Brace yourself for the history… here goes. Chion-in was built in YEAR by MAN for SECT in order to honour CONCEPT. As is customary in Kyoto, the structure was burned down in OTHER YEAR and rebuilt by OTHER MAN.

For YEAR read: 1234
For MAN read: Hōnen
For SECT read: Jodo Shu (Pure Land Sect).
For CONCEPT read: the idea that sentient beings may be reborn in Amida Buddha’s Western Paradise (Pure Land) by reciting the nembutsu, Amida Buddha’s name.
For OTHER YEAR read: 1633.
For OTHER MAN read: Tokugawa Shogun Iemitsu.

If that wasn’t enough history for you we’ll intersperse this feature with a sequence of fact bites to satiate your stat-hungry urges. Of more interest to Of Rice and Zen, however, is the tone, nuance and personality of the complex. And perhaps the fact that it stood in for Edo Castle in Tom Cruise cheese-fest The Last Samurai.

Centred around a large wooden structure, the vibe of Chion-in is far more restrained and tasteful than it’s neighbour Yasaka-jinja. Being a temple, rather than a shrine, the structure smacks of ascetism and devoted monkery. No gaudy colours here. This temple is all thick old wood, squeaking veranda and a luxurious fragrance that smells like it was a thousand years in the brewing.

Factoid: Like some other famous Kyoto buildings the veranda around Chion-in was built with metal ends attached to metal joints which would alert the all-too-killable Tokugawa family to the presence of intruders as they played connect four of a summer evening.

Upon entering the grounds one approaches a large cauldron of ash placed under a small wooden gazebo in the middle of the courtyard. Leaning over the incense sticks, which are stood in the ash, one wafts the smoke over one’s head to purify oneself before entering the shrine building.

Factoid: Upon your arrival you may wonder why crowds of people are standing on the veranda craning their necks skywards. The reason is that one of the architects who helped build Chion-in V2.0 left an umbrella in the rafters above the veranda around the main temple to attract rain and thus protect the building against fire. This highly scientific practice is still followed throughout Kyoto in place of fire escapes and extinguishers, but usually only in the beat-up apartment blocks in the suburbs rented by Nova teachers.

Upon removing one’s shoes and climbing the steps to the temple proper one glimpses inside to find a ornate and gold plated space. It’s hushed, deeply sacred and unsullied by the beep of digital cameras. On most days one can take a knee and enjoy the deep rumbling of a monk mid-chant and the haunting resonance of a prayer bowl being intermittently struck. It’s an aural treat that stays with a visitor long after he has left Japan.

Factoid: The ends of the roof beams are all carved with the image of three “aoi” leaves which belong to the birthwort family. It is frequently worn at Kyoto’s famous “Aoi-matsuri” (Aoi festival) and translates as “wild ginger”. It is often mis-translated as hollyhock by people who think wild ginger gets too much press.

Although the prayers taking place within the temple are often being carried out on behalf of unfortunate families, they are often done so in a fairly public manner. The occasional solemnity and sadness of the scene adds to the undeniable gravity of the space. Your best manners will be appreciated by all involved.

Factoid: Some say the nightingale floors squeak along the corridor connecting the main hall to the meditation hall so that the monks would be alerted to each others’ presence without the need for the customary ringing of bells. This version is passed on less frequently because it doesn’t feature ninjas or assassination.

Opposite the temple is a small seating area and a gift shop featuring a huge caldron once used for brewing communal tea. Once you’ve had your fill of the grounds and its contents Chion-in makes a convenient jumping-off spot for viewing neighbouring Maruyama-koen (Maruyama Park), as well as Kiyomizu-dera and the rest of the Higashiyama area’s many gems

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Factoid: In Japan’s famous “jidaigeki” (period dramas) the triple aoi crest is often used to signify that the story is taking place in the Edo period. If the story is set in the Meiji restoration the crest comes to symbolise the wearer’s support for the Shogunate as opposed to the Emperor, who was represented by a chrysanthemum crest. The chrysanthemum was also thought to represent the anus and homosexuality. Therefore the roof of Chion-in is not unlike flashing a homophobic gang sign in a church.

Pocky are something of a national institution in Japan, although quite why is perhaps more of a mystery. It is the snack of choice for the student doing homework in bedrooms and cafes across Japan. Of Rice and Zen would stick our necks out and say that never have we seen a snack referenced so frequently in Japanese pop-culture. So why the fondness for the little sticks? Let’s investigate.

First, let’s get the obvious out of the way and say that like most highly selling snacks, Pocky are comprised of a lot of air. Thin sticks of biscuit are dipped at one end in chocolate or any assortment of seasonal coatings. The porous insides are certainly airy and would no doubt appeal to Oscar Wilde who believed that the ultimate pleasure left one entirely unsatisfied. When originally released in Japan Pocky were an instant hit, bringing in 30 billion yen in their first two years on conbini shelves.

Perhaps the closest analogy for an English reader would be a longer, thinner pre-dipped version choc-dip. On one hand they lack the risk factor involved with mismanaging your chocolate to bread-stick ratio. On the other hand they make up for it in tidiness and pulverizing ubiquity. There’s nowhere in Kansai where you’re more than 10 minutes away from Pocky. Fact.

Expect adverts involving jumping, running around theme parks and extreme sociability when searching Youtube for Pocky commercials. This is not a snack that condones lonerism, it’s a snacks that almost demands to be shared Lady and the Tramp style. In our combined years as English teacher’s in Japan, the Of Rice and Zen team consumed 12.5 tons of Pocky offered to us by students. Fact.

Neither a flavour sensation nor a stomach filling feast, perhaps the standard Pocky’s wildly successful introduction to Japan in 1972 can be partly attributed to it’s spectacular middle-of-the-roadness. Thank goodness then that it’s makers have taken to releasing new and exotic flavours of Pocky as frequently as most bachelors change their underwear. In fact that’s not the only underwear related fact attached to these diverse little breadsticks. Although the Japanese name derives from the onomatopoeic word ポッキン (”pokkin”) that represents the “snap” of a munched stick, when released in Malaysia the name was changed from Pocky to Rocky to avoid association with the Malay word “puki” used to refer to a lady’s front bottom in a less than genteel way.

