Two celebrated Kyoto statues, Kyoto Station, and Kyoto's Kamogawa River
Before the main sections of this post, I wanted to draw the reader's attention to two interesting statues close to the Kamogawa River (see below).
The first statue is devoted to the memory of Takayama Hikokuro (1747-1793), a celebrated samurai of the Edo period (1600-1868). His statue (on Sanjo, a few meters east of Kawabata Street) is hard to miss. In 1783, on a tour to the capital, he prostrated himself at the eastern end of the Sanjo Bridge, when he saw the ruins of the Imperial Palace in the distance. After a major fire the palace had been left completely unrepaired by the weakening Tokugawa shogunate. In anger, Hikokuro beheaded the statues of three shoguns and displayed them in the dry bed of the Kamogawa River in a bold act of protest against the government. His action raised popular support and eventually led to the downfall of the Tokugawa shogunate less than a century later. The imposing bronze statue of him, in the kneeling position, dating from the Meiji period (1868-1912) is a tribute to his courage and love of Kyoto.
The second statue is south of the first near the Shijo Bridge (just west of the Gion geisha district) and the huge, storied facade of the Minamiza kabuki theater. Next to the river, half-hidden in a row of large trees, the statue of Izumo Okuni is easy to miss. Her impact on the Japanese cultural scene, however, is not. Izumo is the genius founder of the kabuki theater form. She is said to have come to Kyoto from Izumo in 1603. Before coming to the capital she was a miko or a young maiden in the service of a Shinto Shrine. When she arrived in Kyoto she found a lively street performance scene booming in the city: performers wore colorful clothing and played their instruments closer to the way rock stars do today than anything Japan has seen before. Inspired and eager to please, she soon acquired a reputation among the lower classes for her wild, often outrageous dance performances on the banks of the Kamogawa River, near the Shijo Bridge, where her statue stands today. Her dance was known as the kabuki dance, and before long she had become a celebrated cultural figure throughout the nation. The kabuki theater rose out of her creative madness. Today, the only kabuki theater left in Kyoto stands across from where she first danced so wildly.
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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!
Kyoto Station, railway hub since 1877 and more now!
Kyoto Station has long been the main modern doorway to the Old Capital (or Kyoto). In fact, since the Heian Period (794-1185), the Kyoto Station area has been the entry point for 90% of the city's traffic.
The 1997 15-story rebuild of the main passenger building, covering both JR lines, Kintetsu Railway lines, the bullet train, and the Karasuma subway line, turned Kyoto Station into one of Japan's largest buildings. The station is home to hotels, shopping malls, an art museum, theaters, Isetan department store, and countless restaurants. The south side of the station, with fast access to the Meishin Expressway toll highway, has a large bus terminal for city buses, long-distance and overnight highway buses. The building's futuristic design was created by Japanese architect Hara Hiroshi, who also designed the super-popular Umeda Sky Building in Osaka.
The station has two tourist information centers. The Tourist Information Center on the 2nd floor offers multilingual services, some pamphlets and a few tourist PC terminals. The 9th floor International Information Center also has multilingual representatives and free internet access.
The free access Observation Deck, open 24/7, is reached by a long series of escalators and then a flight of stairs. This open-air observation deck offers views, but the tinted glass has some issues for clear visibility. On the other hand, the station's Skyway tunnel allows visitors is a walkway 45 meters above the station's central hall. And the Skyway windows are clear glass with excellent views across the city and down below. The Skyway begins on the 11th floor restaurant level.
The history of the station begins in 1877, when an imperial degree opened the station officially. In 1889, the railway became a part of the trunk line to Tokyo (the Tokaido Main Line). The first station rebuild in 1914, a beautiful classic red-brick structure, sported a huge open square to the north of the station. Until the end of World War II, this square was frequently used by Emperor Showa's imperial motorcades on arrival from Tokyo. The 1914 station burned down in 1950 and became a basic concrete structure in 1952. The station's extensive underground facilities were added in 1981, when the north-south Karasuma subway line was constructed.
Kyoto Station is used by nearly 500,000 passengers daily and is one of the busiest transit hubs in all of Japan. A lot of this has to do with tourism, which has everything to do with domestic Japanese travelers (of the roughly 54 million people who visit Kyoto annually, 50 million are Japanese domestic tourists!).
The Kamogawa, Kyoto's ancient big river
When Kyoto was chosen as the site for Japan's capital in 794, a variety of physical and spiritual factors had to be considered in order to provide the best possible conditions for the emperor, his court, and the aspiring city. Chinese astrology and geomancy played a crucial role in the decision and Kyoto's location was magnificent. Mountains to the north and northeast guarded against the evil spirits believed to come from those directions. While also protected to the west and east, the city was, however, open to the south, whence favorable influences were believed to enter. There was also a great river flowing south through the plain. But now the story becomes as murky as the waters after a heavy rain.
