On one of Julia's treks into or out of the Kyoto main train station recently she came upon a lighted art installation that changes randomly every few weeks or so. She had yet to see it and took a picture as it was a display of one her new favorite things in Japan. Koi!
She also sent us a nice update:
"Two Fridays ago was Aoi Matsuri, one of Kyoto's three major
festivals. We didn't get a day off from classes, but we did get to leave class
early to see the procession as it went through the park near Doshisha Campus.
Sadly, I forgot to bring my camera, but fellow exchange student Arianna Hayes
took some great pictures.
The Aoi Matsuri (葵祭) is one of Kyoto's three most well known and historic festivals and takes place every May 15. (The other two are the the Gion Matsuri - which goes throughout the month of July- and the Jidai Matsuri - on October 22nd each year.) Because of the popularity of the Aoi Matsuri, which began back in 794, the word Matsuri came to mean festival in the Japanese language as far back as the 1100s! Which is before the Canterbury Tales were written by about 200 plus years... Aoi means Hollyhock- so in many ways, the Aoi Matsuri is a celebration and welcoming of spring much as Easter is in Christian nations. Almost all of the participants in the parade wear hollyhock leaves pinned or sewn onto their clothing.
By the time the Imperial family moved to Kyoto in 1185 the festival was already a VERY big deal. During the festival all eyes are focused on the centerpiece- a grand parade with more than 500 people dressed in the clothing style of the nobility from the Heian Period (794-1185) who then walk through the city from the Imperial Palace to the Kamo River Shrines. Doshisha University is across the street from the Imperial Palace. So Julia had a front row seat!
No one is certain how the festival began, but it is believed that there were natural disasters such as river floods that the people believed were caused by the deities of the Kamo River Shrines. The disasters decreased after the Emperor made public offerings to the gods, and thus - in the beginning anyway- a new celebratory tradition was begun in honor of the Emperor's sacrifice.
Historically, a young female member of the imperial family acted as the Saio, the high priestess of the Kamo Shrines. In those days, during any festival, the Saio performed the sacred ceremonies at each of the shrines. Today, a single woman from Kyoto, who undergoes purification rituals, is newly chosen every year to serve as Saio and she travels through the parade on a simple palanquin carried by 8 men.
Today's festival is an elegant reminder of those parades and celebrations of old as well as a nod to the great and long history of the region. There are giant floral bouquets, women and men on horses in elaborate costumes and make-up, men in clownish bright yellow striped jumpsuits, parasols crowned with more flowers, gorgeously adorned ox carts, and dozens of beautifully clad women and children in kimono accompanying the year's Saio.
 |
| Saio on her Palanquin |
More from Julia:
"Later that day, I went with a group of other students to Ninja
Kyoto, a ninja-themed all-you-can-eat restaurant. I was expecting it to be very
touristy, and it was a bit, but most of the customers were Japanese. The staff
were all dressed like ninjas, complete with masks and fake knives (at least, I
assume they were fake!). There were lots of great desserts, though no one was
able to keep eating for the full hour and a half we had reserved. Towards the
end of our time there, one of the staff gave a juggling performance. He started
by juggling some balls, gradually increasing the number, then switched to
plastic bowling pins. Finally, he juggled knives! I'm guessing those were also
props, but you never know. They are ninjas, after all.
 |
| Friendly Ninja Maître d' |
 |
| Are those real Ninjas??? They look a little clean... |
 |
| ninja knife juggler |
 |
| the Ninja cheesecake frog dessert... |
Sometime around Mid May- Julia received her first care package from home. We sent her the one thing that she couldn't find in the local conbini- that she was really craving, and some other stuff too.
This was the photo response we got to Chips n Salsa in Japan!
We also sent koi food for her to feed the campus fish!
As she promised, Julia took a few photos for us of the Doshisha Campus. If you didn't know it, Doshisha was founded in 1875 and established along the lines of a classic British University. It is a beautiful campus and most of it looks like it should be on the east coast of the U.S. or in England.
 |
| This is the Kofukan Building - where most of Jule's classes are. |
 |
| The main campus walkway. |
As we turn to June, the weather in Kyoto is settling into humid, humid, humid:
"Humidity is starting to set in. It's not that bad, but the
combination of clouds and heat is really confusing for me as a Californian.
Those things aren't supposed to go together!
I sent in a submission for Ploughshares Emerging Writers
Contest. There's an entry fee of $24, but I also get a subscription to their
magazine out of that and it's $1000 if I win, so it seemed a fair gamble.
In my Japanese culture class, we went to a study room and practiced Buddhist Zen meditation, which is something we've been learning about in the process of learning about religions in Japan. A Buddhist monk came to the class and explained the principles and history of meditation, then we tried it for about 15 minutes. My legs got stiff from trying to sit correctly, but apart from that, it was relaxing."
 |
| (Julia doesn't normally sit cross legged!) |
Love you, and hope everything is good at home.
-Julia
 |
| Her morning walk to school along the Kamo. |
 |
| Japanese Wysteria in Bloom. |
Sayonara!
