Yamatora Tours -Private tour service provider

66 Izumoji Tatemotocho, Kita-Ward, Kyoto City, 603-8134

Phone: +81-90-4900-4319

info@yamatoratours.com

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Sushi and tempura are signature dishes that represent Japan. Teppanyaki cuisine and ramen are familiar to many people. Many guests from overseas recognise the word matcha green tea these days thanks to a world-famous coffee chain including it on its menu. Kaiseki (a traditional Japanese course meal with its origins in the tea ceremony) seems to never lose its popularity with travellers who love to enjoy this style of Japanese cuisine.

How about shojin ryori? Though some may have encountered this cuisine on a trip to the increasingly popular Mt Koya, there are still only few people who know about shojin ryori, vegan Japanese Buddhist cuisine. Shojin ryori is cooked in accordance to the commandments of Buddhism. Among these commandments, not killing living beings is extremely important. Along with respecting the dignity of life, Buddhists believe that living a simple life detached from worldly desires will lead them to better things. These beliefs mean that shojin ryori meals include no meat, fish or animal products.

There are four main types of shojin ryori. Fucha ryori is one of them. It originated in Obaku Sect, and was brought to Japan from China by the monk Ingen. When Buddhist ceremonies were conducted, food offerings for the Buddhist altar would be cooked, and both monks and attendees would share a meal together. This is how fucha ryori was born. Primary features of fucha ryori are the frequent use of arrowroot starch, called kuzu in Japanese, and plant-based oils. The most important thing in this style of cuisine is enjoying your meal, sharing the experience with other people.

Among the Buddhist temples that offer fucha ryori, KANGA-AN Temple stands out because the female abbot’s hospitality is well-reflected in the beautiful presentation of the food. Only an eleven minute subway ride on the Karasuma line from Kyoto Station, it is located in a quiet residential area. Established in 1671 as a temple with close ties to the Kyoto imperial palace and enshrining an imperial fortune teller, the name KANGA-AN was received from the Grand Emperor Gomizunoo.

A portrait of the female abbot of the temple welcomes guests in the entranceway.

An arrangement which gives the feeling of a small garden.

Goma-dofu (sesame tofu) is actually not tofu as soybeans are not used. Instead, Kuzu (powdered arrowroots rich in starch) is used. Kuzu itselfdoesn’t have any flavour, the flavour of goma-dofu is achieved by using crushed sesame seeds. Soft, with a melt in your mouth texture, it has a rich creamy tahini-like flavour. It goes amazingly well with wasabi.

Green chestnuts? No, it’s actually fried green tea soba noodles stuck into a sweet potato filling.
Not being able to eat meat and fish led the monks to come up with creative solutions to reconstructing the taste and flavour those foods. This imitation technique is a common feature to shojin ryori and with fucha ryori has evolved into a wonderfully aesthetic presentation of food.

Yuba with an arrowroot starch based soup. Yuba is a by-product of the tofu making process. When tofu is being made, a fine skin (yuba) is formed on the surface of the coagulating soymilk. Yuba is one food that is well-represented in Kyoto cuisine. Of course, bonito (a fish), indispensable to making most Japanese-style broth, is not used for any shojin ryori.

Despite being in the middle of a residential area, you get the sense of being detached from daily life as you wander around. The temple and restaurant are surrounded by a beautifully peaceful garden. It’s easy to lose track of time while dining here.

Vegans would definitely find fucha ryori enjoyable.. Given the philosophy of respecting living creatures, Vegan beliefs and shojin ryori are a good match. One should keep in mind, however, that shojin ryori has its roots in the Buddhist religion, and we should appreciate the food as an expression of these underlying ideals.
Here’s 5 things you should keep in mind when you have shojin ryori:
• Appreciate how much effort was made for the food to come to the table, and appreciate the people who made the meal.
• Reflect on your deeds, to assess if you are worthy of eating the food.
• Don’t eat too much. Be humble and content with what you have.
• Regard food as medicine necessary to maintain physical and mental health.
• Eat the meal as part of a path to refining yourself.
Aside from eating shojin ryori as part of Buddhist ceremonies, people also eat it as part of more informal gatherings. Shojin ryori is part of Buddhist practice, yet it is open to anyone, for any occasion. Keeping the above 5 things in mind, please enjoy your meal!

