At the end of February, a young man aspiring to be a Japanese style-carpenter from Pennsylvania visited Kyoto, so I spent two days with him.
On the first day, we visited the famous Fushimi Inari Taisha in Fushimi, known for its thousands of torii gates, and the Byodoin Temple in Uji. Contrary to the rainy days, that day was sunny. We walked through the thousand torii gates to the mountaintop and back! We walked 20,000 steps that day! We took the photos in front of the red and white plum blossoms.
On the second day, we experienced the tea ceremony at a friend’s house in Kuzuha. It was appropriately set up with a hanging kettle and a Yamazato Shelf for February. The scroll read “All things emit light” (ばんぶつこうきをしょうず), signifying the arrival of spring, where everything shines brightly.
Throughout visiting temples and experiencing the tea ceremony, the young man was in awe of the depth of Japanese culture.
