Less passports in Japan, crafted bows & arrows, biwa player interview
A recent report from Bloomberg shows that Japanese passport holders have decreased from 24% of the population to 16.6 % over the last decade. On the other hand, the percentage of US citizens with passports has risen from 30% to 51% over the last 17 years! In Asia, sixty percent of Taiwanese citizens have passports and 42% of South Korean have passports.
The major reasons for less Japanese with passports is primarily twofold: the yen has decreased nearly 30% over the last 5-7 years, and international experiences are more scary or intimidating for the Japanese (not being famous English speakers way back and now). So, even if the yen gets much stronger the young are just a lot less interested in leaving home.
For the longest time, Japan was a top five international tourism spender. Now it ranks at #16! And that's not all. Young Japanese people are increasingly uninterested in traveling abroad. And for me this is sad as it points to increased Japanese insularity and less risk taking among the young. After Covid nearly 40% of polled Japanese individuals said they would never go abroad again! Hard to believe but true. And this will have a major impact in Hawaii, Thailand and Australia (never mind Europe).
Some things change and other things continue. I was amazed that the Kikyuya antique kimono is still going strong after nearly 30 years. I used to go there in the late 1980s to find Taisho period (1912-1925) kimono and obis. And today, in 2025, you can do the same. Check it out!
Though Japanese textile arts are well known among dealers the world over many tourists make the mistake of thinking that Japanese textiles are beyond their budget. This is definitely not the case. In fact, used kimono and obi can be surprisingly reasonable. And the sheer variety of motifs, colors, sizes and designs can be an art appreciation experience in itself. Kikuya has a superb collection of kimono and obi at prices suited to every budget. Their convenient location, about 700 meters south of the main downtown Shijo street shopping zone, is an excellent place to explore the wonders of kimono and obi, which can be used in more ways than you might imagine. You can hang them on the wall (by running a round wood pole through the sleeves of the kimono). You can use an obi as a stunning table runner. Or you can take the piece apart and have it refashioned into a vest, jacket, or skirt. Some people even use the finer scraps to make postcards or a framed work of art. The possibilities are just fun to think about. Check out Kikuya and start redecorating! Details: https://www.kikuya-kyoto.info/usedkimonokikuya .
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Content by Ian Martin Ropke, owner of Your Japan Private Tours (est. 1990). I have been planning, designing, and making custom Japan private tours on all five Japanese islands since the early 1990s. I work closely with Japan private tour clients and have worked for all kinds of families, companies, and individuals since 1990. Clients find me mostly via organic search, and I advertise my custom Japan private tours & travel services on www.japan-guide.com, which has the best all-Japan English content & maps in Japan! If you are going to Japan and you understand the advantages of private travel, consider my services for your next trip. And thank you for reading my content. I, Ian Martin Ropke (unique on Google Search), am also a serious nonfiction and fiction writer, a startup founder (NexussPlus.com), and a spiritual wood sculptor. Learn more!
All about Kyoto's top bow & arrow craft studio
In its eleven hundred years as Japan’s capital, Kyoto produced a truly stunning range of arts and crafts. This heritage is very much alive, and Kyoto continues to draw not only foreign tourists but also many Japanese looking for a connection between the nation’s high-tech present and its artisan past. Few would argue that Kyoto remains one of the great repositories of living Asian arts and crafts. The city’s craft artists are constantly seeking ways to blend the old with the new, to keep traditional arts both relevant to modern life and within reach of ordinary people. In Japan the observant visitor or resident will quickly notice that many old traditions are alive and well in new arts and designs. Whether it be ceramics, fashion, or interior design, Japan is a place where the old is honored in the new. This page is dedicated to this vibrant craft tradition, and to the many stores, ateliers, and workshops where handicrafts are sold or where such traditional processes can be viewed. Details: https://www.kikuya-kyoto.info/ .
The Japanese bow (yumi) is known for its precision and elegant hand-crafted design. At 220 cm, it is the world’s longest bow, and the only one designed to shoot the arrow not from the center point, but from two-thirds the way up from the bottom.
Like much of Japanese culture, the bow was introduced from China, around a 1000 years ago. Although bows dating back 600 years have been found in Japan, because they are made of hard wood like cherry or bamboo, they generally do not last long. The oldest surviving bamboo bow, now in a collection in Shimane prefecture, was made only about 150 years ago. Interestingly, it bears the seal of Kanjuro Shibata, one of the long line of Kyoto bow makers to bear that name.
