Bottle Gourd Arbor

This is one of the curiosities at the Kyoto Botanical Garden called the bottle gourd arbor. It houses many kinds of gourds that have been grown in a large metal lattice "hut," and as the gourds mature they hang down over the heads of the garden visitors. This is the Lagenaria siceraria, called hyoutan in Japanese. The Kyoto Botanical Garden has more then just Kouyou and sakura, it features more then 2,000 species of plants and trees, and is well organized into specific gardens including: bamboo, bonsai, camellia, european, hydrangea, iris, Japanese native plants, lotus, useful plants, and an uma grove.

Autumn Leaves

Another shot from the Kyoto Botanical Garden, I really enjoy Autumn with its crisp cool air and the sweet pungent smell of the damp leaves that crackle under your feet. The vibrant colors that speckle the mountainside and blanket the corners of gardens and street sides. Kyoto is really charming in this season and might be the best city in Japan to enjoy Kouyou, at least in my opinion.

Kouyou Black & White

Normally, perhaps these days at least, the vibrant autumn landscapes are captured in color. For this scene I was drawn to try black and white, in this case with a red filter applied. I learned some about black and white printing in a photo lab with enlargers and color filters back in my school days. These days I work mostly in digital but still like to use filters, and the red filter actually filters out the "red" wavelengths of light - so the brilliant red and orange hues of the autumn trees fall to white. The effect is almost infrared photography like.

Kouyou 紅葉

Fall colors (Kouyou) are to the Japanese autumn what cherry blossoms (Sakura) are to spring. The viewing of autumn leaves has been a popular activity in Japan for centuries and today draws large numbers of travelers to famous kouyou spots both in the mountains and in the cities. As you can probably tell I am a big fan of autumn and its kouyou, and will be boring you with many shots like these over the next few days. Consider yourselves duly warned. This is another image from within the Kyoto Botanical Garden.

Kyoto Botanical Garden 京都府立植物園

Took a trip with some dear friends to the Kyoto Botanical Garden, which is a very nice place to view the many changing colors of the autumn leaves. The Kyoto Botanical Garden was founded in 1917, and opened to the public in 1924. After the World War II, it was occupied by the Allied Forces and fell into disuse, but was reopened as a botanical garden for relaxation in 1961.

Coins At Kinkaku-ji

A water filled bowl carved out of the center of a large stone, located at one of the smaller shrines at the Rokuon-ji temple complex. The bowl also collects coins offered to the Kami 神 (spirit) of that particular shrine.

Kinkaku-ji 金閣寺

Visited the very popular, and consequently very crowded, Temple of the Golden Pavilion in Kyōto. The Pavilion is a three-story building on the grounds of the Rokuon-ji temple complex and the top two stories of the pavilion are covered with gold leaf. The pavilion functions as a shariden, housing relics of the Buddha (however tourists cannot enter). The building is topped with a bronze phoenix ornament, which is my favorite element on the building. The Pavilion is set in a magnificent strolling garden that includes a pond that reflects the building.

Japanese Retail Aesthetics

Retail consumption and retail brand awareness are important to the average Japanese city dweller. It is difficult to walk down any street in the city centers of this country without spotting a number of designer brand name logos on the shop bags of many passersby. Not that this is unique to Japan in anyway, it is perhaps a keystone of modern capitalist societies. However, not all cities pay so much attention to the retail stores themselves. Some of these outlets are like galleries (or works of art) and are entirely unique, but still have a certain familiarity; the clean lined and hyper detailed Japanese aesthetic - also found in Japanese landscape gardens, formal tea ceremony rooms, and architecture. Pictured is the Onitsuka Tiger store in Kyōto, one of my personal favorite brands of overpriced shoes originally made in Kōbe.