Speaking of controversy, Pocky suffered a minor setback on September 30, 2008 when Hong Kong authorities announced that melamine was detected in Pocky Men’s coffee cream coated biscuit sticks made in China. Ezaki Glico kept schtum on the issue. The melamine contamination level was found to be 43 ppm (legal limit is 2.5 ppm). Although contaminated food from China is something modern Japan is becoming familiar with, it is not yet clear if Pocky’s popularity in Japan will be affected in the long run.

Our instincts would suggest not. Products like Pocky aren’t usually popular because of their culinary brilliance or nutritional value, but rather the “sociable not gluttonous” spin applied to their marketing. In fact original Pocky packaging bears a startling resemblance to Coca-cola’s iconic brand. Coke also tend to take a similarly “party” approach to branding their product. Coincidence? You be the judge. As long as they remain to food to share over public study-sessions, the smart money says Pocky’s visibility will remain high, in Japan at least, for years to come.

Nobody wants to go to his grave unfulfilled so to find out what flavour of Pocky you are, simply follow this link and answer the questions. Remember to be honest.

Ace cafe is situated on the 10th floor of the Empire Building in Sanjo. The prices are slightly more than you’d expect from a Kyoto cafe, but is there anything about it that justifies the haughty price tags? In these tough financial times Of Rice and Zen puts its wallet in harm’s way to investigate.

Walk out of Sanjo subway station via exit 6 and cross the late bridge to your left. Take a little glance at your old friend the Kamo River and breathe deep the cool and refreshing air as you pass over. If it’s a warmer evening enjoy a glimpse of the high-spirited revellers drinking by the riverside or perhaps taking a dip while fire jugglers and buskers entertain those with fewer sheets to the wind.

Once over the bridge take the first right down Kiyamachi until to see the Ace Cafe sign on a building to your starboard side (that’s “right” to ye landlubbers). Like most of Kyoto’s places of play, Ace Cafe is all but Invisible from the outside, it’s position given away by a simple logo listed next to a nondescript elevator. You pass by an infinity of these in Sanjo, but this is one Ace that should have pride of place in a Kyoto-ites hole. Ok we overextended that analogy. No more ace jokes.

Once you step out of the typically cosy and wizened Sanjo elevator you breath a little sigh of relief that the aging contraption held out another day and follow the traditionally narrow corridor to the heavy glass door and lean in hard. Once inside you’ll notice the cafe is designed to be a largely open plan floor-space with a few chairs and tables facing the outside windows. The reason for this, and the reason for charging a premium, is the spectacular view of Kyoto east side. The backs of the heads of hip couples are visible above the 60s style sofas that line the floor to ceiling windows.

Before or after a day of sightseeing Ace Cafe is a great place to come and get your bearings, offering as it does a beautiful vista encompassing Kiyomizu-dera, Gion, the reproduction of the 48-meter-high Kyoto Daibutsu was built during the reign of Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536-1598), Nishihongan-ji and an assortment of Kyoto highlights. Stretch out on a comfortable retro sofa, drink in the view as you nod to the mellow tunes, order a milkshake and a salad and prepare to let Ace Cafe take all of the effort out of first dates. Ace Cafe is one of those well-conceived establishments that avoid the gloom that blights many of Sanjo’s drinking spots. As the sun sets over your makeshift hometown bask in the reflected glory of the effortlessly cool space, enjoy a comfortable silence with a special someone and thank your lucky stars that Kyoto holds all the aces. Sorry.

Nakagyo-ku Kiyamachi dori Sanjo-agaruKyoto, Empire Biru 10 F
Telephone:+ 81 75 241 0009
Hours:Mon-Sun 12noon-3am
Website

Prime Minister Aso is an interesting character. His party is said to be rapidly losing popularity, thanks in no small part to Aso’s influence. For as long as Aso is in power the lives of foreigners living in Japan are very much resting in his hands. Of Rice and Zen takes a look at the man behind the manga-loving persona.

Gaff 1

An often-quirky character whose nationalistic platform has been popular with young and old, Aso is known as a clay pigeon shooter and professes to be a big fan of Japanese comic books, or manga, which he had his family send him while he studied in American. His cheerleading for Japan’s pop culture has brought him popularity among many younger voters although many, including Ghibli Studios’ godfather Hayao Miyazaki, find it an embarrassment they’d prefer he kept behind closed doors.

Aso, a Roman Catholic, was born in Iizuka, Fukuoka to Takakichi Aso. His connections to the political world, and what some perceive as his sense of entitlement, were clear since the time of his birth.

Gaff 2

Before becoming Prime Minister and as part of the Koizumi government Aso suggested the Emperor of Japan visit the controversial Yasukumi Shrine as Koizumi had, sparking protests in China and both North and South Korea. He later backtracked on those comments, but immediately expressed his hopes that such a visit would be possible in the future.

His father was the chairman of the Aso Cement Company and a close associate of Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka and his mother was Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida’s daughter.

Gaff 3

Aso suggested China and other Asian countries “whined” too much about Japan’s war-crimes and helpfully suggested they “grow-up”.

Aso is also a great-great-grandson of Toshimichi Okubo, and his wife is the third daughter of Prime Minister Zenko Suzuki.

Gaff 4

Takeshima and Dokdo near Korea are disputed islets. Aso suggested Japan send its naval forces to “secure them”. Protests began around Asia, involving Korean children drawing anti-Japanese pictures that were later displayed around the Seoul subway network.

His younger sister, Nobuko, is the wife of Prince Tomohito of Mikasa, a first cousin of the Emperor Akihito. With this kind of pedigree, Aso was all but guaranteed to enter the world of Japanese politics.

