このところ特に忙しかったので、休日を休日らしく過ごせることが嬉しくて、前夜からワクワクしていました。
タソちゃんが一番に行きたかった建仁寺を目指して、お寺の開く午前10時に京都に着く電車に乗りました。
大阪の淀屋橋駅から、京阪四条までは400円で行けるのですが、タソちゃんはその金額にびっくり。というのは安すぎて。なんと大阪から新幹線に乗ると思っていたそうな・・・。
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| 建仁寺のかわいい襖絵 A cute illustration on fusuma at Kennin-ji. |
建仁寺は、国宝の風神雷神図で有名ですが、書道家の金沢翔子さんの書『風神雷神』を見れたことが本当に嬉しかったです。
風神の伸びやかでいて力強い線と、雷神の稲妻を連想させるようなリズム感のある流れ。お寺が開いたばかりだったので、人もまだ少なく、じっと書の前に正座して、ゆっくりと作品を見ることができました。
建仁寺の〇△☐乃庭、さわさわと風が木々を揺らす音を聞きながら、時間はゆったりと流れます。
建仁寺開創八百年を記念して描かれた、『双龍図』もじっくりと堪能。龍は水を司る生き物。僧たちに法の雨を降らせてくれるというのだそうです。
タソちゃんが買いたいと言っていた、建仁寺のお線香は今回の旅の目的だったので、滅多に来れない彼女は３箱も買っていました。同じものを私も買いました。
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| 金沢翔子さんの、『風神雷神』 The Wind and Thunder Gods by Shoko Kanazawa |
お腹が空いた2人は、てくてくと鴨川を渡り、河原町三条あたりにある南インド料理店『ケララ』へ。
ここは私が滋賀で大学生をしていた頃に、京都へ遊びに行くたびにお昼を食べていた、お気に入りのインド料理店で、十年以上も経った今でも、相変わらずサービスが気持ちよく、雰囲気の良いお店でした。もちろんお料理も美味しい。ランチのボリュームがすごいので、私はどうしても食べきれませんでしたが、小さなタソちゃんはペロッと全部食べていました。すごい。
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| インド料理は、ほぼ初体験のタソちゃん。 Taso who is almost her first time at the Indian cuisine. |
口直しのスパイスと金平糖を噛み噛み、木屋町通りの方へ歩き始めました。
お腹がいっぱいになりすぎて、とにかく歩いて消化しよう！と、2人は二寧坂を目指します。
八坂さんへの通りでお土産を買ったりしながら、暑い暑いと汗をかきながら、とことこと進みました。
途中、浴衣を着た女の人たちをたくさん見かけました。京都だねぇ、夏だねぇ、と言いながら、着物や和装の髪型の話にも花が咲きました。
八坂神社のあたりで、人力車のお兄さんと話し、さるぼぼ（くくりざる）がたくさんの八坂庚申堂でカラフルな猿たちを楽しみ、そしてお目当てのかさぎ屋さんに到着。
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| さるぼぼちゃん Sarubobo! |
かさぎ屋さんは、二寧坂にあります。祖父と祖母の遺骨が二寧坂の近くにおさめられているので、京都へ来ると必ず立ち寄る甘み処です。
タソちゃんは小豆の粒々やもち米の粒が苦手だというので、こし餡と白玉の入った宇治抹茶かき氷を頼んでいました。私は三色萩乃餅を。実はかさぎ屋さんと言えば、もうこれしか食べたことがありません。粒あん、こしあん、そしてきなこの3種類。私の記憶ではきなこではなく白あんで、それが一番おいしいのでメニューが変わったのかな？と思いましたが、後で調べてみたら白あんはお彼岸以降に出されるのだそうです。祖父と祖母のお墓参りに来るたびに食べていたから、それで白あんだったのかな、と納得。
インド料理でぱんぱんだったお腹も、さすがにたくさん歩いて汗もかいたので、甘みが嬉しくたっぷりと休憩できました。
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| タソちゃんと宇治金時 Taso and shaved ice with sweet green tea. |
その後は三寧坂を上りながらお土産屋さんを見て回り、私は清水焼の動物のお香立てが気に入ったので猿とふくろうを選んで、包んでもらいました。