Pimp My Scooter

Near the Kamo-gawa in Kyōto, just in front of a convenience store, was a small group of motorcycle and scooter enthusiasts displaying some of their labors. In Japan if it has at least one wheel and it is some sort of active form of conveyance (be that train or cargo truck, unicycle of motorcycle) then it has an associated club, enthusiasts, hobbyists, magazines, and plastic models. Also, these passionate folks have covered these wheeled objects of affection with neon, LEDs, and chrome from top to bottom. For this particular evening, everything was bathed in a neon halo and every inch was shinny or blinking; blanketed in LCD monitors, speakers, and or computers. From the drivers view these look more like jet airplane cockpits then scooters. The owners were more then happy to show them off to the many gawking passerby for a photo-op or just to share admiration of a truly pimped out ride.

Kamo-Gawa 鴨川 At Night

On a recent trip to Kyōto I took a stroll along the Kamo-gawa, wild duck river, and captured the lights of this very swanky restaurant reflected on the river surface. The Kamo-gawa is approximately 14 mi long and the riverbanks are popular walks for residents and tourists. In summer, restaurants such as this one, open balconies looking out to the river.

Matsuri Yatai 屋台

Yatai, literally shop stand, are small, mobile food stalls typically selling ramen or other hot food. The stall is set up in the early evening on pedestrian walkways and removed late at night or in the early morning hours before commuters begin to fill the streets. Yatai are a popular standard at matsuri, even convenience stores and restaurants will get into the act, setting up small yatai in front of their places of business. Really what would any celebration be without food? So her are some of my favorites from yoiyama clockwise from the left: cheese chikuwa (chikuwa is a Japanese tube-like food made from fish and egg white, the cheese version has melted cheese in the center), nikumaki onigiri (a rice ball with kimchi or other filling wrapped in marinated sliced meat then baked - Oh yea!), fresh shrimp chips, tamago sembe (egg atop a rice cracker with sauce and other crunchy cracker bits), green tea beer, yakiniku (grilled meat), and finally Hiroshima okonomiyaki (like a savory pancake or crepe made from flour, grated yam, dashi, and eggs topped with cabbage, meat, yakisoba, sauce, and optional items such as squid, octopus, and cheese).

Gion Matsuri Yoiyama Tapestry

Some final images from Yoiyama, the image on the left is a rather large tapestry that has Koi painted on it - two fish are added for every year the matusri has been held; and since the matsuri (in its present form) has been ongoing with few exceptions for around 480 years that is a lot of fish. Speaking of fish, the last image is a traditional game of scooping goldfish and the middle image is of an enthusiastic fellow portraying an Oni (鬼) or a creature from Japanese folklore, variously translated as demon, devil, ogre or troll.

Spirit of Yoiyama

As dusk falls the major streets of central Kyōto, and some side streets, are closed to traffic and are lined with food stalls stuffed with diverse and tasty eats, plenty of libations, and fair-type games and entertainment abound. Also, during the yoiyama evenings leading up to the parade, some private houses in the old kimono merchant district open their entryways to the public, exhibiting valuable family heirlooms. Many folks are dressed in kimono and yukata and the air is a buzz with voices, traditional Gion matsuri tunes, and laughter - the atmosphere is truly joyous. The yamaboko floats are lit and displayed, and for a fee some of the Hoko floats can be toured. Now I had mentioned that the crowds were manageable, that is not to suggest that it was not a sea of humanity - it was very crowded. However, the open streets allowed for greater mobility for the masses that the closed streets during the actual parade would grant. I was told that local Kyōto residents don't go to the matsuri, instead opting to watch it on TV to avoid the crowds, leaving foreigners and Japanese from outside the area to brave the masses. I don't know if that is true, but I have experienced similar situations where I was raised, so I believe it is possible - and funny in an ironic sort of way.

