Advertisement
Published: December 23rd 2008
Looks like a platypus
Spent a bit of time on the trains, this month. This is one of the Shinkansen, or 'bullet-trains' and unless you stand next to one on the platform, it's hard to understand quite how long that nose is. They're all different from each other, I think because Japan's railway system isn't owned by one company, so the rolling stock differs from line-to-line. One cautionary note about this: there are oddities such as two different lines at Tokyo Narita airport, both going into the Tokyo city, each with their own 'Platform 1'. Make sure you get the right one.I know there's an odd-one out in that title, as 'Sword' isn't in the phonetic alphabet (should be
Sierra). I'll explain why it's there down below.
Another thing always interested me about the Japanese was their capacity for improving something, or practising something to perfection, regardless of how long it takes (or whether what they're doing is even commercially viable). There was something of that attitude on display in that Kyudo session a couple of entries ago and I am curious about a country in which you can get Dan (master) grades just like in martial arts, but for Ikebana (flower arranging). And I know you can find craftsmen and women in the West that take what they do just as seriously, but here, they designate a select few people a 'Living National Treasure' if they are keeping alive something unique to Japan at a high enough level of artistry. In the last couple of weeks I've managed to check a few things out, making a change from merely sightseeing.
Whisky
The Japanese make quite good whisky. I know this because I had a bottle from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society in Leith a year ago (bottle
number 116.10 for those of you who have come along to any of the tastings with me; please bear with me the rest of you for a couple of paragraphs). It was from the Yoichi distillery on Japan's northernmost island, Hokkaido, and was so good I called them up and ordered a second one. I recall my cousin Steve was up for a visit from Lancashire around the same time. I'd recently picked up the new car and we crammed it with the tent, sleeping bags, stoves, walking gear and my bottle and blasted off to the West coast. We had sunshine; we had the roof down and Led Zeppelin playing at a very high volume... we had a great lads' weekend in the Inverpolly area. I can recommend Achmelvich campsite by the way, just North of Lochinver, from where you can get pies by post (I'm not kidding, look up
Pies by Post and you'll see). We parked the car up at the edge of the sea and sat on the rocks with a glass of whisky each (and Steve; you threatened to drill the brakes on my car, but if I get that new 370 after all, I'll make a
visit to yours and we'll see about it, hm?)- but I am digressing, excuse me...
So; returning to Japan after Shanghai I stopped overnight at a small town called Kobuchizawa, just outside of which is Suntory's Hakushu distillery. It's 2 hours train ride West of Tokyo and not in any guidebook I've seen so far.
It's in a pretty location, and has two pagoda still-houses linked by a bridge poking out of the treetops, but I couldn't get to the right place to replicate the photo on the brochure, so here's
someone else's. They have acquired 82 hectares of land around the distillery for the cultivation of a bird sanctuary as well and all in all, its a pleasant spot.
The tour was in Japanese only, but I know enough about the process by now. They took about an hour to run through the mash-tun and washbacks (wooden), still house, and they even had a guy charring barrels before they were filled. They don't malt their own barley on site, it is all imported. Come the tasting at the end I had to stop them adding ice to mine; its not that they didn't understand how to serve it,
Nara: The Tōdai-ji temple, Daibutsuden I
The Daibutsuden was destroyed twice by fire in 1180 and 1567. The 3rd time they re-built it, they made is a third smaller, but it's [i]still[/i] the largest wooden building in the world. whisky is just drunk that way by most people here. So I tried Hakushu 12-year old, and another Suntory brand: Yamazaki 12-year, note both bottled at 43%!w(MISSING)hich is stronger than the 40%!y(MISSING)ou normally pick off the shelf in the UK, so I added a little water. The tasting notes said the Yamazaki had vanilla in it, but I couldn't detect any, though it was sweet with dried fruit. I preferred the Hakushu; it had a green, or straw, flavour to the nose, then smoke; fresher with water and I picked up dried fruit too, which got stronger with warming.
So not having too much luggage space, I bought a 1/3rd bottle of cask-strength stuff, and if I can find anyone who's company I enjoy enough to share it with, will have a fantastic Christmas after dinner (most likely noodles) with them.
Indigo
I moved on to Kyoto after that, and spent about a week there. Kyoto has barely any skyscrapers compared to Tokyo, and is the place for spotting Geisha scurrying between taxis and clients in the old town. My guidebook made some remarks about 'Geisha-spotting' and where to do it, and a few
of the other travellers I spoke to whilst there were indulging in hanging around trying to snatch a photo. One of them was successful but at cost, because it appears the Geisha turned her face away and silently stood still until they left her alone. I didn't feel that enthusiastic about interrupting a girl who's work involves dressing up, with a flashgun to the face. Doesn't quite fit with the manners the Japanese are known for, so I've left them to it. If you want a picture of one, you can find plenty on the internet.
