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A Short Break in Japan with Gillian Hull

A two week stay in Japan some years ago made a huge impression on me, and it is a pleasure to relive our experiences of its beauty, its extraordinary history and a culture so very different from our own.

Our stay was in Honshu Island, and included time in Tokyo, Okayama and Kyoto, the latter the home of the puppet emperor and his court during the Shogun period when the brutal feudal lords ruled Japan for over two hundred years. 

 Imagine a country which rejected all contact with the outside world from the 17th century  until, under Emperor Meiji, it was catapulted into a more modern world in 1868. Until then a fisherman who strayed far from the coast would not have been allowed back into Japan. The country’s only contacts had been trading links with the Chinese, and with the Dutch who were confined to an artificial island in Nagasaki harbour. The result of its long isolation had been stagnation, and the first diplomats arriving in the United States astonished their hosts by wearing clothes which would have been in fashion in the 17th century!

Our first impression was of a very lush country with unusual trees, sudden hills, deep valleys and vividly green paddy fields. The mountains were often swathed in cloud and we never saw Mount Fujiyama, the country’s highest mountain at 3,776 metres. Ours was a work trip  and we had been invited to visit in July when, unfortunately, the weather is hot and humid with frequent torrential rain.

Japan is a volatile country prone to volcanic eruptions and earthquakes, but has a high population and very crowded cities. Superficially Tokyo strikes one as being very Americanised, but it is clean and efficient with a well organised metro system, even if the underground maps are hard to read! An early visit was to the wonderful Iris gardens created by Emperor Meiji for his wife; the blooms of many colours grow in water and their setting in a city centre park was extraordinarily tranquil. A Shinto gateway and a Japanese teahouse reminded us that we were a long way from Europe.

Shintoism and Buddhism are the main religions while, in stark contrast, the Pachinko houses where rows of men sit mesmerised in front of slot machines surrounded by flashing lights and plastic flowers, astonished us!

Japanese Temples

Our visit to Kyoto showed us a very traditional Japan with temples, narrow streets and fascinating shops selling superb silks, fans, combs, scrolls and beautiful objects made of lacquer. I was surprised to see women in kimonos and two geisha with high platform shoes and completely white faces.

Visiting temples and their gardens we discovered a Japan far away from the constant traffic of its cities. Here were simple wooden or timber frame buildings with complicated upturning roofs, boasting stylised lions or fish at the corners. The Japanese have always had a close affinity with nature;  this was expressed in their temple gardens, many of them first constructed hundreds of years ago. Water plays an important role, and pools often contain large carp. Some gardens just had gravel and carefully placed stones, while others were vividly green with moss and trees of all shades of green on the hillside above.

Another visit took us to Himeji Castle, known as ’White Egret Castle’ since egrets stand motionless in the surrounding paddy fields. Dating from the 17th century, the castle had survived wartime bombing, and since it was white, roof upon roof rose ethereal through the trees. Gable ends had a fish symbol to warn off the devil. It was home to a powerful feudal lord until Emperor Meiji modernised the country.

Walking into the hills we admired many varieties of maple, and longed to see their autumn colours. We realised that the blue and white hydrangeas surrounding us were growing wild. Spending time in museums we admired representations of the countryside. A number of scrolls showed a simply portrayed hillside with conifers, and sitting in a train back to Tokyo watching the swirling cloud parting to reveal just such a hillside, I understood the Japanese deep love of their countryside.

One hopes this appreciation is handed on to at least some of the future generation. My memories of the country, and the very warm welcome we received there, remain very vivid.

 Pictured above, a Japanese Temple