The complex is illuminated after dark, filled with a tranquil and solemn ambience. A bar, open in the evening, is also on site.

KANGA-AN Temple, part of OBAKU Sect
TEL 075-256-2480
ADDRESS 278, to the east of the intersection of Karasuma Street and Kuramaguchi street, Kita-Ku, Kyoto-City
OPEN Lunch
12pm–3pm (last check-in time is 1 pm)
Dinner
5pm–9pm (last check-in time is 7pm)
Bar
5pm-11pm (last check-in time is 10:30pm)
SMOKING NO
CLOSED Open every day
PRICE Lunch one course : ¥5,940
Dinner three courses : ¥9,510/¥11,880/¥17,820
Bar Admission charge : 1,000 yen
Drink 1,000 yen

8% consumption tax and 10% service charge are included in above prices.

Reservation require: Japanease only

http://www.kangaan.jp/

Shigetsu in Tenryuji Temple, Arashiyama, Kyoto

Wanna include Buddhist Cuisine at your tour ? Check out the related tour !

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SHIMOGAMO Shrine and TADASU-NO-MORI Woods

When you look at a map of Kyoto, the first thing that jumps out at you may be the Y-shape confluence of the KAMO River and TAKANO River, where the two rivers join and form the KAMO River. The two KAMO Rivers are actually written with different kanji characters. The area situated between the two arms of the Y-shape is home to the 124,000 ㎡ of woods made up of over 3,000, mainly elm, trees. This is the size of 17 football fields. But what’s more surprising is that the woods used to be around three times as big. This is where you will find SHIMOGAMO Shrine and the sacred woods called TADASU-NO-MORI. This place was described in a 10^th century essay, and there are shrine documents recording repair work done in Year 90 BC. In addition, many early stoneware pots have also been excavated in this area.

SHIMOGAMO Shrine is one of 17 sites in Kyoto designated as UNESCO World heritage sites, and it is interesting to note that this shrine was listed in 1994 and was the first Shinto shrine to be added. Amid the surge of tourists from overseas to Kyoto and Japan, comparatively, SHIMOGAMO Shrine has managed to retain its peaceful setting away from the hustle and bustle of tourism in Kyoto. I would say that this shrine is the place that showcases what people who grew up in Japan typically see as a Shinto shrine. I would highly recommend that tourists from overseas and foreign residents of Kyoto should come and check it out.

My idea of a “traditional Shinto shrine” is that they are located in the middle of dense woods and/or in the foothills of a wooded mountain. By walking through the woods, you transition from daily life to somewhere sacred. The scale of the awe-inspiring woods makes you feel small. Although shrines can be vibrant and lively with food vendors during festivals, these are rather extraordinary situations. Ordinarily, there are only a few visitors. You could be the only person in the shrine. It’s a place to calm down or to be meditative.

Water is an essential element for Shinto shrines in traditional settings. In the past people would cleanse themselves of impurity with water from a stream. If the woods can be viewed as a static element, then the stream could be seen as a dynamic one. Perhaps this constant flow of water may have instilled the sense of transience in people’s minds even before Buddhism was brought to Japan.  There are four steams in the precinct of SHIMOGAMO Shrine: IZUMI River, SEMINOOGAWA River, MITARASHI River, NARANO OGAWA River.

MITARASHI-GAWA River, in particular, has for a long time been much loved by visitors to the shrine. This river is known for being the place where the “MITARASHI Festival” is held. This festival takes place in the summer heat of late July. A section of the river is dammed up, and the enclosed area forms a small knee-deep pond. Visitors roll up the legs of their pants and slowly wade into the water. It is believed that their feet will be cleansed of misfortune and they will become healthier. Visitors hold a candle in their hands and after lighting it, place it on a rack while they maybe think of their family members, both living and passed.

