Our whole family - my parents, my older sister, my sister’s husband and I - traveled to Kyoto for an overdue family vacation a month ago, July 13-15. Each of us had been super busy with work since the beginning of the year, and we could not go earlier, but finally, we were able to do it this time mostly because of the Uminohi. Every year, on the third Monday of July, we celebrate Uminohi or Marine Day, a national non-working day in Japan, to give thanks to the seas’ bounty. Our timing was also good because Kyoto was celebrating the Gion Matsuri, an annual festival that draws a lot of tourists. This was my fourth time to visit the city. Kyoto is such an appealing city which makes me want to visit it again and again. It is also historical with many pre-war architecture, such as temples and shrines. When people go there, they can also greatly enjoy Japanese culture and arts, such as the maiko’s dance, paintings, statues, Japanese gardens, and Japanese traditional foods and sweets. Indeed, I am a big fan of Kyoto and I act like a first-time tourist every time I go there!
On the first day, a few hours after we arrived, I got to see the maiko’s dance at the hotel where my family was staying. “Maiko” is the term used to refer to a young woman, not above 20 and not below 15, who is under training to become a geiko. Entertaining through the ancient forms of dance and singing are what the geisha, geiko or geigi popularly known for. In Kyoto, the women in this trade prefer to call themselves “geiko” and you can only find them in ochayasan. Geiko entertain people through conversation, dance, and music, while they are eating and drinking in ochayasans. Such a place is another tourist attraction in Kyoto because it is not available anywhere else in Japan. It would be extraordinarily expensive if I was entertained by maiko or geiko in ochayasan so it was delightful that I could see the maiko’s dance for free! The one dancing looked like an older maiko, meaning 18 to 20 years old, and could soon become a geiko. I found her dance routine pretty similar to a kabuki’s. She was dancing “Nihon Buyo”, the generic term for the Japanese traditional dance. Her dancing was deliberately slow and she was able to express the various emotions of her dance in her face. I felt really lucky to witness a maiko’s dance in person for the first time! Below is the video of the maiko’s dance that I had taken.
On the following day in Kyoto, my family went to Okazaki Shrine, commonly called Rabbit Shrine. It is literally named after rabbits, which are known for their prolific breeding characteristic. In Rabbit Shrine, one will notice the numerous rabbit statues that are scattered throughout the shrine’s premises. There is also a place where people can write their wish to have children or to have a safe childbirth. The shrine was built during the Heian era. Even today, many believed that if they come here and pray, they can have many children in the future. So this was a good occasion for our family to collectively wish that our family name will last through many generations!
Later in the evening, I and my family went to a sukiyaki restaurant called “Moritaya”. I greatly enjoyed my time with my family as we exchanged stories while eating sukiyaki and drinking sake, a Japanese rice wine.
This trip to Kyoto was very important and meaningful to me. As I have mentioned, all of us in our family are busy that was why we had not been able to travel together for a long time before this trip. Additionally, I am soon going to the US and I will not be able to see my family for a while, except for vacation time. It was a blessing that we could have time together as a family before I leave for New York.
I am very grateful for my family because they have always been supportive of me. Being a composer is not always a good job. Many composers do not earn good money even when they are talented. But my family has always believed in me since the very beginning. They are one reason why I want to be a successful composer. I will always try my best to release a commercial album of my music someday to make my family proud!