Desperately Seeking Geishas

by David M. Littlefield | Sep 10, 2019 | Asia, Japan, Kyoto, Street Life, Travel

Desperately Seeking Geishas

Gion is a famous entertainment and geisha district in Kyoto that is filled with restaurants shops and teahouses, where geisha (called geiko) and maiko (apprentice geisha) perform.

Most tourists looking to spot geisha head to Hanami-koji Street. The street and side alleys are lined with traditional wooden machiya houses, which are now mostly restaurants with a number of teahouses, known as ochaya, mixed in. Ochaya feature some of the most exclusive (and expensive) dining in Kyoto, and guests are entertained by maiko and geiko.

We arrived at Hanami-koji Street just after 7:30 PM and met a friend at the highly recommended local bar Finlandia. After a couple of drinks we strolled through the alleys surrounding Hanami-koji looking for geisha, but gave up after twenty minutes to go to dinner on the other side of the Kamo river in Ponto-chō. Hours later, we parted ways with the friend, and were back on Shijo Avenue debating whether or not to go back to the hotel, or head back to Gion to see if we could see any geisha before calling it a night.

We were on the bridge back to Gion when I spotted a geisha walking towards us. I quickly pointed her out to K. Locals laughed as we pursued her back to Ponto-chō taking photos. It was like chasing a ghost as she disappeared into one of the buildings. I still can’t believe how fast she moved walking on three or four inch high wooden clogs.

There was no stopping us now. By this time it was just after 10 PM, and with the exception of a few locals going about their business, Hanami-koji Street was empty. For the first 20 or so minutes we caught glimpses of geishas in the distance on their way from one tea house to another.

We settled on a spot across the street from a tea house on Hanami-koji after watching a Geisha get into the back of a cab that had pulled up in front. We stood a few feet off the street in one of the alleys and waited.

From that point on Hanami-koji came to life with geiko and meiko walking from one performance to the next, getting into or out of cabs, or socializing on the street.

At one point we were in the perfect position to see into the entrance of the tea house as the Okasan and another woman escorted a client out. The woman in the white kimono was clearly not happy. We got a quick glimpse of two kneeling geishas as the Okosan and the other women went back inside. Something was clearly wrong.

The client rode off in a cab, and a few minutes later one of the geishas walked the okasan to her car. She bowed, and as the car drove off started to cry. She noticed us across the street taking photos, turned her back to us and quickly composed herself before heading back inside.

At some point two guys walked up to us in our spot with cameras. One looks at us, turns to other and says “This is spot I was telling you about…” We all laughed, and they head off.

A little later, we followed a pair of geishas to the end of the street. An old woman approached us, pointed to an alley and said “Maiko!” We go to the alley and there are two apprentice geisha chatting. We take more pictures, and a few minutes later they went their separate ways. It was well past midnight so we left too.

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76 Departments of the Afterlife

by David M. Littlefield | Sep 5, 2019 | Asia, Beijing, China, Hidden Gem, Living in Beijing, Travel

76 Departments of the Afterlife

Dōngyuè Temple is a 14th century Taoist temple in Beijing’s Central Business District. From the outside this hidden gem looks like most other small temples in China, but passing through its gates takes one on a tour of the Taoist afterlife.

Dōngyuè Temple is one of the largest Taoist temples in northern China. It is dedicated to the God of the Eastern Peak, Mount Tai, the holiest of the Five Sacred Mountains of China.

The main halls and the main gate were completed in1322. The temple was expanded and rebuilt twice during the Qing dynasty.

The memorial archway opposite the temple, across Chaowai Street, seen through the main gate. It was built in 1602. Another gate between the temple and the archway was dismantled in 1988 when Chaowai street was widened.

Guardian deities greet you when entering the main gate, called the Zhandai (or Dragon Tiger) Gate. Ten imperial guards of Mt. Tai sit in a side room on the other side.

Monks walking the raised pathway named “Happiness Road” that extends through the courtyard.

There are two pavilions on both sides of the path, with memorial stele for Emperor Kangxi and Emperor Qianlong of Qing Dynasty.

90 stele with Chinese calligraphy from the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties are distributed between both sides of Happiness Road. Many sit on the backs of stone turtles gods. There were originally 140.

Happiness Road ends at Daiyuedian Hall, also known as Mount Tai Palace. Two little towers which hold what appears to be ash, branch off both sides of the path, just before the hall.

Daiyuedian & Yude Halls

I couldn’t get photos inside Daiyuedian Hall, but got several shots in the back rooms known as the living palace called “Yu De”, or Yude Hall.

The Hall was originally dedicated to the statues of God and Goddess of Mount Tai, but now displays Jinsi Nanmu wooden sculptures of statues of the gods of heaven, earth, and water and other Taoist deities.

Departments of the Afterlife

What distinguishes Dōngyuè Temple from just about every other temple we’ve seen in China, are the cubicles on the east and west sides of the courtyard with plaster sculptures that represent the 76 departments of the afterlife, or hell, under the jurisdiction of the God of Mt. Tai. Some of my favorite departments are featured below.

Department of Accumulating Justifiable Wealth

Department of Halting Destruction of Living Beings
Not sure I would trust this guy with a knife.

