Kyoto Report No. 4 – Bill Mitchell – Modern Monetary Theory

Tuesday’s report will offer some insights into life in Kyoto for Westerners in the age of Covid. Today, it reports on Kyoto’s OTT (The Good Way) History Parade to commemorate the capital’s 1,100th anniversary in the city. There is more to do from the mountains to eastern Kyoto, where the grandest gardens can be found. and a few other things.

Time flies when one is having fun.

festival of the times

The previous weekend, I had the pleasure of taking a 3-hour touching history class through the streets of Kyoto called = era festival (era festival or era festival).

This video from the organizers tells you everything.

It takes place on October 22 every year (although this is the first time since 2019 as a result of Covid).

It starts from the Imperial Palace Gardens, then the procession runs through the city streets and across the Kamo River at the famous Sanjo Bridge (which is the main entry point into the Imperial City) – Tokaido – Linking Tokyo (Edo at the time) with Kyoto.

If you are a fan of woodblock prints – Utagawa Hiroshige ——Then you are familiar with his masterpiece—— Tokaido fifty-three stations – This is one of my favorite historical woodblock prints.

After crossing the river, the procession headed east, then north to— Heian Shrine ——In 1895 to commemorate the 1100th anniversary of the founding of Kyoto, most members of the royal family and the government were built to promote the revival of the city after Kyoto was moved to Tokyo in 1868. “

We lived near the shrine and rode our bikes to Sanjo to see the parade. There was a large group of people under the bridge, and although everyone was wearing masks, we concluded that this was not the safest place for Covid, so we rode back to the shrine area and found a fairly empty spot to watch the parade.

Five hours!

From the earliest C8 onwards, triumphs of color and wonderful marching teams in appropriate costumes represent the historical period they represent – Extended calendar era – arrive- Meiji era – Enter C20 in the second half of C19.

Each era is presented in terms of textiles (fabrics, headwear, etc.), gender roles, weapons, class divisions, music, and more.

So in one afternoon I learned a lot about Japanese history.

A friend from Tokyo came to visit us and she provided a moving review based on a very detailed catalog we bought for a few hundred yen.

The weather was warm, and some of the old warriors passing by—thousands in all—showed signs of wear and tear.

I doubt the shogun they work for will be impressed.

An old Meiji-era guy dressed as a samurai fell down in front of us, roughed up by his buddies at the finish line at the shrine.

Overall a magical event.

This is the leader of the march – the civic leadership.

It was followed by “Business Leaders” – go and see – and the parade began in reverse historical order.

Every historical period has “era” music. This is a great pipe band with a huge drum that keeps the pace going with precision.

east hills

Then it was Sunday downhill, and after the bike lanes ran out, we rode our bikes down the trails and visited the famous Buddhist— Tanukiya Fudoin – Higashiyama, Kyoto.

It is a very modest temple, reflecting the practices of early monks.

The founder of the temple lived in a cave with local trees and other food nearby.

That part of the mountain was very steep and we had to walk 250 steps to the building after the road ran out and the bikes were parked.

Go further up and you’ll meet the character – “Master Taixiang” or “Welcome to the Great Teacher”, who is a high-ranking traveling monk.

“People who want to pray for good health or travel, hang sandal charms on their way down the mountain.”

Then the stairs get steeper:

At the top, is a very peaceful temple built on the front of the cave where the original monk Tomoatsu Fusamasa took refuge – Heian period.

Heian period or Heian means peace in Japanese and I think sitting in a temple is one of the most peaceful things.

Even without spiritual belonging, it was a great experience.

In temples, people buy (I think) “gankake fuda”, which are sticks with human shapes drawn on them, and then people circle around a certain part of the body that they want to cure cancer or similar diseases.

They hang them on a large board and pray for healing.

My knees reflect years of hard running, but I think massages, stretches, and other therapies work better for me than circling the gankake fuda in place!

Once we retrieved the bike at the bottom of the stairs, it was a very steep downhill, and about a half right turn took us to the magnificent – Enkō-ji Temple – This is a Zen Buddhist temple.

It has a fantastic garden – one of the best I’ve seen in Japan – and a sloping stone dry garden area.

Here, I’m thinking about the garden – or I’m before someone says turn around and take a photo!

It’s so peaceful there.

Autumn colors are just starting to appear in the trees that are part of the complex.

Then ride the 10km home – or go to the bakery first – for a nice Sunday in Kyoto in the late afternoon.

These places are off the beaten track.

We live in an ordinary neighborhood and rarely see tourist areas.

On Saturday we went- Maruyama Park – close to history – Gion District – and- Yasaka Shrine.

The park is beautiful and apparently “Kyoto’s main center for cherry blossom viewing” – April.

We had a nice sandwich there.

But the area around the shrine and Gion was overcrowded, and the souvenir shops and all manner of commercialization were tacky.

Absolutely to avoid.

It’s much better in the mountains and suburbs along rivers – accessible by our bikes.

next saturday i will play with a local band

A special is coming up this week – I was invited to play with a band in Kyoto at the fabled “live house” – Jittoku, considered a “shrine” by local musicians.

Here is an article about the venue – – This is the action report from earlier this year.