Gaff 5

Aso jumped on the “pollution from China” bandwagon and claimed that China was intentionally using it to try and make Japanese men sterile.

Not content to rest on his family’s laurels Aso first graduated from the Faculty of Politics and Economics at Gakushuin University. He then studied in the United States at Stanford University, but was cut off by his family, who feared he was becoming too Americanized.

Gaff 6

Ever the problem-solver Aso declared that women should stay out of the job-market and concentrate on making babies for Emperor and country.

After making his way back to Japan on a ship, he left once more to study at the London School of Economics.

Gaff 7

Aso likened the Democratic Part of Japan to the Nazis of Hitler’s Germany.

Following this Aso spent two years working for a diamond mining operation in Sierra Leone before civil war forced him to return to Japan.
Aso joined his father’s company in 1966, and served as president of the Asō Mining Company from 1973 to 1979. He has distanced himself from the company’s use of forced labor during World War II.

Gaff 8

Once elected Aso addressed a room of parents and, seemingly forgetting who he was addressing and mistaking them for teachers, sympathised with them for having to deal with irresponsible, monster-parents as a part of their jobs.

Working for his father’s company, he lived in Brazil during the 1960s and reportedly speaks Portuguese fluently. He was also a member of the Japanese shooting team at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal and President of the Japan Junior Chamber in 1978.

Gaff 9

Aso insulted the extremely large elderly population of Japan, who incidentally have the vote, by accusing them of being lax about their health and thus costing the tax payer a fortune. Large numbers of Japanese took exception to the intimation that only lazy and careless elderly people require health care.

Aso has vowed, after years of stringent government spending, to prioritize rebuilding Japan’s economy, which has boosted his appeal among smaller companies and in rural communities, constituencies that tend to have a high percentage of older voters who feel they have long been off the government’s radar. Aso was expected to woo these voters.

Gaff 10

In a statement directed at Hiromu Nonaka, a burakumin member of the Diet, Aso said that “those burakumin can’t become prime minister,” during a meeting of the Kono Group in 2001. Aso’s office later tried to claim his comments had been misunderstood.

“Aso is confident in his diplomatic ability, but the question remains whether he will be acknowledged or not by the world,” said Takashi Uesugi, a political analyst in Tokyo. “Right now, the international community is coming to terms with the fact that a guy with a gaffe-prone image has become the top leader of Japan.” So gaffe-prone is Aso that in late 2008 he was in the news on a regular basis producing sound bites like a George Bush wannabe and then apologising for said blunders.

Gaff 11

Aso was quoted as saying he wanted to make Japan a country in which “rich Jews” would like to live in 2001 as economics minister.

Aso is said to face an uphill battle within Japan, where the opposition party controls the upper house of parliament. This means it may be tough for him to pass any controversial legislation, including his continued support for the U.S. military actions in Afghanistan.

Gaff 12

Although modern Japan’s Yayoi genetic gene pool is said to come from north China and Korea, on October 15, 2005 Aso proudly boasted that Japan had “one culture, one civilization, one language, and one ethnic group,” and stated that it was the only such country in the world.

Analysts say he is likely to encounter resistance from within his own party, the Liberal Democratic Party, in regard to efforts to pursue a more nationalist agenda with China and South Korea, or heavy economic reforms.

Gaff 13

At a Japanese peace initiative on the Middle East at a lecture in Nagasaki Prefecture, Aso offered his opinion on Japan’s involvement: “the Japanese were trusted because they had never been involved in exploitation there, or been involved in fights or fired machine guns. Japan is doing what the Americans can’t do. It would probably be no good to have blue eyes and blond hair. Luckily, we Japanese have yellow faces.”

In a time when the Japanese economy is faltering and urgent action is necessary to calm the uneasy nerves of the Japanese people, Aso is under pressure to call an election mere months into his leadership.

Gaff 14

On February 4, 2006, “our predecessors did a good thing” regarding compulsory education implemented during Japan’s colonization of Taiwan.

Known for being an unpopular foreign minister, Aso is remembered for souring relations between Japan and its Asian neighbours while holding the position from 2005 to 2007. Quickly garnering a reputation for being a pugnacious nationalist with a penchant for justifying war-crimes and portraying China as a dangerous military threat, it has been suggested by several analysts that it is possible that Aso was handed the leadership as a poisoned chalice. Although having been re-branded by his party as a pragmatist, it could be that Aso was never intended to hold onto to power that long in the first place.

Gaff 15

Sensitivity and diplomacy towards China has long been recognised as an important quality in a Japanese Prime Minister. On March 9, 2006 he referred to Taiwan as a “law-abiding country”, which drew strong protest from Beijing, which considers the island a part of China. His implication that Taiwan is an independent nation contradicts the agreement made between Japan and China in 1972 (the Joint Communique of the Government of Japan and the Government of the People’s Republic of China) that the Beijing rather than Taipei government be considered under the sole legal government of China and that Taiwan be considered “an inalienable part of the territory of the People’s Republic of China.”

Photo Credit: Chris Gladis, Winston Sumalia

When Katsuhiro Otomo (大友克洋, Ōtomo Katsuhiro?, born April 14, 1954) wrote his sprawling manga Akira, set in a dystopian future in which the military secretly develops the psychic abilities of gifted youngsters, he had no inkling that his opus would go on to break down boundaries and help introduce anime to western audiences. A manga that is relatively unknown in mainstream Japan has taken Otomo’s name and reputation around the world, but what else has he been up to?

Although the average eikaiwa student in Japan hasn’t heard of Katsuhiro Otomo, the majority of western anime fans who got into manga in the late 80s and early 90s will have been introduced to Otomo’s classic Akira. In the early days when the Of Rice and Zen team would check our local video store for a new anime release, the Japanimation section consisted of an art-house anime called The Sensualist and Akira. The wait for the release of the early Manga Video releases such as Guyver and The Wind of Amnesia was a long and lonely one. This gave us plenty of time to pore over Akira’s finer details.

