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Great Japanese Railway Journeys Season 1 Episode 2
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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.
00:13I feel like I'm driving.
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.
02:30My gateway is Kyoto's main station.
02:33Opened in 1997, it's a monumental structure of glass and steel, and sits in stark contrast to the image of
02:42Kyoto as the heart of Japan's traditions.
02:46You find the historic city beyond the modern downtown.
02:50Here are old merchant neighborhoods of traditional wooden houses, magnificent shogun castles, tranquil gardens, and the vast former imperial palace.
03:16To cross Kyoto, I'll ride the retro Keifuku random train.
03:21At 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.
03:43This delightful purple-coloured Randen train runs in parts along the streets of Kyoto.
03:50And it's very much valued as a quaint reminder of what was a tram network.
03:57But no matter how vintage a service may appear, you can believe that it's going to be run with absolute
04:02seriousness.
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, where the driver has to compete
04:24with 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.
05:04Arigato.
05:15Arigato.
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, a time hailed as Japan's golden age when its
05:34culture 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.
05:48From 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, and I'm astonished that it was written six centuries
06:24before the works of Shakespeare.
06:26To discuss this epic book, I'm meeting a cultural historian and senior lecturer in ancient 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, and then surrounding the palace would be
06:52the mansions of the aristocracy.
06:54These very powerful clans like the Fujiwara, who are nominally a little bit below the emperor, but in reality, they
07:01have the wealth, they have the power,
07:02and 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, and she, I think at that point, was expecting that her life
07:44was 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, and on the strength of that, we think, she gets this job
07:57as a lady-in-waiting to a very important 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, and how unusual it
08:09was for a woman to be writing prose?
08:10I 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, the sorts of things where
08:21you have one character and a fairly simple narrative arc.
08:24What Murasaki did, which I think was unprecedented, maybe not just in Japan, but actually across the world, was to
08:29put that kind of emotion, those sorts of literary devices, into this enormous piece, this huge canvas.
08:36More than 1,000 pages, more than 400 characters, where you don't just get a snapshot of people's emotions, but
08:42you 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, as Shakespeare is in Britain's and Cervantes' in Spain's.
09:02Set in the Heian period, when Kyoto was the imperial capital, it follows the life and loves of a fictional
09:09prince, Genji, offering readers a tantalizing glimpse into the customs, the manners, even 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. He's the son of the emperor, and one of the emperor's favourite
09:28concubines.
09:29She dies quite young, and for all sorts of political reasons, Genji is then effectively disinherited.
09:35And then he has a few years where he is chasing a few women. He's famously this irrepressibly amorous man.
09:43He's exiled for a while, comes back in triumph, lives this extraordinary, rich, courtly life for a while.
09:49And then, just towards the end of his life, he seems to have a sense that it's all a bit
09:55pointless, that everything is passing away.
09:56Everything that he finds so beautiful in the world is going to be gone tomorrow.
10:00And so you have this rather melancholy feel just at the end, before he passes away.
10:05And then, strangely, after Genji's death, you have another section of the novel which follows his children.
10:12And the main protagonist has effectively been killed off, which again is quite a revolutionary device, I think.
10:18The tale of Genji has been hugely influential in shaping Japanese literature and aesthetics.
10:24This classical text also clearly reflects the Buddhist focus on the transience of life.
10:31This is Genji contemplating the snow.
10:41And he's saying something like this.
10:43When I only long to melt from this sorry world, as 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 that 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, he sensed that his time was passing.
11:22Even as we lap up the rich experiences of being, we feel nostalgia because we know they're going to be
11:28so brief.
11:29Modern novelists capture this beautifully, such as Marcel Proust in In Search of Lost Time.
11:35But they walk in the footsteps of Murasaki.
11:52The streets of Kyoto are full of sights that the foreign visitor anticipates.
11:57Ornate wooden buildings, enigmatic signs in kanji script, and 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 because 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.
12:27In Japan, you're just as likely to get a drenching.
12:30And the handcrafted umbrella, a rather different object from its mass-produced Western equivalent, was a symbol of the very
12:39highest status.
12:43Hiyoshiya is a fifth-generation umbrella manufacturer, founded 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. Nice to meet you.
12:58What a pleasure to see you.
12:59You 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, these have like 44 leaves. That was 48.
13:12So if you think about the Western umbrella, usually it has 8, maximum 10 to 12 leaves.
13:19Yes.
13:19It's much more than that.
13:21Then also this surface is not covered by polyester or any textile.
13:26It's made of natural washi paper.
13:27And 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. We 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?
13:52We believe that it came from China with Buddhism 1,000 years ago.
13:57And technically, at that time, umbrella cannot close.
14:00It's always keep the open position.
14:03So this is umbrella for laying.
14:06But ancient times, 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 waga-sa, this umbrella was at its peak in the mid-19th century,
14:24and 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.
14:45Thank you. This is both art and craftsmanship. This is superb.
14:49Thank you very much. It's a kind of big one. It's not for rain.
14:53That is for a special tea ceremony. It's a kind of palace.
14:57It takes over two weeks of painstaking work to make a standard-sized umbrella,
15:03which costs upwards of 200 pounds.
15:07Saki Fujita is one of the few artisans preserving this craft.
15:13Saki, hello. My 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 one hole.
15:38Yes.
15:40I'm going through the hole in the hole in the hole.
15:44Ah, I'm through. Okay.
15:47So, you've got the thread through that tiny hole.
15:50I'm going through the hole in the hole.
