Kyōto

choi

Robin Pogrebin, Ritual and a New Rhythm in Kyoto; A family of four finds adjusting to a foreign cultire surprisingly easy--with two teanagers leading the way. New York Times, Aug 3, 2014 (in the Sunday’s “Travel” section).
www.nytimes.com/2014/08/03/trave ... agers-to-kyoto.html

Note:
(1) Let’s start with the sole online photo (there are several photos in the print edition).

Giō-ji Temple  祇王寺
(a) Japanese Wikipedia: 真言宗大覚寺派の仏教寺院; 本尊は大日如来; 元々は浄土宗の僧・良鎮が創建した往生院; 『平家物語』には平清盛の寵愛を受けた白拍子の祇王と仏御前が出家のため入寺したとしても知られている

translated: a Buddhism temple [寺] belonging to 真言宗 sect; dedicated to 大日如来 [Japanese Wiki: 真言密教の教主]; originally founded by a priest named 良鎮 of  another sect 浄土宗 of Buddhism; the temple where 祇王 Giō [生年不詳-1172?] and 仏御前 Hotokegozen [1160-1180; a woman] went to become nuns, the former being the favorite dancer of 平清盛 TAIRA no Kiyomori [11118-1181] in 平家物語  
(i) Vairocana  
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vairocana
(Chinese and Japanese: 大日如來; the Bliss Body [ie, one form] of the historical Buddha (Siddhartha Gautama))
(ii) shirabyōshi  白拍子
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shirabyōshi
(The name shirabyōshi meant "white rhythm", partly because of their make-up, and because their songs were slow and rhythmic; section 4.2 Giō and Hotoke)
* “shira” and “haku” are Japanese and Chinese pronunciations, respectively, of 白.
* The kanji 拍 has two Chinese pronunciations: haku (same as 白) and “byō.”
* “ko” and “shi” are Japanese and Chinese pronunciations, respectively, of 子.
(iii) 祇王 (also written as 妓王) was 平家の家人 a member of Taira clan. 母の刀自、妹の妓女とともに、京都で有名な白拍子となり Together with mother 刀自 Toji [とじ] and younger sister 妓女 Gijo [ぎじょ], the three women were famous 白拍子 in Kyoto.
(祇 means “god.”  祇 and 妓 share the same Chinese pronunciation: “gi.”)
(iv) The “ō” and “jo” are both Chinese pronunciations of 王 and 女, respectively.
(v) The Japanese and Chinese pronunciations of 仏 are “hotoke” and “butsu,” respectively.
(b) 祇王寺について About Giō-ji Temple.
www.giouji.or.jp/about
(“仏間にある仏壇には、本尊大日如来、清盛公、祇王、祇女、母刀自、仏御前の木像が安置されています。
祗王、祇女の像は鎌倉末期の作で、作者は不詳ですが目が水晶で鎌倉時代の特徴をよく表しています”)
(i) translation: Placed in the altar are the wooden statutes of 大日如来、清盛公、祇王、祇女、母刀自、仏御前. The statutes of 祗王、祇女 were carved at the end of Kamakura Shogunate [1192–1333; capital: Kamakura , Kanagawa] by unknown artist(s), whose eyes were made of the crystal typical of that era   
(ii) The website is the official one of Giō-ji Temple. Note, however, that its URL uses another transliteration system for Japanese (to English): in lieu of “ō,” it is “ou” for the long vowel of “o.”

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(continued)

(2) legend of the slide show:
(a) Kinkakuji  金閣寺
(b) Gion  祇園
(c) Nishiki Market  錦 市場
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nishiki_Market

Brocade has never been sold here. Rather Japanese Wikipedia says the indoor market is located inside 錦小路通 Nishiki-kō-ji-dōri, which is equivalent to 平安京 [794-1185] の錦小路 [a namesake street].
(d) Arashiyama Bamboo Grove  嵐山竹林
(i) Arashiyama  嵐山
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arashiyama
(ii) arashi 嵐 【あらし】 (n): "storm; tempest"

