Japans cultural and religions traditions richly enshrined in Kyoto

Press, 16 August 1988, Page 30

Japans cultural and religions traditions richly enshrined in Kyoto

The first of two articles by SUSAN KUROSAWA on Kyoto, former capital of Japan and one of its most beautiful cities.

If your notion of Japan has more' to do with swashbuckling samurai and nimble ninja than it does with miniaturisation and microchips, the sooner you zip out of Tokyo the better. Mind you, the capital does have palpable appeal as an ultra-modern metropolis thick with fashionable shops, soaring buildings, and slick nightlife, but it has as much to do with the real Japan as a packet of instant noodles does with authentic Japanese cuisine.

To discover the Japan of hushed temples, red lacquered bridges, groomed gardens, kimono-clad maidens and mighty feudal castles, jump aboard a catapulting Bullet Train and head to the old capital of Kyoto. This gracious city is located in the south west of the main island of Honshu and the Bullet Train ride takes about three hours from Tokyo.

Strolling around certain parts of Kyoto will make you feel as if you’ve made a hasty retreat from the twentieth century. Sure, there are modern hotels, amusement parks, shopping complexes, and multi-storey buildings, but through careful planning the traditional essence of Kyoto has been scrupulously retained. This was the nation’s capital until

1868 when Tokyo, which had earlier been known as Edo, was declared the seat of power. Kyoto had been established by Imperial decree during the period 794 to 801; the flow of the Kamo River from north to south imposed a natural basis for the city’s design. This orderly grid pattern makes touring the city centre an easy affair. The local office of the government-run Japan National Tourist Organisation (JNTO) can provide maps and literature to help you get around and it’s not a bad idea to hop a morning or afternoon bus tour of the city for the sake of orientation.

This quick trip will give you a peek at the Imperial Palace, Gold Pavilion, Heian Shrine and other must-see monuments. The rest of your stay can then be spent in either retracing steps for a more involved look at places of particular interest, or wandering through city streets lined with arts and crafts shops, strolling around gardens and parks bristling with bonsai and precisely clipped flower bushes, or pausing to explore any of the myriad small shrines which unexpectedly appear between shops and office blocks.

Temple-tripping can be a tedious exercise, especially if you object to the shoes-off ritual at every entrance. It is much better to concentrate on a handful of Kyoto’s most interesting examples. That way your visit will not blur into an endless bevy of buddhas. I recommend you visit the Gold Pavilion, Heian Shrine, and Ryoanji Temple, preferably spending a leisurely hour at each.

Kinkakuji, widely known as the Gold Pavilion, is set in landscaped gardens at the base of Kinugasa Hill in northern Kyoto. It is most often photographed with its golden reflection shimmering in an adjoining lake; you’ll find lines of earnest Japanese cameramen and artists at their easels attempting to capture the ephemeral beauty of one of Japan’s most important temples. It’s covered in gold foil and is actually a reproduction of the 1397 original which was destroyed by fire in 1950. Try and obtain a copy of the novel “The Gold Pavilion” by the award-winning novelist, Yukio Mishima. It’s a marvellous tale of fact

and fiction which tells of the wilful burning of this beautiful building. When I first visited the Heian Shrine it was the occasion of Jidai Matsuri, an annual festival held in late October which commemorates the founding of Kyoto. The huge procession which highlights the celebrations each year was disbanding and people were wandering through the Heian’s vast gardens. I came across a group of young trainee geisha involved in a clandestine concert of song and dance beneath weeping cherry trees.

They were flirting with their fans and trailing the sashes of their kimonos like goldfish undulating fins and tails. They shuffled off in giggling embarrassment when they saw me watching but it was a fleeting vignette of the memorable sort that photographers pray for and writers of travel brochures lie about.

Ryoanji Temple is situated on the north-west edge of Kyoto, best reached by taxi from downtown. The garden of this Zen retreat represents a pinnacle of simplicity with its 15 small boulders surrounded by a sea of gravel raked into circular furrows around the islands and into straight lines between them. It was created by a Zen disciple, Soami, in 1499 and, ever since, Buddhist scholars and laymen alike have been attempting to interpret the true meaning of his design. Brochures sold at Ryoanji offer convoluted explanations in questionable English, so avoid these and instead just pause to contemplate the symmetry and simplicity of it all. You’ll be joined by throngs of Japanesee tourists in identical bus-tour hats who will be temporarily subdued while paying homage to this quintessence of Zen harmony. Back in the late 19605, when I wore Indian cotton dresses and refused to pluck my eyebrows, I considered myself rather an avant-garde hippie by doing a Zen retreat at a Kyoto temple. The entire week-end was spent meditating on a model of the Ryoanji garden and chasing single grains of rice with slippery chopsticks in a lacquered bowl. I’m sorry to say I didn’t gain enlightenment, but I did manage to lose five pounds. ■

To be concluded next Tuesday