Gion is probably the best known part of Kyoto, "the" entertainment district. Geishas, japanese, american and european tourists, several hundred years old restaurants (you can find here a restaurant, where there is no menu card, but for a given amount of money the chef will decide and create a dinner of let's say more than ten dishes) and a building called "Gion corner", which was built with the help of some local activists. Here you can get a sample of the japanese culture - as much as a man can get in only one hour.

Koto-music

Koto is a musical instrument with 13 strings. It came from China 13 centuries before. At the beginning koto was used only at the imperial court but later it became more and more popular among the other classes too. The classic harmony of the music charms the japanese audience even today. In modern time there is a new fashion: the koto music is mixed with modern instruments. With traditional european instruments koto creates a characteristic atmosphere.

Flower arranging

The beauty and gracefulness of flowers charms japanese people since centuries. When 1500 years earlier Buddhism arrived at the japanese coasts, soon appeared the flower which was arranged in vases and porringers. Originally the flower's function was to be an ornament by the pictures of gods and to give consolation for the spirit of ancestors. In the 16th century ikebana became an art, and appeared more and more in the teahouses. The style of flower arranging changes with the season and the occasion. There is one common guiding principle: the finished artwork must be simple and natural. The arranged flowers become more symbolic because of the religious elements.

In today's world new techniques, abstract elements are appearing; some of them lead even to a born of a new style.

Gagaku

The word means "elegant, stylish music". This is the name of the old japanese music of liturgies, which were played initially only at the court. Gagaku contains instrumental music, dance and singing. It's origin comes from China of 7-9th century, which was at that time the cultural center of Asia. In china gagaku disappeared together with the Tang dinasty, but in Japan the members of the imperial family, noblemen and other upper class people still foster it. Gagaku was most popular in the Heian-era in the 9-12th century, when it was part of the ceremonies of temples and shrines. Gagaku is a typical, traditional japanese line of art.

Kyogen

Kyogen means "classical comedy". In the beginning people played it in the break of the very long noh plays. It is the opposite of noh in almost everything. The speech is in normal style and not high-principled. In noh the actors are using masks, in kyogen almost never. Kyogen, the comedy coloured with acrobatic elements and dancing is on the stage since the 15th century. Since 16th century it became very popular among the common people and the samurais, even the shogunate supported it. In opposition of noh's symbolism kyogen was realist - because of that the contents of conversations were often highly criticised. Today still two kyogen schools work: the Okura and the Izumi school.

Kyo-mai

The traditional japanese dance can be ranged in two large class. The first one is odori. Odori origins from the Edo era from the kabuki theater.

The other one's name is mai. It comes from the western regions of Japan. This dance was practised not on the stage but in the intimacy of rooms at home. Noh's influence was strong on mai. Kyo-mai is the mai dance in kyoto-style. Kyo-mai symbolizes the gracefulness and lifestyle of the imperial family. On every spring there is a festival, where all the known and popular dances are introduced. The movement of the dancers, the beauty of the costumes result in colorful play.

Bunraku

Puppet play was a popular entertainment for the common people. Its tradition is cultivated above all in the old capital, Kyoto. The founder of the bunraku is Takemoto Gidaiyu, who enriched the classic puppet play with special music and a conversation-style which is still in use. The stories tell mostly the everyday life of merchants in Osaka. In those days Osaka was the trading center of the country, no wonder that bunraku was the most popular there. As bunraku presented the colorful, adventurous life of the merchants it became more and more popular. The puppet play presents human feelings - first of all joy and sadness - with high level of realism. The masterwork of puppet players makes bunraku popular even today.

The play of which you can see the photo tells a story about a girl from the Edo era. She hears about her lover will be sentenced to death if she can't give him back his sword. But it seems to be too late: the gates of the town are closed yet. She climbs in the storming snow up to the firebell and rings it. The gates are opened only if there is a fire...