Hibikore CO.LTD. （株式会社ひびこれ）

07/12/2018

I had a chance to guide 17 ladies from Australia and the US, all art lovers who are full of energy and curiosity.

The tour started under clear sky without any clouds. After breathing in refreshing air while walking through bamboo path in Arashiyama, we headed to Nison-in temple surrounded by colorful maples leaves.

There they rang the temple bell to experience the profound resonant sound of the bell, which has been respected as the voice of Buddha. For lunch, we visited Taizoin temple to learn Zen philosophy through Shojin Buddhist cuisine.

That day was concluded by the Atelier visit of natural dye. The next day was again full of inspirations, including antique fabric shop, Furoshiki (Wrapping Cloth) demonstration & shopping, Lunch time at Machiya (traditional townhouse) , and beautiful garden…… They were amazingly enjoying these two days.

22/11/2018

On this day, I had an opportunity to visit Ryosokuin-temple, sub temple of Kennin-ji temple, to see the exhibition of Asami Kiyokawa. Her artworks depict the world of traditional short poems, called “Hyakunin Isshu”, completed in the 13th century in Kyoto.

“Hyakunin Isshu” is also known as a Japanese traditional card game which is still popular among kids and adults. “Hyaku” means “one hundred”, and players try to remember all one hundred short poems to win the game. I used to play this card game a lot when I was small, but I was just so eager to memorize the words, and have not thought deeply about meaning of each poem.

What I saw in this exhibition however, all the artworks were expressing each context of the poem so dynamically, with her extraordinary skill of embroidery and power of imagination. They were completely on a different level of art from those are so digitalized and flat we often see today.

I had a sense of freedom, to feel closer to each person who made a poem millennium ago through her works. By appreciating her works, I learned how people back then often reflect their emotions to the natural objects such as sunlight, moonlight, wind, flowers, water flows and so on. Also I could imagine how deep their emotions of sorrow, despair, and sentiment.

Once I stepped into the temple through the entrance gate, a mysterious journey started, taking me to the time trip to millennium ago. Deep green moss of the temple garden was a perfect setting for my noisy mind to calm down. Then I was ready to dive into Asami’s world of Hyakunin Isshu to my content.

On this day, I was able to see Asami Kiyokawa (left) herself, and actress Kaho Minami (right) who supports this exhibition through reading the poems’ modern translation,
talking about Asami’s works and the process to this exhibition to be realized. Both ladies were just, so, beautiful….. shining, even glittering. I feel like being charged by these charming beauties.

This exhibition will be open to Dec.10th (Mon) temple (in Gion Area)
please check >>>> http://www.asamikiyokawa.com/sennengo/

11/06/2018

Spots being instagrammable in Arashiyama

I had an opportunity to guide a beautiful Thai lady around Arashiyama area. She has some experience as a model and knows everything about how to take amazing photos, by managing from posing and angles to lighting. At first, the spots that I heard from concierge as her requests were only “Tenryu-ji” and “Bamboo Path”. But as we introduced each other and talked over her interests, I have found that she was interested in “The garden where visitors have to pay as much as 1,000yen, but worth while for that.” and “Amazing place which is instagrammable” So I added two spots, Ohkochisanso garden, and Otagi Nembutsuji temple to the original itinerary wishing to delight her.

Otagi Nembutsuji temle is located a little far from central Arashiyama area, and taxi ride on both ways is necessary. Therefore, not many people include that temple in their check list. It is deeper in the mountain area, so we see much less visitors there compared to central area. The green of the trees are deep and refreshing. In the precinct of this temple, there are over one thousand stone statues called “Rakan” meaning disciples of Shaka, the founder of Buddhism, making this place so unique. Actually, only about 30 years have passed since these statue were offered to this temple, but they perfectly blend in this atmosphere of the ancient temple with more than one thousand years of history. Each Rakan has a unique expression. It was as if I could hear their talking and laughing. I could easily share the happy feeling with them. The sound of gushing water from the mountain was completely soothing, washing off the dirt of my mind. Needless to say, she LOVED that place, too!

