wall adds an aesthetic element that cloaks its practical function: it once protected the outer clay walls from damage by spoked cart wheels.
It is no wonder that passersby find the exteriors—the dark-stained wooden fronts, quiet sliding entry doors, and undulating tile roofs—visually soothing. Today, however, because so many machiya are being refashioned into shops, galleries, and restaurants, visitors can also glimpse the inner environments that shaped lives with the quality of their space, texture, and soft light—features that reflect the warm, human sensuality of an organic structure.
In keeping with its commitment to preserving local architecture in the vicinity of Kiyomizu-dera temple, Starbucks kept some traditional elements such as a raised tatamimat area with cushioned seating at low tables and paper sliding windows that suffuse the interior with a soft comfortable light, while also providing chairs in another area.
A flowering potted plum bonsai is an inviting addition to Kimata, a well-appointed traditional inn and restaurant of fine cuisine. The added features of bamboo blinds (sudare) and stone lantern (toro) bespeak of its reputation for hospitality and traditional elegance.
The famed designer, Issey Miyake, opened a shop in a 132-yr-old machiya townhouse located on Yanaginobanba Street in central Kyoto. The simple lean lines of the traditional architecture and attractive courtyard garden complement the design sense of the clothing line within.
UNIQUE KYOTO FOOD TRADITIONS
Traditional Japanese cuisine, especially that of Kyoto, is one of the most sophisticated food cultures in the world. Kyoto’s rich food culture dates back a thousand years, with today’s chefs drawing on centuries-old records detailing ingredients and techniques. Specialized food for the old Imperial court and, later, wealthy merchants, was presented, as it still is today, in bite-sized pieces easily handled with chopsticks. Often served cold, it was accompanied by a hot soup and rice.
The fields of Kyoto boast several distinct vegetables, collectively called kyo-yasai. Kyotoites are very familiar with their local produce, and accord it a place of honor in exclusive restaurants and in the homes of discerning epicures.
The soy product tofu is a Kyoto specialty. It is made by soaking dried beans overnight in good quality well water, churning them into a smooth mash, straining and then boiling the resulting soy milk, and adding calcium sulfate to act as a coagulant. The mixture is then poured into block molds to set.
Tofu adopts itself to a variety of dishes. Smooth silky tofu (kinu) is served cold in summer with a dab of grated ginger. A firmer type, momen, is often cut into cubes, simmered in a kelp broth, and then scooped out and dipped into a light soy-flavored sauce. In addition to plain tofu, many of Kyoto’s supermarkets as well as the food courts found in the basements of department stores sell tofu flavored with sesame seeds, black beans or shiso (perilla).
Another unique Kyoto soy-based food product is yuba, the film formed on the surface of boiled soy milk. The thin, translucent beige sheets are hung, and then sold dried or fresh. The taste is a delicate, slightly sweet concentrate of soy milk. Yuba accompanies many a Kyoto dish, especially in the multi-course kaiseki meal served in better restaurants.
Although it is the gourmet epitome of Kyoto cuisine, kaiseki grew out of the simple meal served at a formal tea ceremony. The present-day kaiseki meal developed in the 16th–17th centuries as the merchant class gained wealth and sought out rarified ingredients and preparations to impress prospective clients.
While delicious, kaiseki’s most striking characteristic, however, is what meets the eye. Moritsuke, the artistic arrangement of food, is an art form in itself, and the dishes on which the food is served are a critical component. For example, the chef will consider color and texture and perhaps even reference the food to flowers or poetry. Presentation is so highly regarded that diners often whip out their cell phones to photograph the dish before them, perhaps to show their friends or to relish in memory the anticipation of culinary pleasure—before a single taste! Then comes the pleasure of uncovering the different dishes as one would unwrap a present, each course a delight to both eye and palette, each a culinary gift.
The White Plum Inn is accessed by a narrow bridge across the Shirakawa River. The delicate interior lighting of the shoji paper doors is one of the refined features of inns and restaurants along this section of the river.
A diner gracefully lifts thin strands of noodles to dip into a soy-based broth.
The colorful selection of lightly pickled vegetables signals the end of a traditional meal.
Old roads that led out of Kyoto to mountain passes had rest stops for pilgrims to enjoy a final repast before setting out. This famous inn is in the Arashiyama area in western Kyoto.
Multi-courses of elaborately presented meals are served on a selection of ceramic dishes, lacquered bowls and sometimes leaves, making the meal as visually pleasing as it is a culinary delight.
Blowfish (fugu) is as expensive as it is occasionally lethal. Chefs must be specially licensed to serve this delicacy, for the liver, when improperly prepared, can be highly toxic.
KYOTO’S EXQUISITE ARTS AND CRAFTS
The variety of arts and crafts available to Kyoto residents, the fruit of generations of artists and ateliers, is truly splendid. Surprisingly, the best place to survey the breathe and width of crafts is a department store, notably one of the larger ones: Takashimaya, Daimaru and Fujii Daimaru. The sixth floors are reserved for crafts: lacquer ware, metal utensils, ceramics, bamboo and wooden items, kimono and all manner of woven and dyed items. Exhibition halls and galleries are also an integral part of the stores as are the restaurants on the seventh floors, making department stores mammoth reservoirs of social, culinary and cultural activity, in addition to their primary commercial role.
There are numerous craftspeople practicing their art in the city today, most notably kimono and obi sashes, for rarely does a single person design and make one item. Most are collective enterprises that span many ages and skills. The Nishijin district is filled with businesses that import raw silk, begin the process of dyeing it, encase some threads with gold or silver foil for the obi, sell and repair looms, operate spinning machines, specialize in threading looms—all leading to the production of clothing—and the whole-sellers who line Muromachi Street offering magnificent seasonal showings of their products, for kimono and obi are not mass produced; each is custom designed and made.
