Jidai Matsuri pt 4... The End and Beginning of an Age

22nd October, 2006 - This is phase is known  as the Enryaku Period - and back on familiar ground, we see the march of warriors...

Being led by Sakanoue-no-Tamuramaro, the military leader at the dawn of Kyōto, or Heian-Kyo... the Capital of Peace and Tranquility, as it was known. Somewhat ironic? He was one of the original Shogun of Japan, tasked to subdue the native Emishi in the north of Honshu. Shogun is the shortened form of  seii taishōgun, which means "great general who subdues eastern barbarians". This was the favourite past-time of generals in Japan over many hundred of years - and continued only until only the Ainu of Hokkaido were left to subjugate.... and then there were none.

It had however been a very long day already.... and all that subjugation can take it out of a man. No matter how strong his samurai spirit.

Following the passage of the warriors, we see the march of the court nobles. It would appear that the concept of convenience had not quite come into Japanese umbrella design by the early Heian period... just joking!

An important part of the precession is the Offerings to the Deity... and we know that the best place to officiate offerings from is horseback... actually - horses were common offerings to shrines in olden times. What they did with them, I don't want to know... Indeed horse offerings were the original source of the more modern ema board offerings you see today.

Whilst those exorczing evil spirits with their tamagushi, made of Sakaki branches decorated with shide paper didn't look quite as jovial. The Sakaki tree (Cleyera japonica) is sacred to the Japanese Shinto religion, even figuring in the creation myths recorded in the ancient book, the Kojiki.

Of course, you can't have a grand-finale without just a little more colour and music... no, we certainly haven't had enough colour yet... have we? The next segment of the parade is called th Zen-Retsu, who offer both music and performance to herald the approaching deities...

In the mean-time we have these wonderfully (but somewhat strangely) dressed boys... are they angels, I hear you ask? I dunno. This one certainly didn't look too heaven-sent if you ask me. In fact he looked like he knew exactly how long the day was going to be. Only 1,745 m to go.

His friend looks a little too self-assured by contrast.

The Zen-Retsu continues with the approach of the musicians....

A potent music rings out across the path leading from Kyōto Gosho... the former Imperial Palace. This amazing looking instrument is known as the shō, and dates from the dawn of Kyōto (though was derived from an earlier instrument imported from China). Apparently the sound is supposed to imitate that of a Phoenix (er...ok)... and the two largest pipes are actually silent - but representative of the phoenix wings (no really... Wikipedia... are you making this up?).

And if that didn't do it for you, there's nothing like banging the gong to let you know that Deity approaches....

My first (embarrassingly bad) vid of the Zen-Retsu...

(I might throw in a vid or two on earlier posts now...)

Finally the climax of the parade. The Shinko Retsu. The Precession of the Sacred Carriage. First we meet the spirit of Emperor Komei (1831 - 1867 AD)... in typical anti--chronological fashion for Jidai Matsuri - the last Emperor to reside in Kyōto comes first. Whilst their spirits normally reside in Heian Jingu, they are able to get-out-and-abooot through the use of these portable shrines (mikoshi). Handy. In Japanese belief, their spirits have become kami - godlike beings in the pantheon of gods that the Japanese worship. But these gods are more like the gentle-autumn-breeze rather than the smiting-from-up-high-variety.

I'm not sure what the significance of the two objects are that follows...my research wasn't thorough enough at the time, and Google-sensei has sadly failed me at the last. Also, I'm not sure if there is significance in the riderless horse. I'm assuming he hadn't just fallen off. Please oh please - if you know, drop me a line.

Following in quick order is the spirit of Emperor Kammu (737 - 806 AD), the first Emperor of the city of Heian-Kyo. Kyōto . Kammu was an unlikely Emperor in that he was supposedly directly descended from Korean royalty through his mother's side. Also, Kyōto was not his first choice of location for his capital... initially he'd moved from Nara (hot-bed of Buddhist power as it was) to Nagaoka... but after a series of disasters befell the Imperial family, he naturally thought (only 10 years later) it'd be best to do the whole relocating the capital thing again... to the site of Kyōto. And here the capital stayed (from 794 to 1867 AD)... just a little while.

