Memories of Kyoto

[semperfiona]

boubabe just posted from Kyoto this morning. Reading it gave me a whole bunch of interconnected memories, not all of which have to do with Kyoto specifically.

It was autumn of 1988, my first semester at Nanzan University. A friend and I decided to take a weekend trip to Kyoto to see some of the sights. Her name was Jennifer Parks; we wrote each other for a few months or years after I returned to the US, but I haven't even thought of her in years. I can picture her, though; she was thin, about 5'5", and had long wavy blond hair and blue eyes.

We went to the JTB (Japan Travel Bureau) and booked tickets on the Shinkansen. The travel agent asked if he could call me (he had the phone number for obvious reasons) and I ended up going out with him several times throughout that fall and winter. He was a lot older than me, I think, and I wasn't really interested in him. I had a bad case of the hots for another fellow student, this one called Peter Klein. He was from Germany, a few years older than me but not as much as Travel Agent Dude (whose name has completely escaped me). Peter was very self-centered and arrogant, and had lots of women throwing themselves at him. I for one made a fool of myself on a couple occasions, and got nothing for it. I greatly doubt he remembers me at all, though I remember him quite clearly. Anyway, I went with Travel Agent Dude to some nice restaurants and on a few daytrips to scenic places around the area, had a nice time (in the sense where nice is not exactly a compliment--damning with faint praise at best), but never once did he even try to hold my hand. To this day I don't know whether that is the Japanese way, or whether I gave off 'stay away' vibes or what.

Jennifer and I duly boarded the train and went to Kyoto; we also visited Nara one of the days of our trip. I remember visiting Kinkakuji (the golden temple, which really is covered in gold leaf), Ginkakuji (the silver temple, which disappointingly is not covered in silver leaf but is weathered natural wood), Kokedera (the moss shrine) and Ryoanji (I forget the exact translation: it's the one with the raked rock garden).

Kokedera is very still and quiet and moist. Moss grows everywhere, in a profusion of varieties and shades of green. In Japanese class at Nanzan we learned some proverbs. It turns out that Japan has a proverb which translates almost literally as "A rolling stone gathers no moss". And it means exactly the opposite thing from the Western version. The intent of the Japanese proverb is "Settle in one place and let yourself take root and good things will grow". Ours means something more like "Get moving so that nasty moss-stuff doesn't get a toehold."

Ryoanji is wonderful, but the peace is disturbed by loudspeakers explaining the history and so forth, very loudly and very often. I wanted to stay there and just meditate but I couldn't tune out the noise. As Jennifer and I left, we were stopped by an old man who wanted something. It took quite a while to realize what he was saying; the Kyoto dialect differs sufficiently from the Nagoya dialect, and it was still early in my year in Japan. I did all the talking, though; Jennifer had not known any Japanese at all when she came to Nanzan, but I was in Level 5. In the end, we realized he wanted to give us something, and we went with him to his house, where his wife served us tea and snacks and he displayed the intended gift: a full set of hinamatsuri (Doll Festival) dolls. They had belonged to his daughter, who moved away (I think to America), and had later died; he wanted someone to have and appreciate them. I'm still not entirely sure of the exact story, although I corresponded with him for quite a while afterwards. (I used to be able to write letters in Japanese...what a sad loss). Jennifer and I split the set; they were displayed in my apartment for a long time but now are boxed somewhere in the Evil Basement of Doom. I need to get those out and find a cabinet for them.

My correspondence with him faded after I returned to America and even more after I graduated; I sent a card with an enclosed letter just before my wedding to Ray and received a reply from his wife: he had died. And now I can't even remember his full name. I'm pretty sure it was Osamu Te-something.

I met so many wonderful people in Japan, and I am very glad I learned to accept gifts and generosity from them. There was the Ohtas in K-something...oh phooey, the very south of Kyushu. ::goes to look it up:: Kagoshima. I met them on a train near Miyazaki (I think it was) and was invited to stay with them if I passed through Kagoshima on my travels around Kyushu. I hadn't really planned on going to Kagoshima, but I decided to accept the offer, and they took me to a glass factory and several other local landmarks. I wrote to them for quite a while as well.

Then there were the people I worked for, teaching English to their children. Each Thursday evening they fed me dinner after the lesson, and then took the whole family, including me, to some activity or other: bowling, batting cages, miniature golf...They had lived in Canada for a few years and wanted their kids to remember and practice their English. And I've forgotten their names too. ::sigh:: Ray has the address book that might possibly have the old names and addresses still in it. I need to get those back from him, although I doubt any of the addresses are still good.

That Christmas, I sent my grandfather a picture of Kinkakuji that I had drawn in colored pencils. I remember that he wrote back to thank me and promised that he'd return the picture on his death. He died in 1995. No picture has returned to me. I still occasionally (like now) wonder what became of it. Did he forget? Did his wife (not my grandmother) dispose of it? Did one of my relatives take it? I'll never know, probably.

I suppose I could ramble on about Japan, in disjointed fashion, for quite a while longer, but I've got to go fetch the Ochi-poch from daycare before it closes for the day. Besides, this has gotten long.

Comments

[boubabe.livejournal.com]

Wow, Fiona, what a fantastic description of life in Japan. Things haven't changed much here; there are still amazing random acts of kindness. Those dolls you received are probably worth well over $1000.

As for Kyoto, it really is an enchanting place with shrines around every corner. It's a strange mixture of old world and new world. I can't wait to go back. I really wanted to see Kokedera but never managed to get there. You have to write to the priests before going and get permission to enter the moss garden. If my parents come for a visit in the spring, I think I'll make the effort at that point in time.

Thanks for sharing!

[semperfiona]

You're welcome. There may be more of these inspired by your current experiences; it's been a long time since I thought much about Japan.

I can't remember having to make special arrangements to see Kokedera but that was a long time ago. Some things do change ;-)