The Golden Pavilion Temple of Desperate Beauty
I have read many novels with Kyoto as the background, and I already have my own Kyoto in my heart. I think all the girls in Kyoto must be as beautiful and quiet as Chiyobaryons in Kawabata Yasunari's novel "Ancient Capital" with a touch of sadness. Every woman wearing a kimono passes by, which will make me have infinite reverie and imagine what kind of stories she will have.
In Tofuku-ji Temple, the red leaves, the indelible colors, the overwhelming momentum and the almost extreme beauty make people feel desperate.
At that time, I understood the young monk who set fire. He was desperate for the beauty of the Golden Pavilion Temple, and he had an impulse to destroy it. Yukio Mishima's novel "Golden Pavilion Temple" makes it the most famous scenic spot in Kyoto. The story of the Golden Pavilion Temple is based on a true story, describing a fire that happened in 195 and caused the total destruction of the Golden Pavilion Temple. After being arrested, the arson monk said that the beauty of the Golden Pavilion Temple made me desperate and jealous, so I had to burn it. The reason for this crime is completely in line with Mishima's thought that "it is supreme beauty to die young and tragic". Therefore, Koko Temple has become Mishima's masterpiece and an eternal symbol of Kyoto.
In fact, the fire also triggered another novelist to write another novel, which is Tsutomu Minakami's The Evening Fog Tower on Fifth Street. Now there is a kind of cake "Xizi" in Kyoto, which is named after the heroine of this novel. Tsutomu Minakami was once sent to Ruichun Hospital in Sokokuji, near the capital of Beijing, as a little novice monk because of his poor family. In addition to Evening Fog Tower on Fifth Street, he also has many novellas such as Butterfly in the West Array and Yuanyang Hate, and the story scenes are also set in Kyoto or its suburbs.
Many times, we go to Kyoto, not just to see its ancient buildings with ancient style and charm. The creation of literati, the mysterious kabuki life and the unique customs of the ancient capital have all become an important content in our aesthetic process.
The world of geisha
In the eyes of foreigners, geisha ranks with Mount Fuji and Kinkaku Temple as three typical impressions of Japan. At banquets held in kiosks and other places, artists who perform dances and play Sanweixian (a three-stringed instrument in Japanese musical instruments) are called geisha, while maiko refers to geisha who have not been able to stand alone. The first step to enter the world of geisha is to study as a trainee. After entering the house, that is, the geisha center, the newcomers need to help the maids do odd jobs, learn dancing and shamisen, and receive strict training in sitting and standing wholeheartedly.
If the new couple is approved by the hostess, and given the stage name by the hostess, they can perform as a maiko. In the past, most maiko debuted at the age of 14 or 15, but at present, due to the law, every maiko cannot perform in front of guests until he is 18 years old.
after the age of p>2, she will fly solo and become a so-called "geisha of her own family", which is another way for geisha to pursue development, and of course, she will also be required to be more strict in talent, style and temperament.
Geisha mostly belong to buying houses. Just like singers and actors nowadays, all the work is managed by brokerage companies. kiosks that need geisha services will take the initiative to make an appointment with a broker called "See Fan", and the broker will dispatch staff to buying houses.
The place where geisha usually work and move, that is, where kiosks and houses are concentrated, is called Flower Street.
Every April-May, the Flower Street in Kyoto holds dance festivals such as Duyong, Yachuan Yong and Beijing Dance, which makes the cherry blossom season more lively and colorful. Such activities have become one of the representative activities in Kyoto. The maiko geisha who inherit the ancient traditions and patterns and show the highest level of artistic performance are not only the heirs of traditional talents, but it is no exaggeration to say that they are artists who have brought the traditional culture of Kyoto and Japan to the extreme.
visitors to Kyoto can't help but want to taste Kyoto cuisine in the kiosks in Kyoto and enjoy the gorgeous dancing of maiko. However, its price is not cheap, even staggering.
Huajian Alley
Several paths that intersect with four lanes, such as Huajian Alley, Pontocho Alley and Muwu Town Alley, are surrounded by traditional Japanese houses with the strongest Japanese flavor. Near Huajian Road, there are high-grade kiosks, where you can enjoy geisha and maiko performances, and it is the main area of Kyoto nightlife. Although the Japanese food inside is very authentic, it is also very expensive. However, this area is worthy of careful observation. Looking around, most of the buildings are elegant Japanese garden buildings, and with the small lights under the Japanese porch, the customers who come and go looking for fragrance are matched with the antique dim night and full of Fusang style.
Walking into a smaller lane, the quiet and warm feeling seems to make people hear the footsteps of geisha's high clogs.
The Japanese-style hotel on Huajian Road is also unique. Speaking of hotels, most people associate them with cheapness and simplicity, but in Japan, it is completely different, especially in Kyoto, where the accommodation fee is sky-high, because it is not only a Japanese classical building with few rooms, but also includes breakfast and dinner. In order to win by service, the general cost should be at least 2 thousand yen.
