Hello all – I have returned to the keyboard and it’s only been three weeks! It has, however, been quite a busy time with many ‘big’ outings and we had three visitors from Australia for the last two of those weeks. It took me half of Monday just going through the photographs (read: you’re in for a lot of photos). In fact, I have decided to split this episode into two parts, so that I can get the first one out faster and you won’t turn into fossilised beings while reading the full account of this period.

As is my wont, I will firstly mention the weather – there, that’s over…Actually, it has been quite variable, from cloudy to cloud free, with some rain, and from mid teens to mid twenties. Just when I thought I could pack away my winter puffs and thermals, I had to pull them out again. I did get to wear a t-shirt on a couple of days, though 😊.

Prior to the arrival of the Oz crew, we finally got to go to an exhibition I had been wanting to see – Kyoto Textiles: From the 1960s to the Present – which was held at the National Museum of Modern Art. The backstory to this is that I had met a woman at my gym who is Japanese but speaks very good English. On her first day there she came up to me and asked some questions about the ballet class. She wanted to do the class but was a little reticent, so I encouraged her and helped her through the class. Not sure why she picked me, but she was really nice and we ended up doing a few classes together.

After one of the classes she asked if I was interested in art, to which I of course said yes, then she offered me two free tickets to the afore mentioned exhibition. It turned out her husband is a famous ceramic artist, who comes from a very famous artistic family – his father was an avant garde ceramic artist whose works are exhibited in museums around the world (Yagi Kazuo) and his mother was a famous textile artist (Takagi Toshiko). So, we arrive at the connection – one of her works was in the exhibition. It was a very eclectic mix of styles, colours and textures and a wonderful visual experience.

A piece by Yagi Kazuo (L) and some by Yagi Akira (R)

The first exhibit is by Tagaki Tosjiko (it was huge, hung from the ceiling). The second was one of the many I liked and could find a photo of (!) (also very large)

A few days later the local kiln matsuri was held, which, sadly, we have been told was the last time it is to be held. There appear to be a few reasons for this, one of which is the ageing population amongst the local potters. We went around and visited them and bought a few items while we still could. It is unclear whether many will be closing down, but it seems there won’t be many opportunities to buy directly, and at discount, in the future.

Us at one of the potteries where we bought a couple of pieces

Two of our guests from Australia arrived during the following week; a friend of Steven (see previous post) and her mother, who is in her early 90s. They employed the services of our employee as a tour guide (which she is qualified to do) for the majority of the time they were here and we joined them for drinks, nibbles and dinner when they returned home each day. A few days in, Steven arrived back from his taiko sojourn and this time we were able to spend more time with him.

Our first outing was to an antique market held monthly at Toji temple. Steven’s friend and mother decided to join us in our visit to the market. I have to say that, over time, it seems there are more and more stalls selling items other than antiques at this market. Anyway, they decided to split up, as they were looking for different things, and we arranged to meet up after an hour (which ended up being more like and hour and twenty minutes…). Steven had three items he was looking for and it took so long to get around the market checking for these items that we were late getting back to the meeting spot. Steven did, however, continue trying as we were heading to the meeting spot.

We then had a look around the garden at the temple, which was lovely, with some blossom still open, some peonies and azaleas coming on. We also found a turtle pile on a rock in the middle of the lake in the garden, which was interesting 😊. While I was taking some photos on a rock crossing in the water, I was stalked by a bright orange koi, somewhat like a shark circling trying to lure me in!

The first of our ‘big’ outings took Craig, Steven and myself to Nara prefecture, to visit a temple complex we had seen on tv, Chogosonshi-ji, which is distinguished by the fact it has a very large bobbing head tiger statue in the grounds. This tiger is known as Fukutor, and is the world’s largest papier-mâché tiger. Information about the temple says that the tiger image used extensively in the complex comes from a story regarding Prince Shotoku, who was at war with the Mononobe clan in the 6th century. The story says that he went to the site of the current temple to pray to Bishamonten (protector of warriors and guardian of Buddhism) for victory, praying in the year of the tiger, on the day and the hour of the tiger, and his troops were subsequently victorious. The temple is said to have been built on the orders of the prince, in gratitude for this defeat.

The grounds of the complex are extensive with many buildings and statues of tigers, covering a huge area on Mt Shigi. There is also a brightly painted tiger tunnel, called Santora No Fuku Tainai Meguri, which supposedly makes you strong and brave if you walk through it, and also brings you luck. The entrance and exit of the tunnel is decorated to look like a tiger’s mouth (rather comic book style). We, of course, just had to walked through it.

There is also a trail that takes you up to the top of the mountain where there are supposed to be ruins of a castle – although we weren’t exactly sure where they were, in the end. None the less, it was a good climb up and the views from up there were lovely, if a little hazy. On the way up, I noticed some paw prints in the concrete stairs (two sets, in fact), which were quite large and very cat like. We speculated as to what it might be and, on the way back, asked a groundsman who spoke pretty good English what he thought. He said there were large cats (feral, I presume) on the mountain. They must be big…

Part of the ruins? (R)

Yes, I know, I should have put something in for scale…

There are photo opportunities at every turn at this temple, it is a beautiful and peaceful place, thanks to there being very few tourists there. We spent at least two hours there and I enjoyed every second. Despite it being a bit of a hike from our home, and having to pay some fairly hefty tolls to get there in around an hour and a half, I would definitely take another opportunity to visit.

Cages for statues?

Before I sign off, I should mention that today (30/4/2019), is the last day of the current emperor’s reign. He is officially resigning in a few minutes. Tomorrow is the first day of the Reiwa era. I hope they get a chance to really enjoy their retirement.

Cheers

Post Script: We ended up watching the official abdication ceremony, which was late yesterday afternoon. It was quite solemn, with many (important) people in attendance. The PM made a speech, then the Emperor made a speech; his official abdication speech. He looked like he was trying very hard to subdue emotions. It was over in around 20 minutes – the analysing of the whole ceremony went on for hours…

Saw this sign near my gym – what is it? Apparently Bump of Chicken (yes, it is meant to have an i) is a band…and they have a new album coming out soon.

Other random items at the gallery

At the entrance to the car park

It was cold????