Traditional Crafts & Manga...Kyoto rocks!

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12 Sept 08

Today was another lazy day...to a point. It was overcast so the bright (beautiful) sun didn't have us up at the crack of dawn. Still, the girls left early this morning to visit a school to check out the lunches' situation. By all accounts they had a lot of fun and the 3rd graders were so cute that Rachel wants to bring 10 of them back with her. I agree with the concept, but boggle at the quantity! In fact, she said tonight that her as-of-yet-unborn kids are getting sent to Japanese boarding school so they'll be like these kids. High, if slightly strange, praise indeed.

I slept in and then blogged. This is fun, but it takes more time than I expected! Plus, I'm running at the mouth like crazy. Just consider this to be all the stories I WOULD make you sit through, but now you don't have to! 😊 After that I read some manga on my computer (it's a hard habit to break), watched some more hilarious and completely incomprehensible Japanese television (seriously, today it was like Candid Camera on speed...horrible (and stupid) gags and the audience laughing so hard they're crying...probably make more sense if I had the audio and not just the visual?!?) and make my plan of attack.

I decided to aim for central Kyoto and visit a couple of museums. We are not in Kyoto long enough to even scratch the surface, so I'll come back some day to catch the temples, et al that are lying about. Today, I wanted the old/traditional and the modern. Amazingly, I discovered them just a few blocks apart!

I started at the Gallery of Kyoto: Traditional Arts & Crafts. This was a great smallish gallery devoted completely to traditional, hand-made items. The pieces on display were exquisite (many were not allowed to be photographed) and varied. The highlight of this stop was the actual artisans working on projects. Like my fascination with watching blown glass technicians, I couldn't seem to get enough of the painting girl...so sure and swift in her strokes and the cups looked all the same...a total matched set. I asked to take their pictures & both agreed. This was a surprise find (I had been headed to a different museum) and an oasis of calm and quiet and serenity in the midst of the hustle and bustle metropolis of Kyoto. I highly recommend it!

Then, on to my "real" destination. Not four blocks away sits the Kyoto International Manga Museum. Opened in 2006, the museum was born as "Japan's first comprehensive cultural facility focusing on manga that combines the functions of both museum and library, with the aim of disseminating Japan's unique manga culture to the rest of the country and abroad, and to enable manga culture to grow and flourish in the future." This place was SO SEGOY! I wanted to spend a week there. There are over 200, 000 volumes of manga in the museum. Most of that can be plucked off the shelf by anyone, read while on the grounds, and returned. The museum exists in a former primary school so there are grounds included as well. There were people everywhere simply reading manga. Teens, young adults (like 20s), business men young and old, even mothers w/kids in tow (and the most precious a woman reading a children's manga while her tiny infant slept sprawled out under a blanket beside her). There were a couple rooms where shoes were not allowed (FINALLY! I though I was going to leave Japan w/out experiencing this!) and everywhere was quiet and relaxed.

The biggest bummer about the museum is that no pictures are allowed due to copyright. Copyright is taken VERY seriously in this country. Don't even get me started on their licensing agreements, etc, for foreign translations of Japanese works! At any rate, I don't have any photos. You will have to take my word that I was in heaven & most of you would have been bored stiff. 😊 There was a great gallery that discussed the progression of manga from ancient to present-day...with actual examples under glass. As a literary form it has always been slightly subversive and edgy...one of the best things about it. The publishers are pretty canny as well and have successfully adapted their product to their clientele. When the post-war kids (the biggest readership at the time) were growing up and wanting more mature lit, manga for adults started to appear. Impatient for the next installment? Publishers started producing magazines weekly rather than just monthly. It really was a fascinating tour for me.

Interestingly, even as manga has taken off all over the rest of the world, manga sales (books & magazines) have been steadily dropping since 1996. The primary reason seems to be technology/internet, rather than decreased interest. To that end, those crafty publishers have developed manga for the mobile phone. Also, a push is being made to reprint beloved classic manga at make it available again. Space is always an issue and some good stuff gets booted to make room.

Ok, one last thing and then I'll shut up about the manga. The all-time favorite children's character is Anpanman. This is a guy who's head is made of bean paste. He flies around Japan and feeds the hungry people. His tagline? "Please eat my face!" OMG! I'm loving it. They had a small international section as well, so I was able to read a couple of volumes in English while I was there. There was also: German, Spanish, Italian, Swedish, Russian, Chinese, and even more.

After the museums, I decided to go home. I was having mental issues w/the subway and trainline, but made it back okay. It took forever for me to figure out how to get there...then the painful realization of the fact that there was an easier, faster way to go. Oh well...all part of the journey, right?

I made it back to Kyoto sta. and practically ran smack into Samia and Rachel. They were on their way to Gion, the GEISHA district. They had meant to be there at sunset to see all the geisha coming out, but didn't quite make it. I joined up with them (in my street tourist clothes & they had been home and gussied up...I'm really gonna develop a complex!) and we headed out. Samia is total crap with the trains, but keeps trying to take charge, so we ended up at a station with no transfer points. Then she gets frustrated and just wants to take taxis everywhere. Biting my tongue and digging my nails into my palms, I meekly followed along. I was having SERIOUS remorse about joining them, but things got better...like the Pythons say. I wasn't going to trashtalk in this thing, but the marked differences in her travel style and personality as compared to mine are becoming a bit painful. I'm trying my best to keep peace because any issues puts Rachel square in the middle...feeling torn in half. Therefore, I'm compromising and shutting up as much as I can b/c Samia is never wrong...even the station thing she blamed on the guy who gave her the directions even though he said "Shijo" sta and she dragged us off the train at "Keihan Shijo" sta. So, loving traveling w/Rachel & would do it again in a heartbeat...not so much with "the group." Our fourth person is completely MIA. She booked hotels w/us, but has gone off on her own every day. She signed up for group tours without telling (or inviting) the rest of us. It's the most bizarre travel group I've ever been a part of...and deep in my single and independent soul a still small voice keeps telling me to break away. Squash, squash, squash that voice!