Department of Opposing Obscene Acts

Department of Instant Rewards and Retribution

Urging Department

Punishment Department

Department of Earth Gods

Department for Demons and Monsters

Department of Forest Ghosts and Spirits
(The cover image is from the same department.)

Animal Department

Department of the Hell
Depending on what you read, there are 15 Departments of Hell. The actual Department of Hell is much more restrained than some of the others.

Recent History

Dōngyuè Temple was was completely gutted during the Cultural Revolution, with the contents burned or taken away to be destroyed. The temple reopened in late 1970s. All but five of the 50 statutes are replicas. The five older statues are originally from the Beijing Sanguanmiao (Three Officials Temple), which currently serves as government offices. They were moved to Dongyue Temple when the original statues couldn’t be found. The three courtyards and remaining buildings occupy only part of the original site. Dongyue Temple has hosted the Beijing Folk Customs Museum since 1997. The temple was restored in 2002.

Check out China’s memory manipulators, a 2016 article by Ian Johnson for the Guardian, for more background on Dongyue Temple, other cultural sites, and the recreation of Chinese history by the Communist Party. A fascinating read.

Information in the post about Dongyue Temple was referenced from Wikipedia and Travel China Guide.

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The Hutong Next Door

Experiencing traditional hutong life of Beijing’s working class in the shadows of the skyscrapers of the central business district.

Snow Day in Beijing

Exploring Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, and the Working People’s Cultural Palace on a rare snow day in Beijing.

76 Departments of the Afterlife

Dōngyuè Temple is a 14th century Taoist temple in Beijing that takes one on a tour of the Taoist afterlife.

An American Expat in China

by David M. Littlefield | Sep 1, 2019 | Beijing, China, Expat Life, Living in Beijing, Travel, Uncategorized

An American Expat in China

How does a middle aged graphic designer find himself living in Beijing, traveling China, Asia and the World?

Four years ago I was commuting daily to my web and graphic design job at a New York healthcare company in the Bronx. The commute was long and unpredictable, and the company’s recent move to the new corporate headquarters added an additional 15 – 20 minutes each way. While I generally liked the job I was looking for a change.

My iPhone was my only camera at the time. My photos (and videos) covered a range of subjects from daily life in New York City, weird or interesting stuff I came across (clouds, shadows, etc.), trips and the occasional food pic. Most of this ended up on Instagram and Facebook.

I originally got into photography as a visual arts student at Duke Ellington, School of the Arts in my hometown, Washington, DC. As with many photographers of a certain age, my first camera was the Pentax K1000. I learned to shoot black and white photos, learning to develop film and work with prints in the darkroom. I was always into comics and drawing, and eventually moved on to graphic design, but never stopped taking photos, eventually making the move to digital. The first digital camera I used was the Nikon E4500 flip camera that I occasionally borrowed from the job. Since then I have shot with an assortment of point and shoot cameras, the occasional DSLR, and every iPhone I’ve owned since the original, and now shoot photos with the Sony a6400.

My first trip outside of North American was to Japan, to visit the Nichiren Shoshu head temple Taiseki-ji with other members from Los Angeles’ Myohoji Temple for the 750th Anniversary of the Submission of the Rissho Ankoku-ron in 2009. I took a few extra days afterward to explore Tokyo. Before Japan the only country I’d been to outside of the United States was Canada for a day trip.

I traveled to Taiseki-ji two more times (2012, 2014), and Sado Island (2012) with members of New York’s Myosetsuji Temple. I hit Tokyo again, and Nikko and Kamakura in 2014.

In 2014 I went to Europe for the first time, celebrating Christmas with my Partner and her family in Copenhagen, and New Years with friends in the UK. We returned to Copenhagen the following year to ring in 2016.

A couple of weeks into the new year, I was on my way to work, when I get a text from my partner asking how much I liked Chinese food. I called her back and she told me that we were going to China for her job. Nine months later we were living in Beijing.

Beijing is a study in contrasts. The city is more vibrant and modern than I thought it would be, with so much landmark architecture, but it’s also the Communist era buildings and apartment blocks, and the hutongs.

I’ve seen more Teslas, Mercedes, Porsches, and other luxury and exotic cars in Beijing than in New York, Los Angeles and London combined. They share the roads with electric motorcycles that I’ve not seen anywhere else, countless e-bikes, bicycles, and ‘old school’ carts (tricycles) pedaled by foot.

It’s still news in the West when ApplePay or Android Pay are available in new cities. Meanwhile in Beijing (and the rest of China) a billion people are using WeChat and Alipay to pay for everything with their phone. Even street vendors and panhandlers have a QR code to accept cash on their mobile phones. I’ve met expats of all ages who have been here for years. Some have been here decades. I was speaking to a gentleman at one of the charity balls last year who said he had lived here for fifteen years, and how much he loved the frenetic energy and how the city was constantly changing. This vibrancy is not just in Beijing, but in cities all over China, and other countries in Asia. I can definitely see how people come here and want to stay.

Since moving to this side of the world, my partner and I have explored Beijing, China, and several other Asian countries. We have also visited several more countries in Europe, and I have circumnavigated the world at least twice since 2016. Not too bad for a guy whose first trip overseas was a little over ten years ago.

76 Departments of the Afterlife →