24/05/2018

The third featuring of HIBIKORE private guide tour @ “The Australian”

The chief editor of this travel newspaper wrote about “Incense sachets making” experience that I arranged in “More to the story” column. ( May 12-13 issue 2018)😉

17/05/2018

17/05/2018

“Just one of the many pix to come from our fabulous Japan tour as hosted by the best tour guides ever….”

One of my guests in a big group from Australia just sent me a memorable photo of the coordinator and me by an email with the title above. It surely reminds me of our fantastic journey.

17/05/2018

Kawayuka (Riverside terrace) Dining!

On this day, I had an opportunity to guide a couple from Luxembourg. They just arrived in Japan on that morning, so I decided to take them Gion first, the place that is very symbolic and popular in Kyoto. There we visited an unique Ebisu shrine and old Zen temple “Kennin-ji”.

After that, we headed to the special lunch place to celebrate their “First meal in Japan!”. The place was called “Kawayuka”, the terrace made only in summer time, just above the Kamo river. The restaurants along the river usually serve dinner on these terrace through May to September every night, but for lunch, because of the heat, they only serve their meal there only in May and September. The terrace seats of our place had a big square hole under the table so that we can put our legs there. The hole helped us a lot since sitting on the tatami mat is usually very uncomfortable for many foreign guests.

The breeze from the Kamo river was so refreshing, and it was just the right temperature. We all enjoyed the beautiful lunch box while viewing the green mountains in the distance, and glittering river at close. It was a perfect setting for the commemorable first lunch in Japan.

20/04/2018

10/04/2018

One of my guest is trying to get through an extraordinary small-sized entrance. Do you know why this entrance is so small?

This is an entrance for a tea room, invented by the 16th century grand tea master, Sen-no-Rikyu. Actually, this small entrance has many “secrets” which naturally promote the guests enter the tea room with humbleness, and which naturally harmonize the peaceful atmosphere of the tea room. This small entrance has played a very important role, even though it looks very simple, since 400 years ago, through the eras without any project mappings or Virtual Reality technology.

I really hope that many guests from overseas experience this “Small square entrance magic” by themselves and understand their secrets. I am sure that will lead the better appreciation of the spirit of Way of Tea.

06/04/2018

I had a chance to take 3 guests from Australia to the dyeing workshop. The master of this workshop has been making the special bedding covers and Noren (shop curtain) with his traditional techniques and methods for over 50 years. He first showed us his master pieces and explained about how much human labor and extraordinary craftsmanships are involved there.

This time, my guests tried dyeing handkerchiefs with their favorite design by sandwiching them with wooden sticks. And another important item to make their design even more unique and appealing was “clothespins and clips”. The parts that are sandwiched with these items won’t be absorb the color pigment, which let us design as we like. As the master dyes the fabric two times, the possibility of design is widened.

The guests were so excited to remove all the sticks and pins to see the completed design, and as soon as they saw it, they WAO!!ed and were so happy about the result.

The handkerchief can be used as a scarf, or wrapping lunch boxes, or anyway you like. And most of all those practical values, it will remind them of great experience in Kyoto.

03/04/2018

I had a chance to guide a big group from Australia for three days in a row.
The itinerary included variety of activities, such as cultural experiences, temple&shrine visits, museum visit, Machiya experince…. And it was ended with the nature exploring in Arashiyama.

After refreshed by strolling in the “Ohkohchi Sanso Garden”, we headed to Hozu river cruise which was about 1.5 hour ride with 3 boatmen controlling the boat with wooden paddle and bamboo rod. It was a whole nature experience with the sound of water up close, spring breeze, and amazing scenery of cherry blossoms.

We also enjoyed talking with entertaining boatmens, who made our 1.5 hours with joy and laughter. I was so happy that my guest discovered the charms of Kyoto from various angles.

