A Fuji szent hegye / The holy Mount Fuji
Tokiói tempó / Tokyo speed
A Császári Palota / Imperial Palace, Tokyo
Tokyo. Tokyo is the centre of the state, the city of samurai and clerks. Osaka is the realm of merchants, traditional adult puppet-shows, and unique delicacies, including poison blowfish, and it feels more cozy than the capital. Kyoto could have been one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Kyoto was modelled after Ch’ang-an (today known as X’ian), the Imperial capital of China during the Tang Dynasty. The city has a square-grid structure unlike those usual mazes of Japanese tradition. Kyoto is a non-stereotypical Japanese small town with its 1.5 million residents, and is characterised by samurai film, paper crafts, bamboo and moss, ink and silk. Kyoto is the home of the stringed musical instrument, koto, religious dances to gagaku music, bushido, the martial art of the samurai, and philosophy. Kyoto may be compared to New
York or Paris. If one wishes to go out in Kansai, visit a Kabuki theatre in Kyoto, a highly stylised classical dance drama. The seven hundred year old Noh theatre is the place to go in Nara, the most ancient traditional theatre in the world. Kabuki has its origins in the 17th century, but its popularity continues among today’s youth, thanks to that fact that the elaborate female make-up of its performers conceals male actors. Travelling southwest, you reach the corner of the main island with Hiroshima, which reminds us of mushroom clouds and black rain. But Hiroshima is not only the memorial of mass destruction; it has a breathtaking Shinto torii at the Itsukushima Shrine. What should one visit in this abundance? It is up to you whether to visit places of minimalist and purist
high culture, or neon advertisements and giant metal structures, to listen to everlasting wisdom or to the latest sounds of pop culture, to see woodblock prints by Hokusai, Utamar, Hiroshige, or the razor-sharp steels of samurai swords, to view the nonsense of the plastic industry, Manga, Animé, or Miike Takeshi's wild crazy movies. A journey to Japan will offer a glimpse of the world's most ancient culture, as well as the second biggest economy of the world, competitor to the USA, China, the European Union and Russia. You will find Japan snug and strange, lovable and annoying, an absolute scream that cracks you up. But one thing is sure: it won’t be boring! Szöveg / Text: Vágvölgyi B. András Fotó / Photo: iStockphoto Utazás, repülôjegyek / Travel agency: Vista Utazási Iroda, MOM Park www.vista.hu
Polip, jéggel / Octopus on ice
No-színház / Noh performer 32
Lányok kimonóban / Girls in kimonos