Japan April 15 &17 (day 15 and 17): the rest of Kyoto’s story and heading home

Kyoto April 15th: We barely got to breakfast at 9:50 (closes at 10:00), I am still getting used to being served French fries and grapefruit juice for breakfast at the “Buffet.” The previous day Linda had talked about going to the Golden Pavilion, of the famous novel by Mishima (sic), which was burned in the 1950’s by a person who realized they would do nothing of worth so burned this ancient building of exquisite beauty (and Japan being Japan rebuilt it). Instead we were going to Nijo (Niji-jo) Castle.

We got on the subway, which after two days had finally memorized the ‘unique’ layout (for wheelies – because we must WANT to wheel long distances opposite to where we are trying to go1), and caught the subway right to the castle, which unfortunately had not just one but TWO school trips to see it (ahhhh, the dread school trip clumping). Nijo was probably the MOST wheelchair friendly castle/site I have visited, including the shrine in Nara. We were told immediately that my chair was “outdoor” and thus must be left behind to go inside (along with shoes). This produced in us the rolling eyes and the “oh fuck these customs” thoughts and waiting for the “So you walk now!” comment (which always makes me want to talk someone from Murderball with me next time to go postal on them – because good girls don’t GO postal, they bring quads covered in tattoos to do it for them) when we told that “indoor” wheelchairs were available for me to transfer into. What? A special “indoor chair!” Brill! So, I left my wheelchair in their care and transferred to an “indoor” wheelchair – why can’t all the other facilities do this?

The whole castle, of which there are MANY rooms, are decorated in each room with gold paintings on the wood walls, and all the rooms were connected and surrounded by the Nightingale floor. When the Shogun had the place built in 1603 he had the ninja’s make a floor that sounds like birds chirping whenever it was stepped on, with the receiving rooms inside (thus no sneaking up). Because of the fragile nature of the paintings, no photography was allowed (so no pics of nightingale floors). Basically the higher up you were, the further into the castle you were received, and the more elaborate the painting in the room (the room where the Shogun kept his personal arms and amour was decorated with falcons, peregrine and other bird of prey). The furthest room out was for receiving gifts from vassals, the next for those in the Shogun’s employ, one further in for meeting other lords, or prefecture rulers and finally a receiving room for the messenger of the emperor.

Sadly, the craftpeople who made the floor 400 years ago probably died out 200 years ago so it sounds a lot more like “grandma turning over in bed” or the bed you used to get (that fold out couch which squeaked) when visiting grandma. We did however find a few boards that sounded like the chirping of a bird or birds and would rock back and forth on them listening to the chirping.

There was also an extensive set of gardens in which Sakura (cherry) trees were blooming. Linda went off to see these herself as I was hot (VERY hot with sun at ‘burn’ levels, even with sunscreen on) and the whole grounds were covered with thick gravel with is the quicksand for manual chairs. I already had to apply medical tape to my thumbs to stop them from bleeding. I spent my time talking to the English speaking female staff member (kinda cute) who watched our stuff. We talked about films and places we have both visited (just say “Nara” and then put thumb and two bent fingers for antlers to get a conversation on the Nara deer started), and the Japanese films and shows we watched. When she found out we had slept on the floor for over 10 years until I got sick, she said with wide eyes, “I think you are more Japanese than me!”