We'll see...we're going back to Tokyo tomorrow and I have definite ideas about what I want to do there. If they don't match Samia's, guess I'll be touring on my own. Not like I haven't done it before. Speaking of which, she just keeps making comments about not understanding people who travel alone, how can it be any fun, what's the point, who do you share with and on and on. This after we had just been discussing how I usually travel alone. I feel like she's a well-intentioned bitch. Like, it doesn't completely feel like she's doing it on-purpose, but it kind of does. At any rate, I replied that intelligent people can have fun by themselves and photos can be shared after the fact and while my experiences may be singular, I can still discuss my travels with others. Not to mention, I love to travel and there isn't always the opportunity for someone to go with me. Sigh. sigh again.


Back on point: We wandered around Gion with no real destination in mind. We were just soaking in the environment. We took some pictures and decided to eat. We found a cute, hidden Filipino place. The food was excellent but we were a bit nervous as the place was completely empty when we got there. I think it was a bar place, though, because they even specifically had an after-midnight menu. Anyway the food was yummy. I got salad & BBQ chicken. Samia took her usual five minutes to order, but seemed happy with what she got.

After that we started wandering again. This isn't my favorite activity, but it was pretty interesting. The girls kept getting lascivious looks so we started joking about that (since I was in shorts & tee I was their "agent."). A couple guys were giving out free packs of tissue. I knew this was a standard advertising action, so I tried to take one. He looked startled and tried to withhold it. I said, "onegaishimasu" and held out my hand. He finally gave me one. We started walking again and I was explaining the concept when I looked at the package. Full color photo of gorgeous girls, ready and willing to talk to you right now! Totally phone sex advertisement for me! No wonder he didn't want to give me one! We giggled about that all evening! Damn pushy American woman! Yup, that's me. 😊

As we were in a backstreet we ran into a couple of guys that they had met earlier on their tour of the Imperial Palace. They were brother-in-laws (married one from Italy, single one US/Canadian) and totally funny. We joined forces for drinks and stories. They were quite entertaining. At one point, a question about written Japanese came up and I found myself "lecturing" the table on the history, usages, and differences between the writings. I stopped and there was silence at the table. Then, like everyone was all, that's awesome! And wanted to know how I knew...how do you answer that? Samia asked me at dinner how I knew the big screen was showing a Filipino soap opera...what to say? I settled for, "they're speaking Tagalog." But, how do you know it's Tagalog? I give up. They think I'm really smart and know what I'm talking about, but question everything I say...how is that fair, I ask you?!?

In the end, we ended up going for karaoke. It was on our list, but when I explained to the girls that you rent a private room and just serenade each other, they lost interest. However, when we had two cute boys with us, voila!, interest revived. In fact, karaoke boxes are a huge dating and afterschool activity...perhaps the most popular in the country? So, we get to a place and everyone kind of stands back. So, as the silently chosen spokesperson, I stepped to the desk to make the arrangements. If it wasn't so infuriating, it would be flattering. It's about $25 each for two hours of singing (that includes all you can drink!). We weren't sure about the whole thing so we opted for 30 minutes for $5.

What can I say? It was awesome. I LOVE to karaoke & there were TONS of English songs. We did Love Shack, Thriller, Sweet Home Alabama, Barbie Girl (with Jordan singing Barbie's part & me doing Ken's), and Dancing Queen...you know, karaoke standards. It was so much fun and the time flew by. Karaoke is definitely one of those things I would miss traveling alone. Meeting up with the guys and finding the karaoke place made the entire evening.

We went home tired and happy...after gently disengaging from the boys. They were ready to keep going!

Back to the hotel (by a cab that cost suspiciously more than the first one!) and to bed.

It was a good day and I really like that I got some private time. I am having fun, but am feeling a bit of sensory overload. Rachel is having some trouble with that (and her warring friends) as well. Plus, we don't always want to do the same things. I couldn't have been happier spending hours in the manga museum and their eyes glazed over when I just said the name of the museum. To each their own, ne?

Sayonara,
Rae

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Photos

Gallery of Kyoto
Jewelry Box

Gallery of Kyoto
Hand-crafted wooden robot...I want it!

Gallery of Kyoto
Shhh...artisan at work.

Kyoto Int'l Manga Museum
Part of the very impressive entrance to the museum...and one of the only things I could photograph!

Kyoto Int'l Manga Museum
Folks sprawled all over the place reading manga...and napping. I want to live here! :)

Kyoto, Gion
My current fave pic. A light store. I love them all. Plus, you can see the craftsman working in the back. Segoy!

Kyoto, Gion
Does this pic really need a caption? ;)

Kyoto, Gion, Karaoke
You rent a sound-proof room to sing with you pals. It was incredible fun.

Kyoto, Gion, Karaoke
I sang the most and the loudest. I didn't host gaming events all summer for nothing!

Kyoto, Gion, Karaoke
Go, Rachel. Go, Rachel. Go, go, go Rachel.

Kyoto, Gion, Karaoke
Jordan (Canada) was a great karaoker. His Barbie-girl voice was spot-on. :)

Kyoto, Gion, Karaoke
Gabriel (Italy) didn't really "get" it...we made him sing anyway.

Kyoto, Gion, Karaoke
Don't mess with us. ><