Before seeing the famous Miyako Odori I attended a tea ceremony at the theatre house, open to everyone who paid an extra ¥700 for a "special" ticket. My friend Liesbeth had warned me that this event was more a commercial set-up than an authentic experience, but I was still surprised to be led through room after room of (often tacky) geisha-related souvenirs before entering the tea ceremony area.
The scene there was quite surreal: two maiko (geisha-in-training) busy preparing & serving tea by candle light on an elevated tatami stage, while dozens of visitors stared at them and/or took countless snapshots under glaring bright lamps. The whole thing felt slightly uncomfortable and reminded me of a monkey display in a zoo. You have to wonder if this is the best way to introduce traditional Japanese culture to modern audiences...
Something tells me that the maiko themselves were equally unimpressed - they certainly didn't seem to enjoy the proceedings!
I sat down for a while enjoying my tea and accompanying sweet, despite staff trying to hurry people out of the room at lightning speed to let more groups in. The curse of mass tourism appears to have reached Kyoto as well! Having said that, my three days there offered some moments of true beauty and -dare I say it- serenity, so not all is lost :-).
4 comments:
Hey Inge,
Ons internet is eindelijk terug! Mies is net vertrokken, snif snif..
Rampant commercialism - dont you just loathe it? Still, it would have been amazing to see an actual tea ceremony. I am much jealous.
~ Kelly in NZ
I understand what you`re saying, but it is what you make of it, right? When I was there, I was so wrapped up in watching every beautiful moment of the ceremony that the rest of the room seemed to fade away.
AS far as rampant tourism, Miyako Odori was created in order to insure it. After moving the captial to Tokyo, Kyoto needed a way to keep the money coming in. I for one am extremely grateful for it...How else would the masses be able to experience an art and beauty usually reserved for the elite? Lucky us! People of the past would never have had the opportunity.
Hey Melissa, I definitely agree with you that the Miyako Odori are amazing - I felt priveliged to witness the event! So my slight discomfort during the tea ceremony didn't override the enjoyment I got from everything else :-).
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