters of the shogun where only women were allowed. One of the most striking features of the Ninomaru Palace is the use of nightingale floors in the corridors, which protected residents  from sneak attacks and assassins, because they were built to squeak like birds when anyone walks on them. Must have been quite noisy during the day. Some of the rooms in the castle also contained special doors where the shogun's bodyguard could sneak out to protect him. The palace is beautiful and harmonious, but when you see these features, you get a clear idea of how hazardous life in the shogun's court could be. After the end of the shogunate, the emperor took it over, replacing the hollyhock sigil of the Tokugawas with the imperial chrysanthmum, and the current emperor has been known to stay there.

Outside, there were groves of cherry and plum trees, stark against the snow but still beautiful. There are also several gardens, one between the defensive rings that has a large pond with three islands and features numerous carefully placed stones and pine trees. Another has two tea houses. It is beautiful in the dusk.

After this tour, we returned to the hotel to freshen up and dress up a bit. We were taken to Gion Hatanaka, a cultural center located in Kyoto's renowned geisha district. Dinner was in a superb kaiseki restaurant, kaiseki being a a multi-course Japanese meal. We were part of a (Grandpa said) carefully curated group of guests. And we were entertained by maiko, apprentice geisha. The geisha are not prostitutes, as they are sometimes portrayed as, but highly skilled entertainers who spend years honing their abilities. Kyoto is the heart of Japan's geisha world. In Kyoto, fully-fledged geisha are properly called geiko. Young women, usually between the ages of 15 and 20, train for five years to become a geiko. During this period, they are known as maiko. Other cities may have geisha, but they are usually not as strictly trained.  It was explained how to tell the difference between maiko and geiko; maiko wear colorful kimono with long  sleeves and padded, trailing hems, and appear with their own hair worn up with a variety of extravagant hairpins, while geiko wear plainer kimono with shorter sleeves, regular length, and no opening on the sides under the arms, and fairly unadorned wigs. The kimono were beautiful, colorful with lovely patterns. Both maiko and geiko wear the traditional white makeup with black eyeliner and flicks of red eyeshadow. We were entertained with traditional music, singing, and dancing, and the maiko circulated among us for conversation and drinking games, and cordially allowed us to take their pictures. A couple hours later, we were taken back to our hotel for the night. A good thing, too, I was tired, full, and feeling very cultured after the day. I took an hour to extensively update my Instagram before going to bed.

It was another early morning. We got a hasty breakfast and checked out, going to a bus station. "Where are we going, Grandp?" I asked, yawning.

"After a brief bus ride, we're going to take the bullet train to Hakuba," he said. The destination wasn't familiar, but before I could Google it, he smiled. "Hakuba is a skiing resort. I thought we might like to learn how to snowboard."