[Kyoto: The Story of Color] The story of Kyoto Taiqin

Textual research shows that "color" only appears in Japan. Color, expression, aesthetic feeling and love interest were once the contents of color. A person walks on the sunny flower road in Kyoto, and occasionally beautiful kimono women pass by in a hurry, so all the stories about color slowly emerge in front of him, and the real feeling of Kyoto gradually coincides with the imaginary Kyoto in his heart and becomes an organic whole.

The Golden Pavilion Temple of Desperate Beauty

I have read many novels with Kyoto as the background, and I already have my own Kyoto in my heart. I think the girls in Kyoto must be as beautiful and quiet as the Chiyoyo in Kawabata Yasunari's novel "Ancient Capital", with a touch of sadness. Every woman wearing a kimono passes by, which will make me have infinite reverie and imagine what kind of story she will have.

In Dongfu Temple, the red leaves, indelible colors, overwhelming momentum and almost extreme beauty make people feel desperate.

At that time, I understood the little monk who set the fire. He despaired of the beauty of the Golden Pavilion Temple and had the impulse to destroy it. Yukio Mishima's novel "Golden Pavilion Temple" makes it the most famous scenic spot in Kyoto. The story of Jinge Temple is based on a true story, describing a fire that happened at 1950, which caused the complete destruction of Jinge Temple. After being arrested, the arson monk said that the beauty of Jingu Temple made me desperate and jealous, so I had to burn it. The reason for this crime is completely in line with Mishima's view that "tragedy is the supreme beauty when you die young". Therefore, Koko Temple has become a masterpiece of Mishima and an eternal symbol of Kyoto.

In fact, the fire also triggered another novelist to write another novel, which is Tsutomu Minakami's Evening Fog Tower on Fifth Street. Now there is a kind of cake "Xizi" in Kyoto, which is named after the heroine of this novel. Because of his poor family, Tsutomu Minakami was once sent to Ruichun Hospital of Suoguo Temple near the Beijing capital as a little novice monk. In addition to The Evening Fog Tower on Fifth Street, he also has many novellas, such as Butterfly in the Western Array and Yuanyang Hate, and the story scene is also set in Kyoto or its suburbs.

Many times, we go to Kyoto not only to see its ancient architecture, ancient style and charm. Literati's creation, mysterious kabuki life and unique ancient capital customs have all become important contents in our aesthetic process.

The world of geisha

In the eyes of foreigners, Geisha, Mount Fuji and Kinkaku Temple are three typical impressions of Japan. At banquets held in pavilions and other places, artists who perform dances and play Sanwei Line (a three-stringed instrument in Japanese musical instruments) are called geisha, while maiko refers to geisha who have not been able to stand on their own feet. The first step to enter the geisha world is to study as an intern. After the newcomers enter the house, that is, the geisha center, they need to help the maids to do odd jobs, learn dance and shamisen, and accept strict sitting and standing training wholeheartedly.

If the couple are recognized by the maid, that is, the hostess, and get the stage name given by the maid, they can perform maiko. In the past, most maiko debuted at the age of 14 or 15, but now due to the law, every maiko has to be 18 years old to perform in front of guests.

Becoming a so-called "own geisha" after the age of 20 is another way for geisha to pursue development. Of course, he will also be required to be more strict in talent, style and temperament.

Most geisha belong to buying houses. Just like singers and actors nowadays, all the work is managed by a brokerage company. The pavilion that needs geisha service will take the initiative to make an appointment with a broker named "See Fan", and the broker will send staff to buy a house.

The place where geisha usually work and move, that is, where pavilions and houses are concentrated, is called Flower Street.

Every April-May, Kyoto Flower Street will hold dance festivals such as Duyong, Yachuan Yong and Beijing Dance, making the cherry blossom season more lively and colorful. Such activities have become one of the representative activities in Kyoto. Maiko geisha who inherit the ancient traditions and patterns and show the highest artistic expression level are not only the inheritors of traditional talents, it is no exaggeration to say that they are artists who bring the traditional culture of Kyoto and Japan to the extreme.

Visitors to Kyoto can't help but want to taste Kyoto food and enjoy the gorgeous dance of maiko in the pavilion in Kyoto. However, its price is not cheap, even staggering.

Flower street

The paths that intersect with the four lanes, such as Huajian Lane, Pengtou Lane and Muwu Town Lane, are all traditional Japanese houses with the strongest Japanese flavor. Near Huajian Road, there are high-end kiosks where geisha and maiko performances can be enjoyed, which is the main area of Kyoto nightlife. Although the Japanese food in it is authentic, it is also very expensive. However, this area deserves careful observation. Looking around, most of the buildings are elegant Japanese-style garden buildings, with small lights under the Japanese-style porches, customers coming and going looking for fragrance, and antique night, which is full of Fusang style.

Walking into a smaller alley, the quiet warmth seems to make people hear the footsteps of geisha on stilts.

