Street finds #9 medical gear

various amusing and amazing medical gear. note the funny face masks.

wood block printer

on the way up to kiyamizu temple we happened across an artist, tetsupei kawamura, creating wonderful, traditional woodblock prints. it was fascinating to watch the process. the last picture here is the final print.

bunnosuke uji gori shop

we've found a new, favorite [to date] uji gori shop. it's right in front of the yasaka pagoda and it's called, bunnosuke. uji gori is shaved ice with super sweet macha [green tea] poured over it. it's pretty much the only solution to the summer heat and humidity in kyoto.we're on a mission to explore every uji gori shop we cross.

bamboo and matsutake cookies

daitokoji meal

we had a delightful shojin-ryori meal [vegetarian buddhist temple food] in the gardens of izusen, a restaurant on the grounds of daitokoji temple. at the end of the meal, all the lacquer bowls it was served in stack up inside each other. stunning.

vintage japanese ephemera part 2

more taisho period japanese advertising and paper ephemera.

vintage japanese ephemera part 1

vintage japanese advertising and paper ephemera. these are from the taisho period. so fab.

heian shrine wedding video part 3

gion shrine wedding video part 2

heian shrine wedding video part 1

gion shrine wedding

we stumbled across this wedding being held at gion shrine. shinto priest chanting and playing koto, a traditional japanese string instrument, shrine maidens,the whole works.

koshin shrine, gion

can you tell i was completely smitten with this koshin shrine, which is dedicated to the deity koshin who has the 3 monkeys as his messengers [remember them, the hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil guys?] they feature prominently here. so colorful and full of delight. the chains of hanging fabric emas have prayers and wishes written on them.

nishjin textile neighborhood

we spent a wonderful day wandering around nishijin, our old neighborhood where the kimono making industry is based. spinning, dying, weaving, designing, handpainting all happens here. the first images are of raw silk, then there's a pic of the weaving patterns, the next batch shows an artist hand painting a kimono.