OLD IS GOLD IN GION -JAPAN JOURNEY

BLOG POST 10

Our final agenda that day was a visit to Gion ,Kyoto’s 's most famous geisha district. It was known for its shops, restaurants and Ochaya (tea houses), where geiko or (geisha) and maiko (geiko apprentices) entertain.

Whenever I travel abroad, my endeavour has always been to see the older and original part of the countries as much as possible, so I was waiting eagerly to see Gion which represents older Japan
Kyoto was once the capital of Japan & still is its cultural capital with the old world charm intact and Gion represents the most popular area in Kyoto

After we entered the Gion district, our driver parked the van in the parking and our guide gave us one hour to explore that area
We walked down the Hanami-koji Street extending from Shijo Avenue to Kenninji Temple.

We found that the street and its side alleys were lined with preserved machiya houses, many of which now functioned as restaurants, serving Kyoto style “kaiseki ryori” a Japanese haute cuisine and other types of local and international meals.

The lane contained some of the most beautiful traditional architecture in the district with a flagstone path ,we found that the Machiya were given names by their inhabitants  a popular custom in Asia
Centuries ago, this area to east of the Kamo River was nothing but a rest stop for the pilgrims on their way to Gion Shrine the Yasaka Shrine and now has become a major tourist attraction
Gion’s attraction lies in its high concentration of traditional wooden machiya merchant houses with the front of the home usually sectioned off for use as a shop front.

We could see that houses were often long, narrow and built up to three stories high, possibly to evade the land taxes of the olden day which taxed the width of a building and not the length.

These days, many machiya have been converted into art galleries, antique shops, art sellers, kimono stores and other shops selling traditional crafts like wooden shoes, colorful  kimonos and Japanese fans

 Like the old urban cities in Europe and Asia that served as commercial and industrial centers, Kyoto also was populated with merchants and tradesmen who wanted street-facing storefronts, and this resulted in plots shaped like thin strips and got called mockingly  “eel’s beds.”

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The outer part was modern shops, tea houses and restaurants but most of them had their shutters down and were very private ,I felt it would have been good to see it in the evening with lights on but alas when on a package tour we have to stick to the itinerary

The street was full of tourists like us ,some dressed in kimonos and busy clicking selfies , some were looking out eagerly for geishas but we were told that geishas start appearing only in the evening time

The streets had interesting flag stones laid on the ground indicating the address

There were sign boards prohibiting people from taking snaps and videos ,but our guide said we can take some, provided we don't intrude into anyone's privacy

There were small cone shaped piles of salt on a doorstep ,it was an old way of attracting customers to a shop when horse riders needed to give their horse a salt lick.

 Lanterns swaying beside entrances had symbols on them, specific to the part of Kyoto

We found fascinating straw charms hanging over doorways, and warrior figurines positioned above doorways to protect the household.
We were told that these were Chimaki which is steamed sweets wrapped rice dumpling in a bamboo leaf, or bamboo-sheath and is wound into a conical or triangular shape.

There was a tradition of eating Chimaki and Kashiwa-mochi a rice cake that contains sweet bean paste and wrapped in an oak leaf during the Boy’s festival which is believed to purge noxious vapors and protect from deadly diseases

 Chimaki is also an amulet used for greater purification .We saw qaint amulets made of straw hung at the entrance of homes and shops some looked like a door curtain in the centre a wooden tablet with inscriptions written in Japanese language

People in Kyoto hang it at the entrance of their house to ward off evil throughout the year. It is replaced with a new one every year during the Gion festival, because it doesn’t hold any spiritual meaning after one year.
Yamahoko are decorated floats with ornaments and are paraded during the Gion festival. These floats are decorated at places called kaisho, near each yamahoko neighborhood association and are often called “mobile art museums”as they are so beautifully decorated
Chimaki is sold at the Yasaka Shrine and each kaisho during the Gion festival July 1- July 31 of every year.
There is a folk lore behind a Chimaki , once upon a time, Susanoo no mikoto, the main deity of Yasaka Shrine, disguised himself as a wanderer and asked for a night’s lodging everywhere but was refused ,finally he came to the house of Somin-shorai who was a poor man, but he treated Susanoo with warm hospitality. Susanoo no mikoto was very grateful to him and told him that putting a ring of kaya grass at his waist, would protect his descendants forever.
Chinowa is a ring of kaya grass. Chinowa later became chimaki and it’s shape took the form of the typical amulet hung at the entrance of people’s houses today.

Each chimaki has its own individuality as does each yamahoko float. There are various types of chimaki, some decorated with cherry blossoms and Japanese plum blossoms, some that come with a free gift, such as a charm and some with a vow on a horse tablet.
The benefits of chimaki differ from each kaisho. Chimaki from Hosho-yama kaisho is especially famous for the benefit of love.
The front areas of machiya in Kyoto had interesting design such as komayose, a horse proof wooden railing

Inuyarai, a "dog barrier" made from curved bamboo slats.

Apparently these barriers originally served the purpose of stopping beggars from sitting against the walls and keeping the houses from being soiled by dogs or splashed with mud by passing vehicles. Now, their function is largely to conceal air-conditioning units.
The windows of the machiya were covered by slatted wooden frames called koshi  fitted to get some privacy from the street outside. There were various designs of latticework according to the type of premises.

 Other windows were covered by bamboo blinds called sudare and the roofs had tiles called Kawara of different designs

Most of the dwellings like so many in Japan used the limited space in front and at back for a simple garden of plants obviously loved and cared for by the owner indicating that people in Japan are well-adapted to living in small spaces and are ingenuously resourceful with it.

I was particularly looking at the backside views of the houses ,though in front it was a shuttered shop, when seen at the back there were savvy and spacious courtyards with gardens albeit tiny with hustle and bustle of daily domestic life

Houses often contained a beautiful enclosed courtyard garden near the back. These tsubo-niwa are open to the sky, and sitting under the roof watching rain fall into the garden is a magical “only-in-Kyoto” experience. Some of these are converted to small guest houses too

In 1998, there were approximately 28,000 machiya in the downtown area of Kyoto. However in a survey conducted in April, 2004, that number had sadly fallen by 13%.
 The various reasons for tearing down the machiya were cost of upkeep, high vulnerability to fire and earth quakes.
We were lucky that we could see a new house under construction

Gion is also famous for its sweets and no trip here would be complete without trying some. Back on Hanami-koji is a popular cake shop, Patisserie Gion Sakai.

This shop is just a short walk south of Shijo on the west side of Hanami . Inside one can purchase all kinds of cakes, tarts, meringues and pastries

There are various walking tours available during Day/Night, one can also wander around the district on our own to just get lost in it's charm  Many streets were sleepy pedestrian-only alleyways and some allowed only two wheeler ,allowing one to stroll in a leisurely manner

Traveling down the streets of Gion the famous Geisha district of Kyoto, seeing the beautiful old machiya style houses and the old time charms and walking along cute little lanes with flat stone work took us back to the old tales of feudal Japan.