(3) “In a Japanese tea ceremony, you’re supposed to bow to the server 亭主 [teishu; host of the tea ceremony]; rotate the cup 茶碗 [chawan] to the right; have the sweet bean paste cake before the bitter powdered green tea; and finish in three and a half sips. Slurping is encouraged. So it was that my husband, two teenagers and I found ourselves shoeless on straw tatami mats, genuflecting (and slurping) in Kyoto early this year.”
(a) Cha-no-yu 茶の湯 (Tea Ceremony)
www.leeleong.com/TPsubjects/Crea ... pan/Teaceremony.htm
(i) Read the last section (whose heading is “Activities”) only.
(ii) Japanese English dictionary:
* sensu 扇子 【せんす】 (n): "folding fan"
* hantō 半東 (origin of the name unclear; definition: host’s assistant)
* kaishi 懐紙 【かいし】 (n): "paper folded and tucked inside the front of one's kimono (esp. for use at the tea ceremony)"
* yōji  楊枝; 楊子 【ようじ】 (n): "toothpick"

According to online Japanese-Japanese dictionary, 楊枝 originally and literally means 柳の枝.
* o-kashi お菓子(P); 御菓子 【おかし】 (n): "confections; sweets"
* jikaku  次客 (both “ji” and “kaku” are Chinese pronunciations)
(b) When a guest is handed the tea cup (or bowl), the front--the most decorated, pretty portion--of the cup faces the guest. The purpose of rotating the tea cup is so that a guest will not drink from the front, as a sign of humility. After the guest drink it, he or she wipes that part of the brim (because other guests will drink from the same cup, unwashed). Then the guest rotates the cup back and returns the cup to the host.
(c) For sweet bean, see azuki bean
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azuki_bean
(section 1 History; Chinese: 紅豆)
(d) genuflection
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genuflection
(The Latin word genuflectio, from which the English word is derived, originally meant kneeling rather than the rapid dropping to one knee and immediately rising that became customary in Western Europe in the Middle Ages)
* Latin English dictionary:
genu (noun neuter): “knee”
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/genu

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(continued)

(4) "Though we did grudgingly get off our windsurfing boards at the Cancún Club Med long enough to climb the Maya pyramid at Chichén Itzá."

Chichen Itza
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chichen_Itza
Spanish: Chichén Itzá; section 1 Name and orthography; section 2 Location: the rivers in the interior all run underground. There are two large, natural sink holes, called cenotes, that could have provided plentiful water year round at Chichen, making it attractive for settlement)
(5) "With our own children, my husband, Edward, and I have traveled to Panama and Belize, making sure to include adventure attractions like zip lining and rafting."

zip-line
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zip-line

(6) "While I thought Ethan and Maya might grow impatient with Mr Yoshida’s [a guide's] commentary, or get museum legs, they remained engaged and unflagging — asking follow-up questions; gamely sampling the silty tea at the c"
(a) museum legs: "the aching legs one develops after a prolonged period of slow walking interspersed with standing still, especially when going round a museum or some other attraction where visitors are forced to be constantly on their feet"
Urban Dictionary, undated.
www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Museum+legs
(b)  Sekka-tei Tea House  夕佳亭

(7) “Lunch was at Wakadori, an inviting local restaurant nestled in the trees that specialized in Japanese fried chicken, or karaage”
(a) Wakadori  わかどり (no kanji in the restaurant name)
* wakai 若い 【わかい】 (adj): "young"
* tori 鳥(P) 【とり】 (n): "bird" (here means "chicken;" due to the position (not at the beginning of the word) the "t" in "tori" is softened to "d")
(b) kara-age 唐揚げ 【からあげ】 (n): "{food} fried food (most oft. chicken)"

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(continued)

(8) “We visited Ryoan-ji * * * which includes what is considered to be one of Japan’s finest rock gardens. * * * The garden is meant to be viewed from a seated position on the veranda of the hojo — the temple abbot’s residence"
(a) Ryōanji  竜安寺 (臨済宗妙心寺派; 創建年 宝徳2年（1450年))  Japanese Wikipedia
(i) View only photos in
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryōanji
(ii) ryū (Principal); ryō 竜 【りゅう(P); りょう】
(b) hōjō 方丈 【ほうじょう】 (n): "(2) {Buddh} abbot's chamber; (3) chief priest"

(9) "at the Nishiki Market * * * We bought green tea there and couldn’t resist sampling a couple of snacks, including kiritanpo (rice on a stick). But we wanted to save room for that evening’s special (splurge) dinner at Kinmata, where we had arranged several months in advance for the traditional New Year’s menu, known as osechi-ryori — each course symbolically auspicious. At the restaurant, which is also a ryokan, or traditional Japanese inn, some of the food was just too challenging for me, namely the candied sardines (which represent abundant harvest) and marinated herring roe (fertility). The son of the chef, Haruji UKAI 鵜飼 治二, attended to us during the meal. He proudly noted that he was the eighth generation working in the restaurant. His father [of the 7th generation] came out to greet us at our table afterward and stood outside with his wife and son as we departed, waving goodbye in the street.”
(a) kiritanpo  きりたんぽ 切蒲英
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiritanpo
(b) Kinmata  近又
www.kinmata.com/english/