12/03/2018

I visited a workshop for braided cords in Nishijin area, central Kyoto. “Braided cord” has been used in many occasions such as a decoration with a ritual knot at temples and shrines, and as the Obi-jime which fixes the Obi sash tightly. It has such a large variation of patterns, shapes, and thickness, according to the purposes.

19/02/2018

When I guide my guests from overseas, my focus is not only put on which spots to take, but also on “How to let my guests feel and touch traditional cultures of Japanese people” in Kyoto. One of the traditions I am most interested is “wrapping culture” in Japan.

One day I had a opportunity to join a “Furoshiki workshop” by Ms.Etuko Yamada, an art director of the company called “Musubi”. They design, produce, and sell Furoshiki cloths at shops in Tokyo and Kyoto and also through the Internet.
（http://www.kyoto-musubi.com/index.html）
She started the workshop by asking us “Do you know that Furoshiki is a Magical Cloth?”, and introduced many ways to enjoy the cloth. It can be used not only as wrapping boxes, but also as handy bags, covers, and even decorative wrapping of wine bottles. To actually learn how to wrap or how to make it a bag shape, it is surely a good idea to visit shops in Tokyo or Kyoto, where store staff will help you choose suitable size and material of Fusoshiki from wide product range full of colors and motifs, and show you how to use it. II have found a perfect place for my guests to experience a traditional culture of wrapping in a fashionable way!

26/07/2017

The second day of guide tour for the family from Mexico.
It started to rain from morning, so I slightly changed the plan and decided to take them first to “Sanju-Sangen-Do” where you can enjoy a lot even indoor. This temple is outstanding in terms of the number of the Buddhist statues. It is very interesting to see them because each statue has different expressions and different tools.

Then, we headed to Arashiyama area. Luckily enough, it stopped raining, and we enjoyed taking pictures in the beautiful nature and walking in the bamboo forest. I took them to “Nison-in temple” and “Giou-ji” temple which has outstandingly beautiful moss garden. They were amazed by the velvet-like moss and its healing power.

For lunch, we enjoyed Soba noodles in a popular Soba place in Arashiyama area. its aroma is outstanding as is the taste. It was their first time to try Soba noodles, and they really liked it.

After enjoying the delicious lunch, I took them to the “Otago-nembutsu-ji” where numerous Jizo statues are placed. Its atmosphere is really outstanding. The family’s daughters were taking so many photos together with their favorite Jizo statues.

On this day, all the spots I took my guest family to
were “outstanding” for some reason. I was so happy that my guest family seemed all satisfied with the amazing spots with big impacts.

16/06/2017

I recently took two women from the US and Australia to “Kyukyodou” in the central area of Kyoto.

“Kyukyodou” is a long-established stationary shop with high prestige and wide range of products. Even in this modern world of “digital communications” prevailed, if you step in this shop, you would feel like writing letter to someone special on your favorite letter pads or postcards. I had been loving to write letters, and so do I, still. I can declare myself to be an analog person forever. You can feel the writer’s emotions and considerations from each character on the letter pads, but it would never be possible in the digital mails.

The woman from the US wanted to draw a rough sketch on Washi paper, so selected her favorite-textured Washi paper from about 20 kinds, and also her favorite brush and ink. It is definitely worth while to actually see it and touch the Washi paper and other products to understand their unique characters.

It was such a wonderful time to enjoy shopping in Kyukyodou, surrounded by the subtle scent of the Japanese incense.

06/06/2017

On this day, I took a lady from Holland to the Karacho’s atelier and shop.

From the moment we entered their shop, she looked so amazed by the walls and ceilings covered with beautiful Karacho papers. The patterns and colors of each paper had so much impact on her, especially “mica” which gives a glittering hue and mysterious atmosphere to the paper.

