Glen Kaufman
2015: Kanazawa
November 2015
Kyoto
The trip to Kanazawa with Kiyo-san on 11/21 and 22 was to attend the opening of the 4th Textile Art Miniature Exhibition at the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art there. Kanazawa is a 2hr 20 min ride from Kyoto on the Thunderbird reserved-seat express train and although I have visited previously, it has been many years and not since this museum was built. I have often heard great things about it so I was anxious to go. Plus I knew it would be a chance to see many fiber art friends from Tokyo as well as those closer to or from Kyoto.
We arrived around noon on Saturday and Kiyo made a bee line for one of his many favorite restaurants. This one specializes in oden, a ‘dish’ that involves simmering a variety of vegetables, kamaboko (fish paste), tofu, hardboiled egg, etc. in a rich broth and served in a bowl with strong Chinese mustard. We had a big bowl of oden plus a lunch special that had a tray of food including fish, rice, miso shiro (soup). Ugh, it was overwhelming but I managed slug thru it. It’s a very popular restaurant so we had to wait some time to get a seat at the counter. While eating we saw a couple from Kyoto and finally got their attention. Kubaota-san is a fiber artist who was attending with his wife. But not showing in the exhibit.
We headed off, by bus, to the ryokan where Kiyo was lucky enough to jump on a cancellation. I was impressed with the new architecture in the business center of the city with many fashionable shops, high-end European designers, department stores, condos, etc. The ryokan was close to the 21 Museum (20 minutes by foot) and it’s an impressive sight. The overall shape of the building is a circle with an exterior of glass. Within this circle there are a variety of square separate spaces for offices and galleries of different sizes. We headed for the Miniature show in a gallery on the lower floor where we had a chance to see the 100 works and meet friends who were also there early.
Of course, all the works were not earth-shaking but the experience of seeing so many was rewarding. Keiko at GalleryGallery had done a Textile Miniature show this spring. I showed a work in which I repurposed a small metal leaf fragment that was hiding at BC and mounted it in a clear acrylic cylinder. I called it “Kyoto Capsule”. Some of the same artists were showing at 21. Kiyo has had a connection with this museum for some years so he gave me the grand tour of the various gallery spaces. The museum was crowded with people, many of them young, often with children enjoying the art experience and unlike anything that we have here in Kyoto. A Super place!
Then we went back to the ryokan to relax a bit in our 6 mat room with a cup of sencha. Then off on an excursion to explore the downtown areas that Kiyo was familiar with including ‘secret streets’, which turned out not to be very secret. There was a huge glowing white box, new since his last visit, housing an H & M store and much larger that the one that recently opened in Kyoto. We were sucked in and headed to the men’s department where we scanned the discount racks. We focused on raincoats that were marked down 50%. Kiyo tried one on and it seemed the perfect item. I found an XL, slipped it on, viewed in the mirror and decided it was a perfect solution to rainwear here in Kyoto. Now we’re the “raincoat twins”. Kiyo wore his out of the store, while I was warm enough and carried mine. It was cold an breezy there.
We joined the 40+ fiber folks at an izukaiya with a private room to celebrate the opening of the exhibition. We had endless courses with huge wooden trays of sashimi special in Kanazawa due its closeness to the Japan Sea. I had many unfamiliar types, all chewable and tasty. All the food, hot and cold served up with beer and sake flowing without end. I sat next to Nagano-san, a Cranbrook grad and someone I have known for a long time. We had not spent time together for years so had much to catch up on. She along with Tsubaki-san were the prime organizers of this exhibition. Tsubaki-san is someone Char and I met in Tokyo in 1979 and spent some time with. It was a great reunion all around! We bowed out of a 2nd party that was being organized.
There are a number of unique aspects of Kanazawa culture and we witnessed a few. (1) There is a very famous garden in the city with many old pine trees. There is also a great deal of snow in the winter. So for years the trees have been protected from broken snow-laden branches by an elaborate system of rice straw ropes and bamboo supports. Thus there are perfect pointed conical structures over all the pines and well as everything else in sight! The city is filled with these outdoor fiber installations that are both functional and beautiful to enjoy. (2) Being near the sea, Kanazawa is the locus of the crab harvest beginning in November and lasting a month or so. The huge area of covered open market streets (that puts the famed Nishiki Street in Kyoto to shame) is overwhelmed by the crabs for sale … thousands, I swear. Tourists have Styrofoam boxes of them sent as gifts or to their homes. Crab heaven, indeed. (3) There is a lot of snow in the city all winter so snow removal presents a challenge, which the Japanese have mastered in a unique way. Many of the streets and some sidewalks are enhanced with evenly-spaced water outlets that gently seep under the snow melting it away. How long this takes and how much frozen ice remains are questions the answers to which I could not fathom.
Sunday we visited a craft studio school sponsored by the city to see an exhibition of wide-ranging dyed fabrics from various periods and cultures. Many were familiar but other posed mysteries I could not unwind. It was a pleasure. We took time to view the studios that are open to visitors via windows from all the hallways. A fiber art friend then came to join us and navigated through the mountain roads and narrow streets with his car passing the old sections of town with streets much like the traditional atmosphere of Gion in Kyoto. Our destination was the memorial museum of the famed Zen Buddhist scholar and author, D. T. Suzuki. I have read his book on Japanese Buddhist long ago and now want to dive in again. The museum is a gem of contemporary architecture with space, light, water, and nature all blended into a marvelous whole. Very inspiring! Then we went on to the nearby Kawazawa Museum of Art where we saw historical works including a large gallery of Kutani ceramics, famous from the area. A coffee shop stop to relax and enjoy a local sweet before we headed back to the station, an architectural wonder of its own, to buy bento to eat on the train. A quiet ride followed our intense two days in an entirely different and stimulating environment. Sayonara Kanazawa!