Uji City 宇治市

A lone endeavor
Does it know the waves entreat
Stone idle in water

一人の努める
波の抗弁が知っているかな
水で石、不動


Halloween has wound itself down to a close and I am once again poised in front of the Pool of Zen. My Fairy and Superhero girls have gone to bed and its me and an Asahi vs the clock.

This photo is taken from Uji Bridge overlooking the old city of Uji. To the North lies the bustling metropolis of Uji. The second largest city in Kyoto Prefecture. Uji sports a population of over 190,000 people. Putting it at just smaller than my town of Spokane. Uji is divided into two sections - The old historic town, and the new. The new town is like many other Japanese cities with its karaoke, kaiten zushi (revolving sushi), and gaming parlors. The primary difference between the new Uji and other Japanese towns; is that it is connected to the historic Uji. Historic Uji is a town best navigated on foot.

Most everything you would ever need is within 15 minutes walking distance to wherever you are. Uji sits between two old Capitals of Japan, Kyoto and Nara. As such it served as a popular retreat for Nobles. In the tale of Genji, Genji retreats to Uji to escape the controversy he created for himself.

Uji was the site of several battles since because of its location it functions at a gateway into Kyoto city and the Imperial seat. Once a large Buddhist compound, during one battle the old city was burnt to the ground. Fortunately for the rest of us, Byodoin Temple was set on a small island surrounded by a moat. The moat saved Byodoin from burning to the ground. Phoenix Hall of Byodoin stands as it did over 1010 years ago.

In the next few weeks I want to post several short segments on different parts of Uji city.
-Ujigawa Shrine
-Taiho an
-Uji Tea
-Re-visit Byodo-in.
-And my favorite Ukai, (fishing with Cormorants)

Visit the previous post on The Tale of Genji Museum
Visit the previous post of Byodoin Temple

I partook of my first Kaiten Zushi in the new city of Uji. It was a cool experience. The plates are tracked by microchip as they rotate through the restaurant. After a time period the un-eaten sushi on the track is disposed of.

By use of a small computer screen you can order your favorite sushi, drink, Japanese dish, or dessert. As your order approaches the computer screen signals its approach. At this restaurant
you would toss your used plates down a shoot. As the plate was accepted into the shoot a sort of slot machine spin would occur, sending a lucky winner a cracker jack style prize. In my usual style, I of course won nothing! Oh, and no worries about the sushi. At this kaiten zushi the food was delicious. Though I have been to one in Osaka that left a little to be desired.

Here's a photo so you have an idea of what I'm talking about. I've been to three different ones and they were all a little different.


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Uji City on Wikipedia


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No throwing pebbles in my pool of zen.

Tondabaya City- Nishikiori Jinjya 富田林市の錦織神社

Fallen out of reach
Washed down in the current
One stone in many

Kawanishi Station is not the most difficult of Japanese terms to decipher. Kawa 川　is river and 西 is West. I think you can put the two together as it were! To get to Kawanishi it is a modest train ride outside of Osaka with a few connecting trains involved. What's funny, is that while I thought I was heading West (-Nishi) I was really Heading South-East of Osaka.... My confusion of course is from the name of the station I was headed to versus the name of the town. The town name is Tondabayashi, which changes everything! -Who names the train station different from the town anyway!

I didn't have much time to plan my trip here or research my destination. In fact I found out it was my destination on the morning I left. A friend of mine was celebrating the anniversary of his father's death with a meinichi (命日)。 Originally the ceremony was going to be held at Tennoji but was changed to his family's house in Kawanishi at the last minute. To add to the confusion... My friend decided to give me all the directions in Japanese... over a telephone.... Which is not an easy thing for a slow guy like me to figure out!

I was late and missed the actual ceremony because of the change of venue. I did however get to talk to the Buddhist Monk (Obousan or Souryo お坊さん / 僧侶）who performed the ceremony. Afterwards, we went to the cemetery on Mt. Roko (Rokosan) for a private ceremony at the grave. It was quite an experience.

We stopped here, at Nishikiori Jinja to look around after the graveside offering. There is very little out there as far as any information about this Temple. The best I could do was a clip from the "Historical Dictionary of Osaka and Kyoto, by Ian Martin Ropke" (Which sounds like a cool book by the way.) The shrine was apparently build in 1363. Otherwise, there isn't much in the way of information about the shrine.