The 11th generation proprietress, Ikuko-san, kindly explained on her husband’s works, whose history dates back to 400 years ago. We could understand her passion to maintain and pass down this amazing culture of Karacho’s paper by her stories.

The lady from Holland is going to join the company that arranges the interior of the hotels in Europe. I am sure her encounter with Karacho that has been decorating a number of prestigious hotel around Japan, has given her a lot of positive inspiration.

At the end, she very much enjoyed choosing several Thanks cards with her own favorite patters and colors at the shop.

23/05/2017

In late May, on a summer-like hot day, I had a chance to take two women from Germany to Ohara. Only about 20 min-drive from the city will take you the rural scenery.

First, we headed to Sanzen-in temple. From the parking, along the path to the temple, the guests looked so soothed by the sound of water flow. Thanks to the tunnel made by the young leaves, and the sound of water, we felt our body and soul to be so much refreshed.

After entering the temple, we walked to the Guest Hall, where we could sit and relax on the large tatami mat room. The guests told me that it was their first time to enjoy the garden, sitting on the tatami mats. They had been only looking at the garden from the standing position. It is very important for us visitors to sit in a calm mind and activate our five senses in order to get inspirations from the garden. Having been sitting for a while, two ladies seemed to re-set theirselves and got ready to make new starts.

After enjoying the Sanzen-in temple, we moved to Shino , the shop that makes full use of vegetables grown in Ohara to make many kinds of dressings and seasonings. On this day, however, we visited this shop for “Mame-mochi” “Yomogi-mochi”.They are perfectly well-balanced sweetness and so tasty.

Lastly, we headed to “Doi-Shibaduke” where nearly dozens of pickles are always shown, and could be tried.The two guests were so excited to try the variety of pickles, and kept asking me many questions such as “What kind of vegetable is this?” or “Why does this have this color?” After their trying about ten kinds of pickles, they decided to get “Mushroom pickles” and “Pumpkin pickles.” From large windows of the shop, we could enjoy to see the Perilla farming.

It became a day that we could learn and enjoy the various mercies that the clear water village of Ohara is proud of.

16/05/2017

The name “Jakkou-in” literally means “The temple of subdued light”, which reminds me of “fragile” of “transient” aesthetic.

That day was a last day of the limited opening term of their Jizo Bodhisattva, so I headed to the temple by a car. After parking the car, I walked through the quiet village with a nostalgic atmosphere. It seemed that time flows much slowly and gently there than in the city, flooded with lots of digital tools. From the entrance, the stone stairs lead me to the main gate of the temple. Each step makes visitors approach to the sacred world of prayer. Along the steps, both sides are colored by the beautiful green maple leaves. Passing through the gate, a simple, subdued main building welcomed me.

This Jakko-in temple has a long history over 1400years. It is famous as a nunnery where a lady named Kenrei-monin spent her life till the end. She was a daughter of the top warrior in the 12th century but her family had a tragic end in a battle and she was the only person who unwillingly survived. This temple has indeed a elegant air, as if it gently protects women in sufferings. The azalea flowers were in full bloom on that day, showing the clear contrast with fresh green of the maples.

During the special limited opening term, the Jizo Bodhisattva was open to the public, which was burnt in a suspicious fire in 2000. Though totally charred, it releases amazing power to the visitors. The facial expression was slightly seen, and it seemed to gently talk to the people. It was also amazing to see as many as more than 3000 of tiny bodhisattva found in the body of the main bodhisattva. Each of them are meticulously carved, demonstrating the depth of their prayer in those ancient days.

02/05/2017

YABUSAME

On May 3rd each year, YABUSAME (Mounted Archery) ritual is held at Shimogamo Shrine. This ritual is held as a preparatory event for the Aoi Matsuri (Hollyhock Festival), which is one of the three major festivals in Kyoto, to pray for the safe accomplishment of the festival and expel the evil sprits.