It had a breadth of vision that was unmatched in mainstream western animation. It was adult themed and featured death, destruction and mutilation, the likes of which most western youngsters would never have witnessed in animation before. The moment you see a realistically rendered future cop get half his face shot off by a freedom fighter is a personal paradigm shift.

The grittiness of Akira may not have been entirely incidental if one believes the story that Otomo-san grew up in a turbulent Japan of the 1960s when rioting and protests by students and workers against the government would help to forge the miraculous Japan of the 1980s bubble era comeback.

Having helped create the default vision of the future and carry Japan-cool worldwide, Otomo would go on to helm such lauded releases as the visually and technically stunning Steamboy. The movie is an interesting mix of historical drama and steampunk sci-fi and featured some groundbreaking CGI-assisted animation and a scale that threatened to dwarf the already epic Akira.

After this Otomo went on to create a live action version of Mushishi. The original animated series is a stunning and startlingly original saga about the mystical investigations of a man who attracts organisms that exist all around us. Mysteriously amorphous, they are half plant, half animal, sometimes extra dimensional, sometimes visible. The dazzling collection of mushi and the nightmarish ways in which they interact with the infected humans make for a truly unforgettable mythos. Mushishi rates highly on lists of Japan’s favourite anime of all time, but has been unfortunately maligned in the west.

Bringing Mushishi to life is a terrifying task given the scale of the vision and the complexity of the mushishi lore. Although Otomo is not known primarily as a live movie director it was brave of him to undertake the adaptation and a sign of the respect that he has earned as a Japanese auteur that he was allowed to do so.

Not content to rest on his laurels just yet, Otomo decided to push the envelope further by lending his character design skills, and more importantly his name, to a Nissin Cup Noodle publicity stunt called The Freedom Project. Representing what is no doubt the future sponsorship method of visual entertainment, the show was a well-funded and highly publicised series that was, from conception, expressly made to feature and publicise Nissin’s instant noodle snack.

The show features a character, not unlike Akira’s Kaneda, with a pure heart and a desire to escape his dystopian environment with his love of high-tech motors and an uncrushable will. Escaping from the totalitarian grip of the moon’s government he discovers new possiblities and undreamt of experiences on Earth. A love of rebellious American cinema of his youth, like Five Easy Pieces and Easy Rider would go on to not only inform Otomo’s conception of America as the land of the freedom fighter, but also help to formulate the quintessentially anti-authority Otomo protagonist and his futuristic two wheeled mayhem machine.

The Freedom Project was released on highly overpriced DVDs with a special short feature about the origins of space travel, made to inform and inspire the audience to share the show’s sense of adventure and discovery in a jerry-rigged world. Whatever you think of the commodifying effects of the late capitalist system on art, one must be at least impressed with the technical feat that allowed for the most realistic blend of 2D cell animation and 3D polygons to date. The forthcoming Blu-ray release will feature a previously unseen episode and is being eagerly awaited by Japanophiles.

Otomo-san has not only had a huge effect on both Japanese and worldwide visual culture, but he also continues to push himself and his art with every step he takes. We look forward to seeing the what kind of worlds he can open up for us all next.

Shogun’s Lookout (Shogun-zuka) is a point on a mountain over Kyoto. Legend has it that the first emperor in Kyoto, Emperor Kammu, buried a statue of a general here in order to protect the city. More importantly though, if Japan was a 1950s American teen-comedy Shogun’s lookout could quite easily have been called “Get It On Point” famed, as it is, for being one of the most romantic views in Kyoto.

It is also the gravesite of Sakanoue no Tamuramaro (坂上田村麻呂 758 - 811) who was a general and shogun of the early Heian Period of Japan. He was the son of Sakanoue no Karitamaro. Given the number of times Kyoto was ravaged by civil war and it’s most famous buildings were raized to the ground, it was also no doubt a great spot from which to watch the pyrotechnics unfold. It’s also safe to say that burying statues about the place is no replacement for basic fire safety precautions.

Nowadays, however, it is far more often used for more amorous purposes. If one is lucky enough to be in possession of a car, or acquainted with a friend who is, Shogun’s Lookout is a beautiful, peaceful spot with a must-see view. On any given evening at sunset one can come here to catch what is hands down one of Kyoto’s most scenic views. All of Kyoto is laid out before you, with a small orientation-plaque at knee level to help you get your bearings.

The plateau offers great views of central and southern Kyoto, as well as a tantalising peak towards the north. If, God forbid, you get tired of surveying your imaginary kingdom and spotting famous temples from this amazing vantage point, you could conceivably turn your attention to the visitors themselves. More often than not they are families enjoying a kodak moment, or perhaps young lovers slipping away from the cramped conditions of home to share a brief embrace in the presence of a majestic and effortlessly romantic vista.

In the summer you can expect to find couples watching the sun go down and sharing a warming embrace to fend off the cold. As the evenings draw in lovers pull up in the parking lot and spend time in their cars, enjoying the atmosphere, if not the view - which sadly isn’t visible from the car park.

If you’re a photographer you will need the highest quality of camera and lens to make the most of this incredible panorama. Stitch photos together, invest in an incredibly wide-angled lens. Whatever you do, rest assured that no photo you can take will ever take your breath away as much as a visit to this magical spot.

If you’re a Kyoto resident who has a hankering for an all-encompassing look at your surrogate home town, and you haven’t been to Shogun’s Lookout yet, you should know that Kyoto judges you. Similarly, if you have a loved one that you haven’t brought here yet it would pay to remember that your Kyoto experience is not yet complete and that you owe it to love to put this pilgrimage on your to-do list. You can walk from Keage station, but buy a car if you have to.

