magazine-category: Life style of ancient capital

The volume “Hatsune” (the first singing) which described the view of the first month of the lunar year from The Tale of Genji. “there are no clouds in the sky of the new year” it’s so gratifying for the first passage was written from the scenery of the new year. Sanetaka SANJONISHI, a famous noble of Muromachi period (室町時代 Muromachi jidai, also known as the Muromachi era, the Ashikaga era, or the Ashikaga period is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573), read this volume as a new spring speech every year, and he recorded this in his dairies.

The nobles of Heian period would prepare the dresses before the new year. In the volume of “Hatsune”, for greet the new year, Hikaru Genji (the protagonist of Murasaki Shikibu’s important Heian-era Japanese novel The Tale of Genji) also did the preparation for the dresses for his gens. But for him, it was not a simple affair. He must prepare dresses for different people with different dispositions, for his wife and foster daughter who lived in the new building Rokujoin where was a luxury habitation covered an area of 17791 sq. Yd, and for his old lover who lived in somewhere else. “distribute dresses” (衣配り/nukikubari) is a famous scenery in The Tale of Genji.

Around Hikaru Genji, there were so many textiles that condense the craftsmen’s skills. “the gifts should be fit for the ladies’ dispositions respectively”, suggested by his wife, the lady Muraski, who was most beloved by Genji. The first gift was for her, Genji chose the most womanly and gorgeous tones dresses for her. The female dresses in Heian period, were dressed layer by layer in different colors, so the fabulous coordinates in beautiful colors could be seen from collars and cuffs like paper folding fan, and those coordinates even had names. Lady Murasaki’s dresses named “Kobai” (紅梅/red plum), they were several red gradation pieces of dresses. In addition, a piece of vine colored smock with luxuriant patterns draped over the dresses, they were such a luxurious and glossy set. On the other side, for Akaishi no Onkata, the mother of Genji’s seven-year-old daughter, on the basis of several overlapped dresses of dark purple, a white smock with a branch of plum and flying butterflies and bird design, draped over them. Both the colors and design were very noble, for who has been grown up at a place away from the capital, exuded noble character, the set of dresses had fit her perfectly. By the way the taste of Murasaki Shikibu (author of The Tale of Genji) was so outstanding.

The dyeing method of those dresses was recorded in the Engishiki (延喜式, “Procedures of the Engi Era”), the book about laws and customs in Heian period. With the sappan, trees are native to India · Malay Peninsula, and the rare Lithospermum erythrorhizon (grass for extracting purple dyes) etc., Sachio YOSHIOKA, the famous dyer of Kyoto, reproduced the craftwork, and praised by the world.

Just like “Kiwakoto” crossed the ages.

The words on behalf of the Heian period—“あはれ” (aware) and “をかし” (okashi). They are from the words “もののあはれ” (mononoaware) and “いとをかし”（itookashi）. “もののあはれ” (mononoaware) is on behalf of The Tale of Genji, and the word “いとをかし”（itookashi）is on behalf of The Pillow Book. They are known by modern people for elegant hobbies. Although the high school text book explains it as “rich in amorous feelings”, for high school students, the beautiful boring world of “amorous feelings” is so far away from their life.

There’s a fast and easy way to explain the two words for Japanese. “あはれ” (aware) means “あ” (ah), and “をかし” (okashi) means “お” (oh).

“あはれ” was an interjection, to express the uncontrollable voices such like “ahh” or “ah”. For example, when we see the crimson sunset, or worship the coming light of the sunrise from the top of the mountain Fuji, our vocal muscles will be relaxing, and the breath will be same as the sigh, sounded as “ah”, “ha” (wa) and “re” (le) by unconscious.

*(“aware” from The Tale of Genji, ○1used as an interjection, means “ah.” or “huh?” in the paragraph of Evening Face (夕顔/Yugao); ○2used as a noun, means “loneliness” or “sadness”, in the paragraph of Bridge Princess (橋姫/Hashihime))

“あはれ” (aware) in modern Japanese means “poor”, and this is also same as ago. When we meet and sympathize the unfortunate people or affairs, the plaint by subconscious such like “ahh”, that is the “あはれ” (aware) of “poor”. So, there was no specification of translation for “あはれ” (aware), it was only a word to express plaint or sentiment, if you could understand it, you could understand the feelings of the people in Heian period.

So, what about “をかし” (okashi)? Same as the “おかしい” (same pronunciation as okashi, means funny things) makes you laugh, and the “おかしい” (same pronunciation as okashi,　means pain or uncomfortable) makes you hurt in your neck, the word is still living and used in modern time. If we explore the explanation, it can be explained short for “oh!” And if we expand it as “ohh”, it becomes the “をかし” (okashi) of romantic and outstanding. In the first part of “The Dawn of Spring” from The Pillow Book, the word appeared in “the night of summer” of the paragraph of “The Four Seasons”. 「蛍の多く飛び違ひたる。また、ただ一つ二つなど、ほのかにうち光りてゆくも、をかし」–“Fireflies fly around well. And, one or two, shining light faintly and fly away, there’s another taste of interesting”. And after that, the paragraph kept writing “the rain is interesting”, just like an adjective which expresses the second-grade things. “をかし” (okashi) is an evaluation word which used to evaluate downward.