The Japanese Phoenix, or as it's more correctly known, Hō-ō. It's synonymous with the coming of a new era or the birth of a particularly auspicious ruler. Certainly Emperor Kammu had left his indelible mark on the country through his legacy. His city.

Once again, not to be outdone, Emperor Kammu also sports a couple of...hmmm... er.... those things.

Of course, we couldn't end the parade there... following up the mikoshi comes an army of flower-carrying obasan. 

So Jidai Matsuri doesn't end with a bang, but with a boquet... not quite what I was expecting...

Thus ends my posts of Jidai Matsuri... what a journey!

 We had a good day, and it was well worth the price of the ticket (about 2000 yen, which includes the reserved seat and nice glossy and informative program). I know that it's also possible to see the parade wind it's way through the streets of Kyōto, but to my mind,it's much more comfortable getting a seat and enjoying the whole thing in a more relaxed way. Take some food and drink... it's a long afternoon.... and it had only just started for us.

Jidai Matsuri Pt 3... Heian Era; It's a Woman's World

22nd October, 2006 - The parade is in the Kamaura - Heian period now.... it's been a long wait. Fujiwara Tameie (1198 - 1278), shown above, also went under the name Abutsu-Ni. She wrote Izayoi-Nikki.... the diary of a woman scorned by her married husband. Sounds very modern to me. For all that the Japanese had come to written language late, they quickly developed a style that was both vibrant and honest; at once both heavily influenced by Chinese literature, but also at the same time imbued with a truly Japanese voice. She is considered one of the more important literary figures of the time, though her poetry is not considered particularly refined.

Lady Shizuka (1165 - 1211 AD). She is also known as Shizuka-Gozen, a Kyōto dancer that was the love of Minamoto Yoshitsune. She was a court dancer who had transcended popular history into the realm of literary posterity in the Heike Monotagari. This period of history related to the titanic struggle between the two clans within Japan; the Minamoto (aka Genji) and the Taira (aka Heike). She is as much a figure of myth as history, but like most larger-than-life heroines in Japan, she met an unfortunate end. She had become pregnant after a dalliance with Yoshitsune - who by now was also in bitter dispute with the new Kamakura Shogun and half-brother, Yoritomo... After being captured by Yoritomo, he had been given her the promise that should the baby be born a girl then she and the baby would survive. Whilst their exact fate was unknown... what was known was that the baby was born a boy.

Yasusame Archers (1220). If you've spent any time in Japan, or have an interest in martial arts, then you've almost certainly come across reference to the Yasusame archers, who were famous for their horse-borne archery skills that have today become somewhat a Japanese cultural icon. The goal is to ride whilst shooting targets in quick succession... hmmm... I'll leave this one to the experts as my fingers still smart from the bow-string from High School physical education. He is also, I note, the only male that has found his way into this post. What does that say about the Heian Era, or Jidai Matsuri, or my photographic choices?

It's not all about the Samurai spirit or the sophistication of court ladies... the festival also celebrates the next generation of Kyōto children...

Not always with happy results....

But often this has the feel of a local Christmas Pageant... with children momentarily taking centre-stage as the city celebrates the cycle of life that continues to shape it's living history.

A moment to reflect on where we've come from....but there is still a long way to go...

And military history is always never far from the forefront... but perhaps less often associated with the women of Japan - though this would be a gross oversight.

Tomoe Gozen (1157 - 1247 AD)... She was the wife of General Kiso Yoshinaka, and fought side by the side with her husband, in the battles of men, in men's armour, . And like many women in Japan, she became a nun after his horrible death... hmmm.. I'm sure the husband would have preferred a long and not-so-illustrious retirement... 

