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!