Deities keep an eye on every aspect of daily life, adjusting to our changing lifestyles. It is possible for new Shinto shrines to be established. Two years ago, a new subsidiary shrine, SARUWATA Shrine, was built. There you will see votive tablets in the shape of rugby balls lined up. Why? Actually, the first place a rugby match was played in Japan was in the woods of SHIMOGAMO Shrine in the late 19^th century. The Rugby World Cup is coming up in 2019, so even if you’re not a rugby player, it’s a great time to head to SHIMOGAMO Shrine and TADASU NO MORI woods and say a prayer for your favourite team to do well.

SHIMOGAMO Shrine (officially called KAMO OMIYA Shrine)

Access            A 5-minute walk from DEMACHIYANAGI Station on the KEIHAN line

OPEN              6:30am – 5:00pm

No entry fees required

http://www.shimogamo-jinja.or.jp/

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Crack! Even the most beloved pottery and ceramics cannot escape its “destiny” and may eventually get chipped or cracked. But what do you do with the broken pieces? Well, in Japan, there is a restoration technique called Kintsugi to help. Kintsugi is a method of pottery repair, filling gaps, chips and cracks with lacquer, followed by an application of a, primarily, gold accent colour.

Using the Kintsugi method, the pottery becomes even more beautiful despite being chipped or broken. To discover more about the charms of Kintsugi, I visited “SHITSUGEISYA HEIAN-DO” near the DAIKOKU-JI Temple complex in northern Kyoto City. This studio workshop is owned and run by Mr. Hirokawa, an artisan who works on Kintsugi and other lacquer-related restoration work. Mr. Hirokawa has worked on many restoration projects for Buddhist temples and Shinto Shrines. He has set up a business specialising in Kintsugi repair work for pottery, lacquerware and other historical objects. He also runs workshops for Kintsugi and gold leaf decoration experience in his studio.

According to Mr.Hirokawa, “In Europe, restoration techniques are well respected when it comes to repairing cathedrals and paintings. However, the objective is essentially to cover up damage, whereas in the Kintsugi style of repair, the restoration is visible. Patterns are added but the original form of the piece is hardly disrupted. Because of this, people from overseas find Kintsugi to be a whole new concept.” He holds a firm belief that Kintsugi gives new life to broken objects, and that Kintsugi is a bridge between the past and the future.

His tools include brushes made of animal hair, and sometimes human hair. Tools come in various shapes depending on their purpose.

A type of mask used for Noh performance. Noh is a classical theatrical performing art that originated in medieval times and its chief characteristic is the use of masks. In this case, the repair is in white, not gold.
ature-controlled drying cupboard used to dry lacquer. It’s called a “muro”. Temperature and humidity are maintained within certain ranges.

Kintsugi workshop with Ms.Fujita, assistant to Mr.Hirokawa. Workshop participants often come from overseas.

Gold leaf decoration workshops are also offered. After drawing patterns with fresh lacquer, a piece of gold leaf is placed on top. Once peeled off, the pattern becomes covered in gold.

Kintsugi is but one technique using lacquer. There are a variety of lacquer wares displayed in the studio’s shop. Mr.Hirokawa sources and uses only the best high-quality domestic lacquer. He is extremely grateful to the lacquer farmers of Japan.

The core of Kintsugi is quite simple, which is love objects by not wasting. Due to materially rich life and the development of nuclear family, this spirituality is getting lost. After all, Kintsugi is a collage of the spirituality and the aesthetics where people find something imperfect beautiful. Kintsugi is encompassed with the essence of Japanese Art. To discover Japan/Kyoto deeper, this place, Shitugeisha Heiando, is a must to visit while you are around Kyoto.

TEL 075-334-5012
ADDRESS 14 Murasakino Monzen-cho, Kita-ku, Kyoto
OPEN 10am-6pm
CLOSED Wed.
PRICE From 1,000 yen for small things like incense, from 8,000 yen for Kintsugi repaired items
WEB https://shitsugeisya.jimdo.com/
Workshops Reservation is required. Please email: heiando@outlook.jp

In order to incorporate the Kintsugi workshop on to your customised tour, see Private custom tour.

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