As a source of water for purification rites and a myriad of everyday uses, the river was fine, but it was in the wrong place--according to the geomancers--and they feared that the spiritual wealth of the city would be carried away in the southward flow. Thus, according to one story, the course of the river was changed almost 1200 years ago. From where it "used" to flow south along Horikawa (literally "canal river") St., it was made to join the Takano River at Imadegawa (literally where the "river exits now") St.
However, many people believe it never happened, for, strangely, there are no records of any project to alter the course of the river. Some people are sure that the present configuration has been unchanged since well before prehistoric times, while others cannot believe that the perfect "Y" shape and arrow straightness of the river's course through the city could have occurred naturally. Careful examination of the strata in the area seems to show that the changed course theory doesn't hold water, but many refuse to be convinced.
Equally curious is that the name "Kamo River" is written with different Chinese characters (kanji) for different parts of the river. From its origin in Mt. Sajikigatake, a dozen or so kilometers north of Kyoto, all the way to Demachi Yanagi, where the Keihan Railway terminus now is, the name is written with the kanji of a famous clan which flourished from before the Heian Period, the same kanji as the "kamo" of the ancient Kamigamo and Shimogamo Shrines. Below Imadegawa St., however, where the Takano River from northeastern Ohara joins the Kamo, the name is written with the "kamo" kanji which means "wild duck."
Nicknamed "the Face of Kyoto." the Kamogawa River is about 23 kilometers long, with much of its length to the northwest of Kyoto City.
Usually lazy and calm, the river's flow is as capricious as the seasonal rains. As long ago as 824, an office was created to try to deal with the problems of overflow, but the chronicles of flooding, devastation, and death from water-borne diseases continued for centuries.
In times of calm, the river banks were used for purification rites, performances, oratory, and the execution of criminals, functioning almost as would a public square. But the river's sudden fury and destruction of life and property was a continual threat, prompting this famous observation by the powerful 11th century emperor, Shirakawa-in: "Dice, the Kamo River, and the monks of Enryakuji: these refuse to obey me".
As recently as 1935, a tremendous flood ruined 32 out of 41 bridges, but modern construction techniques seem to have conquered the torrents and flooding.
The most famous bridges are those in the heart of the city, and some have colorful histories. Just west of the bridge along Gojo St., you can see statues of Yoshitsune and Benkei portrayed in their famous encounter, when the small but brilliant warrior overcame the giant who then became his faithful vassal. After the bridge at Shijo was rebuilt in 1874, a toll was charged for more than thirty years to pay back the geisha of Gion who financed the then unusual iron structure resting on stone pillars. It became free when it was again rebuilt in 1911 but still retains its nickname "Gion Bridge". The Sanjo Bridge is associated with Takayama Hikokuro, a popular but eccentric Edo Period royalist whose statue can be seen east of the river, in front of Sanjo Station. Some of the bronze ornaments decorating the pillars of Sanjo Bridge look just like those commonly found on other bridges, but date from 1590. The "onion" shape represents the hoju, or Buddhist sacred treasure ball, so your prayers may be answered if you pray earnestly in front of them.
For many, the Kamo River is the answer to their prayers when, during Kyoto's notoriously oppressive summer months, its cool banks offer relief from the relentless heat. A whole industry is built around this phenomenon, which is called noryo ("enjoying the evening cool"). From May until September, elegant restaurants along the west bank between Nijo and Gojo annually construct platforms called yuka (or kawadoko) over a small diverted stream flowing parallel to the river, and these eateries charge a premium for this natural air conditioning. Prices at many establishments start at Yen 8,000, for a kaiseki course meals, and reservations are a must.
For people on a really tight budget, a stroll along the banks may be refreshment enough, though there will be crowds of couples, or abekku (derived from the French avec). North of Marutamachi St., the river's banks are wide enough for jogging, cycling, or just enjoying an open space away from the bustle of the city.
According to an Edo Period author, Kyoto's three assets were beautiful women, Kamo River water, and a profusion of shrines and temples. From the Heian Period on, the Kamo River's "soft" water has enjoyed a reputation for illuminating and preserving female radiance. (Two other shortcuts to beauty involved applying facials of nightingale droppings and scrubbing with rice hull powder.) A Kyushu daimyo (lord), living hundreds of kilometers to the southwest, who desired his daughter to grow into a beauty, once had the river's water sent in casks so that she could bathe in it from an early age.
Some traditional industries, such as yuzen (paste resist) dyeing, require copious amounts of clean running water, so dyers naturally rinsed their fabric in the Kamo River. The use of the water is now strictly regulated and this is ceremonially performed only once a year, around the middle of August. The river is at last recovering from the effects of pollution and now, during the summer heat, some adventurous souls flaunt the rules and enjoy swimming in it at the extreme north edge of the city, where dwellings are scarce. The flow is as variable as ever, from a tepid trickle to a dangerous torrent, and every degree between.
Another smaller river, the Shirakawa, also from the northeast, merges just above Shijo St. Continuing due south through downtown Kyoto, the Kamo River then bends to the southwest to join the Katsura River at Shimotoba in the Fushimi Ward, where it officially ends.
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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!