Anyway, about 10 minutes West of Imadegawa metro station in Kyoto, down a back-street, is a 120-year old building which is the Aizenkobo Workshop where Ken-Ichi Utsuki carries on the family business of indigo dying. He is descended from Samurai, and takes such a long time to create rich, deep blue colours that his clothes are works of art, from ordinary shirts to hakama, kimono, scarves and dresses (he even has works in the permanent collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, his wife told me). I arrived at the shop having little awareness of indigo beyond what I picked up
from one of those arty interiors books. So I had a look about, loved one pattern in particular and bought a shirt. I'm not going to tell you how much it cost, but I've built him up enough now, you can guess it was a lot. I think because I spent some money but also because I was clearly interested, he asked me to follow through to the back of his office, which was typical
tatami-matting,
shoji paper-screens and beautifully stark. He explained how the dye is obtained from the plant, how each dip only produces a slight change in shade, so cottons get up to 20 and silks up to 40 dips to get the required depth of colour. Out the back he showed me 3 deep pots, each with purple froth and bubbles on the top, all of which had been fermented for a week to produce useable dye. After each dip the fabric is stretched out to air-dry, so the whole process takes time. Ken-Ichi told me how indigo-dyed clothes are mosquito and even fire-resistant, and to show this he set light to a small square of fabric in a dish, which burned for a few seconds
but failed to catch and went out. Then he pulled out some 80-year old firefighters clothes from his father's collection, dyed so much they were nearly black. Above all, he was keen to point out the difference between natural indigo dye and modern ones created in a laboratory which will dye with a single dip but start fading to a muddy grey after a couple of years, showing me examples of this as well.
His website is at http://www.aizenkobo.jp/. Like the whisky, he's not in the guidebook either, but I am glad I came across him. Have a look at the photographs on his website, mine didn't do justice to the collection he had there.
...and Swords
Then after leaving Kyoto and on the way to Hiroshima, I found the
Bizen-Osafune Sword Village just East of Okayama. Again, please excuse me for getting technical for a minute here, there's at least 2 other metallurgists on my address list that would be interested in this. It's a living museum where they have old swords on display but they educate by making new ones as well, right in front of you. In the museum was a fantastic
wakizashi caught my
Phoenix Hall, Byodo-In temple, Uji.
The first Battle of Uji, 1180, took place yards from this temple. Its a day-trip from Kyoto and notable for being the scene of the first recorded seppuku, or ritual suicide. Doubtless there were others before this, but none written down. When defeat was inevitable at the hands of the Tiara clan, Minamoto no-Yorimasa wrote his death-poem upon the back of his war-fan ("Like a tree from which we gather no flowers; Sad has been my life; Fated no fruit to produce"), then cut himself open. The temple's on the back of the 10-Yen coin. eye, made by Yoshimichi in the 1700's where the martensite cutting-edge had amazing swooping patterns like cirrus clouds. There were older blades from the 14 and 1500's too, and one that had been sharpened so often it didn't have the correct width - I'm presuming it had seen some action.
Also on the site they had guys, and a girl, laquering the scabbards, polishing blades and making and wrapping the handles with ray-skin and cord. And on the day I was there I was lucky enough to attend a forging demonstration. The smith and two assistants heated and hammered a piece of dummy steel. I knew it was a dummy because I saw it before it was pushed into the furnace - it was just a lump they hammer around for spectators - but also because they let me have a go hammering. Some muscles those guys, biggest hammer-head I think I have ever seen.
Didn't buy a sword, can't afford one. It would cost as much as an executive car. So as far as enjoying artistic bits of metal are concerned, I'll have to make do with my Titanium cufflinks for now.
Being away at
Bizen-Osafune Sword Museum I
These 2 guys in the white are about to hammer the living daylights out of the bit of steel that bald guy's got in the furnace. Later on, I got to whack the shape back [i]out[/i] of it. this time of year, I have of course 'opted out' of Christmas. Except for the fact that I won't see my family, there are some good things about this. No last-minute shopping and having to fork out for pay-and-display tickets that are either 10p below or above the next pound-coin, for example. No Del and Rodney; no Eastenders, X-Factor or Brucie either. No sprouts. No Richard Curtis (he'll never be cool until he makes a film with a sad ending) and no Harry Potter. No God, no "Paa-Rum-Pum-Pum-Pum" Little Drummer Boy and no Queen's speech.
So whatever you lot are up to, and whether your God is alcohol or Allah, please take care and I wish you all a safe, peaceful and happy festive season.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.151s; Tpl: 0.015s; cc: 10; qc: 48; dbt: 0.0528s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
Betamax Pornstar
non-member comment
The Train
That train looks like Ian Rush