Kyoto Images

Wandering through some of the back streets of Kyoto is a very rewarding experience. These old houses with their wooden shutters were real treasures. The Imperial Palace is worth visiting as well. The gravelled area outside the main building seems rather uninteresting but must be spectacular when all the costumed officials are assembled here.

More Kyoto Images

Following the other two pictures of the Hongashi Temple this view is looking out from the entry towards the lovely lantern and bell tower. The Kenzan dish was another in the collection of the Kyoto National Museum. There is an image of a more colourful Kenzan dish in Edmund de Waal's "The Pot Book", along with many other lovely, interesting and definitely weird pieces of ceramics.

Higashi Honganji, Kyoto

When we first saw this temple we could not believe the huge size of the pillars, the lovely details in the fine woodwork, or the high sheen on the polished entrance. No shoes are allowed onto this wooden entrance and the many stocking feet have worked this miricle.

Two Pots

The blue and white dish is by Prof. Zenji Miyashita of Kyoto. When he came to New Zealand he demonstrated this technique which, as you can imagine, was very time consuming but facinating to watch. The cut out vase is by Sanyo Fujii and was made when he was with us in 1983 and fired in our anagama. It was one of the first pots to sell at our joint exhibition in Osaka in 1984.

Ikenobo Ikebana

When we were in Kyoto we were given tickets to be able to attend the autumn exhibition of the Ikenobo School of Ikebana. What a wonderful experience! On a later visit to Japan we were again able to see their exhibition and on both occasions we were permitted to take photographs.

Views from Kyoto

The top picture is of the Sanmon Gate which is the one Akira Kurosawa used as a model for his film "Rashomon" I would love to know the story behind the huge rock used as a fence with it's row of partially cut holes.

More from the Kyoto National Museum

This head rest, or pillow' does not look very comfortable although it is very beautiful The bran filled pillows used now are only a little more comfortable. I do not know who made the shino tea bowl but it was a real treasure.