*(“okashi” from The Pillow Book, used as an adjective, means “have interest” or “rich of amorous feelings”, in the paragraph of The Dawn of Spring (春のあけぼの/Harunoakebono))

This is why “もののあはれ” (mononoaware) is on behalf of The Tale of Genji, and the word “いとをかし”（itookashi）is behalf on The Pillow Book. The Tale of Genji describes the love, hatred and joy of the world. The dramatic personae constantly sighed “ah”, and readers moved by the story and echoed “ah”. But The Pillow Story was full of humors and wit— “oh, this’s so good”, “oh! And this’s nice too”. And when we read the unique and interesting essay, we’ll raise the same voice too.

“あはれ” (aware) expresses “あ” (ah), and “をかし” (okashi) expresses “お” (oh), and the feeling of Heian period is still remembered by our vocal organs, by our bodies.

There was an Emperor Kazan (花山天皇, Kazan-tennō, November 29, 968 – March 17, 1008) was the 65th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. ) in the history of Japan. At the end of the tenth century, he was the emperor who had been in the imperial throne for only two years. He was not interest in politics, but very good at invention and design. And he liked cars. In the historical story Okagami (Ōkagami (The Great Mirror (大鏡)) is a Japanese historical tale written in around 1119 by an unknown author. It covers the period 850 to 1025, the golden days of the Fujiwara family’s rule.) wrote about a special garage he devised. The garage was called “KURUMAYADORI” （車宿）that time, the floor of the garage was made tilt. The interior was made higher than the entrance/exit, the gates’ designed such as sturdy double French doors. The cattle carriage was always decorated well and stopped in the garage for people to use it anytime. When a sudden departure, the carriage could come out as soon as the doors open without pulling. And the driver got on the carriage after it came out. It is far from the automatic operation of the present age, but the idea aimed at the efficiency departure is interesting. Above all, the Emperor Kazan designed and created practical things was explaining Japan is a country excellent in manufacturing well.

The word 「大和魂」(Yamato-damashii, “Japanese spirit”) is a Japanese language term that refers to the cultural values and characteristics of the Japanese people. The modern dictionary is described as “the peculiar Japanese spirit”, and it is the word same with “Samurai Japan” that is familiar with the world of sports. The phrase was coined in the Heian period to describe the indigenous Japanese ‘spirit’ or cultural values as opposed to cultural values of foreign nations such as those identified through contact with Tang dynasty China. Later, a qualitative contrast between Japanese and Chinese spirit was elicited from the term. The manufacturing in that period was serving various of colorful things to nobles’ gorgeous life, artisans of Japan used the Asian continental technologies combined the Japanese usage and style, to create from large scale buildings like castles to the small things as folding fans, belts and hair ornaments etc.

The artisans were also written in The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter (竹取物語, Taketori Monogatari is a 10th-century Japanese monogatari (fictional prose narrative) containing Japanese folklore. It is considered the oldest extant Japanese prose narrative although the oldest manuscript dates to 1592. The tale is also known as The Tale of Princess Kaguya (かぐや姫の物語, Kaguya-hime no Monogatari), after its protagonist. It primarily details the life of a mysterious girl called Kaguya, who was discovered as a baby inside the stalk of a glowing bamboo plant. ). In the scene of the Princess Kaguya asked impossible demands to refuse proposes from suitors. The prince who was asked to bring the [branch of jade] from HOURAI, an island where immortals’ living, figured out a plan. First, let the boat depart to the sea, and hide with the best artisans in the secret factory. And it took thousand days to make the [branch of jade] with gold, silver and jade. Although it’s not from HOURAI, no one could say it’s fake. And the artistry was so extraordinary that even the Princess Kaguya could not see it’s false. But the lie was punctured at last, because the artisans came and asked for their salaries, the stingy prince has paid nothing for artisans’ work. And the princess broke up with him after knowing the truth. And the stingy man became a laughingstock at last.

Nevertheless, the branch made with gold and silver by artisans must have been a brilliant work, and the white jade must have been so pure. Although it’s only a fiction story, from the crafts works from Heian period which are kept in The Kyoto National Museum, we can imagine that elaborate technologies. The irresistibe charm of unique art made by high technology appealed to people whoever in past time or modern time.

The cars for the nobles in the Heian period were cattle carriages. Horses were for plebian to sue, only nobles could have cattle carriages as transportations. Different ranks of people used different kinds of transports. So, through the cattle carriage you can know the owner is a celeb or a relation of celeb. The speed of cattle carriage just as the speed of walking or trotting, and the cowherd who manipulated the cattle carriage walked beside the cow or the cart. There were four seats in the cart, the upper seats and lower seats, same as modern car, but the difference is the upper seats were in the front. There are many interesting little knowledges about the cattle carriage in the book “By the cattle carriage!” written by Mahoko KYORAKU (京楽真帆子『牛車で行こう！』（吉川弘文館）).

