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Great Japanese Railway Journey S01E02 Kyoto
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00:04Japan.
00:05Michael, welcome to Japan, a railway paradise.
00:08Its huge population, spread over Long Islands, lives by its railways.
00:14My new adventure takes me through the land that launched the high-speed train.
00:19I love Shinkansen!
00:21Where millions of journeys are made each day through some of the most bustling stations on Earth.
00:27Busy city!
00:28I'll ride Japan's vast railway network to uncover a land of bold innovation.
00:35Haven't quite got the hang of it yet.
00:37A place of enduring traditions, volatile geology and remarkable people.
00:44Kanpai!
00:45Join me on an excursion like no other.
00:48I'm too excited to sit down.
01:15On this leg of my railway journey, I'm delving deeper into the soul of the nation.
01:23And I continue my route through central Honshu, the largest of Japan's four main islands.
01:30I began in the conurbation of Osaka and traveled to the manufacturing heartland of Nagoya.
01:36I will now take in the historic city of Kyoto, before my route wends towards the rural beauty of the
01:43Japanese Alps.
01:47I start in a city that, for more than a thousand years, was Japan's capital.
01:59I'm arriving in Kyoto.
02:01It's famed for its palaces and gardens, its shrines and temples and its wooden houses.
02:07To the Japanese, it's important heritage.
02:11And to the overseas visitor, it's a magnet.
02:29My gateway is Kyoto's main station.
02:34Opened in 1997, it's a monumental structure of glass and steel,
02:39and sits in stark contrast to the image of Kyoto as the heart of Japan's traditions.
02:45You find the historic city beyond the modern downtown.
02:50Here are old merchant neighborhoods of traditional wooden houses,
02:55magnificent shogun castles, tranquil gardens and the vast former Imperial Palace.
03:16To cross Kyoto, I'll ride the retro Keifuku random train.
03:22At one time, it operated all across the city.
03:25But now, just two lines remain.
03:32Before I came to Japan, if I thought of a train, it was a Shinkansen.
03:36But in fact, it turns out there's an enormous variety of rolling stock.
03:40Not least because many of the little lines are privately run.
03:44This delightful purple-coloured Randen train runs in parts along the streets of Kyoto.
03:51And it's very much valued as a quaint reminder of what was a tram network.
03:56But no matter how vintage a service may appear, you can believe that it's going to be run with absolute
04:03seriousness.
04:03As with everything in Japan, reliability and punctuality are guaranteed.
04:18From our dedicated track, we've now moved on to the streets of the city,
04:22where the driver has to compete with the traffic.
04:48I'll be alighting at Shizhou Omiya Station.
04:51This line's terminus.
04:58Pay your fare on exit.
05:01Exact money only.
05:03Arigato.
05:19Kyoto was the capital of Japan from the year 794 to 1868.
05:26The first almost 400 years were known as the Heian period,
05:30a time hailed as Japan's golden age when its culture flourished.
05:35A remarkable book written over a thousand years ago gives us a unique understanding of life at that time.
05:44Literature can offer a very valuable insight into the past.
05:47From Shakespeare, we discover so much about the manners and customs and humour of Elizabethan England.
05:55The Japanese are fortunate to have a novel that was written at the beginning of the 11th century by an
06:02author who was intimate with the imperial court.
06:06I've come to Rosanji Temple to hear about a piece of writing that brings medieval Kyoto to exuberant life.
06:16The Tale of Genji is celebrated as the world's first novel,
06:21and I'm astonished that it was written six centuries before the works of Shakespeare.
06:26To discuss this epic book, I'm meeting a cultural historian and senior lecturer in Asian history, Dr. Christopher Harding.
06:35Chris, hello.
06:36Hello, nice to meet you.
06:37I'm Michael.
06:38Hi.
06:39Tell me a little bit about Kyoto in the Middle Ages. It's the imperial capital.
06:43So it's really the beating heart of power in Japan.
06:46So not far from here, you would have had the old imperial palace,
06:50and then surrounding the palace would be the mansions of the aristocracy.
06:54These very powerful clans like the Fujiwara, who are nominally a little bit below the emperor,
06:59but in reality they have the wealth, they have the power, and they're very often pushing the emperor around.
07:05And as I understand it, we know an unusual amount about aristocratic life in this period because of a work
07:12of literature.
07:13That's right. We have this extraordinary work called The Tale of Genji by a writer called Murasaki Shikibu,
07:18and it's this wonderful window into the sophistication and the lavish lifestyles of people at that time.
07:25And who was this Murasaki?
07:27So she was a...
07:29She?
07:30Yes, yes. Probably the most famous woman writer actually in Japanese history.