お店のお姉さんが、この後何処へ行くのかと訊いたので、タソちゃんと休憩しながら決めた三十三間堂へ行くと答えると、5時には閉まるからバスで行ったらいいですよと教えてくれました。
え、もうそんな時間なの？と驚いて時計を見たら、まだ3時過ぎ。
な～んだ、じゃあ全然大丈夫だね、と2人で清水さんから坂を下り、バスに乗ることもなく三十三間堂まで歩きました。
タソちゃんの靴擦れが痛そうで、バスに乗ろうかと言ったのですが、絆創膏を貼りなおして『大丈夫～！』と答えるタソちゃんでした。
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| お猿の香立て Monkey incense folder |
三十三間堂は、私はゆっくりこれたのは初めてで、以前からきちんと来たいと思っていました。
千体千手観音立像、風神・雷神像、二十八部衆像、と美しく力強い彫刻にほぉっと感動。
後白河上皇のために平清盛が資金を提供して作ったんだよね、確か。と歴史の復習を頭の中でやりながら、かつては極彩色に彩られた堂内に、燦然と輝く千の千手観音像と巨大な千手観音坐像を想像し、さぞやその光景は極楽さながらだったであろうと、うっとりしました。
それにしても、人の手の力って本当にすごいなぁ、とつくづく思いました。
二十八部衆の流れるようでいて、はっきりとした強さを持つ曲線、千手観音の美しくほっそりとした指先、優雅とはこういうことですね。
観音様たちの指先の流麗な感じを、普段の生活の仕草にしていけたら、と思いました。ピラティスのレッスンで早速取り入れてみようかなぁ、なんて考えたり。
二十八部衆のファッションセンスの高さや、筋肉の形なんかにじっと見入ってしまうのは、もう仕事とか興味を通り越して本能です。
お土産を売っているところで、小さな包みに入った七福神を引く、まぁ云わばおみくじのようなものがあり、タソちゃんとそれぞれひきました。
100円を入れて、三方の上に盛られた包みの中から一つ選んで取ります。
タソちゃんは恵比寿さん、私は毘沙門天でした。
タソちゃんは弁財天が出てほしかったそうですが、私は恵比寿さん、良いと思いました。ネイルのお店を開きたいと思っている彼女に商運がつくのは良いことです。
私は大好きな軍神、毘沙門天さまが出て大喜び。小指の爪よりも小さい、金色の毘沙門天の像ですが、かわいらしく、嬉しかったです。
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| 蓮の蕾 Lotus bud. |
さすがに歩きづめでお疲れモードのタソちゃんが、『ゆっくり座って休みたい』と言い、私も休みたかったので、お庭の散策は次回に見送り、急行バスで再び河原町方面へ。
木屋町通りにある老舗の喫茶店ソワレへに入りました。
東郷清児さんの絵があるお店で、内装は青い照明でレトロなロマンチックさのあるお店です。
ただ、学生時代に来ていた頃より、週末のせいか、時間帯のせいなのか、混んでいました。
それでもゼリーコーヒーを注文して、青い海の底のような雰囲気のなか、ほっと一息つきました。
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| ゼリーコーヒー Jelly in Coffee |
今回は、行きたかった所は全部行けたし、充実の日帰り小旅行となりました。
素敵なお土産を色々と教えてくれて、たくさん歩くのに嬉しそうに付き合ってくれた、タソちゃんには大感謝。
大阪・なんばで夕食を食べましたが、またまたイタリアンでした。（これについてはこの記事を参照して下さい。http://www.junko-ginger.blogspot.jp/2013/06/red-nails-cloudy-sky-and-che.html ）
帰りは少し雨が降っていましたが、地元の駅に着いたら止んでいました。 しかし、後で聞いたら地元では豪雨だったそう。京都はずっと晴れていたので、幸運でした。
今回はしっかりと息抜きができて嬉しかったです。
また次回、まだまだ行きたい所のいっぱいある京都を散策したいと思います。
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| 素敵なランプ Pretty lamp |
On the day before the Star Festival, I went to a day trip in Kyoto with my friend Taso.
