Kyoto Textile Tour, Days 1 and 2

I'm on a textile tour of Kyoto with Esprit Travel and Tours. I'll try to get photos up daily, maybe a few days per post...

March 18: I travelled to Kyoto; Fuji-san hid from me in a grey haze and a wreath of clouds. We all met and had dinner and introductions together.

March 19 photos

Daitoku-ji Zen Monastery complex.

We received a introduction to the Way of Tea by the abbot of the Zuiho-in temple and were instructed in proper breathing and how to improve the heart (I think both philosophically and physically, but ultimately they're the same, right?).  Then on to Koto-in, with it's mossy garden and very very old tearooms.

Lunch at Izusen, vegetarian Zen-style temple food... On to the Yuziuki kimono shop in the Kamishichiken geisha district; it's in an Edo period geisha building. Amazing textiles, amazing building, amazing narration! I modeled a Okayama selvedge denim kimono...

Then we toured the Kitano Tenman-gu shrine, dedicated to a scholar; because of this, many students come here to offer and pray for success in school. The plum trees were blooming. From here, we returned to the hotel and Andy, our tour guide took us down Sanjo-dori and pointed out some amazing shops.





March 20 photos.

A very busy day today... First, we went to the studio of Mari Horie, who's a katazome master; it's a rice paste resist method. She demo'ed how to do katazome on paper and then showed us her studio where they work on fabric. What an amazing artist, and lovely, graceful hostess! Here she is showing us how the rice paste is applied.

On to the Konchi-in sub temple of the Nanzen-ji monastery. There was an amazing zen garden... Andy described the features in detail, and all of a sudden, zen gardens make more sense!!! Sadly, it was nearly noon, and the light was so crappy, so I took photos of the other parts of the garden, but not the zen garden. I did check Google images and it looks like most photos of it are crappy; could it be that zen gardens are meant to be contemplated and not just photographed?

Lunch was at Yachiyo, a historic ryokan and featured boiled tofu (yudofu); lovely surroundings and tasty food.

Then we walked through the neighborhood the workshop of Mitsuo Nakao and his wife; they are kumihimo artists.  Just how good are they? Well, Nakao-san did the silk cords and knots for the Ise Shrine when it was rebuilt. Wowza. I became demo-girl again and Nakao-san tried to teach me to braid; I think I did okay, but he was very kind. These braids and knots add elegance and importance to anything; he showed us pieces worn by monks on ceremonial occasions, pieces used in temple, and even pieces used by Sumo wrestling referees. Nakao-san is possibly the happiest person I have ever met; merely looking at him makes you want to smile.

Following was an exhibition at the Kyoto City University of the Arts featuring a retrospective of works by Professor Nobuko Hiroi. Upstairs were items from her personal collection.

Many of us went to the Aizen Kobo Indigo Workshop after the museum... There is a workshop full of indigo dyed fabrics. I saw fabrics woven then dyed, fabrics dyed, then woven, shibori, and kasuri, and clothing made from most of this. There were rolls of exquisite fabric of all sorts just waiting for a purpose. And dyed yarn. I came home with a green silk scarf, dyed with indigo and camellia seeds, and nearly missed purchasing a lovely scarf dyed with madder. I did purchase some silk dyed pink and red (madder? I'm not sure), with the intent to put it on the loom.

What a lovely day.