Word: kyoto
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...occasions when she describes the course of a banquet are some of the most amusing in the book. It is not surprising that Dalby conveys a greater interest in the internal world of the geisha--how the women relate to one another. And what she finds in the Kyoto community of geisha that she studied is a world dominated by women tied together with bonds of kinship often more intimate than those of family. The night, though, is devoted...
...cook to every ten guests is a rule of thumb. The restaurant run by perhaps the greatest cook in Kyoto, Moto Nagata, seats ten people, and no tip will get you in; the Japanese rarely accept tips. Such cooking flourishes because few Japanese entertain at home. Phrases like "home cooking" do not translate into Japanese with their overtones intact. They suggest strain and bumbling, not warmth and sincerity...
...Japanese as a Monet, blooms of pink on the still water-caused great excitement on the other side of the Pacific. It is possible to find current work of real merit, like the exquisite objects of washi (handmade paper) with tones and twigs embedded in them, by the Kyoto artist Shoichi Ida. Yet the resignation with which artists accept their secondary role is almost as troubling as its opposite, the gross commercial ambitions of the American art world...
Most Japanese still observe the venerable rituals; these ceremonies are part of the life of the nation. The symbols of religion are everywhere. Kyoto, the ancient capital, has more shrines and temples than cigarette shops. There are even Shinto altars in numerous offices of major cities. New skyscrapers are often decorated with red-and-white-striped sheets of Shinto cloth. Rural village homes, where traditional spirituality survives, typically have both a kamidana (Shinto altar) and a butsudan (Buddhist altar...
...adoption of Western classical music by Japan has been remarkable. There are nine professional symphony orchestras in Tokyo alone, with others in such major cities as Osaka, Nagoya and Kyoto. There is a booming recital scene, featuring both native artists and foreign performers who come to Japan attracted by the high fees and attentive, respectful audiences. Music schools turn out string players and pianists who are the equal of any in their technical command and knowledge of the repertory...