Even though it's prohibitively expensive, it's still worth living for foreigners who really want to experience Japanese customs.
Yoshiima, a pure Japanese garden hotel, is located on Huajian Road. Although its low eaves and appearance are inconspicuous, it is very popular among Europeans and Americans. On entering the door, the enthusiastic boss introduced the guests in fluent English to familiarize themselves with the environment, and finally invited the guests to have tea in the teahouse. Even the Japanese bathrobe was illustrated in detail. There are only about 2 Japanese-style rooms in the whole museum, and the others are large living rooms, tea rooms, cultural rooms and restaurants with antiques. In the evening, sitting in the hotel dining room, when the sun sets, I see japanese geisha waddling past the window in a gorgeous kimono, and I feel like I don't know where I am.
modern station in the ancient capital
If Gion area represents the style of the small streets in the ancient capital, JR Kyoto Station area is the area where Kyoto strives to meet the future.
The Kyoto Station Building, built to commemorate the 12th anniversary of the founding of the capital of Ping 'an (Kyoto), can be said to be a new symbol of the historical Kyoto leading to the future Kyoto. At the same time, Kyoto Station is also an avant-garde, practical and futuristic building in the eyes of architects, and its space art is even more fascinating.
So when you come out of Kyoto Station, you can't see any old ruins of this ancient city from any angle. All you can see is the high-rise hotel built for a large number of tourists tightly surrounding the square in front of the station. This is indeed a wonderful experience, which has given Kyoto a new look.
The recently completed JR Kyoto Station is not only the largest railway station in Japan, but also integrates various entertainment facilities, including department stores, food courts, theaters, art galleries, underground shopping malls and restaurants. In addition, the structure composed of steel and glass also makes Kyoto station change its customs with light and shadow. Walking in the meantime, you can always feel its incredible.
Dakong Square, located on the top floor in the west of the station, is the closest place to the "sky" in Kyoto. If you are brave enough, it is suggested that you might as well climb the 171st super-large staircase, and your feelings will be more profound. In this open space, the strange-looking yellow lighting with red rest seats gives people a very "Miro" impression.
from here, you can clearly see the streets of Kyoto. It is one of the rare places to climb and look at the ancient capital.
The wide and high staircase is the representative of Kyoto Station, which connects Muromachi Alley Square and Otaru Square. Because the higher it is, the less the line of sight is blocked, people with acrophobia may not be able to enjoy this "endless" feeling of freedom. Next to the big staircase elevator, there are also ordinary art advertisements, and there are exits to Isetan Department Store and Station Art Museum on both sides of the stage.
As the escalator rises higher and higher, the transparent air passage with steel skeleton reflects the changing color of the glass curtain in Kyoto Tower, which is really beautiful.
Fujiwara Culture and Equality Institute
There are too many historical sites in Kyoto. When you enter Kyoto, you will be at a loss and don't know where to go. Of course, we have to go to the Golden Pavilion Temple, and Kiyomizu Temple can't be ignored. Nijo Castle will make you feel the ancient royal atmosphere. In fact, there is another place that may not be so famous, but it is also a good place to experience Japanese culture.
Fujiwara refers to a prominent family with deep in-laws with the royal family in the late period of heian period. The heyday of this family was in the 11th century, when Fujiwara Takahara and Fujiwara Laitong were in power for nearly a hundred years, and Byodoin Temple was rebuilt by Fujiwara Laitong from his father's palace. In the cultural history, Fujiwara culture refers to dynasty elegance, which is a completely aristocratic taste. The life culture and aesthetic taste at this time are completely aristocratic. Because the pursuit of pure land was popular among the aristocrats at that time, Byodoin Temple also represented the Japanese aristocrats' imagination of the pure land world at that time: luxury, beauty, splendor and stability.
Byodoin Temple, which is famous for its Phoenix Hall, is the only remaining fruit of Fujiwara culture, and it is also a representative building. The pattern on the 1-yen copper plate is Phoenix Hall.
The original title of the famous Phoenix Hall was Amitabha Hall, because it dedicated a sitting statue of Buddha Amitabha.
Later, in the early Edo period, it was called Phoenix Hall because its shape was similar to that of a bird with wings flapping and there were phoenixes on both sides of the beam and column.
In addition to the Phoenix Hall, another noteworthy place in Byodoin Temple is the Azizi Pool in front of the Phoenix Hall. Azichi is a typical pure land garden. The whole garden design is centered on Amitabha Hall, and ponds and islands are symmetrically distributed on both sides, hoping to create a pure land symbolizing Datura.