We had an extra 90 minutes before our tour of the Imperial Palace….so we went to get anime and KFC chicken. We hopped on the subway and headed to get Hana, a particular book I had been looking for, a female artist who specializes in painting females getting all frisky with each other (178 pages!), including shrine maidens taking off each other’s miko’s. It was purely for….ahem….artist reasons, I wanted it but if I could buy it here it was $30 instead of $65 for the “import” book cost. Well I found it at a place called “Melon Books” next to Animate. Really the name should have warned me as I noticed the longer I was in the store the more freaked out the browsers got (entirely male). Also, the counter was right next to the “straight lesbian” which made me sort of interested except a) it was all a little too “innocent eyes" for me with GIANT smooth butts and b) some aspects were so anatomically incorrect I was going to try to explain (pointing to manga) to staff that actually during lesbian sex, THAT particular orifice doesn’t get moist but decided to just go instead. However, THESE staff guys guys knew all about Strawberry Panic (girl private school where everyone is too busy kissing to do homework) but only had the books I already have in English (bring me T-shirts, something I can wear when my home care manager comes to visit!). They did have a machine, similar to one in Kobe where I got my Clannad anime lighter (you put in 400 yen and either get a ball with a lighter or you get a key to open the grand pize – a wall clock.) I won this lighter (I don't smoke, but it sure is pretty!).
So, eating our KFC, we raced back to the Imperial Palace with our passports, but were told that we could not see inside because it was still a royal residence (even if only used once a year). Well, though listed as wheelchair accessible, it was NOT, but full of thick white gravel so there were deep groves behind me wherever I went (HA! Try and rake that out!). I would have complained but this blonde 24-25 year old blond female from Poland approached saying that she knew me and we ended up talking the whole tour (instead of translating the English Imperial Palace tour into Polish which she was supposed to do for her visiting mother – oops). She had on green underwear with yellow flowers and had been the only female in the engineering course as a transfer student. She said that since groups go out by gender and engineer groups go out to bond they were stuck until they decided to treat her as a “non-female.” So we chatted about Japan and gender boundaries. After she invited me to Kanazawa to stay and we compared places we liked about Kanazawa I had to EVENTUALLY introduce Linda. She said that the reaction of the woman in Kanazawa was because she was so shocked, as NO ONE in Japan would ever say that they are legally married as two women. And the discount was because we had seen the woman in Kanazawa lose composure (I prefer to think she was just happy for us!). She said in Tokyo people would just pretend we hadn’t said it (which is what has happened…repeatedly). But Kanazawa hasn’t had anyone be “out” yet. She said we would have to marry guys, then all move in together (the four of us) and then Linda and I could have as much sex as we want and no one in Japan would have a problem with that, since we were married. It was just the two women saying they are married which blows a circuit. Um, okay.

Meanwhile Linda was earnestly listening to the talk and told me all about it later, how red/orange colours were to keep away demons and how even the white gravel has symbolic meaning (beyond..."we hate wheelchairs")

Let me interrupt the flirty talk session for some actually Imperial Palace stuff. Like most Palaces, EVERYTHING has symbolic significance. But I am NOT going to shove all that down your throat. However, if you can hang with me I want to illustrate in three photos that the Japan we ‘think’ we know is a sort of recent invention (but a few hundred years old). The Palace is OLD, and has been expanded over the years. So the oldest part has the oldest doors, and these door did not slide as we expect of the Japan we see from the 1600’s or later but they borrowed the idea from the Chinese. The doors actually are on huge counterweights and swing upwards.
Now the next section shows when Japan is developing it’s own style which is sort of half and half, so we see that HALF of the door is hung upwards (you can see them on the hooks in the picture!) while the lower part actually slides.
Finally we get to recent times (like 400-500 years ago), when the palace put in Sliding Doors, the classic wood sliding on wood with paper sections which was then copied by all and is now the image of “classic Japan”. There is by the way only one building in the entire complex with a glass window – which is the part that was converted for the Emperor’s car in the 1910-1920’s.

Here is a pictures of the Imperial Garden, the Japanese Garden is to represent aspects of nature (as well as seasons): The tall trees are the mountains, the little fountains and falls are rivers and streams, the pond is the ocean, the rocks around the pond are the beaches and coast of Japan and the big red head in the front is a reminder to the Japanese people why the ‘Foreigners’ never should have been let out of Kobe into the rest of Japan.

Also when we were at this building, where the crown prince (and other princes) have the Coming of Age ceremony, I fought my way to the front to ask a question. I got the attention of the person giving the talk and said, “In the UK, Prince Andrew and Prince William, when they came of age, they went drinking (charades of Andrew drinking and then vomiting); historically would the crown prince in this building drink after coming of age ceremony.”

The guide asked, “Prince William?”

I said, “Prince William of the Royal Family of Britian, Great Britian, England (some know it by different names so I used all three)”

She asked, “They drink?”

I said, “In Britain at male coming of age ALL drink.”

The guide said, “Then, yes, after coming of age the prince would drink……but SAKE.”

