My Friends in Ambridge

It's exam time, with revision, presentations and essays all on the agenda, but almost instantly after they've finished, I'm heading to Hokkaido, China and Thailand, so I don't know when I'll get another opportunity to post some recent news before then. So I just wanted to write a little bit about my visit to Sanjusangen-do Temple on Sunday 14th January (the weekend after we returned to university).


I had visited Sanjusangen-do with Harry in 2004 during my first trip to Japan and had been meaning to make a return trip, and that day was the perfect time to do so, as they were holding theire annual archery tournament. I woke up early to make my way there in good time, but it was already hustling and bustling before 10am. The crowds were gathered, the flags unfurled, and the food stalls already cooking away (including baked potatoes, but apparently sans fillings).

Of course, a large proportion of the crowd consisted of the archers themselves, both male and female, dressed in traiditional attire and kimonos. It seems this particular event, the Toshi-ya Matsuri, is heavily connected with the Coming of Age Day that thad taken place the Monday before, in which those who turned 20 the previous year visit temples and shrines smartly dressed and celebrate their adulthood. Both events used to take place on the 15th January, but the Coming of Age Day was moved to the first Monday of the month a few years ago, and subsequently this event at Sanjusangendo was moved to a Sunday (to maximise attendees, no doubt). It only then became clear to me that those competing weren't professional archers, but I guess those who had recently come of age and this was an accompanying ritual. Considering there were thousands taking part, I thought it had been doubtful that there were so many Edo-period archers in Kyoto anyway.

Before I could watch any archery, it was time to take a walk through the temple itself. As it was the main thoroughfare to get to the best archery viewing position, the crowds shuffled through with a very pushy (and frankly un-Buddhist) attitude. Which is a shame, as the temple is a truly awe-inspiring. The long, narrow hall is filled with over a thousand life-size Buddhist statues lined up row after row. Cameras are banned, but they wouldn't be able to fully capture the magnificence on view anyway. As this was a special day, the central Kannon was the focus of worship as the monks were out in force. As I turned a corner, one monk was sitting in a raised box of sorts, chanting and flicking holy water with a stick from a dish. I stood back as others shuffled past, offering money for the privilige of getting a few droplets of water, but the monk acknowledged my presence and gave me a little splash anyway, which was nice. It all felt very spiritual, you know? At that point, I felt that, despite all the wars and conflict it's responsible for, organised religion has also inspired art and architecture of immense beauty. How uncharacteristically profound of me, I know.


I finally squeezed myself out of the temple to a platform overlooking the shooting range. Ten competitors lined up with two shots each before the next batch got a turn and so on. I didn't take any pictures or video footage of the targets, because they seldom hit a thing! I guess they must've all been amateurs, as the people keeping the scoreboard looked pretty disinterested, but I guess it was more a chance for parents to watch their children act all grown up and handle a weapon (it was an interesting experience being surrounded by people with potentially lethal equipment). I think you got a certificate if you actually hit the target, because there were very few people who had competed clutching one. Unfortunately, I couldn't stick around to watch the female competitors, but I had an inkling that they'd be a lot better than the guys.

For more pictures of bows and arrows, click here to look at the snaps I uploaded.

I returned to Mukaijima in time for lunch and with the vouchers I picked up near Sanjusangen-do, a trip to McDonald's to indulge in the new MegaMac was a must. I'd seen ads for it everywhere, and just on the way to Sanjusangen-do, it was a major topic of conversation amongst those in my proximity. It's as if Super Size Me never happened! And it certainly lives up to the promise of 4 beef patties in one mouthful. In fact, it's become so popular in Japan, they've extended the length of the campaign as they're dealing with the kinds of shortages, queues and store limitations that would usually typify a next-gen games console launch. Will I get another chance to eat one before they vanish? Only time will tell.

And finally, I had to just post a little about these guys:

This was the night of the Coming of Age Day and the day before we started back at Doshisha. Myself, Neil and Baptiste were just leaving the Round One amusement centre in Sanjo when a white minivan drove past with the door open, revealing the Power Rangers (or at least, a band of similarly colour-coordinated super-heroes) singing and shouting. Once we started to head to Shijo station, they reappeared on the streets, a group of young Japanese guys, drunkedly celebrating their coming of age by running around Kyoto on a chilly night, armed with a banana and posing for photos. They very kindly offered to assume superhero stances (I gave them an Ultraman stance which proved to be a hit) for this photo, which features the Pink and Yellow Rangers getting extremely close and cosy (always thought they were a couple). As we said our thanks and goodbyes, they replied with a hearty English "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" - I think they misunderstood that lesson, but I'm not going to hold that against them, as they're probably too busy saving the earth and battling giant aliens and robots to really care. Kudos, sirs - you are true heroes indeed!

