The Fantasy Maker
...written on 05.12.03, @ 11:21 a.m.
Mon May 12, 2003
"Hiroshi! Hello!", I shouted through the rolled down window of Min's car. Hiroshi, my first grade student, looked up from splashing in the puddles of rain on the sidewalk, smiled brightly and waved. His grandmother and father by his side both bowed deeply to me.
Sunday was the second and last day of the Ogaki Festival. Saturday's weather had been brilliant and cool, but I had classes all that day that wore me out to the extreme of crashing immediately when I got home at 7pm and sleeping until 3am. It was going to be a soggy Sunday however, and after our breakfast of pancakes, ham and eggs, Min suggested that we go to Kyoto.
It is Min's dream to move to Kyoto in the near future. Kyoto is a rich blend of old and new Japan. Rife with temples, shrines, and geisha, the city's heart is impaled with an immense twisty glass structure that houses the Kyoto train station. Down its craggy little side streets you can find traditional crafts and kimonos as well as 70's style coffee shop cafes, modern surf shops and many "live houses" where people can gather to hear both aspiring and veteran musicians.
The ride to Kyoto was a little too fast and furious for me. I am very susceptible to motion sickness and upon noting that I was a little green around the edges, Min suggested that we sit in the car for a while and listen to the rain. He constantly amazes me with his keen perception and kind attentions.
Our first stop was Rokuon-ji Temple, better known as Kinkakuji, the Golden Pavilion. It is called the Golden Pavilion because the 2nd and 3rd floors are covered with gold-leaf on Japanese laquer.The site served as a villa in the 1220's, and in the 1300's, Yoshimitsu, the 3rd Shogun of Ashikaga began to make the area a breath-taking site. When Yoshimitsu died, it was turned into a Zen temple and all of the buildings fell to ruin except the Golden Pavilion. The temple sits on a pond called Kyoko-chi or Mirror Pond, however the persistent light rain prevented the stilling of the waters. This site was made a World Cultural Heritage site in 1994.
Min and I walked closely together under our shared umbrella. The air was charged with the ions of a cleansing rain and the leaves trembled and glistened with moisture. After walking through the site twice, we stopped for a quick steaming snack of Kitsune soba (fox-colored noodle soup).
After that we went to Min's favorite Live house, Jittoku, which serves as the front cover for Yuzo Toyoda's 3 CD set.
Jittoku was closed for a private wedding party, so we went to another one of Kyoto's treasures.
Ryoanji Temple is famous for its rectangular Zen rock garden that was constructed by the painter-gardener, Soami in the Middle Ages. It consists of 15 well placed rocks and carefully raked white gravel. The walls are made of clay boiled in oil that has seeped out over the years, creating peculiar designs.
This site also sits on a pond that was made in the late 12th century. It used to be home to many mandarin ducks, but these were the only ducks seen braving the rain that afternoon.
We left Ryoanji to go CD hunting at Tower Records. Min wanted some Janis Joplin (after my little acapella concert the other night) and got some other folk music CDs. I got some massage oil at the Body Shop and then we discussed where to have dinner.
I suggested Italian, but when a photo of a Japanese restaurant's menu offerings caught Min's eye, we went there instead. It seemed only fitting really, after soaking up so many Japanese cultural sites to top it off with traditional food. Min ordered my favorite, tempura (veggies, clams, fish etc. fried in a light batter), and I've even gotten to where I enjoy eating shrimp now, so I relished the extra one that Min gave me.
Again, we took the highway back to Ogaki. Using highways in Japan is an expensive proposition. It was about US$25 one way and it took about two hours to get there. On the way back to Ogaki we stopped at a rest area for some drinks and a little talk. After we got back to our respective apartments, Min said he'd be over in a bit so we could try out my new massage oil.
He wanted to listen to Janis Joplin, and I said "ok", but that I couldn't give a massage to that music and after hearing a few of Janis' numbers, I switched to Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon. After a bit Min asked me to change to the Carpenters, so the massage got a lot less vigorous. Min said that oil isn't used in Japanese massage, at least at the places he frequents, and I haven't seen any either. We both liked using it.
This morning I found a note stuck under the magnets on my green metal door. It was Min saying thanks and that even though his body may seem tired and broken down, his heart is very much alive and grateful that we are friends.