The Japanese hotel on Huajian Road is also unique. When it comes to hotels, most people think of them as cheap and simple, but in Japan, it is completely different, especially in Kyoto, where the accommodation fee is sky-high, because it is not only a Japanese classical building with few rooms, but also breakfast and dinner. In order to win by service, the general cost is at least 20 thousand yen.

Even if it is horrible, it is still worth living for foreigners who really want to experience Japanese customs.

Gion Yoshijima Hotel is a pure Japanese-style garden hotel, located on Huajian Road. Although its low eaves and shape are inconspicuous, they are favored by Europeans and Americans. On entering the door, the enthusiastic boss introduced the guests to the environment in fluent English, and finally invited the guests to the teahouse for tea. Even Japanese bathrobes have detailed illustrations. There are only about 20 Japanese-style rooms in the whole museum, and the others are large living rooms, tea rooms, cultural rooms and restaurants, all of which are antiques. In the evening, sitting in the restaurant of the hotel, at sunset, I saw a Japanese geisha wearing a gorgeous kimono waddling past the window, and I felt I didn't know where I was.

Modern station in the ancient capital

If the Gion area represents the style of the ancient capital street, the JR Kyoto Station area is the area where Kyoto strives to face the future.

The Kyoto Station Building, which was built to commemorate 1200, the capital of Ping 'an (Kyoto), can be said to be a new symbol of historical Kyoto leading to future Kyoto. At the same time, Kyoto is also an avant-garde, practical and futuristic building in the eyes of architects, and its space art is even more fascinating.

So when you come out of Kyoto station, you can't see any ancient ruins of this ancient city from any angle. What you see is a high-rise hotel built around the square in front of the station for a large number of tourists. This is really a wonderful experience, which makes Kyoto look brand new.

The newly completed JR Kyoto Station is not only the largest railway station in Japan, but also a comprehensive variety of entertainment facilities, including department stores, food streets, theaters, art galleries, underground shopping malls, restaurants and so on. In addition, the structure composed of steel and glass also makes Kyoto station change its customs with light and shadow. Walking in the meantime, you can always feel its incredible.

Dakong Square, located on the top floor of the western station, is the closest place to the "sky" in Kyoto. If you are brave enough, I suggest you climb the super-large ladder of 17 1, and you will feel more deeply. In this open space, the strange yellow lights with red rest seats give people a very "Miro" impression.

Looking out from here, you can clearly see the city streets of Kyoto. It is one of the rare places to climb and look at the ancient capital.

The wide and high staircase is the representative of Kyoto Station, connecting Muromachi Alley Square and Otsuka Square. Because the higher the height, the less the line of sight is blocked, and the acrophobia patients may not be able to enjoy this "endless" sense of freedom. Next to the big staircase elevator, there are also ordinary art advertisements, and there are exits to Isetan Department Store and Station Art Museum on both sides of the stage.

As the escalator rises higher and higher, the transparent air duct with steel skeleton reflects the changing colors of the glass curtain in Kyoto Tower, which is really beautiful.

Fujiwara Institute of Culture and Equality

There are too many historical sites in Kyoto. Entering Kyoto, you will be at a loss and don't know where to go. Of course, we have to go to the Golden Pavilion Temple and Kiyomizu Temple. Nijo Castle will make you feel the ancient royal atmosphere. In fact, there is another place that may not be so famous, but it is also a good place to experience Japanese culture.

Fujiwara refers to a prominent family with deep in-laws with the royal family in the late period of heian period. The heyday of this family was in 1 1 century. Fujiwara Letong and his son were in power for nearly a hundred years, and the Baidoin Temple was rebuilt by Fujiwara Letong who left his father's palace. In the cultural history, Fujiwara culture refers to the elegance of the dynasty, which is a completely aristocratic taste. At this time, the life culture and aesthetic taste were completely aristocratic. Because the pursuit of pure land was popular among aristocrats at that time, Byodoin Temple also represented the imagination of Japanese aristocrats on the pure land world at that time: luxury, beauty, brilliance and stability.

Baiduoyin Temple, famous for its Phoenix Hall, is the only remaining achievement and representative building of Fujiwara culture. 10 yen The pattern on the copper plate is the Phoenix Hall.

The famous Phoenix Hall was originally called Amitabha Hall, because it is dedicated to the statue of Amitabha.

Later, in the early Edo period, because its shape was similar to that of a bird flying with wings, and there were phoenixes on both sides of the beam and column, it began to be called the Phoenix Hall.

In addition to the Phoenix Temple, another noteworthy place in Byodoin Temple is Aji Pool in front of the Phoenix Temple. Aji Pool is a typical pure land garden. The whole garden design is centered on the Amitabha Hall, with ponds and islands symmetrically distributed on both sides, hoping to create a pure land symbolizing Datura.

