A tiny art gallery, and a huge museum

Several weeks have again raced by without me posting anything which is pretty rubbish really. In my defence, I have been doing quite a lot of writing, it's just not been for the blog! This is another lazy post in that it's made up of two articles that I wrote for the same travel website as the sumo article (japantourist.jp). I'm really enjoying doing these articles. The research for them is allowing me to continue discovering new parts of Tokyo, as well as re-visiting places I first went to six months ago. It's very interesting to see how both the places and I have changed in that time. Anyway, your comments would be very much appreciated so let me know what you think!

Space Oguraya

It is easy to forget you are in one of the world’s busiest cities during a visit to Space Oguraya, a tiny arts and crafts gallery opposite a serene Buddhist temple on one of Yanaka’s many picturesque, winding streets. At first glance, with its black walls and rusting corrugated iron tower, the gallery looks a little uninviting. But persevere through the door and you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the homely, rickety entrance hall full of paintings that lies on the other side. Often the gallery owner, Takao Itoh, will be there greeting visitors, asking you to remove your shoes and replace them with a pair of quaint floral slippers provided in a basket in the hall.

Slightly forbidding from the outside...

...but homely and welcoming inside.

Many of the works on display are by Itoh-san’s mother, Toshi Itoh. Hanging in the entrance is an atmospheric winter’s day view of the temple gate opposite. Itoh-san told me that his mother painted it while looking out of the upstairs window in the gallery. The tiny dog that is just visible was the temple’s guard dog, barking loudly at passers-by but never venturing beyond the line of the gate.

Yanaka in Winter by Toshi Ito

Temple's Gate in Autumn by Toshi Ito

Other paintings at Space Oguraya are by Japanese and foreign artists, and there are often small displays of origami and other Japanese crafts. The exhibitions change with the seasons although there are always some of Toshi Itoh’s works on display. There’s also a well-stocked shop where you can pick up prints and postcards of some of the gallery’s holdings.

Interesting art in a beautiful setting

While you’re in the area it’s worth crossing the road to have a closer look at the temple opposite; it’s inspiring in its peacefulness. Also, spend some time just wandering around the tiny streets to see what other surprises might be there – more temples than you can count and several other small art galleries quietly wait to welcome the visitor who prefers their sites off the beaten track.

The entrance to the temple opposite Space Oguraya

For me it’s not the art, although interesting, that keeps me returning to Space Oguraya; it’s the feeling of the place. In the wooden walls and creaking floorboards, in the experience of shuffling around in slippers, and in Itoh-san’s stories, there is a little bit of Yanaka magic just waiting to be discovered.

Tokyo National Museum

If you’re looking for a historical treasure-trove of Japanese arts that will give you an overview of some of the most important and influential techniques, products and traditions to come out of Japan, Tokyo National Museum is the place for you.

Amazingly beautiful 16th century screen

19th century parody of the twelve months

The permanent collection, located in the Honkan (Japanese Gallery) is brought together under the title, Highlights of Japanese Art. The information tells visitors they are about to embark on a “cultural journey through time” and the gallery lives up to this claim. The earliest items in the collection are clay pots and jars from the Jomon Period (10,000-500 BC). From there you are taken on a whistlestop tour that ends up in the current Heisei Era, having touched on everything in between. There is plenty of English around on the labels in the galleries, as well as guides and maps in English, French, German, Spanish, Chinese and Korean so it’s easily navigable by foreign visitors.

16th century picture of
the moon and a plum tree

Even in this collection of highlights there are some things that particularly stand out: the kimonos and lacquer-ware items show off the tremendous skill of the artists through their tiny and beautiful details; the samurai armour and swords are fascinating for their precision and the air of danger that hovers around them; the 1000-armed Buddhas are awe-inspiring in their craftsmanship and serenity.

15th century samurai armour

Intricate detail on a 19th century kimono

In addition to the permanent displays in the Honkan, there is also a programme of small, thematic, temporary exhibitions. These showcase items belonging to a particular collector, or a collection that is relevant to a specific time of year (for example Hina Matsuri – Doll Festival – on 3rd March). Then there is the huge special exhibitions gallery, the Heiseikan, which houses a large archaeological collection, as well as being the location for the major temporary exhibitions that the museum hosts. Recent shows have looked at Buddhism, the relationship between Chinese and Japanese art, and manga, with forthcoming exhibitions scheduled to focus on calligraphy, Chinese dynasties, and sacred Japanese treasures.

Seated Nyoirinkanan Bosatsu from the 13th century

Tokyo National Museum also includes the Hyokeikan and Toyokan buildings, both of which are currently closed for renovations, but scheduled to open again in 2013. Even without these two exhibition areas, the museum is definitely worth a visit.

Spend some time just sitting in the galleries taking everything in. The low lighting and near silence create an atmosphere perfect for contemplation of the beautiful objects, many of which have been designated as National Treasures or Important Cultural Property. These artefacts are not just important to the cultural heritage of Japan, but to that of the whole world. A visit to Tokyo National Museum is an uplifting and inspiring reminder of the beautiful creations of which people are capable and it is well worth half a day of your time.