07:34She was a member of the Fujiwara family, this very, very powerful family.
07:38She married. Sadly, her husband died quite young.
07:41And she, I think at that point, was expecting that her life was over, really.
07:46And then, amazingly, she creates the first few chapters of what became The Tale of Genji.
07:51And it starts getting passed around the court.
07:55And on the strength of that, we think she gets this job as a lady-in-waiting to a very
07:59important empress.
08:00And really, her career takes off.
08:02Do you have any idea how unusual it was at that time to be writing prose,
08:08and how unusual it was for a woman to be writing prose?
08:11I think it's extraordinarily rare for something of this scope to be produced.
08:14So in this period, women did write, but they would be writing short stories, poems,
08:20the sorts of things where you have one character and a fairly simple narrative arc.
08:24What Murasaki did, which I think was unprecedented, maybe not just in Japan,
08:27but actually across the world, was to put that kind of emotion,
08:32those sorts of literary devices into this enormous piece, this huge canvas,
08:36more than 1,000 pages, more than 400 characters,
08:39where you don't just get a snapshot of people's emotions,
08:42but you see how their emotional lives play out over decades.
08:46I don't think anyone else had done that before, and it's an extraordinary achievement.
08:50It's embarrassing that Murasaki is not more famous in the West.
08:54Her book is deeply embedded in Japan's cultural identity,
08:58as Shakespeare is in Britain's and Cervantes' in Spain's.
09:02Set in the Heian period, when Kyoto was the imperial capital,
09:06it follows the life and loves of a fictional prince, Genji,
09:11offering readers a tantalising glimpse into the customs, the manners,
09:15even the dress of the aristocracy.
09:19Can you tell me something about the plot of the novel?
09:22So, Genji is born into the imperial family.
09:26He's the son of the emperor and one of the emperor's favourite concubines.
09:29She dies quite young, and for all sorts of political reasons,
09:33Genji is then effectively disinherited.
09:35And then he has a few years where he is chasing a few women.
09:40He's famously this irrepressibly amorous man.
09:43He's exiled for a while, comes back in triumph,
09:46lives this extraordinary, rich, courtly life for a while.
09:49And then, just towards the end of his life,
09:51he seems to have a sense that it's all a bit pointless,
09:55that everything is passing away,
09:57everything that he finds so beautiful in the world
09:58is going to be gone tomorrow.
10:00And so you have this rather melancholy feel just at the end
10:03before he passes away.
10:06And then, strangely, after Genji's death,
10:08you have another section of the novel which follows his children.
10:12And the main protagonist has effectively been killed off,
10:15which, again, is quite a revolutionary device, I think.
10:18The tale of Genji has been hugely influential
10:21in shaping Japanese literature and aesthetics.
10:24This classical text also clearly reflects the Buddhist focus
10:28on the transience of life.
10:31This is Genji contemplating the snow.
10:35Tadatada kono munashiki yo no naka wo toke te
10:39saditaki to negau gotoku.
10:41And he's saying something like this.
10:43When I only long to melt from this sorry world,
10:47as this snow will soon,
10:49how strange still to linger and once again to watch it fall.
10:54So there's a sense here, I think, for him,
10:56that the world is passing away.
10:58He thinks his own time has come now.
11:01Naturally, he should be gone.
11:03It's very, very moving.
11:05It's very moving.
11:14However rich the talents, the life, the loves of Genji,
11:19he sensed that his time was passing.
11:22Even as we lap up the rich experiences of being,
11:26we feel nostalgia because we know they're going to be so brief.
11:29Modern novelists capture this beautifully,
11:32such as Marcel Proust in In Search of Lost Time.
11:35But they walk in the footsteps of Murazaki.
11:52The streets of Kyoto are full of sights that the foreign visitor anticipates.
11:58Ornate wooden buildings, enigmatic signs in kanji script,
12:01and traditional dress worn by many in the city.
12:06One distinctly Japanese accessory strikes me as superficially familiar.
12:15The British are very attached to their umbrellas
12:18because we think of our country as being rather rainy.
12:21And a well-furled brolly used to be a sure sign of a professional person.
12:26In Japan, you're just as likely to get a drenching.
12:30And the hand-crafted umbrella, a rather different object
12:34from its mass-produced Western equivalent,
12:36was a symbol of the very highest status.
12:43Hiyoshiya is a fifth-generation umbrella manufacturer,
12:47founded towards the end of the Edo period in the mid-19th century,
12:51and run today by Kotaro Nishibori.
12:55Kotaro-san.
12:56Hi, good morning, Michael-san.
12:58Nice to meet you.
