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To finish off the first day we with a performance of traditional Japanese customs. The show was only about an hour long but we got many different shows. Sometimes shows would be performed at the same time as others e.g. music and tea ceremony

First up was the tea ceremony.

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This is the act of making and serving Japanese green tea and sweets. It's still a common hobby for women to practice today. It's taken very seriously and is a very formal activity. I took part when Yuuri performed one at her old High school. I recommend anyone who is interested in Japan to take part in this and try the tea.

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During the tea ceremony we could hear the ancient 13 stringed instrument called a koto. The music was brought from China when they first settled in Japan and now has long been abandoned by other Asian countries but Japan kept this tradition. It sounds like a folk guitar with disjointed rhythms and twangy sounds. It's a gentle sound that can be enjoyed as you look on Japan's past.

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Flower arrangement is also a performance which is still popular with women in Japan. It can be a serious art of mixing colours and species and also a hobby to keep alive.

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This is another thing the Japanese have preserved, its gagku, a sort of imperial court music. It dates back to the  9th Century. A band plays music to the left of the stage on various instruments while a man in a red costume dances holding one chopstick. I found the performance strange but thoroughly enjoyed it.

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We saw a short Japanese play which again was based on a traditional concept of theatre. The story of this performance goes: A farmer wants to go into town but he doesn't trust his servants so he ties them up.

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However the servants find a way to steal the farmers sake (rice wine).

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When the farmer comes back the two servants are drunk and the farmer is angry. This story is a comedy and the performance was very entertaining.

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Finally we saw a maiko show where two maiko dance on stage. Maiko is a female dancer who were the apprentice to a geisha. They wore kimono and full white make-up in a very traditional way. This is what so many come to Kyoto for, maiko and geisha have become widely famous here.

I have put together a video of the whole event here:



As always you can see pictures here.

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