History nibblet: Kyoto expats with a strong dislike for crowds, aside from living in the wrong country, may wish to avoid Fushimi Inari Taisha over the course of New Year. In 2006 the shrine attracted 2.69 million people over 3 days, setting a record for western Japan. It is no coincidence that Memoirs of a Geisha (known as Sayuri in Japan) was made in 2005.

Also known as “the one with all the gates” or “the one in Memoirs of a Geisha”, Fushimi Inari Taisha (伏見稲荷大社) is a photographer’s wet-dream and looks good in every season and a variety of lighting conditions. Which presumably is why Hollywood decided to rebuild the shrine on a sound stage rather than use the real thing in the aforementioned movie. But hey, why use the real shrine if you can’t even be bothered to use real Japanese people?

History nibblet: Kiyoshi Nozaki’s 1786 book Kitsune: Japan’s Fox of Mystery, Romance and Humor claims the shrine’s two-storey entry gate was built by Toyotomi Hideyoshi.

Fushimi Inari Taisha is the head shrine of the Inari area and sits at the base of a mountain called Inari. The head monk is also called Geoff Inari. Ok, that last bit’s not true, but it’s a beautiful and world famous shrine which leads to several trails leading up the mountain to a series of smaller shrines that are all worth a visit if you’re willing to brave the outrageous number of spiders, lizards, frogs and other beasties that make the trail their home.

History nibblet: the shrine started as a collection of three kami placed at the foot of the mountain in 711.

The shrine was originally a place of worship for merchants and manufacturers of Kyoto to come to pray for wealth. The torii gates they donated are tightly packed together in their thousands and line the path almost all the way up the mountain. The shear number of gates starts off dazzlingly beautiful, soon becomes overwhelming and eventually numbingly unfathomable.

History nibblet: The path from the main gate and main shrine to the inner shrine further up the mountain is lined with thousands of gates and numerous fox statues. These foxes are regarded as messengers and are often found in Inari shrines with keys to the rice granary in their mouths.

You’ll need to give yourself a couple of hours for the entire journey up and back again, so you’d be better off waiting for a day off rather than trying to cram it all in your pork-pies before work. If you plan to do the hike in the summer, as picturesque as it is, you may find the step-climbing fun leads to you sweating from pores you never knew a human possessed. As such, we recommend you take some liquid refreshment or an extremely trustworthy anti-perspirant with you on your journey.

History nibblet: the main idol object of Kyoto shrines is usually hidden, but those in Inari, including that is Fushimi Inari Taisha is visible to the public. It’s a mirror.

Access: 3 mins from JR Nara Line Inari Station• 5 minutes from Kyoto Station• 5 mintues from Keihan Electric Railway Fushimi Inari Station

Yasaka-jinja holds a special place in the hearts of the Of Rice and Zen team. It’s situated at the east end of Shijo-dori. For residents of Kyoto, like the Of Rice and Zen team, Yasaka-shrine is a central hub all year round. It’s a convenient and well-known landmark with which to orient and direct newcomers. Yasaka-jinja is also a huge spot for both new year and the hanami season in April. But why does it deserve a visit?

For trivia fans or for readers of our trusty editor’s prior website The Memoirs of a Gaijin, you may remember that Yasaka-jinja was the first shrine he visited upon his arrival in Japan and so much did he feel he’d arrived at his spiritual home he was actually moved to tears by one of Yasaka’s simple bamboo water spouts and its purification basin. What a big girl.

It’s a place we pass on our way to a Shijo Starbucks or our favourite ramen joint. It’s a place to come for great photographs all year round. It’s a place you bring friends and family when they visit from home. It’s the jumping off point for exploring Kyoto. It has a strange ubiquity and visible presence. We like to think if Yasaka-jinja was a font it’d be Helvetica.

Yasaka-jinja includes a visually striking gate in bright red that it highly visible from the popular shopping district speared by Shijo Dori (fourth avenue). There is a famous festival in Japan called setsubun festival, when Japanese people like to whip baked soya beans at children in masks as a symbolic attempt to banish evil spirits from the premises. At this time too Yasaka-jinja becomes a throbbing mecca for elderly Japanese men and their huge lenses. If you fail to catch some mochi (sticky rice cake) as its thrown out of the crowd you could console yourself by winning a widescreen TV or iPod in the shrine raffle held at another stall.

For the history fans among you, it may be interesting to hear that Yasaka-jinja used to be called Gion Shrine and was first built in 656AD. Fans of numbers, feel free take a moment to wipe off your chin before continuing. Did you know that in 869AD the portable shrines (mikoshi) of Gion Shrine were paraded through the streets of Kyoto to ward off an epidemic that had hit the city, this was the origin of the now world famous Gion Matsuri that packs the streets of Kyoto and sells a thousands of summer kimono (yukata) every year.

If you’ve never seen a map of the shrine, it includes several buildings, gates, a main hall and a stage - which is a bit like listing the special features of a DVD and including “one shiny side” and “convenient finger hole” in the breakdown. Don’t get us wrong, they are lovely. It’s just that they’re a given. A lovely given.

A short walk from the temple brings you to Maruyama park, which is famous for truly debauched hanami celebrations, one of Japan’s most grand sakura (cherry blossom) trees, an annual lantern festival and makes for a great tourist visit if you’re only in Kyoto for a few days. During the sakura season, just once a year, Joe public has the chance to watch Kyoto rival geisha schools in a dance off. The most famous of which is called the Miyako-odori and features a resplendantly illuminated, gloriously painted and cherry blossom adorned representation of Yasaka-jinja.

It’s a truly postmodern experience to see one of your favourite shrines recreated almost full size before your eyes when you are seated mere minutes from the real shrine itself. Yasaka-jinja is the Takeshi Kitano of Kyoto shrines when it comes to visibility, if nothing else.

Continue up the hill and you’ll reach Kiyomizudera and the other Gion highlights. On the other hand, head left and out of the garden’s north side to find yourself in the glorious surroundings of Chion-in, which has been made famous by numerous Hollywood movies and every Kyoto photo book ever. Probably. Details of Chion-in belong in another article, but for now let us make it clear that not only is Yasaka-jinja the nexus of your Kyoto visit, but in many ways it is the soul of Gion and a visit to Kyoto is not complete without familiarising yourself with its every nook and cranny.