Inspiring 20th century statue of Kannon

またね!

Sumo - a belt grabbing, face slapping, belly whacking day out!

The snow has melted in Tokyo and the sun is out again. Our latest visitors departed early this morning after two packed weeks of sightseeing - plenty of notes taken that just need moulding into a coherent post which will be up shortly... In the meantime, I've started doing a bit of writing for a travel website (japantourist.jp) and thought I'd post the article I did for them about the sumo match that Simon and I saw a fortnight ago. Enjoy!

"Leg pounding, face slapping, belly whacking, salt throwing, belt grabbing, bow twirling, crowd screeching, heart pumping…A day at the sumo is a truly wonderful assault on the senses.

Every year there are six honbasho (official sumo tournaments) in Japan. Three of these are held in Tokyo, and one each in Osaka, Nagoya and Fukuoka. It was with great excitement that I recently went along to the first honbasho of 2012 – at Ryogoku Kokugikan in downtown Tokyo.

From early morning to mid-afternoon the lower ranked rikishi (wrestlers) battle it out. The stadium is pretty empty at this time, although it starts filling up around lunchtime. If you’re up for making a whole day of it it’s worth going along for the experience and also because you can occasionally see some young hopefuls on their way up through the ranks.

From around 2.20pm the jūryō, the second highest division, take the stage. These guys are good, and some of them are on their way to being excellent. The division is fixed at 28 rikishi and each one has to fight in 15 bouts in a honbasho. That’s 15 days in a row slamming into your opponent, and trying everything in your repertoire to get them out of the ring or to touch the ground with anything but the soles of their feet before they do the same to you. Ouch.

While you’re at the stadium make sure you wander around to have a good look at everything. Pop into the small but very interesting sumo museum on site (free admission) to see the beautiful antique keshō-mawashi (ornate, ceremonial aprons worn by the top divisions of rikishi). Also check out the Emperor’s Cup in the foyer of the stadium. This is awarded, along with many other prizes, to the winning rikishi on the last day of the honbasho.

The Emperor's Cup

But whatever else you do with your day, make sure that you’re in your seat by 3.45pm because this is the bit that you’ve paid your money for. The makuuchi division contains the top 42 rikishi in the world and these are the hardest fighting, most experienced players who have the most to lose. The building tension in the stadium was palpable as spectators chanted for their favourite players. Like the jūryō, these guys also fight in 15 bouts over the course of the honbasho.

The makuuchi division begins with dohyō-iri (ring entering ceremony) where all the players enter the ring in turn and carry out a ritual to attract the attention of the gods. The highest ranking player then performs his own ritual of clapping, showing his palms to the gods so they can see he is unarmed, and stamping to drive out the evil spirits from the ground. Once the stage is set in this way, the fighting can begin.

The makuuchi perform their dohyo-iri

The top ranked rikishi of all performs his own ceremony

 In the makuuchi division, heights range from around 165cm to over 2 meters, while weights range from around 95kgs to nearly 200kgs. And, with a few limitations, anyone can be up against anyone. For me, the most interesting bouts were the ones where the rikishi were mismatched in terms of height and weight, and therefore the smaller guy had to employ more tactics (slapping, ducking, running, armlocking) rather than just relying on his mass to bulldoze his opponent out of the ring. There are 70 official winning moves at the rikishi’s disposal and each player has his own distinctive style. Some bouts lasted a couple of seconds, others nearly a minute. It’s not necessarily the length of the fights for which you go to see sumo, it’s more about experiencing something uniquely Japanese in its ritual, pomp and circumstance. Having said that, do look out for the non-Japanese rikishi – in the makuuchi division there are currently four players from Mongolia, two from Bulgaria and one each from Brazil, Czech Republic, Estonia and Russia. Legend has it that one of these guys had to dye his blonde hair black and get extensions so that he was able to have the traditional and obligatory chomage (topknot) hairstyle…

Get ready...and...

...FIIIIIGHT!
(apologies for the poor quality photos, we were sitting a way away
and they were moving pretty fast!)

The final act of the sumo day is yumitorishiki (bow twirling ceremony). After all the members of the makuuchi division have battled it out, a third division rikishi enters the ring and twirls a long bow around his head, celebrating the achievements of all the winning rikishi that day. Keep your fingers crossed that he doesn’t drop the bow – if this happens he must pick it up with his foot as to touch your hand to the floor in sumo is to lose and it would be very bad luck to do this in the final ceremony of the day.

And so the sun set on my day at the sumo. As with many things in this country, nothing at the honbasho is done without a reason, whether it’s to honour the gods, to bring fortune or to drive away evil. I would highly recommend it as an insight into some of the intricacies of Japanese ritual and tradition. It’s also seriously good fun!"

またね!