In Tadasuno-mori forest in the Shimogamo Shrine, 360m straight course is set, where the horses run through, and along that course three targets are arranged.

Archers rinding on the back of the horses are successors and practitioners of “Ogasawara-Ryu” which has been instructing the etiquettes and manners, the skill of archery and mounted archery to the top warriors for more than 850years. It surely requires high level of skills and spiritual strength to perform Mounted Archery.

This YABUSAME is not an archery competition, but a ritual. Nevertheless, each time an arrow hits the square target of 50cm each, making clear cracking sounds, great shouts of applause arouse from the viewers.

Autually, what I saw today was a rehearsal for the tomorrow’s performance. You will have to wait in line for hours to see it tomorrow, but today, you can just relax watching, not worrying about the crowds. I could see the horses in rehearsal, walking and running the course, confirming the touch of the ground(?).

YABUSAME has been attracting so many people from ancient time. I was amazed by its thrill of speed and the powerful sound of horses’ gallop. You can not experience this thrill unless you actually go there!

02/05/2017

Light rain matches well in Ohara

It was a rainy day. But, or maybe I should say therefore, I decided to head to Ohara, foot of Mt.Hiei, famous for its quiet and soothing atmosphere in beautiful nature.

It was the end of April, and was the start of early summer, when all the green leaves begin dancing in the breeze. The nature in Ohara is much thicker than the one in the city, and makes the air so refreshing.

I visited Hosen-in temple and Sanzen-in temple. The green leaves seemed so happy with some light shower, and they looked amazing together with rhododendron flowers in full bloom.

Sitting at on the tatami mat in the temple, I truly enjoyed the quiet moments in front of the moist trees and leaves, in the sound of rain.

The rain washed one’s worries away and re-charged one’s mind.
I definitely recommend to go to Ohara when it rains!

28/04/2017

“Crying Cherry Tree”

I paid a visit to Nin-na-ji temple (World Heritage Site).
This temple was established in 888, which means it has a history over one thousand years. The emperor back then lived in this temple after his abdication, and since then, royal family members had been serving as a top priest of this temple till the Meiji Restoration.

As soon as passing through the Nioh-mon gate, greeting with Nioh (Guardian Gods),
the impressive wide Sando path lead me to the main hall of the temple. The width indicates this temple’s high rank, deep relation with royal families.

The primary feature of Nin-na-ji temple is that we can enjoy many kinds of cherry trees.
Overall, as many as 550 cherry trees are planted in this precinct, and what we should not miss here is thick cherry blossoms with many more pedals than normal kinds.

Along this wide Sando path, I found the rare kind of cherry tree called “ Gyoi-ko”.

Its flower is not pink as usual kinds, but “light green”. And mysteriously enough, it changes the color of the pedals. Light green gradually turns into pale green, then white, and later into yellowish color. The central part turns into even reddish color.

Another interesting kind is called “Crying Cherry Tree”.
The cherry tree area is usually open while the flowers are in bloom. And this “Crying cherry tree” usually begins to bloom later than other trees in this area. So this tree is so sad and cries as nobody appreciates and admires his beauty. That is the reason why this tree is called in this way. But on this day, fortunately enough, many visitors applauded this rare kind of cherry tree and took many photos. The crying tree was not “crying” on this day. Instead, it looked so proud of himself. Its buds are slightly pink color but turn elegantly white when they bloom.

Also I enjoyed colorful azaleas, and fresh greenery.
It became the day of appreciation of the beautiful nature in Nin-na-ji.

28/04/2017

I had a chance to visit Ryoan-ji temple recently.

It was just after the cherry blossom season, but as soon as I arrived at the temple, amazingly fresh greenery welcomed me, dancing in the spring breeze. The whole air turned green, making the place completely pure and refreshing.The leaves were very young, light green, and seemed so happy to enjoy the sunshine.

The famous rock garden looked somewhat renewed with beautiful greenery.
Looking at this scenery, I received the energy to start something new and keep challenging myself.