12:58What a pleasure to see you.
13:00You have some beautiful umbrellas here.
13:03And straight away I can see they're very different from Western umbrellas.
13:06Yes, indeed.
13:07More complicated, more pieces.
13:09Yes.
13:09This has like 44 leaves.
13:11That was 48.
13:12So if you think about the Western umbrella,
13:15usually it has eight, maximum 10 to 12 leaves.
13:19Yes.
13:19It's much more than that.
13:21Then also this surface is not covered by the polyester or any textile.
13:26It's made of natural washi paper.
13:28And what is washi paper?
13:30Washi paper is the name of handmade traditional paper, Japanese paper.
13:35And even though it's washi paper, it will be waterproof?
13:38Oh, yes.
13:39We put natural linseed oil on it, top of it.
13:43Then when the oil dried under the sun, then it make the paper waterproof.
13:49When did the umbrella begin in Japan?
13:51We believe that it came from China with Buddhism 1,000 years ago.
13:57And technically at that time, umbrella cannot close.
14:01It's always keep the open position.
14:03So this is umbrella for rain.
14:06But ancient time, people use it for holy people, like a monk or Buddha,
14:12to covering their head and to protect something evil, like a devil.
14:18Known as a wagasa, this umbrella was at its peak in the mid-19th century
14:23and was not just practical, but a fashion accessory.
14:28Today, this is Kyoto's last remaining umbrella workshop,
14:32using the traditional method passed down through the generations.
14:38So here is my studio. Please come in.
14:41My goodness. These are beautiful pieces of work.
14:46This is both art and craftsmanship. This is superb.
14:49Thank you very much.
14:50It's a kind of big one. It's not for rain.
14:53That is for a special tea ceremony. It's a kind of parasol.
14:57It takes over two weeks of painstaking work to make a standard-sized umbrella,
15:03which costs upwards of 200 pounds.
15:06Saki Fujita is one of the few artisans preserving this craft.
15:12Saki, hello.
15:14My name is Michael. Good to see you.
15:18May I ask you, how long have you been making umbrellas?
15:26Will you show me, please, what you do?
15:30Where do I start?
15:31Well, first of all, there's a hole in a hole.
15:38Yes.
15:46I'm through. Okay. So, you've got the thread through that tiny hole.
15:50Yes.
15:51I'm through. Okay. So, you've got the thread through that tiny hole.
15:54Now, I've got to go through the next hole.
15:57Yes.
15:58Yes.
16:00It's perfect.
16:01There we go. Getting better, getting better.
16:04Each bamboo rib is individually sewn onto the central shaft.
16:10How fast are you now? How many umbrellas can you make?
16:14Yes.
16:15Yes.
16:15There are 48 times of the bone.
16:19There are 48 times of the bone.
16:20There are 10 minutes.
16:25Ten minutes.
16:27Yes.
16:28That's amazing.
16:30But look.
16:31Yes.
16:32It's beginning to look like an umbrella.
16:34You know, just five minutes with you has taught me what a beautiful art and craft this is.
16:40Congratulations to you.
16:41Yes.
16:42I'm here too.
16:43I'm here too.
16:43I'm here too.
16:46I'm here too.
17:02Very Japanese following both religions.
17:05Shinto is indigenous to Japan and has its roots in practices that date back to the 3rd century BC.
17:14I'm heading to the outskirts to visit the Matsunotaisha shrine, the oldest in the city, first built in 701.
17:28It's wonderfully set out with courtyards and trees, and I'm here to learn some of the etiquette which is appropriate
17:35to such a very serene place.
17:39I'm joined by Shinto priest Yasushiko Iwata, who will guide me.
17:46Hello, my name is Michael.
17:51I'mốm jungeanta Nasuashi Lavasa.
17:55Let's ask you to ask the first change through these oui models.
18:02One last minute.
18:11Let's take a look.
18:12Here is 80 seconds.
18:13It's called the one, and it's called the one on the left side.
18:18Shinto doesn't rely on sacred texts or strict rules.
18:22It's a way of life built around harmony and respect,
18:26expressed through countless small daily rituals.
18:30First, wash your hands.
18:34Wash your hands.
18:36Then wash your hands in your mouth.
18:48Then wash your hands again.
18:50In Shinto, there are many gods and spirits, called kami,
18:54who are believed to be in nature, in places, even in everyday things.
18:59Each shrine is devoted to one of these spirits.
19:03Please tell me a little about the history of this shrine.
19:15What is the God associated with?
19:35I have no idea that the gods were involved in making sake.
19:39Yes.
19:42To offer up a prayer to the Shinto god of the mountain and of sake,
19:47the ritual begins with a bow.