For more information on Yasaka-jinja and all of Kyoto’s other best-kept secrets, Of Rice and Zen highly recommends you get your hands on a copy of JTBs awesome book “Kyoto: The Greatest Travel Tips”, which you can buy using the link below.

Kiyomizudera (Pure Water Temple) is a heavyweight among Kyoto buildings and a contender for the best view in Kyoto. You may think you’ve never seen it before but the Of Rice and Zen team would like to assure you that if you’ve ever a photobook of Japan, it’s almost inevitable that you’ve seen a photo of Kiyomizu’s famous stage. You’ll probably recognise it when you get here.

So for the trivia fans it’s a Tendai Buddhist temple in Eastern Kyoto and it’s full name is Otowa-san Kiyomizu-dera. For the accolade fans the temple is part of the Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto (Kyoto Uji and Otsu Cities) UNESCO World Heritage site. For the architecture fans, you’ll be brought to a proud twitching stand to hear that not one nail is used in the whole temple.

For the history buffs among you, take a seat before you read that the temple dates back to 798 and that the present buildings were constructed in 1633. If you’re not into numbers, nails or any of the above let use try to convey to you what a visit to the temple will feel like for the average visitor. Imagine the Kyoto of your imagination. The majestic veranda. The misty mountains in the background. The wooden buildings. The impeccable design. The carpet of trees below you. The entire city of Kyoto laid out before you, like a delicious spread of food for a hungry feudal lord.

Now imagine 5 bus-fulls of tourists and schoolchildren walking through it. That’s what Kiyomizudera is like for most visitors during the popular summer or cherry blossom seasons. If you can time your visit so that it’s neither a peak season, nor a weekend you can expect something a little more zen and with much more leeway for photography.

The main hall has a famous veranda that overlooks Kyoto. It’s constructed on pillars and juts out from the mountainside. It’s an impressive piece of design and affords a truly iconic view of Kyoto. To jump from Kiyomizu’s stage was once the Japanese equivalent of “to take the plunge” and it was believed that surviving the 13 metre fall meant one’s wish would be granted.

Although this doesn’t show a strong grasp of the concept of cause and effect, people have always gone to great and illogical lengths for the illusory sense of some control over their destinies and in the Edo Period alone 234 jumps were recorded and an impressive 85.4% of said jumpers survived. Although how they felt about their survival after the fact is unclear. The practice is now prohibited. Much to the chagrin of the Of Rice and Zen team.

Beneath the main hall is the Otowa waterfall at which point three streams converge. Drinking from the three streams is said to confer wisdown, health and longevity, which does sound appealingly like something from a Legend of Zelda game. On the other hand some say that one must choose carefully and drink from only two, because to partake of all three (aka “crossing the streams”) shows greed and presumably causes a Ghostbusters-style explosion or an Indiana Jones-style hyper-accelerated ageing incident, which is covered by very few private insurers in Japan nowadays. Expats who have not paid into the national insurance system, you have been warned.

As is typical in Japan, the complex consists of several smaller shrines, one of the most famous of which is known as Jishu Shrine and is dedicated to Okuninushi, a god of love and matchmaking. It is said if one can walk between the shrine’s two “love stones” with one’s eyes closed, one will be granted good fortune in finding a partner. If one is helped, it is said that one will require a matchmaker throughout the relationship to guarantee a smooth-sailing marriage. The Of Rice and Zen team also thinks a “marriage referee” may be quite a good idea.

The employment system in Japan still largely excludes women from elevated positions and necessitates their financial dependence on men, so it is very common to see Japanese women, and even the occasional brave foreigner, walking this existential tightrope which gives to hope in the same measure that it removes from pride.

Reaching the other stone intact is a cause for celebration for most girls, but hitting the target too literally has caused a few trips and broken noses over the years, which know doubt hampers the search for the perfect partner. Similarly, missing the destination stone by any great margin could be evidence of either an inner ear infection or having one leg significantly shorter than the other and can therefore lead to greater despondency. The “dark mile”, as we like to call it, is not for the faint of heart. You have been warned twice.

As per usual the complex also offers you plenty of opportunities to pick up good luck charms, souvenirs for the folks back home, incense, omikuji (paper fortunes) and is a hugely popular destination for foreigners and locals alike during new year and obon festivals. Readers who are not a big fan of crowds and food stalls may prefer to choose a less high profile day for their visit, but we highly recommend you find time to visit Kiyomizu-dera, no matter how packed your Kyoto itinerary is looking.

For more tips and locals’ recommendations be sure to pick up a copy of JTB publishing’s excellent book Kyoto: The Greatest Travel Tips, which is a bilingual travel book published in Japan and features more maps and tourist tips than you could shake a stick at, if you are inclined to shake sticks at those offering you the benefit of their experience.

You can pick up a copy by clicking the following link and to neglect to do so would be like entering the medusa’s lair without a mirrored shield. Or if you’re a fan of metaphor localisation, it’d be constructing a Japanese bookshelf without an English translation of the instruction booklet. Or if you’re not a fan of metaphors it’d be like visiting a rich city without a good guide book. Alternatively if you’re not a fan of simile either it would ACTUALLY be visiting a rich city without a good guide book. But one does feel inclined to ask why you’re so against the use of simile and metaphor.

America’s “Japanese-Style” Recession?

For those of us who live here in Japan we cannot help but be constantly aware of recession. The recession proper struck during the 1990s and lackluster growth followed that throughout the early 2000s. This economic malaise of the Japanese economy was often a point of ridicule for American economists and also an argument for American style de-regulation. A few voices mooted the idea that the United States would be in store for the same economic conditions that the Japanese had suffered, but few were given much credence. Now many pundits are predicting that the US might be in for a similarly rough ride.

