5/10/24: Kyoto's Gion District Walking Tour

Our apartment in Kyoto was located in Gion, the city's most famous entertainment district and the center of traditional arts. For months and months before our trip, we'd read countless advisories about how many tourists had been harassing the geisha walking down the district's lanes and trespassing on private property. What a sad commentary on foreign travelers' habits.

Yasaka-jinja Shrine, just steps from our apartment, used to be called Gion Shrine and the entertainment area developed in the Gion area to service its many pilgrims with food and drink options. Later, as kabuki theater became popular on the western edges of the Gion District, more sophisticated forms of entertainment were created for theatergoers. Gion is now known as Kyoto's most famous geisha district and is packed with bars, restaurants, and traditional teahouses. If we'd visited the area at night, we likely would have seen lanterns lit and apprentice geisha strolling along the back lanes on their way to appointments. 

As you can see, however, the area was pretty much dead as a doornail in the morning.

Views of Kamo-gawa River from Shijo Bridge:

The striking building on the bridge's opposite corner was Tohka Saikan.

Narrow Pontocho-dori Street was lined on both sides with traditional two-story buildings, each about 5.5 meters wide. Since the Edo Period, the street has also been one of Kyoto's most famous geisha districts. We admired the bamboo screens, wooden slats that blocked the view, and the fine lattices. The low wooden fences were design elements that gave a sense of hidden depth to the teahouses and other buildings that maintained the tradition of this historical streetscape.

The Minamiza Kabuki Theater was a key element of the area's look and culture with its Chinese-style glazed roof tiles and the peony-and-arabesque patterned terracotta tiles that gave the building its East Asian flavor. Though a variety of theater productions are offered, it's most famous for kabuki theater, an extraordinary and colorful dramatic genre that flourished in Kyoto from the early 17th century. Minamizi was one of seven kabuki theaters that had thrived in Kyoto but five have disappeared, victims of history. Though a theater has stood in this spot since the early 1600s, the current building dates from 1929. 

Izumo no Okuni presented her Kabuki Odori or Kabuki Dance here on the dry riverbed near the bridge in 1603. When Kyoto was in chaos following the Battle of Sekiganara, Okuni's performances dressed in showy men's costumes caught the attention of the people and she received vast acclaim. She is considered as being the founder of kabuki but during the Edo Period, the art form when played by women was thought of as a corrupting influence on social morals. Since then, men have taken over, even playing female roles, and that remains the case today. 

We walked along Shijo, a major street, and, if we'd blinked, we would have missed seeing the tiny little Chugen-ji aka Meyami Jizo Temple from 1022. We wanted to admire its statue of Jizo, a kind of Buddhist guardian saint or bodhisattva. Jizo is a small, monkish-looking figure with a red bib seen in temples and on roadsides throughout Japan. You'll see plenty more Jizo photos in upcoming posts, I promise you!

At this temple, Jizo also doubles as a legendary superhero and faith healer. According to one story, when severe flooding caused the Kamo-gawa River to burst its banks in 1228, many people prayed to Jizo for help because their lives and businesses were in danger. One local official swore he'd seen Jizo physically saving people from the rising waters. Since then, Jizo has become known as Ameyami Jizo or Rain-Stopping Jizo. Later, his statue gained a reputation for miraculously curing people's eye diseases and the name changed again to Meyami or Eye-Curing Jizo.

A couple of blocks from Chugen-ji/Meyami Jizo Temple was Hanami-koji St. or the 'blossom viewing lane' or it would be at least in springtime! The street was Gion's most famous street south of Shijo and was bordered on both sides by traditional teahouses called chaya. On the corner of Hanami-koji and Shijo was a huge red-walled teahouse called Ichiriki Chaya. 

For over 300 years, it has been one of the top establishments in Gion, offering geisha entertainment to powerful and political figures but strictly by invitation only. Ichikirika has been as famous for its exclusivity as its history. In the 18th century, Ichikiri played a major role in a legendary samurai vendetta. Revolutionarysamurai warriors met at the teahouse in the 19th century to plot the shogun's government downfall. Notice the absolute lack of any signage, an all too common practice in much of Japan which is tough for travelers.

