After our experience with Muto-sensei and the Ueyakato gardeners, Julia was kind enough to take us on a non-traditional tour of Kyoto, around the theme of “Water, City, and Infrastructure.”
We began our tour on tour on the Roman-style aqueduct near Nanzen-ji, built to carry goods and supply water to Kyoto and Lake Biwa. Here we learned about Lake Biwa and the Biwa Canal’s critical importance to the city of Kyoto. While it cost about double the city’s budget to construct in Meiji era, the lake sustains the life in the city by supplying the majority of the its water supply. Without the lake and the canal, it seems unlikely Kyoto would look the way it does today.
(Image: The tour walking along the aqueduct.)
We then approached train tracks close to the aqueducts, which were used to transport lumber and other goods down the mountain. Here, we began to get a glimpse into the importance of the lumber industry for the city, which we would see reflected in the architecture of the city.
(Image: The tour walking along the aqueduct.)
One example of lumber’s importance was the number of wooden buildings along the streets we walked. In the picture below, we are standing in front of a building made
(almost) entirely of blackened wood torched lightly to add water resistance.
Another physical manifestation of the significance of lumber for the city was Nijo (train) Station. Today, its roof is constructed entirely out of wood. Below, you can see a contrast between the old Nijo Station and the new Nijo Station. I thought it was quite remarkable how much its form had changed throughout the years, and Julia remarked that it was interesting how what people thought a train station should look like had also transformed throughout history.
(Image: Nijo station today. Image credits to そらみみ on the Nijo Station Wikipedia page.)
(Image: Former Nijo station. Image credits to ignis on the Nijo Station Wikipedia page.)
Julia guided us through a number of points along West Takase river and Takase river where we could view the impact of humans on Kyoto’s nature and landscape. It was remarkable to me how much the same river could look so different at various points. At one point along the river, its flow had been blocked off by the government. However, because the ditch would start to smell whenever it rained and water would collect and stagnate, the river’s water was eventually manually pumped over the dam in order to restore some of the flow. However, as one can see in the picture below, it is quite sad compared to a natural river. Julia mentioned that many Japanese people often have grand visions of Takase river whenever it is mentioned, but come here and are shocked to find its state as below. Even Professor Kagaya had to look twice and ask Julia if this really was Takase river.
(Image: West Takase river today.)
At another point we visited, shown below, part of the river was in the process of being covered by concrete above to widen the sidewalk. It makes one ask how much we are willing to compromise nature’s direction for human convenience.
Personally, the most meaningful part of the tour was when we visited Sujin neighborhood near the Kamo River and learned about the housing project which took place in 1952. In the government’s rehoming of those displaced by its attempts to replace the area’s slums, it created brutalist-esque mass housing structures, photographed below.
What I had no idea about was the history of those in Japan considered “outcasts.” Sujin has a long history of being considered the neighborhood of these untouchables of society. Many refuse to enter the neighborhood due this connotation and think poorly of its residents. What I didn’t expect either was the reason for the exclusion of these people from regular society. It turned out that anyone working in “dirty” jobs, often related to death or slaughter, such as butchers, leather workers, and undertakers (all highly necessary jobs), gained this kind of untouchability and were relegated to this Sujin neighborhood. What I immediately noticed when I entered the area was the number of Korean restaurants around it. I later found out this was because “dirty” jobs often had to be taken up by immigrants, as is the case in most countries around the world. While this made me quite sad, as I’m from Korea, it also gave me a strange sense of hope to also see the number of Korean restaurants, because as Kevin noted, it was nice to see that people could build a community and eat good food just about anywhere, even in horrible circumstances.
Another thing that struck me in Sujin was my realization about how much the water quality around a neighborhood was able to reflect the life around it. In some parts of the city, the water is abundant, rushing, and clear. The buildings near it also reflect this kind of beauty and abundance, with shops, restaurants, and bustling people and cars. In Sujin, the river was shallow, stagnant, and littered with trash, and similarly, its playgrounds looked underfunded, its buildings quite dismal, and its streets quiet.
I was excited to hear though that a new arts university was in the midst of being created in the neighborhood, in the hopes of uplifting the location’s reputation. I sincerely hope for all the best for this university, and pray that Sujin’s residence find abundance and acceptance in society.
Our Williams trip is about life and inochi, and yet I thought learning about the invaluable and necessary workers who deal with death during this tour was such an excellent reminder of what we might easily miss in the rest of our trip’s programming. I felt that beginning our day in the most sacred and beautiful parts of Kyoto, in sacred zen gardens filled with elegance and life, and ending it with the shadow of the city, truly deepened the experience of both.
Many thanks to Julia for this insightfully, meticulously thoughtful, and insight-provoking tour of Kyoto, which wouldn’t have been possible without her deep knowledge of the city!