15:54Now I've got to go through the next hole.
15:57Yes.
15:59It'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.
16:16I've got 48 times.
16:20I've got that for 10 minutes.
16:2510 minutes.
16:28That's amazing.
16:30Well, 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.
16:41Here we are.
16:43Here we are.
16:43Here we are.
16:51In Kyoto, I'm struck by the number of religious buildings.
16:56Over 1,000 Buddhist temples and 400 Shinto shrines, with many 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 Matsunod Taisha 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.
17:49My name is Michael.
17:51My name is Michael.
17:51I'm the Matsunod Taisha.
17:54I'm the Matsunod Taisha.
17:55I'm the Matsunod Taisha.
17:56First, please take a walk with the Holy Spirit.
18:00Please take a walk.
18:03Let's move on.
18:05Let's move on.
18:06In Japan, the middle of the middle is the path that the Holy Spirit can be seen.
18:12It's called the path to 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, expressed through countless small daily rituals.
18:30First, wash your hands.
18:32Let's wash your hands.
18:37Let's wash your hands.
18:44Let's wash your hands.
18:47Let's wash your hands again.
18:50In Shinto, there are many gods and spirits, called Kami, who are believed to be in nature,
18:56in 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.
19:14What is the God associated with?
19:25What is the God associated with?
19:29What is the God of the world of Japan?
19:35I had 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, the ritual begins with a
19:49bow.
19:59The bell is to wake the spirits.
20:04First of all, take your head deep into two times.
20:11Then, take your head deep into two times.
20:20And I want to ask your heart, like a prayer.
20:25The blessing is in the moment, and take your head deep into two times.
20:30Then, take your eyes deep into two times.
20:36Can you tell my wish?
20:37should be granted.
21:03If you spend a little time in Kyoto,
21:05you start to notice its taxis.
21:08Like the London black cab,
21:10the Toyota Crown has become a symbol of the city.
21:13Its automated opening door, an inspired feature.
21:19Hello.
21:22I'm taking one across town to my final stop
21:25in the old Imperial Quarter of Kamikyo.
21:49Kyoto upholds Japanese traditions,
21:52which can be a challenge for the foreign visitor to understand.
21:55I'm entering the mysterious world of the geisha.
21:59Kyoto is home to Japan's largest community of geisha,
22:03translated as women of art and known here as geiko.
22:07Geisha live in Okiya,
22:10traditional lodging houses
22:11where they train in classical dance,
22:14music and hospitality
22:16before performing in the city's tea houses and restaurants.
22:22From outside Japan,
22:24we 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
22:34in order to provide entertainment for men
22:37doesn't sit very comfortably with Western ideas
22:40in the age of hashtag me too.
22:43But being in Japan is an opportunity for me
22:45to study this long established Japanese tradition
22:48and to separate fact from fiction.
22:54I've come to a traditional tempura restaurant
22:57to meet local guide Yuko Katsumi
23:00and apprentice geisha Satoha.
23:11It usually takes around five years
23:13to graduate from being a maiko, an apprentice,
23:16into a fully accomplished geisha.
23:19Satoha is nearing the end of her apprenticeship.
23:33How very elegant.
23:35Yes.
23:36Wasn't that beautiful?
23:37Would you very kindly join us?
23:39Tell me about your beautiful clothes.
23:41You have a beautiful clothes.
23:42Maiko's mane is so long.
23:47The clothes are a long and long.
23:49The clothes, the clothes, the clothes, the clothes, the clothes,
23:54the clothes, the clothes, the clothes, and the clothes.
23:58These clothes are very beautiful.
24:00They must be very valuable.
24:02Is it your clothes?
24:03Do you own this clothes?
24:21How did you know about the world of the Geico?
24:48Are you enjoying your work as a Maiko?
24:54Are you enjoying this world?
24:58Before the Second World War, the geisha community numbered around 80,000,
25:03whereas today only 1 or 2,000 remain.
25:07Whilst the profession is having to adapt to modern society,
25:11it endures and continues to fascinate.
25:14Do we know why or how it begins, where it begins?
25:18Actually, the origin of geisha, we call them geiko in Kyoto.
25:25Anyway, 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.
25:36After the people visit the Shinto Shrine, they enjoy eating 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.
25:51So, basically, they have some financial problems with their families.
25:57Then they want to become geiko or maiko and so get some money and they gave it to their families.
26:06But this is very old story.
26:08And then what, the women would sort of work off the debt?
26:11Yes, yes, 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 the merchants, the merchants of Kyoto.
26:25So, then they called Michael 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 bad.
26:43Whilst geisha still perform at exclusive banquets for businessmen and politicians, their client list has evolved to include tourists, women
26:52and families, as well as wider audiences online.
26:57Girls who want to become the geiko or maiko come 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, are relevant to contemporary Japan.
27:51Because religion is an important part of national culture and because tradition is revered.
27:58I've enjoyed learning about the tale of Genji and the craft of the umbrella and the profession of the geisha.
28:05Because I feel that the more I understand the history, the more I'll appreciate the Japanese of today.
28:16Next time.
28:19Whoa!
28:21Look, I have a pearl.
28:25I think one of the most important things to know about this statue is that, at the time, it was
28:30covered in gold.
28:31It must have been mind-blowing.
28:35The deer are arriving in huge numbers.
28:39Time for a spot of lunch.
28:41Hoo!
28:42Whoo!
28:43Hmm.
29:05MATH
29:09MUSIC
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