Until the modern age, the bow industry was spread among Tokyo, Nagoya, Kyoto and Satsuma in Miyazaki prefecture, Kyushu. Today, however, 99.9% of Japanese bows are made in Satsuma, and the remaining 0.1% come from the Shibata studio in Kyoto. Shibata bows are made only from Kyoto bamboo. Unlike the bamboo of Satsuma, Kyoto bamboo is much thicker and harder and has a finer grain, the result of surviving Kyoto’s sharp seasonal changes in temperature and humidity. These qualities make Kyoto bamboo rather more difficult to work with, but they also give the bows greater stability and resilience. This strength, however, is hidden behind a slender, light, almost delicate appearance. As the current Kanjuro Satsuma says, “It’s very similar to the character of Kyoto people.”
Kanjuro Shibata Bow Studio: 21 generations of bow making
Gokomachi street between Shijo and Gojo is the traditional center of bow making in Kyoto. Indeed, the street was once known as Yumiza, or “Bow Makers’ League” for its many craftsmen. Today, however, this long tradition lives on in one place only: the Kanjuro Shibata Bow Studio. The present Kanjuro Shibata is the 21st member of his family of that name, and the inheritor of irreplaceable skills and a deep love for Japanese bamboo bows. Mr. Shibata's original bows are prized by archery practitioners all over Japan. Most archers begin using cheaper fiberglass bows, but as their skill increases, at some point, they all dream of owning a Shibata bow—the ultimate symbol of quality in Japanese archery.
While approximately 70% to 80% of Mr. Shibata’s bows are used for archery, the remaining 20% to 30% are for sacred rituals at temples and shrines across Japan. In the Niiname festival, for example, bows are used as fortune telling tools for the following year. For the Shingon Buddhism sect, bows are an integral part of the process of purifying the spiritual fireplace for the Gomataki ceremony.
Mr. Shibata has done much to promote awareness overseas of Kyoto’s bow making tradition. He travels abroad frequently and is happy to welcome foreign visitors to his studio. Here is a unique chance to witness one of Kyoto’s great artisan traditions.
Open 9:00-21:00, by reservation only. Closed on Saturdays and Sundays. Reservations can be made directly, or through the Tourist Information Center. Mr. Shibata speaks English. Located on Gokomachi, north of Manju-ji (one street north of Gojo Street), Shimogyo-ku. Tel: 075-351-1491.
A talk with Biwa lute musician Tomoko Yamauchi
Tomoko Yamauchi is one of Japan's only living biwa lute balladeers in the nearly extinct Heike Biwa style. The biwa lute has a pear-shaped body and a short neck. This plucked string instrument is traditionally used for storytelling. The Heike Biwa balladeers have been orally transmitting a set of roughly 200 tales related to the tragic Heike clan, since the Kamakura period (1185-1333). Together, these tales make up one of Japan's oldest written historical accounts, known as the Heike Monogatari, or the Tale of the Heike. The stories deal with the short-lived victory and undying valor and tragic nature of the Taira or Heike Clan, who showed great promise when they vanquished their bitter rivals, the Minamoto or Genji Clan, as well as ousting the Fujiwara Clan, who ruled for much of the Heian period. Many of these tales are essentially tragic love affairs and stories of battle or court intrigue that took place during the passionate, yet decadent final stages of the Heian court in Kyoto. The mostly dark mood of the Heike Monogatari is based around the Buddhist doctrine that all human activity is ephemeral and illusory, that the mighty are destined to be destroyed by time, and that nothing, in the end, can save a human life but the grace of the Amida Buddha. This interview took place in Kyoto in 1999.
YJPT: How did you get interested in playing the biwa?
TY: I play a kind of music known as Heikyoku, a style of music that was developed to orally tell the Tales of the Heike [Heike Monogatari]. Nowadays, people are only familiar with these tales from reading them in books. Very few people have ever heard them in their original form, which is the Heikyoku ballad style. My teacher, Tateyama Kogo, from Miyagi Prefecture, was one of the last few living teachers of the oral, musical Heikyoku style. In 1974, when I was 23, I read an article about him and decided that I wanted to help. And I say help because at that time my teacher was worried that he wouldn't have anyone to pass his knowledge of these nearly 800-year-old ballads on to, and that the tradition would disappear. Because my teacher was very old when I started, we had little time to lose. I trained nearly full-time on weekends for four years. During the week I worked for the Japan's largest telephone company, NTT. The Tales of the Heike consists of more than 200 different stories that are played on the biwa. Those four years were incredibly difficult for me. After Tateyama-sensei passed away, I continued to work hard at playing these songs as he would have wanted me to. I was very lucky to have the understanding of my company for all those years.
YJPT: Are there musical notes for these songs?
TY: Heikyoku is strictly an oral tradition, so there are no notes at all. The entire repertoire resides within the human memory and is passed on from generation to generation. Even though this is true, presently we are mostly using musical arrangements standardized in the Edo period (1600-1868). It is almost unbelievable in this day and age to think that the songs or stories that I am playing have been successfully handed down for nearly 800 years. The music and acting for the Noh and Kyogen theater forms, which developed around the same time as Heikyoku, have been handed down in the same way. I learned a lot about the nuances of my songs by attending Noh plays and listening.
