Osaka Expo 2025, Kibune to Kurama hike, Kyoto roof tiles
The Japanese press is saying that Osaka Expo 2025, which opened on April 13 and ends in mid-Oct., offers visitors a peak into the future. Don't all Expos help us to see the future, to the see the change before we can actually experience the change? Of course they do!
Apparently the first day of Expo 2025, April 13, a Sunday, attracted over 10,000 visitors. These first day entrants all sang Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony to celebrate the start of the six-month event.
According to a Google AI Overview Beethoven's Ninth symphony, his last, is about joy, unity, and humanity, particularly in its famous finale, "Ode to Joy," which sets Schiller's famous poem of that name to music. The Symphony also delves into the struggle against adversity, the quest for joy, and the search for meaning in life. So, a pretty great song to use for any international event!
Japan (read the Japanese National Government) hopes Expo 2025 will unite a world divided by tensions and wars. A little naive in my opinion! As meaningful but powerless as an international (or national) beauty queen winner's cliche "I will work to achieve World Peace."
The Osaka Expo site is on Yumeshima or Dream Island, a reclaimed industrial waste burial site in Osaka Bay. Over 160 countries, regions and organizations are participating, and 80 of them have built showcase pavilions. And on Sunday, April 13, the island was awash in Expo 2025's theme colors: red, blue and white.
“Creating a future society for our lives” is the main theme of the event. Osaka’s previous Expo was the hugely successful 1970 event, which attracted 64 million visitors (a record only broken by the Shanghai Expo 2010.
Expo 2025 organizers have "calculated" that about 28 million visitors will come to Yumeshima between mid-April and mid-October. So far, ticket sales have been low: 9 million advance tickets have been sold; the initial target was 14 million!
he pavilion that is getting the most attention, including mine, is the Grand Ring, the largest wooden architectural structure in the world (Guinness), designed by architect Sou Fujimoto. It is 20 meters (65 feet) tall, and a 2-kilometer (1.2-mile) circumference.
A fair number of participating organizations (think corporations!) are promoting their future vision of robots and flying cars, as well as pop culture like Hello Kitty and Gundam.
At one Japanese health care pavilion, a small artificial heart made from induced pluripotent stem cells (IPS) showed that it had a sustainable and constant heartbeat.
At the Future of Life pavilion, people can interact with robots (which seems both interesting, and not great for human contact!).
The U.S. pavilion at Expo 2025 is terribly useless, in my humble opinion, as the entire focus is on space travel. As if traveling to space will save us or our planet. Just watch the end of the movie "Don't Look Up" for how space travel ends for humans.
China's pavilion is also entirely focused space tech!
The Ukraine pavilion, is fronted by a massive “Not for sale” sign, and decorated with countless Ukranian blue-and-yellow national flags.
In some ways the mascot of Expo 2025, Myaku-myaku, is really the star of the event, and also emblematic of the Japanese fixture on mascots and the hope they give.
Myaku-myaku's blue face encircled by red balls, some of them eyeballs, sporting a mysterious smile welcomes all visitor's to Expo 2025 and can be seen almost everywhere (whatever that means!). According the organizers, Myaku-myku is an imaginary creature born from the fusion of cells and water from a small spring in the Kansai region. This friendly yet clumsy character is also a transformer. It can take all kinds of shapes, a futuristic shapeshifter of sorts. And he or she is also very gifted at finding rainbows after it rains. Hmmmmm . . . I wish the event much success, mostly because of my fierce loyalty to the Kansai region (Osaka) over the Kanto region (Tokyo). Don't get me wrong, I love all of Japan and the Japanese people. However, I have a very low opinion of governments and corporations worldwide! And you probably do too!
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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 Hiking: Kibune to Kurama
One of Kyoto's best walking and all-around interesting destinations is the Kibune Kurama area, a refreshing 30-minute train ride north of Keihan Railway's Demachiyanagi terminus (N-10, pg 8 map). The recommended way to do this route is to start in Kibune (one stop before the end of the line), walk through Kibune village and over the mountain to Kurama (and end the day in Kurama’s outdoor hot spa). In Kurama be sure to follow the narrow path that leads along the east side of stream up to the outdoor hot baths (open till 21:00). After your bath you can walk back through the village on the main street to the station. Be sure to start hiking over the mountain from Kibune to Kurama at least two hours before sunset (around 16:30).