However the United States would be lucky to end up with an economic downturn similar to the one that Japan went through. With the political mismanagement and the market reactions to these half measures the situation seems to be heading for something a lot worse. This is because the Japanese at the beginning of the 1990s where in a very different situation to the United States.

After the end of the Second World War the Japanese economy rose from the destruction of the war to become the second largest economy in the world. By the 1980s the US and Japan accounted for almost half of the global economy. Then in 1986 the economy went into warp-drive. The ‘’Bubble Years’’ had begun, The Nikkei soared, credit was super easy to obtain, breakneck industrial expansion. Between 1986 and 1991 the Japanese Economy grew by $965 Billion which at the time was the same size as the total GDP of France. The Japanese were casting a shadow over the United States, the Americans bought most of the Japanese exports and the US military protected Japan.

At that time the second bubble in Japan was growing, that was real estate market. During the 1990s a square meter in Ginza was going for 30 million yen. Housing prices went through the roof, families started taking out multi-generation mortgages. The most famous example of this overheated market was that the land that housed the Imperial Palace in downtown Tokyo; it was estimated to be worth more than the whole state of California.

Then the two bubbles burst, and the initial response was one of denial. Then once economists did finally start to address the issues they handled the ball like buttered soap. Japans best and brightest couldn’t stop the situation from going out of control. Experts across the Pacific conceivably cracked a smirk at the thought that the United States would have fixed the situation quickly and effectively just as they had done with the Savings and Loan situation.

What followed next was a long protracted recession. There was however low levels of unemployment and the situation on the ground didn’t seem as dismal. Japan’s dearth of duty-less jobs are a throwback to this period and one of the reasons for the relatively high employment rate. However the Japanese economy was unable to pick itself back up. There was economic expansion and contraction. The government invested heavily into massive infrastructure projects, but the damage couldn’t be contained.

After the bubble burst the fear of Japan and its perceived threat to the world, as exorcised in Michael Crichton’s novel Rising Sun lost credibility. Now the mantle has passed to China as the country the Americans have to fear.

So what does a “Japanese Recession” look like? America’s situation could be a lot worse if the response to the situation is ineffective. There were several advantages the Japanese economy had in the 1990s that the US does not have these days. Then, just like now Japan was the largest creditor nation. The United States then and now is the largest debtor nation. Just for the US Federal Government to operate they need to borrow $2Billion a day from international lenders such as the Japanese, Chinese, and Russians.

There is a persuasive argument suggesting that America is one of the world’s poorest countries in the sense that, according to the General Accounting Office, America’s $52 trillion dollar bill breaks down to $175,000 for every man, woman and child. Since it includes non-taxpaying childen, the actual per household burden works out to be $455,000.

Currently it is in the best interests of their creditor nations to keep the pipeline of credit open, however that may not always be the case. Some estimates place the Federal deficit at $750 Billion, which is separate from all the other deficits that the government has racked up in the past. In addition the America has an overall negative savings rate and its citizens are drowning in an ocean of debt, the Japanese are fanatical savers, sometimes to the point of detriment.

With these glaring differences some say the United States would be lucky to end up with a Japanese Style recession. For those of us inside Japan we’ve noticed that investment in Japanese funds has increased and the yen is strong against the pound and the dollar. Although the country will suffer as its major export market in America will have less demand for Japanese goods, there are other markets around the world that are craving Japanese Electronic, Automobiles, technology and know-how.

Nabil Khan is the Regional Director (Kansai) of SB Asset Management; SB Asset Management specializes in Private Banking for Expatriates around the world, their offices are based in Barcelona, Tokyo and Osaka.

Hideo Kojima is a world famous gaming auteur. He is also fully trained in stage combat and willing to do partial nudity. This man had conceived a classic sneak ‘em up on the NES, but it wasn’t until the 3D revolution and the massive popularity of Sony’s PS1 that the scope of Kojima-san’s vision became evident. Since then he’s gone from strength to strength spearheading the polygonal adventures of his utterly ludicrously name hero Solid Snake.

Like this name, which he apparently hoped nobody would notice, even the saga’s flaws seem to point to a brilliance in the man. Specifically, since Metal Gear Solid 2 was released most critics have come to the realisation that the games can become unplayable. That right… this man is so intent on raising the bar for artistry in his digital storytelling that there are times the narrative takes over completely. The filmic qualities dominate and at moments, such as the end of Metal Gear Solid 2 the cut scenes become so frequent and intrusive that all interaction ceases.

The interruptions themselves are sheer brilliance in that they point to a deliberate breakdown of the game world and its rules. The characters corrupt, fail to stay in character and cease to make sense. The narrative crumbles and the player is thrust out of the fictional scenario and into a textureless limbo representing an almost developmental stage of the game design. It is one of the most gloriously orchestrated descents into postmodern self-referentiality in any medium, ever. It’s like Thomas Pynchon with 32-bit textures.

Glimpses of this intertextual maturity have begun creeping into games in recent years, making them increasingly prominent candidates for critical analysis alongside film and literature. For a journalist these sections of the Metal Gear Solid saga are satisfying and provocative cultural moments. Sadly, for a gamer they are unplayable sacks of crap and about as much fun as plugging a joypad into a dead stoat. It’s a funny feature of his game design style. Whether that means funny “ha ha” or “funny like a solid snake in the wrong ‘un” kinda depends on your personality type.

Team Kojima are so aware of the shortcomings in Kojima’s approach to gaming that they demanded journalists given advance access to Metal Gear Solid 4 not mention the number of cut scenes in their previews. This is a bit like asking someone to comment on The Godfather but to say absolutely nothing about Marlon Brando’s performance. Thought control is certainly not the way to fix this fundamental paradox of Kojima’s talent.

