Mapping Kyoto Streets - 2012/09/26 - Muromachi-dori

Sep. 26, Wed.
Muromachi-dori

Map

Muromachi-dori was the location of the Ashikaga Shogun residence and the administrative center during the Muromachi Period from the 14th to 16th centuries; hence, its name. This 8.1-kilometer street running north south through the city center was once Kyoto's main street.
Many long established stores lining this street were purveyors to the Imperial Palace, located nearby. Muromachi-dori was also a wholesale district for quality textiles. The Kyotoites we meet along here are active in keeping this history of excellence alive for future generations.
In this episode, we will introduce Kyoto dolls, which have their origins in court culture; the much-loved flavors of home cooking; and non-Japanese mastering the traditional performing arts. People along this street develop and improve Kyoto's centuries-old culture.

Presenter
Randall V. Channell (Soei)
Master of Tea

Channell arrived in Japan from Canada in 1984 to study Japanese martial arts and has lived in Kyoto for about 20 years.
He began studying the Urasenke way of tea to learn the spirit of both the literary and martial arts. Channell was bestowed the tea name, Soei. His busy schedule includes teaching tea and owning a café on Sanjo-dori.
Presenter

MAPPING Muromachi-dori

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Nakadachiuri-gomon
Honda Miso Honten
Toraya
Toraya Karyo
Goou Jinja
Yamada-Matsu Kobokuten
Kyoningyoshi Kimata
Marutamachi Jyunidanya
Kondaya Genbei
Tsubaki Labo Kyoto
Katayama Bunzaburo Shoten
Kyoto Art Center
Karakusaya
Kimono Station Kyoto
Kimono Itoshiki

Nakadachiuri-gomon
This gate was the tradesman's entrance to the Imperial Palace used by various repairmen and merchants delivering everything from clothing and footwear to vegetables, fish, and sweetmeats. The privilege of passing through this gate was the foremost testimony to a tradesman's expertise.

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Honda Miso Honten
Miso is a fermented paste made from soybeans. The Hondas once supplied the Imperial Palace with miso. Their white miso is a Kyoto delicacy for which they are famous. This flavor, which was long favored by the Imperial court as a luxury ingredient, is now enjoyed by Kyotoites in their zoni, a rice-cake soup eaten for good luck at New Year.

http://www.honda-miso.co.jp/

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Toraya
Toraya was the imperial purveyor of sweetmeats. Famous across the nation, yokan is an azuki red-bean-paste jelly set using agar. The golf-ball-like confectionary, which made its debut in 1926, shows how Kyotoites have long loved to embrace the new.

http://www.toraya-group.co.jp/

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Toraya Karyo
Toraya have an open-air café on their western side, called Toraya Karyo, with terrace seats for customers to gaze over the garden while they enjoy green tea and Japanese sweets.

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Goou Jinja
This Shinto shrine has stone-carved wild boars at its entrance, instead of the ubiquitous lions. Goou Jinja is known for lower back and foot health, and holds a popular festival called Ashikoshi Matsuri, on the 21st, every month.

http://www.gooujinja.or.jp/

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Yamada-Matsu Kobokuten
Established in the late 18th century, this store specializes in fragrant wood and incense ingredients. Of the incense they stock, agar wood is considered more valuable than gold due to its low yield. Join the Scented Sachet Workshop and make your own fragrant blend of eight scents.

http://www.yamadamatsu.co.jp/

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Kyoningyoshi Kimata
Doll production is divided between various craftsmen. Kyoningyoshi Kimata specializes in attaching the hair. Kimata implants black silk threads in the dolls' heads by hand. He also repairs damaged dolls. Kimata hopes people look after their dolls and pass them down to future generations.

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Marutamachi Jyunidanya
One of the much-loved flavors in popular Kyoto cuisine is ochazuke. This restaurant takes pride in how it serves this dish of steamed rice with roasted tea poured over it. The nukazuke pickles they serve with the ochazuke are made with a generations-old, special recipe. The simplicity of this dish, alone, differentiates the flavor of superb ochazuke.

http://www.m-jyunidanya.com/

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Kondaya Genbei
Obi wholesaler Genbei Yamaguchi has been reproducing kimono patterns in obi kimono belts for centuries. The delicacy and artistry seen in many obis are made possible by the skill of Kyoto craftsmen. Yamaguchi also produces male kimonos that reproduce traditional designs, bringing Kyoto's textile traditions to the modern age.

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Tsubaki Labo Kyoto
A store selling cute products influenced by Japanese design is located in the Fumitsubaki Building - a refurbished, almost century-old Western-style building. Owner and designer Megumi Kuwa designs all the products on the concept of taking good care of your favorite things.

http://www.amgrrow.com/

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Katayama Bunzaburo Shoten
This store sells products made from fabric produced using the traditional shiborizome tie-dyeing method. Their striking, three-dimensional, spiked scarf and other similarly unusual items fuse traditional Kyoto crafts with modern fashion, and represent the future of shiborizome.

http://bunzaburo.com/

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Kyoto Art Center
This general arts complex was once an elementary school, which was built in the early 1930s. Not only does the Center hold modern art exhibitions, theatre, and music events, it also conducts an annual Traditional Theater Training workshop for people to study the traditional arts. Non-Japanese can also participate in the workshop, which culminates in a recital, and learn direct from experienced performers.

http://www.kac.or.jp/

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Karakusaya
A furoshiki is a square piece of cloth used to wrap and carry things. Karakusaya adds a modern twist to the furoshikis it stocks. Learn how convenient these items with their colorful, pop designs are.

http://www.karakusaya.co.jp/

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Kimono Station Kyoto
Looking for kimonos on Muromachi-dori? Kimono Station Kyoto is the place to visit in this quality-textile wholesale district for advice on how to select a kimono and coordinate the accessories. The textile manufacturers association, which runs the facility, holds a Kyoto Miss Kimono competition, every March, and conducts other promotional activities to propagate kimono culture.

http://www.kimono.co.jp/kic/station/

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Kimono Itoshiki
This rental kimono shop dresses male and female visitors in kimonos for an authentic Kyoto experience. Enjoy walking the city streets in a kimono. Reservations can be made on the Internet.

http://www.itoshiki.jp/

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