Of course, she lives mostly upon the pages of fiction, and it's hard to know how much is real. However, her counterpart today certainly exuded a certain degree of arrogance that may have fielded the great battles of yore (in this case against the same Yoshitsune mentioned before). Either that or the saddle was becoming just a little too real for her... She certainly owned  the parade ... 

Tokiwa Gozen (1160). No need for six steps of separation in Japan. Here we find Tokiwa Gozen who was the mother of Yoshitsune. During the civil war in 1159 (around the Heiji disturbance) between the Minamoto clan and the Taira (lead by Kiyomori) she lost her husband, and is seen here in-transit back to Kyōto to plead for the life of her mother. Things took a strange turn when she instead became the mistress of that self-same Taira Kiyomori in order to save her son, Yoshitsune. Such was the fate of the women of the time. The Minamoto had been effectively destroyed by the Taira during this civil war that had centred around Kyōto; yet the two survivors, Yoritomo and Yoshitsune (who later became a monk... hmmm this story is complicated) eventually lead to the destruction of the Taira clan and the raise of the Kamakura Shogunate government.

Of course, the moment of truth is often hard to discern in the eyes of youth - but one should never underestimate the seeds we sow when our children are young and full of the promise of life before them.

Murusaki Shikibu & Sei-Shonagon (980, 1000 A). As mentioned above, the Japanese were very late in formulating their own written language - but had for centuries been dependent on the Chinese written language with which to express themselves in writing at least. Yet there was a culture that yearned to express themselves in written form as they did in spoken form. It was an unusual twist of fate that lead women, freed from court fomality, to take up this new alphabet (the phonetic kana) when it finally arrived. They did so with great enthusiasm and wrote about the sorts of things that women often thought about... Love.

 Murusaki Shikibu is often cited as having written the first novel... The Tale of Genji. Strangely - this name is a pseudonym - her real name is unknown. Her contemporary, Sei Shonagon who is most famous for her Pillow Book was not far behind.

Yet still there was something in faux-Murusaki's expression during this parade that said it all... I'm #1 here, and don't you forget it. I have wondered how they select the people to fill the roles in Jidai Matsuri... and whether they consider bearing when they allot roles. Or is this a role for life that one grows into?

Ono-no-Komachi (850)...  the official guide is somewhat vague... "A woman famous for her wit and beauty, whose costumes were created in consultation with the Gods".... Wikipedia is a little less vague...she was one of the famous Waka poets in the Heian era. She was also reportedly involved in a heated love affair where she'd promised to become a man's lover if he'd love her every night for 100 nights... unfortunately for him he missed a night near the end (as happens), but so torn with grief that he subsequently gave up all hope for life and died. Hmmm - her writing style must really have had some bite!

 

Waka-no-Hiromushi (790 AD). She supposedly started one of the original orphanages in Japan, but by the looks of her hapless children here, they'd have sooner snuck off for a quick cigarette and some teenage no-good. Not sure also why one is carrying a bow... not a good sign I would have thought. According to this date she must have been one of the original inhabitants of the newly constructed Kyōto.

Kudara-o-Myohsin (unknown). The wife of a powerful government minister, and Chief Lady-in-Waiting to the Imperial Court of Emperor Kammu - legendary progenitor of Kyōto.

Clearly she had some inside knowledge... always handy for a Lady-in-Waiting.

Almost there everyone - we've knocked off the Heian period, and where therefore on the last leg. Keep in there!

Jidai Matsuri Pt2 - The Warring States Period

22nd October, 2006 -  This period is known as the Azuchi-Momoyama Period (1568 - 1600) and represents the relatively rapid unification of Japan under successive warlords; first Oda Nobunaga, then Toyotomi Hideyoshi then finally under complete unification by Tokugawa Ieyasu (whose descendents would rule Japan under the feudal system for the next 250 odd years). With Oda and Toyotomi, the Warring States Period (Sengoku Jidai) that had lasted for over a century had finally came to an end.