The outspoken story-teller has also spoken frankly about the extent to which the latest Metal Gear game was influenced by Call of Duty 4, about how he feels Japanese gamers and designers were not up to the challenge of playing the game with international opponents, about how hard it was to get his Japanese coworkers to think outside the box, about how far behind the west Japanese game design has fallen and even about how he blames some of the failings of what he hoped would be the culmination of the saga on the “work harder, not smarter” ethos of his underlings.

There are enough people riding on Kojima’s coat-tails that whatever he says now is unlikely to burn bridges. When everyone at Konami’s on your side of the river you don’t need bridges. On the other hand, one must ask oneself whether a forum and medium currently exists that can possibly live up to the scale of Kojima’s vision.

In recent months Kojima has hinted at a change of direction for his next production, which he refers to not as a game but as something that’s never been done before. We at Of Rice and Zen can’t help but think that the Kojima-san’s obvious talents may be better suited to a medium that doesn’t require constant user interaction as a measure of its success. If that is something Kojima’s mysterious next project will allow him to do, one suspects that when technology catches up with his vision he could become one of the digital age auteurs that will be remembered for a very long time to come.

Your games have driven us wild with elation and frustration but gosh-darn it Hideo Kojima, we salute you.

Kurosawa’s reputation

When the Of Rice and Zen team were kids and we discovered Kurosawa we were blown away and felt like we’d made a foray into art cinema. Later on we realised that he is, on the contrary, one of the most successful and kinetic mainstream filmmakers who’s ever lived, we were just ignoramuses who thought films older than 1980 were ancient history. He does adventure and fun alongside history and art and he is responsible for some of the most beautiful moments in cinema - he has quite rightly become one of the most highly regarded filmmakers anywhere.

Kurosawa’s life

Kurosawa was born on March 23rd in 1910 in a suburb of Tokyo. He was the youngest of 8 children. He witnessed the devastation in the aftermath of the Great Kanto Earthquake. He lost his brothers who had influenced his artistic direction and fostered his love of film. At that point he was left the only surviving sibling. He fought for workers’ rights. He pioneered dozens of techniques that would later come to define Hollywood cinema.

Kurosawa’s technique

He liked using telephoto lenses for the way they flattened the frame and also because he believed that placing cameras farther away from his actors produced better performances. He also liked using multiple cameras, which allowed him to shoot an action scene from different angles. Both of these would later become American standards.

Another Kurosawa trademark was the use of weather elements to heighten mood: for example the heavy rain in the opening scene of Rashomon, and the final battle in Seven Samurai, the intense heat in Stray Dog, the cold wind in Yojimbo, the snow in Ikiru, and the fog in Throne of Blood. Kurosawa also liked using frame wipes, sometimes cleverly hidden by motion within the frame, as a transition device. Stephen Spielberg would later claim to have come up with this device while making Jaws in a documentary about his career.

Kurosawa’s mania

For some Kurosawa was a tyrant, for others he was a perfectionist who spent enormous amounts of time and effort to achieve the desired visual effects. In Rashomon, he dyed the rain water black with calligraphy ink in order to achieve the effect of heavy rain, and ended up using up the entire local water supply of the location area in creating the rainstorm. In the final scene of Throne of Blood, in which Mifune is shot by arrows, Kurosawa used real arrows shot by expert archers from short range, landing within centimetres of Mifune’s body. In Ran, an entire castle set was constructed on the slopes of Mt. Fuji only to be burned to the ground in a climactic scene.

Kurosawa’s influence

His movies had a huge influence on Hollywood. The Hidden Fortress is said to have inspired George Lucas’s original Star Wars trilogy. Lucas also took his cue from Kurosawa in his use of the distinctive wipe transition which is now commonly associated with the saga. Yojimbo was remade several times, including as the world-famous Clint Eastwood spaghetti western A Fistful of Dollars and Last Man Standing starring Bruce Willis. Seven Samurai was remade as The Magnificent Seven and A Bug’s Life among its myriad other incarnations. Hoodwinked and Hero owe a large debt to Kurosawa’s Rashomon which is set in Of Rice and Zen’s backyard of Yamashina in Kyoto.

The Hollywood of today would not be the same were it not for Kurosawa’s incredible work and influence and for that alone Of Rice and Zen dubs him an RJH (Real Japan Hero).

Ozu Yasuhiro (小津 安二郎) was born in the Fukagawa district of Tokyo and buried at Engaku-ji in Kita-Kamakura. Ozu was initially hired as an assistant cameraman. He became an assistant director within three years, and directed his first film, Zange no Yaiba (The Sword of Penitence, now lost), in 1927. He went on to make a further 53 films.

One aspect of Ozu’s films that is little commented upon is his almost proto-Feminism. Most notably in the Noriko trilogy (Late Spring, Early Summer, and Tokyo Story), his female characters exhibited an independence and intelligence that was a departure from more traditional views of women. It’s a portrayal of women that is still lacking in Japanese cinema, which still tends to depict heroines as ass-whooping, pre-pubescent sex objects or meek and self-sacrificing housewives.

Quite possibly Of Rice and Zen’s favourite director. Ozu moved the camera less and less as his career progressed, and ceased using tracking shots altogether in his color films. He also invented the “tatami shot,” in which the camera is placed at a low height, precisely where it would be if one were kneeling on a tatami mat. Meditate, take some valium, do whatever you’ve got to do to slow your pulse and shake off that impatience that Hollywood has fostered in you - then lose yourself in one of his beautiful films.

His cuts were goemetric and worked in 360 degrees, not at all like Western movie making which is still hung-up on the 180 degree idea of the stage play. His shots were given an intrinsically Japanese flavour because they were done from a kneeling-on-tatami-mat position. He wasn’t afraid to use stillness and silence. His establishing shots were the best in the business.

His world classic Tokyo Story has frequently been voted one of the the best movies of all time by the best minds in the business. As with all things in art not everyone deserves an opinion and only those who’ve earned one are really worth listening to, so why not take the word of the BFI.

Ozu-san, we salute you.