Even though we hadn't been in Japan long, it had been enough time to be well aware of the many 'no' signs posted throughout! Here are a couple of them. I obviously chose to ignore the latter sign.

Plaques embedded in the pavement did tell us the street names, however.

My mouth watered at what we thought was Patisserie Gion Sakai, a shop described as having all kinds of cakes, tarts, meringues, and pastries. Apparently, no trip would be complete without trying some. However, it was closed and when we popped in later, there was not a single pastry to be had, only candy. What a bust as it should have been called Confiserie Gion instead!

On Gion Corner was the (to me) very unimpressive Kobu Kaburenjo Theater. If we'd been in town in either April or October, we would have been treated to seeing geisha give their famous Miyako Odori dance. Throughout the year, tourists can enjoy hour-long performances at the theater of traditional culture including the tea ceremony, flower arranging, geisha dances, and classical Japanese music. 

At the end of the street was the entrance to the large Kennin-ji Temple complex that dated from 1202 and was the oldest Zen temple in Kyoto, one of the main branches of Buddhism in Japan. As with many wooden temples in the city, it burned down several times so the current buildings are only 250 years old. The temple was founded by Myōan Eisai, a very influential Buddhist priest, who made two visits to China in the late 12th century. He brought back to Japan two things that are fundamental to Japanese culture, the teachings of Zen Buddhism and tea. He was especially concerned about the importance of tea's health benefits as he thought it would help his monks stay awake during long periods of zazen meditation! Tea ceremony practitioners visit the temple to give thanks for Esai's precious import.

In the Hojo building, we immediately noticed the splendid screen painting depicting the thunder and lightning gods by Tawaraya Sōtatsu. Though it was an impressive and iconic image, it was a replica, and the original was in the Kyoto National Museum.

The rippling stone, square garden was characterized by its central bush and was bordered by the priests' living quarters, the abbot's quarters, and a reception room. The garden's design was based on the famous calligraphic work by Sengai Gibon who believed that all things in the universe are represented by the circle, square, and triangle.

The Cho-on-tei Garden or Garden of the Sound and Tide was a simple and refined garden behind the temple's main building. Its three stones represent Buddha and two monks. 

Most hedges at the temple were tea bushes in honor of Esai.

Before entering, we had to remove our shoes and Steven's walking sticks and the bottom of my cane were wiped clean so they wouldn't dirty the tatami mats covering the floors. I shall long remember the sound we made on the squeaky, wooden nightingale floors that truly sounded like birds chirping. Legend has it that the floors were intentionally made to create a noise so residents would know when enemies arrived!

We were extremely lucky to snag the last two pairs of rubber sandals before walking by the rock garden and toward the teahouse. We both thought that life couldn't be any more peaceful than this scene right now. It was blissful and a perfect place to recharge. I'd loved to have known how often the sand design was changed and about the garden's maintenance. The exquisite garden brought back the memory of our son, Alexander, who created a Zen sand garden 17 years ago as part of his Boy Scout Eagle project.

The secluded teahouse was closed.

Nearby, a stone monument honored Esai's importation of tea.

We were struck by another of the temple's magnificent sand gardens that was in front of the Hojo. Its placement of large rocks and green moss on white gravel is a style of garden known as kare sansui or dry landscape garden, a feature often found in Zen temples.

Burgundy-colored mules were donned to enter the temple's Hatto or Dharma Hall which was constructed in 1765. 

Remarkable 16th-century, black-and-white screens made from ink on washi paper adorned the walls. These were the Four Elegant Pastimes.

In another room were the Clouds and Dragons.

Above the altar was a sublime ceiling painting by Koizumi Junsaku that was commissioned to celebrate Kennin-ji Temple's 800th anniversary in 2002. Many Zen temples have a ceiling painting depicting a dragon that symbolizes wisdom emerging from a circle that represents the universe. Koizumi's image was unique because it depicted two dragons of eternity writhing over the entire ceiling's surface. The Twin Dragons masterpiece measured 11.4m x 157m, the size of 108 tatami mats, a common form of measurement in Japan. It was drawn with the finest quality ink on thick traditional Japanese paper and took two years to create in an elementary school gym.

Not far away was the stone Torii gate entrance to Yasui Kompira-gu Shrine.

