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OptimImagery

  1. TRAVEL: 2007 through 2011
  2. APRIL, 2008 JAPAN (KYOTO TRIP)

KYOTO III

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Here is the view out our Hotel Alpha Kyoto window. As you can see, there are two very large cemeteries adjacent to our hotel. I guess you could say that those below us had checked in for good....or....you could say that they had already departed. At any rate, there didn't seem to be any grounds for complaints. As you can also see, a row of apartment houses runs between the cemeteries.
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Here is the view out our Hotel Alpha Kyoto window. As you can see, there are two very large cemeteries adjacent to our hotel. I guess you could say that those below us had checked in for good....or....you could say that they had already departed. At any rate, there didn't seem to be any grounds for complaints. As you can also see, a row of apartment houses runs between the cemeteries.

  • Here is the view out our Hotel Alpha Kyoto window. As you can see, there are two very large cemeteries adjacent to our hotel. I guess you could say that those below us had checked in for good....or....you could say that they had already departed. At any rate, there didn't seem to be any grounds for complaints. As you can also see, a row of apartment houses runs between the cemeteries.
  • We walked east (we really didn't see the west part of Kyoto our whole trip), to where some of the old shops are. We came upon Naito brooms. This shop was opened, in this building, in 1869. It is now owned by the widow of a fifth-generation broom maker. With the passing of her husband, she had to resort to contacting his former apprentices to keep the business going. These apprentices are now passing on, and the proprietess says that once they are gone, this skill will be gone forever.
  • This shop typifies MANY of the old businesses here: The wares in which they specialize used to be necessary, common household goods. However, modern production techniques have created an odd paradox: Mass produced goods are now plentiful and so much less expensive that these hand-made wares are no longer practical. However, these once common items are now looked upon as collector's items par excellence. You may be able to see the prices on the brooms to your right (which are, I believe, hand-tied hemp palm brooms, or shuro-boki). In case you can not, it is 16,000 Japanese yen, or approximately $160 U.S. I can't imagine paying that much for a broom and USING it to sweep. However, it would really look pretty cool hanging on the wall! On the other hand, from what I read these brooms will easily last for 20 years of very heavy use. I believe that the brooms on your left side of the photo are millet-stalk brooms (Kibi-boki). They are much less expensive (closer to $50, I believe), but can only be expected to last about 5 years. They look pretty cool, but I can't imagine them being easy to sweep with, since the bristle-ends are not even.
  • As you can see, they have brooms and brushes for just about every purpose.
  • I believe that may be the owner in the back, leaning over (she wasn't dead, I promise: She just happened to lean over as I took the photo). We didn't buy any of the shuro-boki, but we did purchase a few small brushes. From what I read, as soon as this shop closes, there will probably be no shuro-boki available, at least not in Kyoto, and perhaps not in Japan. Kind of makes me wish I had splurged a bit more! ** By the way, there is an old saying in Japan: "Anna otoko wa hoki de haku hodo aru," which means "That kind of man is as plentiful as broom sweepings," or, loosely translated: "Men like him are a dime a dozen." It would take a lot of them to buy just one of these brooms!
  • We are on a bridge over the Kamo River, which splits Kyoto roughly into an east half and west half. I believe that the white bird is a snowy egret, but I'm not able to find a positive identification on the lower one (which I assume is a heron of some type).
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  • I know these are ducks, but am not sure what species.
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  • A shrine to children, complete with playground.
  • Special delivery. I liked this bike seat / shield.
  • Guarding many of their shrines and temples are these warrior-figures, which are depictions of specific deities, and are believed to extend certain qualities, such as protection.
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  • The street is called Sanjo-dori. In the Edo period, it was the last stretch of the old 300-mile path from Edo (now Tokyo) to Kyoto proper. At that time, bamboo was essential for many aspects of Japanese life. In 1862, Shintaro Morita began to learn the trade of making all things bamboo. He became so skillful and famous that even traders from the West came to buy his bamboo. Thus, in 1920, he was summoned to the old Imperial Palace to receive a special award from the Emperor for his role in the introduction of bamboo ware to the West. Bev is standing outside the shop opened by Shintara Morita. It is now owned by Morita-san, Shintara's grandson.
  • Here we are inside Morita-san's store, called Kagoshin Bamboo. Morita-san's grandson now travels around the Kyoto area collecting the bamboo, which then must age for 2 years before Morita-san can bring the legacy of his grandfather to bear on skillfully creating all things bamboo.
  • Morita-san and Bev. Unlike so many of these multi-generation legacy shops, this one has an heir who has decided to carry on: Tsuyako Morita, Morita-san's grandaughter is learning the skills and business.
  • Remember our trek along the Philosopher's Trail a few albums ago? Well, we are back on it now, picking it up a ways to the south. This incline, with these tracks, was a bit of a mystery to me. It was obviously placed for some type of railroad thing. But what? Notice that there are two sets of tracks closely adjacent. That, plus the fact that the tracks are on an incline, is a hint as to how this track was used.
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  • OptimImagery

    on October 14, 2009

    Comments from the old KodakGallery Album:

    1. tom.Monday, May 19, 2008 12:27:11 AM
    ..."convenience"...

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