New Year's Revolution

This fortnight break for Christmas and New Year has predominantly involved me sleeping until noon, doing very little work, and then going to bed. Which would be fine if this were a typical winter holiday, except this is merely a short gap before my end-of-term exams, reports and presentations, i.e. I should really be spending my time studying and not typing up blogs.

Nevertheless, I must endeavour to tell you about my New Year experience, as it was obviously different than usual. Myself, Talyn, Anthony and Iran met up for dinner at a lovely soba restaurant in Shinkyogoku, followed by an impromptu photo sticker-booth session before heading off to do New Year Japanese style at Yasaka Shrine, the place to do it apparently. And even though this was a highly important religious event in the Japanese calendar (more so than even Talk Like A Pirate Day - savvy?), there were still plenty of stalls about, peddling hot food, snacks, sweets, raffles, toys and games.

Crowds gathered for okera maeri, in which you light a small strip of rope from the temple flame to be taken back with you to light the first household fire of the new year. It was also an opportunity to warm your hands on what was an exceptionally cold night. We headed through the Shrine to wander around Maruyama Park in the moonlight and engaged in a rendition of A-Ha's Take On Me with a soba-seller on the way. After a brief stop in a warm, indoor souvenir shop, we walked past the main gate and up the staircase to Chionin Temple, home of Pure Land Buddhism and the biggest bell in Japan - perfect for the joya no kane ritual, in which the New Year is ushered in by ringing the temple bell 108 times to purge mankind of the 108 Buddhist sins. The crowds had gathered and we joined the winding line to watch the ritual take place.We arrived around bong #35 to see the 17 monks swing the beam into the giant bell, a spectacular sight indeed. As we hung around to catch some more bongs, Lenka popped out of nowhere! She and her boyfriend James had been there since 8.30pm (we'd only got there around 10.30pm) and were braving the freezing temperature to watch the event in its entirerity. We decided to leave around bong #56, half an hour to midnight.

But what to do and where to go when the big hand touched the little hand? Time was ticking away, Ilan had vanished and Tal was queueing for a curry! With minutes to spare, all members of our party assembled in front of a less then impressive clock by Maruyama Park to watch the countdown. But it still said 11:55 when our mobile phones read 00:00 - so we let out a whoop and a squeal and danced about. However, the Japanese didn't do a damn thing. While my usual New Year's peaks at this time, the actual turning of the clock is relatively insignificant in Japan, as one takes the whole night and into the first sunrise of morning to make their temple visits (which explained the vast queues to get into Yasaka Shrine as we left at around 2am). Not me though, it was too too cold. I'm not keen on celebrating Christmas in the southern hemisphere, but I'd be quite happy to celebrate the New Year in a warm climate, that's for sure.

I spoke to Baptiste, Parn, John Dykes and Rory Chu on the phone from Tokyo as a couple of other foreigners came over to offer us champagne. Tal and Tony had to get up early in the morning, so they left soon after midnight - but myself and Ilan stayed to watch a young circus tricks performer. If you've been to an eight-year-old's birthday party, you've already seen his act (Wow! Balloon poodle!), but it was all fresh to the majority of spectators. Either it was lack of experience or the cold or both (or all three), but his tricks were rarely 100% successful (dropping a juggling ball here and there), so when it came to the knives and flaming torches, it made it all a little more exciting, but fortunately (or perhaps unfortunately), nothing disastrous happened.

Although the crowds were still very much out in force with roads closed and policemen and green beret-wearing guards diverting people down alleyways, it was time to return to Mukaijima around 2am - good to see the trains running throughout the whole night, though it'd also be welcome on Fridays and Saturdays every week.

The next two days were spent as mentioned before, but I made the effort to visit Heian Shrine for Hatsumode (the first visit of the year) to see what all the fuss was about. And even though it was now the 3rd day of the holidays, the crowds in Kyoto were even busier than on New Year's Eve. The stalls were all present and correct as thousands descended on the shrine to offer money, tie little paper strips to branches, make inscriptions on wooden plaques (there was a sign showing who in particular should do so, based on age and gender, probably connected with those born in a Year of the Boar as is 2007), buy souvenir arrows - no idea what it was all about, but interesting to see all the same. Some people even came in traditional garb, both men and women, but even then, the fashionistas were clearly in competition. One gaggle of kimono girls had more accessories on them than a teenager's mobile phone.

That evening, it was a Mukaijima karaoke session, which was pretty much like every other one, except I had a nice cocktail called Violet Fizz (or Violent Fish as it came to be known) that tasted like alcoholic Parma Violet sweets. Nice. And then it was back to reality, and as every bit exciting as that sounds.

More photos naturally at MyFlickr. And I'll leave with another funny sign I spotted at a garage/petrol station a couple of months ago, offering sage advice for the new year ahead. Have fun in 2007, boys and girls!