Fujian Daohe Society
Fujian Daohe Society is the head office of 4, Daohe Societies in Japan. What does "Daohe" mean? It's a fox. Since ancient times, Japanese farmers have been convinced that Fox Fairy is an emissary between human beings and gods, which can bless a bumper harvest and good weather. Therefore, Daohe Shrine is equivalent to our land temple. The whole temple of Fujian Daohe Dashe is vermilion, which is said to symbolize the color of fruit ripening in autumn harvest.
The most famous landscape of Fujian Daohe Society is "Thousands of torii". In addition to torii in the shrine, there is a vermilion torii tunnel stretching for miles on the way to Inariyama from the rear of Fujian Daohe. It takes about two hours to walk the whole tunnel, which is amazing enough, and it can also be seen how prosperous its incense is. The "Lishen Road" in front of Daohe Dashe is a good place for shopping, and souvenirs and food stalls are very lively. Interestingly, the most famous snack on this road turned out to be roasted sparrows, presumably because sparrows love to steal rice from the fields, but even if sparrows can fly again, flying to the door of the rice lotus god who specializes in blessing farmers can only be a dish. Therefore, there has been a legend since ancient times, as long as you eat a roasted sparrow at the gate of Daohe Dashe, it is guaranteed that there will be no sparrows harassing your field this year.
The painting of Lanshan
In Kyoto, you often can't tell whether it is in your eyes or in your painting. I accidentally became the person in the painting. Many places are the way of cherry blossoms in spring and the way of maple leaves in autumn. Especially in Lanshan area, as long as spring comes, cherry blossoms compete to bloom, which makes people feel like they are in the cherry blossom tunnel. Autumn will be surrounded by red leaves again, and strolling among them will become an eternal moment in the photographer's lens.
There are many local products shops around Lanshan Station, which are full of food, games, trinkets and souvenirs. You can buy whatever you want. It is very lively and full of tourists. Walking out of the Beijing-Fuzhou Lanshan tram station, there are rows and rows of souvenir shops, which are very lively, including the shops opened by stars and the memorial hall of the late star Hibari Misora.
The Yueyue Bridge across Guichuan is famous for its landscape. There are endless sightseeing boats on Guichuan, and the scenery on the river is worth stopping to admire. Next to the bridge is a stone tablet inscribed by Zhou Enlai during his previous visit. Cross Guichuan and go inside. At the left end of the bridge is Zhongzhidao Park. There are some tea shops and restaurants for tourists to have a rest. You can also look at Guichuan and take photos here. Go to the right of the bridge and take a walk along the riverbank trail.
There is a long line of sightseeing rickshaws beside the bridge. Traveling around Lanshan and sagano by rickshaw is a very popular activity.
The cherry trees in Duyue Park are also quite impressive, but the red leaves of Lanshan Mountain are too bright, which makes the spring cherry blossom pale and not mentioned.
Memories of Kyoto are silent and beautiful pictures. I like Kyoto, and I like to sit alone on the steps of Chang Silent Temple in autumn afternoon and watch the light and shadow dancing on the treetops in autumn. I like to walk alone in the middle of the birds in Daohe Society and enjoy the silence and freshness. Like a person aimlessly enjoying sudden surprises in the alleys of Kyoto; I like to sit alone on the big steps of Kyoto station at night and look at the huge Christmas tree full of decorations, enjoying the loneliness that seems like nothing.
Tips for the tourism era:
1. Introduction of Flower Street: Flower Street originated in the Edo period, and currently there are 6 flower streets from Hokkaido to Kyushu; The flower street in Kyoto is concentrated in Heyuan Town. There are about five flower streets, including Gion A, Gion East, Pontocho, Miyagawa Town and Shangqixuan, with more than 2 geisha dancers.
2. Rules for watching geisha performances: The main cost of geisha meals is the jade generation fee (that is, the appearance fee, cooking fee and wine fee of maiko, etc.). The appearance fee is calculated in two hours, and the cost is shared by the guests present and paid to the kiosk. If you are not clear about the calculation and payment method, you can ask the female general (female boss) of the kiosk; If the performance is satisfactory, you can also add money voluntarily. As for how to give it, you can also ask the female general. When maiko and geisha are performing dance performances, guests and spectators are not allowed to stand up or move at will, or even talk. It is the rule to listen and appreciate quietly. A geisha can only be called a stage name or a lady; Sitting with geisha * * *, we can communicate easily, which is a respect for geisha who take traditional talents as their profession.
3. Gourmet: mackerel sushi and steamed sushi unique to Kyoto with a little smell; Exquisite and refreshing Kyoto "Jingpuwu" (pickles, pickles); Delicate and sweet seasonal "Beijing fruit"; The colorful and lovely "Jing Li" (Beijing candy) has its own characteristics, while the desserts are all kinds of hot and cold snacks made of Yuzhi green tea and Danbo red beans with the most authentic taste.