I've been especially busy for last couple of weeks, so I was really happy to make the most of my day-off. So I was excited since the night before.
We headed to one of the oldest Zen temples Kennin-ji, Taso really wanted to visit in Kyoto. We got on a train to arrive at 10 a.m. , gate opening time of Kennin-ji.
We can go to Keihan-Shijyou station from Yodoya-bashi station in Osaka and it only costs 400yen, but Taso was surprised at the price. She said she thought we had to get on a bullet train...
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| 双龍図 The Twin Dragon |
Her free and easy, but strong stroke of the brush for Fujin, and for the Raijin, her lines had the rhythm and flow which remind us of lightnings. It was just after the gate was opened, so there weren't many people around yet. We could sit straight in front of the screen and enjoyed it.
The 〇△☐ Garden, rustling sounds which made by the wind through trees, I felt calm and easy.
We enjoyed the Painting of the Twin Dragons on the ceiling to our heart's content. The painting was done to to commemorate the 800th anniversary of Kennin-ji' s founding. Dragons are the creatures which rule water. It is said that they shower Buddha's teaching over the monks like a rain.
To by the sandalwood incense of Kennin-ji was one of Taso's purposes of the trip, so she bought three boxes. I bought a box too.
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| ケララ・ランチ。何が帽子みたいに大きかった！ Lunch plate at Kerara. Naan was as big as a hat! |
Two of us were very hungry. We walked and crossed Kamo River and went in the Southern Indian Restaurant Kerara around Kawaramachi Sanjyo.
Kerara has been one of my favourite Indian places since I was in the university in Shiga. Whenever I went to Kyoto, I had lunch there. It's been more than ten years since then, but their service was still great and I felt nice there. Of course the dishes are great too. Their lunch is a lot so I couldn't finish everything up, but Taso, though she is tiny, found it nothing and made a clean sweep of it. She's amazing.
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| 八坂の塔の近く Near the tower if Yasaka. |
We walked to Kiyamachi street as we were nibbling spice and confetti to refresh our breath after meal.
We headed toward Ninen-zaka (slope) because we were too full. We decided to digest as much as we could by walking.
We walked and walked as we were buying souvenirs at the street toward Yasaka shirine. And also we were sweating a lot, but we carried on walking.
On the way, we saw many girls in yukata, which is an unlined cotton kimono for summer. It's very Kyoto and it's very summer, we said. We talked a lot about kimono and hair style to match up with kimono style.
Around Yasaka shrine, a jinrikisha ( a rickshaw ) guy accosted us and we talked briefly. After that we enjoyed colourful sarubobo or kukuri-zaru, which is a local amulet, at Yasaka Koushin-Dou. And finally we got to Kasagi-ya.
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| 大量のさるぼぼちゃんたち There were too many sarubobo. |
Kasagiya is an old style sweet shop on Ninen-zaka. It's one of the places I always visit whenever I come to Kyoto as it's very close to where my grandfather and grandmother's remains are.
Taso doesn't like the texture of grains of azuki beans or glutinous rice so much, so she ordered a shaved Ice with Sweet Green Tea with smoothly strained sweetened azuki bean paste and mochi. I ordered a plate of assorted ohagi, a glutinous rice balls coated with sweetened azuki beans, smoothly strained sweetened azuki bean paste, and roasted soy bean flour. Actually I've never had anything else at this place before. Those three types of ohagi. In my memory, the one coated with roasted soybean flour was used to be coated with smoothly strained sweetened white bean paste. White Bean one was the best. So I thought that they might had changed the menu. However, when I researched on it later on, white beans paste one is served after Higan, the equinotical week. I used to had them after I visited my grandfather and grandmother's grave, so I'm convinced that's maybe why I remember white bean paste.
