Kyoto – Temples, Tea and Textiles

Wednesday, October 11, 2017

We were out at 8:00 this morning to begin a very full day in Kyoto.  Our taxi caravan brought us first to the Daitoku-ji Temple, where we split into two groups of ten for the morning. 

Our contingent spent the first half of the morning at the temple complex, the largest Zen Buddhist monastery in Kyoto, despite the fact that it is currently about one-third the size of the original temple, founded in 1315 and favored by the Emperor.  After Kyoto burned in 1467, the complex was rebuilt support from the merchant class.  During the 16^th century, Japan’s most famous Tea Master was also a monk, a fact that established the relationship between the Japanese Tea Ceremony, with its emphasis on simplicity, and Zen Buddhism. 

The Daitoku-ji complex consists of many temples, most of them still active.  Though Japan is not religious, each person registers at the local temple, which serves a quasi-civic vital records function, documenting births and deaths. 

We toured a couple of temples, each with their own Zen gardens.  The Daisen Temple has been designated a Japanese National Treasure and dates from 1509.  The original structure has never burned or been destroyed and contains the oldest tokonoma in Japan. These alcoves appear in all reception rooms and display scrolls, art objects and/or seasonal flowers; they are an essential element of traditional Japanese interior design. Our guide also explained the meaning of scrolls displaying calligraphy representing a number of Zen aphorisms or prayers, some composed by the former head priest, a jovial fellow, whom we later saw as we exited the gift shop. The temple had a series of very lovely Zen gardens; unfortunately, no photography was allowed of them, or of the interior of the building.  The gardens of the Ryogen-in Temple were camera friendly, as were the rooms of the temple. 

There were many other photo opportunities as we strolled through the temple grounds.  Statues of red- or white - aproned jizo Bodisattava, the deities who protect children who die before their parents until they can accrue enough virtue to cross the river into the next life were striking.  The trees, stones, gates, and temple buildings presented a set piece; this is the Kyoto of postcards and travel brochures, seemingly a world removed from the modern urban core that surrounds it.

Leaving the temple complex, we walked about 15 minutes (under the hot sun) to the home of our Tea Master for a Japanese Tea Ceremony and a lesson in its intricacies. From the size of the room (a small, three-tatami mat room with a two-level ceiling for a couple of guests) to the “standard” four and a half mat room for five guests, everything about the ceremony is prescribed; though there were ten of us, we were able to fit comfortably in the standard room.  The alcove housed informal seasonal flowers in a natural arrangement and a scroll whose meaning was specially chosen to set the theme for the ceremony, but was open to interpretation and discussion. 

Because it is October, a brazier is used to heat the iron tea pot; next month, an open fire will be used.  The type and position of the heat source are determined by the time of year and the effort to keep guests comfortable.  The seating of guests and tea master, as well as the placement of implements for the ceremony, are precisely calibrated using the rows on the tatami mats.

Though our experience lasted significantly less than the four hours (!) of a formal tea ceremony, the Tea Master (Michael, from Switzerland!!) took great care with every gesture as he precisely folded a triangular cloth to stroke each utensil, opened the lacquer tea box, heated each tea bowl, used his hand-made small bamboo scoop to add matcha (green tea powder) to the bowl, ladled in just-hot-enough water, and whisked it with a specially-carved bamboo whisk.  As Michael finished preparing each bowl of tea, his student (and son, Lou) presented it to one of the guests, ready to be sipped while the process was repeated for each of the others.  While Michael performed each ritual, there was silence and rapt attention as we watched the precision of each movement; at other times, there were many questions from our group.  After we’d all finished our tea, Michael left the room so that we could examine the tea box and scoop and comment upon them without fear of giving offense – part of the ritual. Upon his return, the ceremony concluded and we unfolded ourselves from our seated positions on the mats, thanked Michael and his son for a wonderful experience, and headed for lunch.

At a restaurant across from the temple complex, we re-united with the rest of our group and had a vegetarian meal of shojin, or “temple food.”  Since the 16^th century, food has been prepared on this site, to serve the monks at the temple.  The shojin, vegetarian food of five different flavors (hot, sweet, salty sour, salty and bitter), was served in lacquerware boxes at individual low tables facing a lovely garden.  It was a cool respite after a hot and busy morning.

We taxied to this afternoon’s destination, the Shibori Museum, which is dedicated to Japanese textiles and particularly to the Kyoto craft of fabric dying.  A video explained the almost incredibly intricate work of marking, tying multiple tiny stitches around printed dots, dying, popping the dots, and many other techniques employed in making fabric for kimonos, scarves, shawls, ties, umbrellas, clothing and so much more.  We were awed by what we viewed, the samples we could touch, and the displays, including kimonos that take two years to make, in the small museum.  We had a great fun and lots of laughs in a workshop where we learned itajame (folding clamping, and dying fabric), for silk scarves and were pretty wowed by our finished products.  This was an unexpectedly light-hearted way to end this busy day’s program.

After walking back to the hotel, we enjoyed our happy hour, and after writing most of this (very lengthy) blog post, headed out for dinner.  By the time the elevator reached the lobby, we decided that we really didn’t want to sit upright much longer, so Tom went out to pick up something we could eat comfortably in our room and call it an early day.