People wrote their wishes on small wooden tablets called ema and then tied them up before the altar.

We thought we'd likely come upon a funeral but couldn't ask anyone. I stood entranced by the solemnity of the occasion even though I was unaware of what was happening.

The shrine's main feature was an unusual power stone with a hole in the center which is said to help people break their bad connections in life and make good ones. To harness the stone's power and make better relationships, believers first pray at the main sanctuary and then write their wishes on specific strips of paper purchased from the shrine. With their wish in their hands and in their head, they then crawl through the stone twice, once in each direction. After completing their symbolic rebirth, they attach the wish to the stone.

The stone must have a good reputation because we saw long lines of people hoping to work magic on their love lives! However, the stone is also intended to help break connections with bad habits like smoking. gambling, and drinking. The stone was covered with fluttering papers of innumerable wishes and hopes.

Rickshaws were pretty common in the Gion district.

We were en route to another temple when we passed by Marici Temple and decided to drop in. It was home to the guardian goddess of Zenkyoan who rides on seven boars and possesses three heads and six arms. Marici originated in ancient India and followed the introduction of Buddhism through China to reach Japan. She was believed to be the premonition of sunlight which was formless and therefore couldn't be captured, injured, or harmed. As a result, she became the symbol of fortune and victory and the faith spread through shoguns, samurai, and ninjas.

Across the street was Ebisu-jinja Shrine, home to Ebisu, the god of good fortune and prosperity. Though Ebisu is from the Shinto folk religion, it still has close connections with the nearby Buddhist Kennin-ji site we'd just toured. According to legend, Kennin-ji's founder, Eisai, was traveling back from China to Japan when his ship was hit by a terrible storm. Fearing his ship would sink, he prayed to Ebisu, also the guardian deity of seafarers, and the storm quickly passed. 

Fishing statues by the entrance:

Steven and I had a hoot taking turns throwing coins in the lucky coin toss basket. He was far better at getting coins to land in the basket than I!

I think we both had enough of religion for the day and happily walked along Shimbashi Street, a flagstone lane bordered by traditional buildings and willow trees that follow the Shirakawa Canal.

I spoke too soon as we spent a couple of minutes at the tiny Tatsumi Daimyojin Shrine in the middle of the pedestrian lane. We must have gotten there at the wrong time because we didn't see any neighborhood geisha visiting the shrine.

The rear of the shrine:

On a stone beside the canal was a poem written by the late poet Isamu Yoshi, a great lover of Gion. The stone was located where a teahouse had been over the canal. He wrote the poem so that people who stayed there could hear the water below. Each November 8th, a ceremony is held in Yoshi's honor and geisha lay flowers in front of the stone.

The list of don'ts we encountered in Kyoyo was getting longer. It'd been a long day and we wanted to sit down on these logs at the end of Shimbashi and eat some raisins but signs forbade sitting.

Likewise, no public smoking was allowed or bike riding on the sidewalks.

We caught a bus to the Daimaru Store, the city's most famous department store known for its food floor in the basement. No wonder Japan is famous for its stunning artistic displays of food and other delicacies as each was a treat for the eyes as well as other senses.

These chocolate croissants were hideously expensive but, oh, what a way to go! I got seriously addicted to them while we were in Kyoto.

Nishi Market was a narrow, covered, five-block-long shopping street with a hundred-plus restaurants and shops known as Kyoto's Kitchen.

If trying many varieties of rice crackers is your thing, Nishi Market is your place!

I loved just looking at the beautifully wrapped items even if I didn't know what most were or was brave enough to consume them.

Kyoto pickles anyone? If I'd known, I could have bought some and kept them at room temperature until we got home. Not sure how they might have 'scented' up my suitcase, though, for the remaining five-plus weeks of our trip, mind you!

Yet another no!

Next post: Getting some 'serious' shopping in at the Nishiki Textiles Museum, visiting a castle, and strolling along the famous Philosopher's Path, plus a couple more temples for good measure!

Published on July 2nd, 2024, from our home in Denver's burbs smack dab in the middle of Canada Day yesterday and Independence Day on the 4th. If you and your loved ones celebrate one or the other holiday, I hope it's a fun time with family and friends.