YJPT: What is it that attracts you about the biwa and its music?
TY: When I play, I can feel time slowly slipping away, back to the moods of the Heian and Kamakura periods. In today's mad and modern, high-paced, high-stress lifestyle, escaping into the biwa is precious and relaxing. When I play, I try very hard to express the essence of a human emotion or the sound of a situation through the instrument. If it is a tragic love story, I try to express the sadness of the woman. If it is an epic battle scene, I try to evoke the sound and feeling of war. All sound travels through the air to our ears. Therefore, the sound of the biwa is really very different according to the season. This is why I don't make tape. To appreciate the biwa you have to hear it live. There is no other way.
YJPT: What is the history or background of the biwa itself?
TY: The instrument and the basic musical style developed in China, and from there eventually came to Japan. In Japan, four different kinds of biwa music developed. The first kind, the original Chinese style, was used in the Nara [710-794] and Heian [794-1185] periods for gagaku or imperial court music. Another style, known as the Moso biwa style was used by blind monks to "read" Buddhist sutras. The third style, the Heike biwa style, is the one I'm playing. The fourth style is called the Kindai biwa style. Also known as the Satsuma or Chikuzen style. The Satsuma style developed about 300 years ago and was very popular in southern Japan, mainly in Kyushu culture. The Chikuzen style, which grew from the Satsuma style, developed about 100 years ago.
YJPT: How many professional Heike biwa players are there in Japan?
TY: In the whole country there are only two or three professionals, who play regularly and then a handful of amateurs. Kyoto hasn't had a single professional performer since the 1940s. In Kyushu, I have heard that there are still quite a few Moso biwa players.
YJPT: What is the instrument made of?
TY: Biwa is made of very strong, hard wood, usually kuwa [mulberry]. The four strings or gen are made of silk. The sounds of the biwa are very simple and translucent. This kind of music only has five scales.
YJPT: Are there any other musical instruments that are like the biwa?
TY: Yes there are. If you trace the instrument in China, you will find it quite similar or related to the Persian udo and also to the Indian sitar. It also resembles the western lute. KVG: Are there still people making biwa? TY: Yes, there are several people in Kyoto who make instruments for imperial court musicians. The imperial gagaku musicians, now live in Tokyo. Since this kind of music has survived for more than 1,000 years, I am sure that there will always be a need for these ancient instruments.
YJPT: What is your concert schedule like?
TY: Even though I live in Tokyo, I often come to play in Kyoto. The city is perfect for the biwa and its music. It is sad now that I am working in Tokyo. It's difficult to feel the same atmosphere there. But I play all over Japan. I will play in Wakayama this month. I especially like playing in the Kansai region, because the Heikyoku songs are all set in this area.
YJPT: Are you also teaching?
TY: Right now I am not. But that is an important future activity that I look forward to. When I retire, I will devote myself to teaching what I know to others. People have told me that it is nearly impossible to discipline young people these days, but I am not worried too much, indeed I am very much looking forward to teaching. I don't want people to stereotype young people in some kind of mainly negative way. There are many young people, in any age, who have tremendous spirit and energy.
YJPT: What is it that you miss about Kyoto?
TY: Kyoto is a mature city, full of elegance and history. I guess my favourite place in Kyoto, the place that I miss but which is always in my heart, is Jakko-in Temple in Ohara. This is where the last remaining aristocratic member of the Heike family, Kenrei Monin, retreated to and devoted her life to being a nun. The tragedy of that distant time is still there in the atmosphere of the temple and its surroundings. Other things I love about Kyoto are the hour around sunset, the light is so exquisite, the graceful, green willows along the Kamogawa River, seeing maiko walking along the streets of Gion, and people splashing water on the street [uchimizu] in front of their homes and businesses. Surrounded by mountains, I feel something warm and secure in Kyoto, like she was my mother. I return whenever I can, and it always feels like home.
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Content by Japan travel specialist & designer Ian Martin Ropke, founder & owner of Your Japan Private Tours (YJPT, est. 1990). I have been planning, designing, and making custom Japan private tours on all five Japanese islands since the early 1990s. I work closely with all of YJPT's Japan private tour clients and have a great team behind me. I promote YJPT through this content and only advertise at www.japan-guide.com, which has the best all-Japan English content & maps! If you are going to Japan and you understand the advantages of private travel, consider my services for your next trip to save time & have a better time. Ian Martin Ropke (unique on Google Search) is also a serious nonfiction and fiction writer, a startup founder (NexussPlus.com), and a spiritual wood sculptor. Learn more!