I spent all day on the 22nd in Kyoto. I went to so many places that I cannot honestly remember the names of them all. I will try my best to be accurate, but it was pretty overwhelming. I also was able to en joy a performance by a Maiko, or apprentice Geisha. She was very beautiful!
The weather was great, in fact is got pretty toasty in the afternoon. The crowds, though, were a bit obnoxious. I've come to expect big crowds in Kyoto, but it still comes as an unpleasant surprise every time I visit.
Be warned, I took a lot of photographs!
Fushimi Inari Shrine
Our first stop was the Fushimi Inari Shrine. This was actually many shrines, all along a gorgeous mountain trail that I did not have the time to enjoy fully (perhaps again, during a non-peak tourist season). Inari is the Shinto god of rice, and the messenger for this spirit is the fox. Thus, there were foxes everywhere, as well as the red coloring that goes with this god. You will see many Inari shrines throughout Japan, always with a red torii gate and fox guardians, but this one is apparently the most important of all. Despite the crowds, it was a lovely temple!
The main gate, with a large torii gate preceding it. Behind it was the main temple.
One of the fox guardians in front of the main gate. This one is holding something in its mouth (not sure what, sorry!).
A shot showing the crowds, and the main temple.
A view of the main temple lanterns. It was beautiful up close!
The roofs of the buildings were really ornate!
Another fox guardian. This one has some kind of ball in its mouth.
There is a fox statue inside that lantern, and it looked gorgeous framed with the autumn leaves.
Fushimi Inari Shrine is famous for its long tunnels of massive torii gates. Here's what it looked like (crowds and all).
The effect of the rows and rows of gates was pretty neat.
Inside it could get pretty dark, as the light had a difficult time filtering through both the trees and gate tops.
This particular spot, where two paths of torii tunnels converge, is really famous. Alas, it was also extremely crowded. I want to come back and get a photo without any people in it!
One of a handful of stone torii gates in this area. It was really really big!
Mystery Area #1
I have no clue where this was. I got pretty turned around traveling through Kyoto with a group of ALTs, and it wasn't long before I had no idea where I was because I was too busy trying to not get too far behind with my incessant photographing. I missed out on a lot of the tour information that way, which would be a shame if I hadn't been too busy enjoying the beautiful scenery. So, where ever this place was, it was stunning. It wasn't nearly as crowded as other areas of Kyoto, but the autumn leaves were the most spectacular I've seen yet!
This small shrine was attached to a larger temple with a famous Buddha statue inside. The buddha has a "bloodstain" around its neck, where it's throat had been cut. There's a lot of legends behind this particular buddha involving the cut. It was very impressive! (No photographs allowed.)
Above the aforementioned shrine, maybe a 15 minute hike away, there was a beautiful maple grove surrounding some lovely temples. The maples were densely grown together, and they were all in full colors. With the sun filtering through the leaves, it was beyond breathtaking!
There was a large pavilion midst the trees. With its red-painted finish, it blended in with the maple leaves.
I liked this statue, he has children hugging his legs. He looked great with the leaves!
The view from the pavilion. How would you like to see this every day?
A two-story pagoda was peeking out from the forest.
After I climbed up the mountain a bit more, I was able to get a closer look at it.
This statue was gorgeous, too!
Continuing along Mystery Area #1, or rather the third part of said unknown area, was a large temple complex that required payment to enter. Inside were large temples. They were beautiful on the outside, but I have no idea what was on the inside.
Within the temple complex was another pay-to-enter area, which I believe is/was a vacation house of the imperial family. The rooms were pretty boring, though full of history. But the true draw of this area was the garden! Visitors can sit on the veranda and admire an absolutely gorgeous garden!
It was definitely worth the extra yen just to admire this beautiful place. I just wish I could have walked inside of it!
Maiko Performance
We were privileged to be able to witness a performance by a real maiko, or apprentice geisha, in the Gion district of Kyoto. Not just anyone can see one, it apparently requires some serious personal connections with an establishment in order to see a maiko; seeing a real geisha requires even more connections and a whole lot of money (talking about thousands of dollars).
This maiko has only just started her five-year journey of becoming a geisha. She's been a maiko for less than a year, and was only 17 years old. She dreamed of becoming a geisha when she saw some maiko during a visit to Kyoto as a junior high school student.
Girls typically become maiko when they are 15 years old, after finishing junior high school. During the first year they cannot go home or even mention their family. After that, they may have a couple of days holiday a year to return home, but their behaviors must be attuned to the proper image of a geisha. Maiko do not use wig pieces in their hair, so they usually only change their hairstyles every 5 days or so. They do their make-up and clothing themselves, and so this can take varying amounts of times depending on the individual maiko. They aren't paid until they pass their apprenticeship and become Geisha. Once married, they must retire as geisha (although apparently having children is okay).
Photographs were allowed, but no videos. And only those whose cameras made no noise (such as myself) could photograph her during her dance routine. The lighting was a bit difficult, but I was able to get some photos that captured the spirit of a maiko.
As a brand new maiko, only her bottom lip can be painted red. Also, her eyebrows and eyelashes were painted red to signify her rank.
Since it's autumn, her hair ornaments and kimono are representative of the season.
Maiko's have long trailing obi in the back, which helps distinguish them from geisha.
During her dance. It was quite powerful!
When dancing, you forgot that she was just a teenage girl. But then she would laugh and smile nervously while answering questions, and I remembered that she was the same age as my students.
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