Inari fujijian-taisha shrine

Fujimi Dowa Co., Ltd. is the headquarters of 40,000 Dowa Co., Ltd. in Japan. What does "Dao He" mean? It is a fox. Since ancient times, Japanese farmers have been convinced that the fox spirit is an emissary between man and god, which can bless the bumper harvest and good weather. Therefore, Tao and shrine are equivalent to our land temple. The whole temple of Fujian Daohe Dashe is scarlet, which is said to symbolize the ripe color of autumn harvest fruit.

The most famous landscape of Fujian Daohe Society is the "Thousand Birds Residence". In addition to torii in the shrine, there is also a scarlet torii tunnel, which runs for miles from the back of Daohe River in Fujian to Daoling Mountain. It takes about two hours to walk the whole tunnel, which is amazing enough, and you can also see how strong its incense is. The "Li Shen Road" in front of Daohe Dashe is a good place for shopping, and souvenirs and food stalls are very lively. Interestingly, the most famous snack on this road turned out to be roasted sparrows, presumably because sparrows love to steal rice from the fields, but even if sparrows can fly again, flying to the door of Mi Lianhua Shenjia, which is dedicated to blessing farmers, can only be a dish. Therefore, there has been a legend since ancient times that as long as you eat a roasted sparrow at the gate of Daohe Dashe, it is guaranteed that no sparrows will disturb your fields this year.

Lanshan painting

In Kyoto, you often can't tell whether you are drawing eyes or painting. I accidentally became the person in the picture. Many places are the way of cherry blossoms in spring and maple leaves in autumn. Especially in Lanshan area, as long as spring comes, cherry blossoms are competing to open, which makes people feel like they are in the cherry blossom tunnel. Autumn will be surrounded by red leaves again, and strolling through it will become an eternal moment in the photographer's lens.

There are many local specialty shops around Lanshan Station, with everything from food, play, trinkets and souvenirs. You can buy whatever you want. It's very lively here, and there are tourists everywhere. Walking out of Beijing Fulanshan Electric Station, rows of souvenir shops are very lively, including shops opened by celebrities and the memorial hall of the late star Hibari Misora.

The Yue Yue Bridge across Guichuan is famous for its scenery. There are endless sightseeing boats on Guichuan, so the scenery on the river is worth stopping to enjoy. Next to the bridge is a stone tablet inscribed by Zhou Enlai during his last visit. Go through Guichuan and go inside. At the left end of the bridge is Zhongzhidao Park. There are some tea shops and restaurants for tourists to rest. You can also see Guichuan and take photos here. Go to the right of the bridge and walk along the riverside path.

There is a long row of sightseeing rickshaws by the bridge. Traveling around Lanshan and Xiangye by rickshaw is a very popular activity.

The cherry trees in Du Yue Park are also considerable, but the red leaves in Lanshan are so bright that the cherry blossoms in spring look pale and are not mentioned.

The memory of Kyoto is silent and a beautiful picture to the extreme. I like Kyoto, and I like sitting alone on the steps of Changji Temple in autumn afternoon, watching the light and shadow dancing on the treetops in autumn. I like to walk alone among the birds of Daohe Society and enjoy the tranquility and freshness. Like a person aimlessly enjoying sudden surprises in the alleys of Kyoto; I like sitting alone on the big steps of Kyoto station at night, looking at the huge Christmas tree full of decorations and enjoying the seemingly empty loneliness.

Tips for the travel age:

1, Flower Street Introduction: Flower Street originated in the Edo period. At present, there are 60 flower streets in Japan from Hokkaido to Kyushu; The flower street in Kyoto is concentrated in Heyuan Town. There are about five flower streets, including Gion A, Gion East, Bentu Town, Miyagawa Town and Shangqixuan, with more than 200 geisha dancers.

2, the rules of watching geisha performances: the main cost of geisha meals is the jade generation fee (that is, the appearance fee, food fee, wine fee, etc. of maiko. ). The appearance fee is calculated as two hours, which is shared by the guests present and paid to kiosk. If you don't know the calculation and payment method, you can ask the female manager (female boss) of the kiosk; If the performance is satisfactory, you can also voluntarily increase the money. As for how to give it, you can also ask the female general. When maiko and geisha perform dance performances, guests and audience are not allowed to stand or move at will, or even talk. Listen quietly, appreciate quietly, this is the rule. Geisha can only be called stage name or miss; And geisha * * *, sitting together can easily communicate, which is a respect for geisha who take traditional talents as their profession.

3. Gourmet: mackerel sushi unique to Kyoto and steamed sushi with a little fishy smell; Exquisite and refreshing Kyoto "Jingpuwu" (pickles, kimchi); Exquisite and sweet seasonal "Beijing Fruit"; The colorful and lovely "Jing Li" (Jingtang) has its own characteristics, while the dessert is used for all kinds of hot and cold snacks made of green tea and Danbo red beans, which tastes the most authentic.