19/04/2017

Every time I went to my teacher’s house for tea ceremony, I was amazed by the beauty of the texture and pattern of sliding doors in the tea room. One day when I told my teacher, “These patterns are so beautiful.” , she replied. “Of course, they are made by KARACHO.”

Since then, I have been curious about KARACHO, so I decided to visit their atelier and workshop near Shugakuin Imperial Villa.

There I met Ms. Ikuko Senda, the 11th generation proprietress of KARACHO. She renovated her house after his husband’s handing over the business to his son, to make the atelier shop and enjoy her time there surrounded by her favorite items such as antique tea cups, flowers, and cozy music. The ceiling and walls are naturally covered with KARACHO paper with her favorite color and pattern.

KARACHO paper has a history of over 400years, but its patterns and presence are amazingly modern and elegant. They have as many as 650 kinds of their unique wooden printing block from Edo era(17th-19th century).

Upstairs is her husband Mr. Kenkichi Senda’s work space, where he combines many colors from natural materials, and print them on the paper. From a piece of paper, I can feel the warmness of his hand craft, and amazing feeling that I am connected with the object from Edo period.

Ikuko-san is a very attractive lady. She is leading her life, treasuring each day. We talked a lot, about many things, beginning from KARACHO paper, to raising kids, how she has made countless decisions of life as a mother, and as a wife. After our long conversation, I truly admired her as a woman. She is so attractive.

She told me with adorable smile like a girl, “Let me share with you about this fan called Hidari Uchiwa, meaning The Fan for your left hand”
The fan has a patten that Ikuko-san likes the most, which has many auspicious motifs. The color is also beautiful and its appearance somewhat has European taste.

(The following is the quote from her book “KARACHO IKUKO”)
“Hidari Uchiwa” traditionally means that to live a wealthy life without terrible hardships, but there is another meaning. Legend has it that the wind from your left brings you wealth. Thus, it has double auspicious meanings, so it should be bring you happiness and fortune if you decorate it at the entrance of your house. I hope this fan will bring happiness to as many people as possible.

I was truly impressed by her words, and it would be more than great if I could be of any help for her to realize this wish.

07/04/2017

Oasis in Kyoto, Murin-an

Murin-an is a garden located near Heian-Jingu shrine in the popular sightseeing area. The owner of the garden was Mr. Aritomo Yamagata, the powerful politician, the third prime minister of Japan. Even though there are many tourists around this area, Murin-an is a kind of out-of-the-way spot, since its entrance is not facing the main roads.

The size of the garden is rather small, but it looks so spacious thanks to the view of Higashiyama mountain in the distance. It gives the feeling of depth to the viewer. As I walked around the garden, I could enjoy the various natural sounds and changing scenery which made me motivate to explore further in the garden. Each item, such as streams, rocks, trees are all “designed” to be located in their place, but all of them seem to be enjoying their harmony, and look amazingly “natural”.

I learned that expert gardeners take care of this garden almost everyday, communicating with plants, flowers, and trees. When I saw the garden from the tatami room, while enjoying a bowl of matcha tea, I felt the time was passing a little gently than usual.

16/03/2017

In Buddhism, the March 15th is said to be the date of Buddha’s demise. Some temples hold memorial services for Buddha around this time in Kyoto. One of them is “Saga-Otaimatsu-shiki” (Big Torch Ceremony in Saga) at Seiryo-ji temple in Sagano area. This ceremony reproduces the cremation of Buddha, and the “Fire and Flame” play the central role here.

From about 7pm, the priests start chanting sutra in the gigantic main hall. After that, the fire is lit to the three 10m tall torches, erected outside the main hall.

As stuffed with dry pine branches, the three torches soon began to flame the fire vigorously. The dancing flames and fire sparks scattering in the sky looked so powerful, partly because we seldom see “real” flame of fire in our daily lives recently.

