My how the weather can change! Suddenly we’re wearing long sleeves and jackets and enclosed shoes – and we have had to resort to using quilts at night!! How long before the aircons are on to heat our little abode?

Hello, and welcome to week 46, which I am writing while clad in a fluffy hoodie and fleecy lined track pants – the height of elegance it is not, but it is assuredly warm and comfortable. It has been a bit of a shock going from short sleeves and sandals to rugging up in such a short space of time. I have even turned the toilet seat heating on, though only to 1. There have also been quite a few wet days, which makes you feel less inclined to go out lest you get wet and cold. You certainly experience the seasons here, and there are definitely more than four. We await the autumn colour with anticipation!

So, to the week’s activities. We went up to visit The Nearly House on Saturday this week, as we had an engagement on Sunday (more about that later). I suspected we’d find tradies busy at work on our future home, and so it was. The main focus of the work was the outside cladding of the building, which looked like they had just commenced it that day. Given the rate they are getting through the work, I imagine the house will be fully clad when we go up there next weekend. This will indeed make it The House in my mind!! Inside it appeared much of the plumbing was in place along with the electrical wiring.

This week we also received a selection of designs for a circular metal decoration to be attached to the front of our house from our architect. There was one that when we saw it we both just had to have it – again he has understood what we are looking for. I specifically asked for a round element on the front of the building because it is quite angular with square windows, etc. Also, I had noticed that quite a few traditional Japanese houses had a round window or metal decoration on the front. I actually asked for a round window, but the architect said it would be costly to add that into a two storey façade, in terms of engineering and the strength of the wall.

On Sunday, we went to see the Autumn tour sumo event in Kyoto. I was really looking forward to this and was hoping all of the yokozuna would be there, because during the last sumo basho three of the four yokozuna had not been able to participate due to injury, including Hakuho.

It took a train and a bus to get us to the Kyoto Prefectural Gymnasium where it was being held, and it was a rainy day, but we got there relatively dry and looking forward to the day’s programme. We had booked a box which was for two people and I thought it was going to be an actual box, except we would be sitting on the cushions on the floor. I took a cushion, just in case the seating wasn’t overly comfortable. We also took our own food because I was pretty sure there wouldn’t be any vegetarian food available at the venue.

Turns out the “boxes” were rectangles marked out with tape on the floor of the gymnasium, and there were no cushions (thank goodness I took my own – poor Craig had to sit on the floor for the whole programme). While the ring is raised above ground level, it was at times hard to see thanks to some people who sat up on their feet – we were four or five rows back. Also, as so often happens, there were some people who kept getting up and down during the day (doing who knows what???).

Despite all the above, it was a good day overall and all the yokozuna were there, which was fantastic. Harumafuji didn’t fight (although he did come out during the warm up), but then he won the last basho, so perhaps they were giving him some rest time!!! The day started with over an hour of warm up time, during which we got to see the sorts of training they would normally do. Hakuho did some practice with another rikishi in the ring, which was great to watch, especially as it was half serious, half fun. He was having a good time. After this, they had some children go up against some of the rikishi, which was very funny, then a bout which was entirely put on and was hilarious. Following this two rikishi had their hair done in the ring to show how it is done.

 (photo bombing geiko)

Once all that was over, all of the rikishi came out in three separate groups, based on their ranking with the last group being the four yokozuna, all in their kesho mawashi (see photo – they look somewhat like a very elaborate apron) to do the ring entry ceremony. A number of the rikishi were carrying babies (not sure whose…) and included them in the ceremony. The final part of the programme involved the rikishi in matched bouts. Very enjoyable and I got to yell out best wishes to Hakuho before his bout. Interestingly, there was a small group of Hakuho fans around me – so we really put some effort into it!!

The other activity of note this week was our second visit to the taiko group practice. We weren’t sure what was going to happen, whether we would be thrown in the deep end, or just spend time watching another practice given they have two more performances this month. The person we had talked to last time wasn’t there when we got there and the other people didn’t seem to know what we were going to be doing, so they just said we should watch.

About an hour and a half into the practice, she turned up and shortly thereafter we were suddenly asked to follow her and one of the men in the group to another room. She said we were going to have a lesson with this man! So he started playing a rhythm and got us to follow him, then he indicated he wanted us to do some improvised playing…Having not played for  months, I was somewhat rusty and after playing the rhythm for a while, which was quite fast, my arms were feeling rather shaky. Still, we both managed to play some bars. Then he started teaching us two sections of one of the songs they perform. It was very enjoyable and certainly tested my recently unused skill of learning a new taiko piece…We were told they perform around 20 times per year. Food for thought, as it is unlikely we will be able to be involved in many performances once our business starts.

On the way home, when we came up out of the subway station on the main road near our flat, we noticed a pink beam of light coming from Kiyomizudera. Was it them sending messages to the kami or bodhisattva?

Well, that’s is for now from autumnal Kyoto – hopefully I’ll be able to bring you some lovely photos of autumn colour soon. In the meantime, here’s some more Halloween photos. Cheers!

PS – Craig has had a hair cut!!