On the two free days, I had the fortune to visit the Museum of Modern Art in Kyoto (MoMAK) with Malini and Kobe’s Chinatown with Alison and Craig – checking off two items from my bucket list.
As someone who frequents museums and art galleries back in New York, I was very excited to see the visual arts in Kyoto and I was especially excited because of the wonderful exhibit that I knew was ongoing in MoMAK. The exhibit Museum Ludwig, Cologne – History of a Collection with Civic Commitments ran from October 14th – January 22nd meant that I was very lucky to be able to view this exhibit on its last days. The exhibition contained 152 grand artworks from collectors Peter and Irene Ludwig and the themes of the pieces ranged from Russian Expressionism works to Pop Art and even featured dazzling works by Picasso. I was particularly awed by the color and the abstracted brush strokes in Still Life with Blue Cup and Red Bowl by Maria Marc and Man Reading in the Park by August Macke and viewing these works inspires me to explore different colors to tell a visual story. I also thoroughly enjoyed viewing the Black and White No. 15 by Jackson Pollock and Untitled VII by Willem de Kooning as abstract expressionism is one of my favorite genres and styles of painting. It was refreshing to see more works by them as I had viewed their works in previous museums such as MoMA and the Whitney.
(Photo: Kunihiro Shikata)
Visiting this museum, I was reminded of my experience with the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy. Although the contents of the museum differs greatly from the Uffizi Gallery, with the Uffizi containing many artworks from the Renaissance period and works from the Medici Family, the location of MoMAK paralleled my experience visiting the Uffizi. This similarity is because both museums have beautiful natural landscapes that overlook their cities and both are nearby flowing water streams. Water has been an integral theme to my journey in Kyoto, as water can be an integral part of a community’s well being, and how much water flows through a town can reveal a lot about its history. Seeing the vast amounts of water that flowed through the Sakyo Ward region reminded me of the privilege and wealth of this area, evident by the fancy restaurants nearby.
On the following day, I had the amazing opportunity to visit Kobe’s Chinatown to celebrate the Lunar New Year with Alison and Craig. I felt a little homesick on that day because the Lunar New Year celebration is something that my family celebrates with passion and it often goes around visiting Chinatown in Manhattan with family and friends. Despite this tradition, I had an amazing time learning about the different groups of people that live in Japan by attending the Chinese new year celebration and the Vietnamese new year celebration in two different parts of the region. The food was delicious, having tried the pork buns, tanghulu, banh mi, among others meals and snacks shared between among us. Beyond the food, I was fascinated by how different the celebrations were in Japan compared to back in the states. For starters, the celebration felt very contained in the Chinatown region in Kobe as the major performances were held in a centralized area in the middle of the town. Although the celebrations were similar to those in New York, the ones in the city are usually more spread around Lower Manhattan with different activities happening concurrently. Another subtle difference is that there were no confetti poppers or light works during my experience in Kobe’s Chinatown compared to what I would usually see in New York. Maybe this is a sanitation issue but I have always likened Lunar New Year with confetti.
(Photo Courtesy of Kevin Weng)
Despite these differences, the happiness of other tourists and the local residents made me extremely happy. Seeing their smiles and some of them even lip-syncing to the performers made me smile and marvel at this wholesome and uplifting experience. I felt the circulation of inochi in this environment due to the amount of life and essence that the performers invoked in their acts and the joyous attitudes reciprocated by the viewers. Although the Chinese population in Japan represents a tiny percentage of Japan’s overall population and has been decreasing over the years, there was a definite sense of unity and togetherness in my experience of Kobe. Although I may not be able to come to Kobe’s Chinatown to celebrate the Lunar New Years in the near future, I will cherish these memories and hope to come back someday.