The renaissance of Kyōto really began with Toyotomi Hideoyoshi (1536-98 AD) here entering Kyōto in his ox-drawn cart. Not sure why such an important figure of Toyotomi is so mysteriously represented. Do you think he was really in there in his immaculate costume? Makes me wonder...

Toyotomi Hideyoshi was an unusual character in Japanese history – the son of a peasant, he could hardly have been expected to amount to much in such a class restricted society. He started his military career in a lowly position of foot soldier within Nobunaga’s forces in 1557 AD, but would rise to the position of one of Oda's most trusted generals. After the unexpected death of Nobunaga, he continued Nobunaga’s mission of unification. His temperament was far more considered than Oda Nobunaga however, and would use tact and demonstration as much as brute force.

In Kyōto, Hideyoshi is somewhat of a legendary figure – being personally responsible for the restoration of countless temples and villas. He was also central in the popularizing the tea-ceremony in Japan, through his friendship with Sen no Rikyu (1522 – 91 AD). This culminated in the famous Tea Party at Kitano of 1587 with over 800 different pavilions where the entire city was invited to come and enjoy tea. In only four years however the friendship with Rikyu would end, and Hideyoshi would order his death by ritual suicide or seppuku - but more of this in a later post.

Hideyoshi wanted desperately to be respected as ruler of all Japan, but was not given the title by the Emperor – even unsuccessfully requesting to be adopted into the Ashikaga family. In the end, he was given the title of regent in 1585 AD; but would never even be known as Shogun - that honour would however be given to his successor, Tokugawa Ieyasu.

Hideyoshi’s campaign of unification came to an end in 1590, when he took on the Hōjō at Odawara in Sagami. Unlike previous instances, with their eventual capitulation, his spirit was not one of generousity – ordering all the provincial leaders to commit seppuku; and handing over their territory to his staunch ally Tokugawa Ieyasu. At the same time, Ieyasu surrendered his own ancestral lands of Mikawa, to be replaced by the domain in Kanto – and unwittingly setting Tokugawa up for eventual total dominance and the rise of Edo (now Tokyo) in the Kanto region.

Subtracting from his great legend was the fact that he lacked an heir, he had adopted his half-brother's son (Hidetsugu). As fate would have it, he subsequently had another child (Hideyori)... which given the politics of the time meant trouble for poor Hidetsugu. He was eventually ordered to... you guessed it. Commit seppuku. His entire family suffered the less noble fate of being murdered. Men, women and children alike. We'll here more about what happened to Hideyori later on...

The end of Hideyoshi's story was not however a happy one. After a pointless war with China in Korea - that might have pointed more to his own personal failings - his eventual death is almost anti-climactic to the point of it not even being announced till much later. This also spoke towards the knowledge that succession would not be an easy thing.

Toyotomi's inspiration had been Oda Nobunaga (1534 - 82 AD) - the first of the three great unifiers of Japan. Nobunaga was determined to unite all of Japan under his rule, and set about to gradually build a force capable of ruling Japan by force. After securing a number of key battles with rivals to the east, and with the support of Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543 - 1616 AD) in the western province of Mikawa, Nobunaga entered Kyōto in 1568 to install Ashikaga Yoshiaki (1537 – 97 AD) as shogun. Today, this moment is represented with Oda Nobunaga leading his procession through the streets of Kyōto.

Despite his plans of using Yoshiaki as a figurehead only, the Ashikaga shogun resented the position he had been forced into, and conspired against Nobunaga. Nobunaga’s reign was also marked by a number of key conflicts with the Asakura clan, of which the Oda clan had historically been subordinate – and whom had links with Yoshiaki. With help from Tokugawa Ieyasu (a childhood friend of Nobunaga) in 1570, the Asakura and the allied Asai were defeated in battle.


Oda Nobunaga scans the crowd... he knows what's down that road, and he doesn't like it one bit.