People in ancient times in Japan used to predict the crops from the vigor of the flames. For people back then, the flame of the fire was spiritually revered object. It was great that I could “reproduce” their feeling of awe to the fire through this ceremony.

There are many features in this Seiryo-ji temple, but what I found interesting was the “The model of human organs”, contained in the wooden Buddha statue made more than one thousand years ago. The model has a great significance in terms of the resource of the medical history, but this is also an important evidence that people back then already knew about this level of medical facts. It was amazing to see the “original” organ mockups with my own eyes.

07/03/2017

京都の伏見に創業して340年という、老舗の酒蔵「増田徳兵衛商店」に行き、14代目当主の増田徳兵衛さんに酒蔵を案内していただいた。

日本酒の原材料は至ってシンプル。水、米、麹、酵母。それだけに、一つ一つの原材料の質が日本酒のクオリティを大きく左右する。

増田氏の酒作りは、米の栽培から始まる。水はまろやさで有名な伏見の井戸水を使用。製作工程では、杜氏さんたちが五感と経験をフルに駆使しながら、麹や酵母という微生物たちとともに、お酒を作り上げていく。まさに、微生物との合作。彼らが働きやすいような環境を整えることに神経を使い、手間暇を惜しまずに、急がずに、丁寧に彼らの働きを見守る。

そう考えると、日本酒って不思議な飲み物だ。「大地の恵み」はもちろん、「微生物との共同作業の温かみ」のようなものをダイレクトに感じられる。

増田氏の酒蔵には、海外からの視察団も頻繁に訪れるそうだ。やはりワインやビールの醸造所とは違う、キリっとした空気が酒蔵にはある。酒蔵正面に飾られたしめ縄や神棚、壁のいたるところに貼られた神社のお札を見ると、酒造りというのは日本古来の神と強く結びついていたこと、そしてその精神が今現在にもしっかりと受け継がれていることがよく理解できた。

05/03/2017

Towards the end of February, a few days bring us warm winds during daytime in Kyoto. One of the features in this time of the year is Baikasai (Plum Blossom Festival)at Kitano-tenman-gu shrine. On this day, huge flea market was also held, making the area so crowded with booths and visitors.

Plum blossoms are considered to be auspicious in Japan from ancient times, as they are the first to bloom after persevering in the severe winter in Kyoto, and they have been seen as the messengers for the coming warm spring.

What intrigues us at this market is, we can find many “unusual items” to be sold at many booths. There are so many “strange to be sold” pieces, based on our usual “common sense”.

Used and old daily commodities, old articles of furniture, old tools of carpenters…. These items were surely “working” so intensively in old days, but for us in the 21th century, they appear to be a kind of unique “artistic” piece.

A lot of items have been passed from person to person over the eras and each item has been evaluated differently from time to time. In Kyoto, we can strongly feel the “spiritual link” with the people in the ancient time, through materials displayed at the booths.

02/03/2017

Ten-minute-drive from bustling Kiyomizu area takes us to the top of Hiyashiyama East Mountain range, where the huge stage, 4.6times larger than that of Kiyiomizudera-Temple , is located.

Here in this place, 1200years ago, Emperor Kanmu looked down on this basin and decided to move the capital to Kyoto.

What Emperor did after his decision was to make huge (2.5m tall) statue of warrior with armor, a bow and arrows, and bury it under the “Shogun-zuka”, mound of the military general, to protect the city.

In Kyoto, we can feel the reality of historical event that happened even 1200 years ago. Besides this mound, there is a sight recently completed. That is the “Grand Stage”.

The moment we step on the stage, we can not help shouting “WOW!”. Such an amazing panoramic view of whole Kyoto city is just in front of us.

We can find Kamo river of Y shape, beautiful greenery of Imperial garden and Nijojo-castle, and icons and Chinese characters on Mountains….. If Emperor Kanmu could see this view, he would be so relieved and convinced that his decision was right.