If Tokyo is the beating heart of Japan then Kyoto is the soul. It is lush green gardens, serene temples and shrines and a much slower paced life style. My two favorite places were Ryoangi zen garden and Sanjusangendo temple. Ryoangi is a world heritage site, a sand garden with 15 perfectly placed stones. It reminds me of the ocean with islands rising up from the depths.  The groupings of stones suggest varied images unique to each viewer. The wall that surrounds the garden is an object of meditation in itself. The surface of oiled stucco projects ghost-like visions.  Just sitting, this lovely garden washing over me, I felt the presence of another time and place — “Ma”.

Sanjusangendo Temple had a powerful effect on me also. It literally means 33 halls and contained 1001 exact replicas of the Kannon (Buddhist goddess of Mercy) with her many arms covered in gold leaf. The statues were guarded by 33 frightening dieties, whose Hindu roots have been transformed by Japanese sensibilities. In the center of all this was a giant statue of buddha which somehow paled in comparison.

The bamboo forest was splendid. You can see it here on the right.

Another fascinating sight was Nijo Castle, medieval shogun castle with nightingale floors, made to squeak to warn of anyone approaching. See below.

On Monday July 20, I went to Kamakura, which was the capital city of Japan between 1192 and 1333. It is a religious hub with 65 Buddhist temples and 19 Shinto shrines. We hiked from temple to shrine and saw many but not all of them. Ginger and I were guided by our new friend Hiromi who is charming and lots of fun.

We visited the Great Buddha (32 feet high) at Kotokuin Temple. He is seated out-doors because in the 13th century a tidal wave washed away the massive temple structure that used to house him. He remains unmoved and most impressive.

Hase Kannon Temple is home to the famous 11-headed gilt statue of Kannon (29 feet tall). The many faces of the goddess symbolize various stages of enlightenment and she is a carved from the trunk of a giant camphor tree. WOW!

One of my favorite shrines, paid tribute to foxes (inari) with thousands of the little buggers everywhere. It was charming!

I had a delicious, very Japanese lunch of soba noodles covered with a lovely pile of delicately arranged vegetables (I couldn’t tell you what most of them were).  We enjoyed a delicious cup of macha (thick green tea) and elegant sweet bean paste treats about mid-afternoon then on to the money laundering, I mean “washing” shrine , where you wash your money in the sacred stream and pray for it to bring you wealth. Hope it works!

The most magical part of the day happened after dark when we visited the largest shrine. There was an enormous lake filled with giant lotus, with leaves as broad as my torso and head-sized flowers of pink and white.  I took some photos but they are not very good. We had a lovely encounter with an 80 year-old man who spoke English and told us about the history of Kamakura, the shogun and women samurais. He included some fascinating and sometimes gory details the history books leave out. What a fabulous day in Japan!

So far I have taken most of my classes with Yoshito Ohno and Natsu Nakajima. By meeting people in these workshops, I have found out about other classes and performances around Tokyo.  Even though I get most of my information via translations from bilingual students, I feel I am gaining some valuable information that I can work on for years. But I am sure much is lost because of the language barrier.

I took class with a Sankai Juku dancer that seemed like Martha Graham gone butoh; I probably will not go back to that one. But I did take a class with Seisaku, who studied with Yukio Waguri and is an excellent teacher.  His work is based on emptiness in the body, not images, and a new way of defining space. The first half of the class is a thorough physical warm-up conducted by Yuri, a modern /ballet trained dancer who has been drawn to butoh.

Natsu’s classes start with Noguchi Seitai, exercizes using massage, breathing techniques, and physical training. In her creative work she encourages use of dance elements (space, time and energy) as well as blending abstract dance movement with theatre actions.  She claims that Hijikata believed that butoh was pure theatre.

Yoshito’s classes involve no warm-up, so I have to arrive early to get these old bones moving. His style is warm, generous, and encouraging filled with imagistic suggestions which are quite poetic and inspiring. He often quotes and imitates both Hijikata and Kazuo and modestly refers to himself as shadow or frame. Though in his 70’s, he is still a vibrant force, touring the world, performing and teaching.

After all classes there is social time. Yoshito always serves tea or wine and snacks. Often everyone goes out for drinks and delicious Japanese food served family style. I love this country, its customs, and most of all its people!

On Saturday night after class I was fortunate to visit Kazuo Ohno in his bed. He woke up when we came into his room, then dozed, then woke again while we were there. I held his beautiful hands and in my exitement blurted out many silly things . . . “honor to meet you. . . . waited for this moment for 12 years . . . thrilling to touch your lovely, expressive hands . . . so much admiration . . .  at this moment fulfilling the ultimate butoh dance . . . thankful to be a witness . . . fulfilling moment in my life . . . and so on.” I am sure he hears this all the time from so many admirers.  Meeting Kazuo Ohno, on his death bed was truly one of the top ten!

On Sunday, my friend Nathan and I went to the Asakusa area where we bought Japanese incense and bathed in a very old, funky onsen (public bath). The water was hot, clean and most refreshing though.

After our baths we went to Ginza to see a performance by a new Japanese dancer friend I met at Yoshito’s class. She was so lovely, possessing a quiet, passionate elegance within the tiny gallery /performance space crowded with 30 or so spectators. Afterwards everyone gathered for wine, beer and snacks –artists, dancers, critics, film producers — a very artsy crowd, many of whom spoke English so I was able to communicate. It seems when artists, no matter what nationality, get together there is great conversation which opens up the potential for creative collaboration.

Yoshito invited Nathan and I to have dinner with him at a famous, old restaurant in Ginza called “Torigin”, named for the chicken dishes they specialize in. The food was delicious and Yoshito and I drank much red wine then staggered to the subway clinging to eachother in order to stand.

This district was one of the few in Tokyo to escape most of the destruction of the 1923 earthquake and WWII bombing. There are many old wooden houses, shops and temples. In addition, there is a lovely old cemetery and many Japanese style mansions. I had a lovely time getting lost in the warren of narrow streets.
The photo is taken from inside the cemetery with a view of Tokyo skyscrapers in the background.

I have spent my first week in Japan and it has been filled with new adventures — learning how to master the train system, dancing with Natsu Nakajima, visiting musems, Shinto shrines and buddhist temples. I am enjoying a great deal of “ma,” a Japanese word that means both space and time. What a pleasure to have the leisure to dance, walk, read, write, eat or sleep at my convenience. Thank you NC Arts Council for this luxury.  I am learning to enjoy being lost or confused, to just wander and to not understand.

Natsu’s classes are most challenging. She studied with both founders of butoh, Kazuo Ohno and Tsatsumi Hijikata, so she has many ideas from both of them plus a great deal to offer from her own vast experience. She is 66 and struggles financially to survive in Tokyo as do most artists everywhere. Outside of Japan, in the butoh world, she is considered a master. I only hope that she will receive her due in her own country in time.

I visited Meiji Jingu, a Shinto shrine dedicated to the divine souls of Emperor Meiji and his consort Empress Shoken. Shinto is called Japan’s ancient original religion, and it is deeply rooted in the way of Japanese life. Shinto has no founder, no holy book, and not even the concept of religious conversion, but Shinto values, for example, harmony with nature and virtures such as “Magokoro,” a sincere heart. In Shinto, “Kami”  (divine spirit) is found in  all aspects of life — in mythology, in nature, and in human beings.  The shrine is surrounded by a forest of 100,000 trees from Japan and the world all created through volunteer efforts by the people. It is an oasis of cool solitude in the center of sprawling, noisy, fast-paced Tokyo.