Things climaxed in 1573, when Nobunaga routed the Ashikaga forces once and for all – though Yoshiaki himself would, somewhat uncharacteristically for the time, survive. Thus started a series of campaigns against each of the provinces, defeating them one after another. An important component of his success in these campaigns was his novel use of musket-based fighting techniques – which had been introduced with the Dutch and Portuguese. Not really a typical image of the Samurai spirit.

Nobunaga most definitely used force to unite provinces around his banner – but once defeated, he did bring a degree of unity through good governance. In one such campaign against the Mōri, in 1581, he sent two of his most capable generals, Toyotomi Hideoyoshi and Akechi Mitsushide. After an inconclusive campaign, Akechi returned to Kyōto with his troops in 1582, and then un-expectantly surrounded the temple where Nobunaga was staying (Honnō-ji... which we visit later) – and as was the want of Japanese in hard times, forced Nobunaga to commit seppuku. This betrayal had been attributed to an earlier dispute between the Hatano clan and Nobunaga, in which Mitsushide’s mother had been killed by Hatano men – for which he secretly blamed Nobunaga.

Fate is forever just a moment away from becoming fact.


Now something very strange happens in Jidai Matsuri... we jump unexpectantly to the start of the Muromachi Period (1333 - 1568 AD) where we witness the "triumphant entry of Lord Kusunoki Masashige). Actually, we've come across him before... but I wouldn't expect you to remember him. His statue sits outside the Imperial Palace in Tokyo.

But first things first... some pomp and ceremony (more so the pomp side).

The fanfare announces the lords approach.

Kusunoki Masashige (1294 - 1336 AD) -  was a fabled general supporting the Emperor Go-Daigo against the forces of the traitor Ashikaga Takauji. When faced with overwhelming force, he had suggested to his Emperor to make a tactical retreat to the heights of Hiei-zan, but alas for poor Kusunoki, his request was ignored.

In true Samurai spirit, he then marched his small force out to meet Ashikaga in battle; where his army met a typically grisly end. So the story goes, just before the final defeat, his brother who rode with him at the time shouted out "Would that I had seven lives to give for my country!" (Shichisei Hōkoku!); and then the remainder of the force including Kusunoki Masashige commited seppuku.

Back in sequence, we now see the Ohara-Me, or women from Ohara. Ohara is a small town that lies to the north of Kyōto , at the base of Hiei-zan... and where you can find Sanzen-in gardens. I'm not sure what the exact cultural significance of this section of the parade is, but needless to say the women of Ohara were very hard working. I do wonder what the men of Ohara were doing... cutting wood I suppose...

Some of these women looked just a little too refined... but just because a woman has to work hard, doesn't mean that she can't look her best. ?; p

It is also nice to get to part of the parade that doesn't involve somehow slicing one's own belly open and bleeding to death. Hurrah... no seppuku!


Not to be outdone, Katura Me (the women of Katsura which lies on the western outskirts of Kyōto) get into the act. Apparently they had the habit of wearing the white cloth around their heads whilst they came into the city to sell sweet-fish (and other similarly fishy sounding things). I have to say, that every time I see this I have a mental image of a 60's housewife taking the laundry out... and those that have visited the Adelaide Art Gallery would know the sculpture I am thinking of.

Yodogimi (1569 - 1615 AD). The hard working wife of Toyotomi Hideyoshi also makes an appearance. Actually, she was the second wife and mother of Hideyori. Actually, this gets a little messy as she was also the daughter of the younger sister of Oda Nobunaga... and when her father died, Hideyoshi adopted her. At some point along the way, she became his concubine, and then wife. Just to make matters worse, her sister was married to later Shogun Tokugawa Hidetada, and mother of Tokugawa Iemitsu. Now- did you get all of that? I can just imagine what the family re-unions were like.... oh, you're the cousin that wiped out my family...  haven't seen you in suuuuch a long time. Nice to see you again.

The story of Yodogimi is a sad one, and like so many others during this period ended in an all too familiar way. We'll find out about that a little later on... but I suppose you can guess that it wasn't a happy ending.


This brings to an end this post... whew... that was hard work! (For you and me).