Born in Ōmi province 近江国, 又八 Matahachi began in 1801. Matahachi was a given name. Until a decree in Meiji Restoration, Japanese had no surname, or family name, except aristocrats and samurai (plural: the same).
(c) The origin of the name Kinmata

宿
www.kinmata.com/yado/
(“近江の国からの薬商人の定宿として始まりました。 近又という屋号の由来は、江戸時代、初代又八が「近江屋」という屋号で薬商人の宿を始めてから、四代目又八の代になって京都に近江屋の屋号が多かったため改名し近江の「近」と又八の「又」から「近又」という屋号になりました”)

translation: It began as a regular lodging for medicine traders from Ōmi province. The origin of the name “Kinmata” came from the first-generation Matahachi who bestowed the lodging the name 近江屋 Ōmiya. Due to many establishments with the same name 近江屋 [because Kyoto is next to the province], the fourth-generation changed the name to Kinmata, composed of “kin” [the Chinese pronunciation] from 近江 AND the “mata” from “Matahachi.”  

* yado 宿 【やど】 (n): "lodging; inn; hotel"
* mata また 《又(P); 亦; 復》 (adv,conj,pref): "again; and; also; still (doing something)"
* yagō 屋号; 家号 【やごう】 (n): “name of store; trade name”
(d) The writer is mistaken: 鵜飼 治二 (1952- ) is in fact the SEVENTH generation, not the eighth. His son, 鵜飼 英幸 Hideyuki UKAI, is of the eighth generation.
* u 鵜 【う; ウ】 (n): "cormorant (Phalacrocoracidae spp.)”
* 飼い is a noun, whose corresponding verb is
* kau 飼う 【かう】 (v): “to keep (a pet or other animal); to raise; to have; to own; to feed”
* ukai 鵜飼い; 鵜飼(io) 【うかい; うがい】 (n): “(1) cormorant fishing; (2) cormorant fisherman”

The kanji for “ji” in Haruji UKAI is actually 次.
(e) food
(i) maiwashi マイワシ 《真鰯》 【まいわし】 (n): "Japanese pilchard; Japanese sardine (Sardinops melanostictus)"
(ii) kazu-no-ko 数の子 【かずのこ】 (n): "herring roe"
* nishin ニシン 《鰊; 鯡》 【にしん】 (n): "Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii)"
* “fertility”--because a roe contains many eggs

(10) “As midnight approached, we joined the crowds flocking to temples and shrines to hear bells toll 108 times, a Buddhist New Year’s Eve ritual meant to expiate humankind’s 108 sins. Most people in our neighborhood went toward the Kiyomizu-dera Temple in eastern Kyoto, which beckoned with its orange Deva Gate. Our guide had instead recommended Kennin-ji, said to be the oldest Zen temple in Kyoto, near Gion, at the end of Hanami Lane.”
(a) Japanese New Year
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_New_Year
(Since 1873, the Japanese New Year has been celebrated according to the Gregorian calendar, on January 1 of each year; section 4 Bell ringing)
(b) Kiyomizu-dera  清水寺
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiyomizu-dera
(section 1 History: Kiyomisu-dera "takes its name from the waterfall within the complex, which runs off the nearby hills ([which, referring to the mountain] got its name from the waterfall))

belongs to 法相宗 of Buddhism. Japanese Wikipedia says the mountain where the temple is located is called 清水山 (別称 also known as 音羽山).

(i) Click one of the photos in section 3 Gallery: specifically the one with the legend “A niōmon (deva gate)”
(A) Niōmon  仁王門
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niōmon
(Niō (lit[erally] Two Kings)
(B) The Chinese pronunciations for 二 and 仁 are “ni” and “nin,” respectively.
(ii) deva (Buddhism)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deva_(Buddhism)
(Sanskrit)
(c) Kennin-ji  建仁寺
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kennin-ji

臨済宗
(d) For Hanami Lane, See Gion
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gion
(Among the traditional streets, Hanami Lane (花見小路 Hanami-kōji, "flower-viewing lane") and environs is a major preserved street. It ranges from Shijō Street 四条通 at the north end, anchored by the famous Ichiriki Chaya 一力茶屋, and running south to the major temple of Kennin-ji)
* hana 花 (n)
* miru 見る (v): “to see”