Outside the front of the shrine are two square pits full of river rocks. The rocks sit below the cleansing basin, (みたらい）。　　Apparently if you carry one hundred stones from one pit to the other, you can make a wish come true. There was a stone post that had, 百度石, engraved on it. This translates to "100 times stone." What is interesting is that I saw this same thing at another shrine in Osaka near Tennoji. So it must be a fairly common practice.

Just behind the lion guardians in the alcove is the Palanquin used to carry the portable shrine for festivals. This portable shrine is called a danjiri (だんじり). Apparently danjiri is the Kansai-ben form of mikoshi (神輿）.

One may notice the presence of lions when entering a lot of shrines and temples in Japan. You may also notice that one lion has its mouth open while the other one has its mouth shut. Those lions are symbolic of the Yin and Yang. I'll see about posting more on the lions in the future.

Sorry about such a limited amount of information on this location. If I find out more I'll add to the post.




All photo's, original works, and comments are my personal property. Please be respectful of the effort I've taken.

Your comments are welcome, be polite:
No throwing pebbles in my pool of zen.

Japan; off the Map, Sumiyama 炭山西ノ谷

Time always changes
The seasons turning again
A heart unbending

時が変わる
季節でまた回る
不動心

This photo lacks a bit of color and refinement I usually post in my blog. But I have to say I love it. I took this photo during an early morning walk the day after I arrived in Japan on my first solo visit in '08. I arrived in Kansai, met friend who got me on a train to Kyoto, and then met another friend and the adventure began.... or had it already begun. I blindly followed through Kyoto into Uji and then boarded a car for a dark and winding drive into the mountains. My final destination, Sumiyama, West Valley. A place you may not find on your map. It took a few tries to find it on Google Earth. But there it is, middle of nowhere Japan.

It was in Sumiyama that I made my first Japanese Pottery on a spinning wheel, ate my first bowl of Oden, and sat shotgun in a Japanese car with fewer CC's than my motorcycle! It was also my first experience with a Japanese Ofuro, a bit on the toasty side! I must admit I was happy to have received some lessons on how to use the Ofuro prior to my arrival.

Sumiyama is a tiny Hamlet snuggled in the mountains outside of Uji city in Kyoto Prefecture. It is an artisan town. The home I stayed in belonged to a master potter who sold his china to vendors on Kiyomizu dera. Kiyomizu dera is where one goes to spend exorbitant amounts on Japanese china.

I woke up on my first full day in Japan at about 0500 hrs Japan time. Which is pretty late considering it was close to 2pm back home! I decided to take a walk and put my shoes on in the Genkan. Upon my approach to the sliding front door I wasn't surprised to find it locked. However, I was a bit surprised to find I couldn't figure out how to unlock it! It took me nearly 15 minutes and three or four attempts to figure out the latch. It worked on a two point system. I had to spin a knob at the center of the door along with lifting a hasp on the sliding end. I nearly shouted with joy as I made my escape. (Nothing like being trapped in the coolest place on earth).

I walked along the winding road and took photographs of every inch of my walk. I saw these rice paddies just before coming upon a small Inari shrine. At the time, of course, I didn't recognize the significance of the small fox figurines. See my posts of Fishimi Inari Taisha here.

This also marked my first experience with Japanese Hospitality. Not only was I stuffed with food, but I enjoyed the standard compliment of Beer (Kirin), Sake, and of course Ocha (green tea.) Uji of course, is world renowned for its tea. Having only a few semester of Japanese under my belt I was wholly unprepared for the conversation! But, somehow I managed to keep my head above water and enjoy every second.

Oh, I forgot to mention the bamboo. I was totally unprepared for the size of the bamboo here in the mountains. It was easily 10 inches in Diameter. It was incredible! Much better than the 1cm bamboo I nurse here at home!

My favorite thing about my morning walk was seeing the heavy clouds wrapping the mountains almost in reach. Special thanks to my hosts in Sumiyama for making the trip possible!

All photo's, original works and comments are my personal property. Please be respectful of the effort I've taken.

Your comments are welcome, be polite:
No throwing pebbles in my pool of zen.