Woo hoo, got them to admit that the coming of age ceremony was a drunk fest, and probably ruined the historical reputation of Japanese Royalty, my job was done. And I went back to flirting until the tour ended. See the Royal Prince has been a big deal for about 1000 years ever since the first novel ever written, The Tale of the Genji came out, which is about…the son of the emperor (a Prince) and going on at court. Our hero is the son of the emperor and a concubine who dies, and later as punishment the prince is given a “common” last name and thus made “unnoble.” He begin a career as a court minister and thus sees all the good stuff, plus, the Emperor, who has found a princess who resembles our hero’s dead mother marries her. Our hero first loves her as a stepmother but then….as a woman and potential lover (you know things are going to go a bit sticky after that).

In fact, I was having so much fun flirting and talking (hey, she approached me!) that when she finally waved goodbye (her rather pissed off mother in tow), I realized that I was WAY overheated, even though I had on my neck cooler. In fact I was so bad that I had about a minute or two until I flopped. So I wheeled into a small park behind some bushes and sort of stopped fighting to stay upright..

Some time later, I think I am in bed and someone is trying to wake me up and there was this “Bing-Bong” chime all the time but I couldn’t remember what hotel had this alarm. It wasn’t a hotel it was the chime for going into the bathroom, right across where I passed out. This woman kept speaking French into my darkness and I could hear her but I couldn’t say anything. Then Linda came and the French woman held my head so my airway was open and Linda started the oxy and shoved a cold break-pack into my bra. At some point I could open an eye and was surrounded by pigeons who, figuring I didn’t move, must therefore be food.

Linda held my head and torso and eventually I could drink and eat a little but couldn’t make myself understood. I did however have a tiny chickadee come and eat out of my hand, or I dropped the piece and it picked it up at my fingertips.

Anyway, after I finished being supported by Linda’s bosom (ahh fond memories), We got me back in the chair and went into the Palace gift shop which has a lot of things which can ONLY be bought at the Kyoto Imperial Palace gift shop. So a) feeling terrible, passed out and having an arm which is turning purple or b) shopping at an “exclusive gift shop”?

During our short shopping I noticed that many of the items were illustrations of the Tale of the Genji as done by Tosa Mitsuoki in the 17th century. For instance I got this bag of “Imperial” tea which has the classic illustration style of Tosa Mitsuoki from the Tale. We also picked up several cards, and post cards (some sent off) which combined not just the illustrations of the Tale of the Genji but added gilt to the cards as well, beautiful.
There were several decks of cards where each card was an individual picture and there was a Tale of the Genji illustrated by Tosa Mitsuoki deck, but I wasn’t THAT keen on it, or rather there was something I wanted more. It was the deck of woodblock prints of Old Kyoto which flamed my passion. These looked like Nishiki-e used in Ukiyo-e pictures. So that is what I got, and wrapped in the “Imperial Shop” wrapping paper. The one thing I was narked about was no stamp for Linda’s book – what, World Heritage Shines have them but you can’t one at the Imperial Palace!

Originally we were to go on to see the temples south of the Gion (Geisha District), but Linda decided that I was to go to bed. So she pushed me home and I did go to bed, but only after a promise she would wake me in 1 hour and 20 minutes so we could still take the walk/wheel, only at dusk. My entire left forearm was purple by this time, and a sort of dark muddy purple but since I didn’t seem dead, I just went to sleep (sort of my new philosophy of diagnosis: “I’ve never seen that before….but I don’t seem to be dead.”).

As it is now past 3:00 am and I have been doing pictures, editing and text since 9:45 pm, I am going to stop here and will continue with the Gion walk and then skip to our journey OUT of Tokyo and back to the old USA (where Homeland Security caused me to have an episode of heat exhaustion because they kept broadcasting that if anyone opened a bag they would be shot, so I couldn’t get oxy out of my bag (die from heat stroke or die from Homeland Security: the question is...which is more patriotic?) and when I told someone my problem there was such a delay and chain of command people showing up to determine what should be done that I was eventually told that the EMT’s were coming……but still hadn’t been able to take out my OWN oxygen.) All in tomorrow’s exciting edition, along with the 10+ achingly beautiful pictures of Old Kyoto at night, as well as the special festival that night which opened up the Temples and Shines…..to our photos (There may have been a LARGER meaning than just to get us great pictures……but we never found out what it was).