The road to Kibune and Kurama is an ancient one that leads steadily upwards out of the open, wide reaches of Kyoto's main valley into narrow, lush wooded valleys that even today seems wild and hardly touched by the long march of civilization. In ancient times (and still today) the road was a major pilgrimage route to the shrines and temples the area is famed for. And many pilgrims would spend the night at Kibune's prosperous inns after crossing over the mountain from Kurama.
In Kibune be sure to go to Kibune Jinja Shrine, home to the God of Rain. When you go to the shrine make a prayer for your safety and pick up one of the many colorful talismans sold at the shrine which besides protecting you also make a fine gift or memento. These talismans, or omamori as they are called in Japanese, are little brightly colored, flat pouches on a cord that contain a small piece of paper with the shrine's powerful blessing upon them.
Further up the road, at the end of the village, is the shrine's inner sanctum which is perhaps the most beautiful because it is so quiet and timeless. Surrounded by massive, towering cedars and guarded by two koma inu (lion-like guardian deities), the inner shrine is totally simple and covered in ancient moss and lichen.
Now back track to about the middle of the village and cross the stream (Kurama made no yama no michi wa doko de hajimaru?; Excuse me. Where does the path to Kurama begin?) and begin the walk over to Kurama (it should take you about one hour or so). At the top of the mountain you will come to Kurama Temple, dedicated to Bishamon-ten, one of the Four Directional Guardians of Buddhism, who guards the northern direction. The temple spreads out in three directions and offers great views of the surrounding area; if you look closely, you can see Kyoto way down below. In the main temple area at the top, look for the small outdoor stage and its faded tiger painting. In one of the nearby, smaller halls there is a small statue of the tengu, a mythical creature with wings, and the body of a man, one of Japan's most enduring figures of legend.
Though strongly associated with Buddhism, many scholars of Japanese folklore and mythology believe the tengu to be a manifestation of the mountain god of primitive Shintoism. It is believed that the tengu of Kurama taught the legendary warrior Minamoto no Yoshitsune all the skills and powers of swordsmanship and military strength during his years as a young novice priest at Kurama Temple. The tengu's enduring popularity can be seen throughout Kyoto, especially in Kurama, in the abundance of red-faced masks with their huge noses in souvenir shops. Since the tengu love to eat and drink, you'll often see their gigantic, masks in many of Kyoto's traditional restaurants.
When you arrive in Kurama village (the car road), follow the road down to the right and, after having a look at the traditional souvenir and pickle shops, look for a phone booth (with a green phone) on your right. This is the entrance to the station.
Now look to your left across the road for a narrow, wooden footbridge over the stream. Cross the stream and walk all the way up (about one kilometer) to just before Kurama Onsen spa (the hot bath). This walk along the east side of the stream to the top of the village leads past numerous vegetable fields and makes for a truly idyllic stroll back in time. Vegetables form a key part of Kurama's economy as they are the ingredients for the village's famous varieties of pickled vegetables. When you reach the end of the path, cross over the stream again and walk up to the baths (about 100 meters).
After your bath and on the way down to the station, stay on the road (unless it’s full moon). Kurama's architecture, with its seemingly linked row of steep-roofed houses on either side of the street is typical of narrow, mountain towns and villages throughout Japan. As you'll see on walking through the village, stone cutting and garden stones are one of Kurama's big industries, after tourism and the wood industry.
Kyo-gawara, Kyoto-style roof tiles
Kawara, or Japanese roof tiles, originally came to Japan from Korea in the late 6th century. Two hundred years later, when Kyoto became the capital, a great revolution in architectural styles and designs took place. This was also true of the tile industry, as Japanese designers began to create styles that differed increasingly from Chinese and Korean motifs.
For the past 1200 years, the kawara industry in Kyoto has been well known for its uniquely sophisticated and elegant designs. Kyoto kawara (Kyo-gawara) form a distinctive feature in Kyoto's many temples, shrines, imperial structures, and other buildings of national importance. There are said to be as many as 700 different Kyo-kawara styles in existence in the widely differing and age-old world of Kyoto architecture. Most are to be found in the city's temples and shrines, however, a great number of fine traditional kawara styles can also be seen on prominent display in Kyoto's numerous machiya (townhouses).
San-gawara roof tiles, the dominant tile style in Japan today, were invented in Kyoto in the late Momoyama era (1576-1603). Because the former style, known as Hon-gawara, required more tiles, and was heavier and thus more expensive to produce, the San-gawara style had a revolutionary effect, and spread immediately as the chosen roofing style among ordinary people.