Our stomachs were supposed to be full after Indian cuisine, but we walked a lot and swatted a lot, so we enjoyed sweets and had a good break.
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| かさぎ屋さんのおはぎ Ohagi at Kayagi-ya. |
We were liek "Dear! Is it as late as that?", but we checked the clock and it was only three o'clock.
"Hey, we are fine!" So we went down the slope from Kiyomizu and walked to Sanjusan-Gen Dou without taking a bus.
Taso had gotten a sore from her shoes and I asked her to take a bus, but she re-applied the plaster and said "I'm fine!"
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| ふくろうのお香立て Owl incense folder. |
I was moved by beautiful and majestic statues such as a thousand of the Thousand Armed Kannon, The Wind and Thunder Gods, and twenty-eight statues of the messengers if the Kannon.
In my head, I was reviewing a history of Sanjusan-Gen-Do, which was built for Emperor Go-Shirakawa by the financial support from Taira no Kiyomori. This Buddhist temple was used to be gorgeously painted with vivid colours. It must had been amazing to see the golden Thousand Armed Kanon and the gigantic Thousand Armed Sitting Kannon radiating in the colourful temple. Paradise must be like the place like this, I was fascinated by the thought of it.
And above all, how amazing what humans hands can do!
Flowing but defined curvy lines of the twenty-eight messengers, and beautiful and delicate fingers of the Thousand Arm Kannon. That is what gracefulness is.
As I was wathching those gracious Gods, I wonder if I could use the forms of elegant fingers of the Kannon as my natural moves in my everyday life. I also thought about I should adopt it in my Pilates classes.
It was my instinct rather than a vocational habit to look at the high quality fashions of the messengers and shapes of the muscles.
At the souvenir shops, there was a sort of an oracle, which you take one of the tiny figure of the Seven Deities of Good Fortune folded in a tiny paper. Taso and I took one for each.
Taso found Yebisu, and I found Bishamonten in it.
Yebis or Ebisu, he is a God of wealth. Bishamonten is known as Vaisravana in Tibet, he is a God of military arts.
Taso wanted Benzaiten, a goddess of music, but I thought Yebis is the best one for her. She wants to open her own nail art shop, so it's better to have a good fortune of business.
I was so happy that I drew Bishamonten, my favourite God. It was a very tiny, even tinier than a finger nail of the pinkie, gold figure. It was very sweet and I was happy.
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| 私の毘沙門手様 My Bishamonten. |
Just as I thought, Taso was tired after lots of walking. She said she wanted to sit down and have a break. I also felt like exactly the same way, so we skipped walking around the garden and hopped on an express bus and, once again, headed to Kawara-machi.
We went in the old café SOIREE on Kiyamachi street.
It's the café where you can enjoy the art of Seiji Togo and interior is retro and romantic with the blue lighting.
However, I felt it became busier than I used to come when I was a university student. I don't know if it was the time, or weekend, but the place was packed with people.
We ordered jelly in coffee and felt relaxed under the blue light as if we were at the bottom of the sea.
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| 喫茶ソワレにて at café SOIREE |
This time, I could visit every place I wanted to visit. I had an amazingly perfect day trip.
Taso, you told me many fancy souvenirs and didn't complain about walking long distances. Thank you so much.
We had dinner in Namba, Osaka. And it was Italian again. (Please refer to this article about Italian http://www.junko-ginger.blogspot.jp/2013/06/red-nails-cloudy-sky-and-che.html.)
On the way home, it was raining a little, but by the time I got to my station, it had stopped. But later on I heard that it was a downpour around where we live. Kyoto had a very fine day though. We were lucky.
I'm happy that I could take my mind off properly this time.
Next time, I want to take a good walk in Kyoto. I still have many other places I want to go.