On our last night in Kyoto, we went to a Maiko-san show down in the teahouse area - we were lucky enough to see a Geisha hop in a cab to head to work. Isn't the makeup amazing!?
At the show they had a traditional tea ceremony:
and then they played the koto (it is a 13 stringed instrument that was originally used as the special court music for the Imperial Court):
then there was a flower arranging portion (I believe this is the Ikebana style):
they played "Gagaku" ancient music - which was originally from China, but fell off with fall of the T'ang Dynasty. However, it flourished in Japan - after hearing it we are not sure why - but is considered a Japanese classical art form.
I cannot tell you how hard I laughed during this performance...I felt like I was 12 years old getting in trouble giggling during class. We were sitting in the front row and it was so quiet so I had to do the "silent laugh" - which just makes you laugh harder! This little old man took his job so seriously hitting the drum...I guess you had to be there because these pictures are not going to convey how funny it really was :)
after my giggling fit a "Kyogen" was performed - an ancient comic play. Even though we couldn't understand them, it was still pretty funny to watch (just not as funny as the little old man):
they had explained what was happening in the program so we were able to follow the plot line:
Then the Maiko-sans came out and performed a "Kyomai" dance (Kyoto style dance). It was very elegant and beautiful to watch:
Look how beautiful their obi's are!
The final performance was a "Banraku" puppet play. This was my favorite part of the show. It took 3 people to move this puppet!
The tea house street at night:
Before we flew out on Tuesday, Setsko-san took us to Toji-Temple. Here is the 5 story pagoda on the Toji temple grounds - It is the highest pagoda in Japan at 187 feet! It was first built in 826 and it burned down 4 times after being struck by lightening! The present structure was built in 1644. The mosquitoes from the pond ate me alive:
The architecture and grounds were beautiful! The name of this temple (official name is Kyo-o-gokokuji), means the temple that guards the capital city. It still has the original layout and is known as a treasure house of Esoteric Buddhist art due to its large number of cultural assets brought back from China such as old Buddhist statues, carvings, magnificent paintings, artistic handicrafts, etc. We couldn't take any pictures inside the buildings, but the statues and relics inside were astounding!
Right before we left for the airport we went and saw this gigantic Torii gate! You drive through it!
One last picture of one of the most beautiful places on earth that I've ever seen.
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