Despite the overwhelming reliance on machinery in manufacturing today Japan's characteristic roof tiles continue to be produced largely by hand by traditionally trained kawara makers. But things are changing, and in recent years, special kawara, such as the Yakumono-kawara (roof corner tile), which are decorated with traditional motifs have become increasingly costly due to their difficult design and intricacy, as well as a great drop in demand. Today, four important tile factories continue to produce traditional Kyoto kawara for the Kyoto region and beyond.
Kyo-kawara (San-gawara) are made of a select quality of clay, which is kneaded by machine (nowadays, though formerly by hand) for a long time and then squeezed (or rolled) out into flat tile shapes. Machine-made kawara are mass produced by pressing them into a uniform design, drying them, and then firing them.
Handmade kawara are made by squeezing out the clay and cutting it into the proper size under cool, shaded conditions. The tiles are then dried slowly and then finally polished front and back with a special cloth. The tiles are ready when the corners of each kawara are scraped, rounded off, and then twisted slightly against their natural bend. This final process is described among kawara makers as "making the kawara behave." When the shape has settled, a wavy design is scratched into the inner surface of each tile with a special boxwood comb, such that the tile will more easily fix itself to the mud layer they are laid on top of. Following this, the tiles are left in the sun to dry for one week before they are taken for final firing in a gas kiln.
Kyoto's Asada Seigawara Tile Factory
Akihisa Asada is the owner of the Asada Seigawara Tile Factory and is the third master since Onishi, a kawara craft genius who specialized in oni-gawara (devil tiles) and passed on a treasury of superior knowledge on this traditional art form. Nowadays, the word, "Kyo-gawara" is becoming less and less familiar, and Asada is the only factory still employing the traditional production method which requires a minimum of machine work and a high degree of hands-on skill and design expertise. The oni-gawara style, to which Mr. Asada has dedicated his life, requires great precision and artistic subtlety. It is the most representative type of Kyo-gawara known. Unfortunately, mass production of such tiles, by machine, has nearly wiped out this traditional industry in Kyoto.
The most important stage in the kyo-gawara production process is the polishing which is done using a special metal scraper. This is what makes the kawara tiles shine so marvellously. The size and balance of design are also very significant factors in the production of Kyo-kawara. These kinds of details have traditionally been passed on by word of mouth from master to senior student.
Since the factory was founded in around 1910 at the end of the Meiji period, Asada Seigawara did all its firing in a daruma-gama kiln (on display at the Kawara Museum in Omi-Hachiman city, Shiga) until about 15 years ago. This was the very last traditional kawara kiln used in the Kyoto kawara industry. Now, Asada Seigawara employs a machine for the first stage of the process -- kneading and rough shaping. However, the rest is done strictly by hand. It takes approximately three weeks to create enough oni-gawara for a single temple building.
Mr. Asada had the following to say about the current situation facing the kawara industry, "Nowadays, because fewer and fewer people are taking part in the kawara industry, competition is decreasing and the industry is becoming endangered. It is very sad to watch this industry gradually go extinct. But like many other traditional crafts, it takes a great deal of time to gain the necessary knowledge and skills, and it is too difficult to actually make a living doing it. Another problem is that the quality of clay is decreasing. It has become hard to obtain high quality clay and now we are forced to use clay we would have once rejected.
It is my feeling that knowledge of the kawara craft should not be limited to kawara making alone. We have to have a wide-ranging and balanced attitude about the building's total design and structure. This is a form of architecture, really. One also has to have a strong artistic sense to design the fine details required for this tiles. All kawara designs are first drawn on paper, so a highly developed skill for looking at 2-dimensional images and imagining 3-dimensional figures is essential. We also have to make precise calculations about the reflection of the sun which is taken into account when installing the tiles on rooftops."
Asada Seigawara has been contributing its special tile techniques to the historical architecture of Kyoto for many years. Some of products can be seen at Nanzen-ji Temple in Higashiyama, Mampuku-ji in Uji, and Nijo Castle in Nakagyo-ku. They also produce oni-gawara for traditional machiya houses in Kyoto, and for international export. The Rockefeller Foundation Center in New York, is one of the company's most famous clients.
For more information about Asada Seigawara tiles call them: Tel: 075-601-1506.
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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!