20:00The bell is to wake the spirits.
20:04The bell is to wake the spirits.
20:05First, raise your hands two times.
20:11Then, raise your hands two times.
20:12Then, raise your hand.
20:24acesso climatic!
20:26That means that in your heart bid you're сюда,
20:27make you cry.
20:38Now as one of the prayers of Allah,
20:40let it be when it comes toCloud no matter,
20:41There is a massage.
20:42Now it increases the depth of your prayer,
20:42In our prayers,
21:03If you spend a little time in Kyoto, you start to notice its taxis.
21:07Like the London black cab, the Toyota crown has become a symbol of the city, its automated
21:14opening door an inspired feature.
21:20Hello.
21:22I'm taking one across town to my final stop in the old imperial quarter of Kamikyo.
21:49Kyoto upholds Japanese traditions, which can be a challenge for the foreign visitor to
21:54understand.
21:55I'm entering the mysterious world of the geisha.
21:59Kyoto is home to Japan's largest community of geisha, translated as women of art and known
22:06here as geiko.
22:07Geisha live in okiya, traditional lodging houses where they train in classical dance, music
22:15and hospitality, before performing in the city's tea houses and restaurants.
22:22From outside Japan, we tend to view it as a series of stereotypes.
22:27One of which is the geisha.
22:30And the idea of women being trained over a long period in order to provide entertainment
22:36for men doesn't sit very comfortably with western ideas in the age of hashtag me too.
22:43But being in Japan is an opportunity for me to study this long established Japanese tradition
22:48and to separate fact from fiction.
22:54I've come to a traditional tempura restaurant to meet local guide Yuko Katsumi and apprentice
23:01geisha Satoha.
23:11It usually takes around five years to graduate from being a maiko, an apprentice, into a fully
23:18accomplished geisha.
23:20Satoha is nearing the end of her apprenticeship.
23:33How very elegant, wasn't that beautiful, would you very kindly join us?
23:39Tell me about your beautiful clothes.
23:58These kimonos are very beautiful, they must be very valuable.
24:02Is it your kimono? Do you own this kimono?
24:04This is a place of the house.
24:21How did you know about the world of the geisha?
24:48Are you enjoying your work as a Maiko?
24:52Yes, I'm honored to be able to join this world.
25:22We call them geiko in Kyoto. Anyway, geiko started about 300 years ago during the Edo period.
25:30They are a kind of waitresses of the tea houses near the Shinto Shrine.
25:35After the people visit the Shinto Shrine, they enjoy eating the sweets or enjoy the sake.
25:42Then later, they began to show their performances.
25:46Historically, how might women become geisha?
25:49So, you mean in the old time?
25:51Yes.
25:52So, basically, they have some financial problems with their families.
25:57Then they want to become geiko or maiko and get some money and give it to their families.
26:06But this is a very old story.
26:08And then what, the women would sort of work off the debt?
26:11Yes.
26:12Yes, exactly.
26:13Over a period of time.
26:14Yes, exactly.
26:15Let's talk about the men who bought the services of geishas.
26:19So, then they are a kind of merchants, rich merchants of Kyoto.
26:25So, then they called the maiko and geiko to their private parties as the performers.
26:32Historically, were the geisha ever involved in sex with the gentlemen?
26:36So, then it's a really tough question, but it used to be.
26:40But now, of course, it's banned.
26:44Whilst geishas still perform at exclusive banquets for businessmen and politicians,
26:49their client list has evolved to include tourists, women and families,
26:54as well as wider audiences online.
26:56Girls who want to become the geiko or maiko,
27:00come to Kyoto from all over Japan by their own will.
27:05So, some of them are very interested in the traditional dance.
27:09Some of them want to be the professional musician.
27:13Then they come to Kyoto and learn about everything to be a maiko or geiko.
27:34Kyoto was the imperial capital for more than a thousand years,
27:38and such is the continuity of Japan that the emperor on the throne today is of the same family.
27:44The shrines and temples of Kyoto, despite their antiquity,
27:48are relevant to contemporary Japan because religion is an important part of national culture,
27:55and because tradition is revered.
27:57I've enjoyed learning about the tale of Genji and the craft of the umbrella and the profession of the geisha,
28:06because I feel that the more I understand the history, the more I'll appreciate the Japanese of today.
28:16Next time.
28:22Look, I have a pearl.
28:25I think one of the most important things to know about this statue is that,
28:29at the time, it was covered in gold.
28:31It must have been mind-blowing.
28:35The deer are arriving in huge numbers.
28:39Time for a spot of lunch.
28:41Oh!
28:43Oh!
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