Gion Yama At Yoiyama

These are examples of the 23 of the smaller Yama, of the yamaboko floats used in the Gion matsuri, which carry life-size figures of famous people and other important or sacred objects. Yoiyama is the last, and most exciting, of the three nights leading to the parade on the 17th of July. A friend suggested that if I wanted to escape the heat, sun, and extreme crowds of the parade, but was still interested in experiencing the spirit, eats, and sites of Gion matsuri, then this night would be a great compromise. I did not attend the parade on the 17th so I cannot speak to what I might have missed, but the Yoiyama festival was a great match for my temperament and was cooler (but a little wet) and the crowds were handleable. For the truly dedicated both Yoiyama and the parade are an option, however, to get a good view of the parade means being in position early in the morning, after a long night of celebration - which is just not my style.

Gion Matsuri Yoiyama 祇園祭 宵山

The evening of July 16 was Yoiyama, the night prior to the parade of yamaboko floats for Gion matsuri. This festival originated as part of a purification ritual to appease deities that were believed to be responsible for fires, floods and earthquakes - especially in the hot and wet summer months. In 869, Kyōto was suffering for a serious plague which was attributed to the rampaging deity Gozu Tennō. Emperor Seiwa ordered sixty-six stylized and decorated halberds, one for each province in old Japan, to be erected along with the portable shrines (mikoshi) from Yasaka shrine to appease the angry deity. In 970, it was decreed an annual event and has become more elaborate and eventually evolved into the Gion matsuri parade. Of the yamaboko floats, there are 9 of the larger Hoko (halberd) floats which represent the 66 spears used in the original purification ritual, these are the completed versions of what I visited just six day prior - truly impressive.

Gion Lantern Parade #2

Final images from the lantern parade, more festival pictures coming soon. Parades are a difficult subject, so I am shooting more images than I would otherwise. Generally I try to make an economy of how many images i expose, however, when I am not confident of the outcome I shoot more - just to be safe - but I have more to sift through.

Gion Lantern Parade #1

The lantern parade, held on July 10, was a formal ceremony used to welcome the mikoshi portable shrines that are going to be used as part of the Gion matsuri. Shinto followers believe that mikoshi serve as the vehicle of a divine spirit(s) at the time of a parade of deities. This colorful parade was held at sundown, so it was fairly dark and I was not situated very close to the precession because I came across it by chance. It arrived without much fanfare, traffic was not stopped just mildly diverted or halted as the parade made its way down one side of a major thuro-fare. It was a very nice surprise but it did not leave me with much chance to think about exposure and the colors, though vivid in person, were muddy due to the low light so I switched to B&W, this one is a little grainy from the high ISO that was used but it gives it a newspaper feel.

Building The Yamaboko

With the deluge of cherry blossoms behind us and the hot - heavy air of summer settled over Japan, it is now time for the the collection of summer festivals to begin. Perhaps one of the most famous festivals is the Gion Matsuri held every July, without fail from the year 1533, in Kyōto. Although the festival itself officially runs all month it is crowned by a grand parade on July 17. A centerpiece of the parade are the floats, which are divided into two groups, Hoko and Yama, and are collectively called Yamaboko. All the floats are decorated with elaborate tapestries and will also carry many traditional musicians and artists through the city. These images are from July 10, the assembly of the Yamaboko had just begun. No nails are used in the construction, only rope and wood, when complete the Yama (the larger of the floats) will weight about 12,000 kg and will measure 25 m from ground to tip.

Geta 下駄

Located in the garden of the Kyōto house that I mentioned in the previous post. The light was not fantastic so I turned to the black and white mode on my camera, however I was attracted to how the late afternoon sun struck the geta situated just outside of a sliding glass door leading to a rock garden in the center of the house. The glass in the entire house was original, the leaded variety, warped due to time and environment. Usually reflections are a nuisance, I don't generally take photographs through glass if I can help it, but I like how the distorted glass actually added to the overall atmosphere of the image - the blur and streaks at the top.

Chadōgu 茶道具

Chadōgu, or tea tools used in the formal Japanese tea ceremony, specifically the Furo 風炉. Furo are portable braziers used in the tea room to heat the hot water kettle (kama) to make the tea. They are commonly made of ceramic or metal - this one is ceramic. Photograph was taken in a Kyōto house that has been turned into a kimono retailer.