There’s a symbol person of cattle carriage in the history. The author of The Pillow Book (The Pillow Book /枕草子/ Makura no Sōshi is a book of observations and musings recorded by Sei Shōnagon during her time as court lady to Empress Consort) — Sei Shōnagon (Sei Shōnagon/清少納言, lesser councilor of state Sei, (c. 966–1017/1025) was a Japanese author, poet and a court lady who served the Empress Teishi (Sadako) around the year 1000 during the middle Heian period. ). She was a court lady who served the Empress, was asked to arrange the cattle carriage in the early morning in the plum rains season, for hearing the tweets of cuckoos with her colleagues. To listen to the tweets of the birds was romantic as the poetry elegance of the people lived in the ancient capital. The destination was her acquaintance’s villa which settled in the back of Kamo (A place in the northern part of Kyoto.), bathed in the bustles of the cuckoos, Sei Shōnagon and her colleagues enjoyed the refinement. The symbol of the event was the returning by the cattle carriage. The deutzias of the season were blooming at the roadside. Picked up the flowers and decorated on the roof and curtains of the cattle carriage, just like the cattle pulling a garden of deutzias. The cattle carriage with flowers is still in modern time, you can see it in the Aoi Matsuri, ( The Aoi Matsuri (葵祭), or “Hollyhock Festival,” is one of the three main annual festivals held in Kyoto, Japan.) one of the famous festivals of Kyoto. The main role of the festival is the cattle carriage of imperial envoy, decorated with vivid wisteria, hung on the roof of the carriage. Certainly, the idea was so popular that was praised with smiles. And the joy of Sei Shōnagon was self-evident.

Sei Shōnagon also concerned about how to drive the cattle carriage, she wrote about the different speeds of driving a cattle carriage in the Pillow Book. The HIROGE CART (A kind of cattle carriage. Insolate the leaves of areca into white, and french the leaves, then put on the ceiling of the cart. The top rank people could use this kind of cart.) which could be used only by emperor relations, nobles and imperial envoy, was evaluated by the speed, the slower the better, the faster the worse. Because only in a low speed, the marvelous details of the carriage’s body could be seen well. The carriage was able to stand by appreciation must walk in a speed could be appreciated. And it also could show the peaceful of heart and the high character of the owner. The AJIRO CART (A kind of cattle carriage. Its roof was covered by bamboo and Japanese cypress in tectiform shape. Used by bureaucrats.) which drove speedy as casual cart. It was so fast passing that you even couldn’t catch it by eyes if you had a glance at somewhere else but could only see the figure of the servant chasing the carriage. If you saw that you would wonder about who’s the owner of it, it made the consideration as active as that carriage. Indeed, the car from thousand years ago was not only a transport for driving only. But also, a piece of art to appreciate. There’s a life style just like the Sei Shōnagon who decorated her cattle carriage to make others happy. Enjoyed the season, enjoyed driving, and enjoyed the character of herself. The people of the royal court colored their life like this. This’s the ability to build the special luxury of KIWAKOTO in daily life.

　

In modern language, Japanese explain the extreme of one thing with the word “極める”(kiwameru). And explain the ideal way with the word “極め”（kiwame）. The nobles of the Heian Period have been enjoying the bliss of glory and luxury. But they found the “difference” from the extreme joy, by the other words, they have seen the extreme bliss world which above other enjoyment. The word which explain the extreme bliss is “きわこと”(kiwakoto). Even overstepped the extreme quality, nothing could be better than it, they called, praised and longed for the word.

“Kiwakoto” also appears in The Tale of Genji. Hikaru Genji, the protagonist in the novel was once standing on the peak of his political life, his daughter was married to the Mikado, and this’s the happiest scene in the novel. To sort out the appurtenances his daughter took in the story, there’s a codex which written with kana (Japanese syllabary). Certainly, it was handwriting. Although the printing technology already existed in Heian period, same as the modern paintings, the unique is valuable. At that time, he recalled the words he had seen, which written by Rokujō no Miyasundokoro (Lady Rokujō 六条御息所, is a fictional character in The Tale of Genji). “That’s [Kiwakoto], it’s special treatment” he said. Lady Rokujo was known as one of lovers of Hikaru Genji, she used to be the Crown Princess. Even in the luxury capital, she was so famous lady. She’s not only famous by her naming, but also her knowledge about writing, she was well educated. The novel explained the aesthetic consciousness with the memory of Hikaru Genji.

The values of Kyoto were inherited from Heian period. And now, the ideal of “KIWAKOTO” is still alive in this ancient city. So, we want to make the ideal of “KIWAKOTO” integrate into our daily life. We want to casually feel the extreme spirit enjoyment always, just like Hikaru Genji did.