MY DAY, EXPLAINED IN ORIGAMI
While in Kyoto, my family and I enjoyed a full day walking tour led by Chizuko, who has lived in Kyoto her whole life, and has been leading tours for over 10 years. She was a very kind lady, and generously gave us origami paper at the end of the day. Her gift inspired me to tell you about my day through origami.
Orange fox
My first piece of art, an orange fox, represents the Shinto shrine that we visited, Fushimi Inari Taisha.
I chose this animal because foxes are found everywhere at Inari shrines. They help deliver the wishes people make to the Shinto gods. At this shrine, people wish for prosperity. Students wish for good grades on their exams, and their moms and grandmothers link one thousand origami cranes on a single chain for good luck. Businessmen and women wish for success and wealth, leaving their business cards at the shrine.
I chose the color orange because that is the color of the 10,000 gates at this shrine. These gates form a tunnel, snaking up the mountain. It would take more than 2 hours to walk through them all.
Castle
This origami castle symbolizes our visit to the Nijo-Jo castle.
The Nijo-Jo Castle is where the last shogun of Japan lived. We walked through many hallways, peering into rooms that featured mannequins reenacting the meetings samurai would have with the shogun.
We noticed that all the samurai were kneeling, but the shogun was not. Chizuko explained that is because the shogun would make them kneel in case anyone was planning to attack; kneeling for more than twenty minutes on a tatami mat makes your legs NUMB (I know this from personal experience at a Japanese Tea Ceremony).
We also noticed orange tassels hanging from the doors behind the shogun. We learned that these signified that these closets were full of ninjas, not seen, but listening. It was yet another way to intimidate the samurai.
We visited the castle during the one month when people were allowed to walk through one of the many waiting rooms (not just the hallway outside it). It was a beautiful room, painted with orchids.
[Editor’s Note: we were not allowed to take pictures inside which is a SHAME.]
Golden Fish
This piece represents the Golden Pavilion, one of our last stops on the tour. It was built over a pond filled with koi fish. It is covered in gold because the retired shogun still wanted to prove that he was better than everyone else. When he had visitors, he made them wait on the ground floor, which was not gold, and physically look up at him in his golden palace.
My personal favorite was the Golden Pavilion, but you should visit all of these temples, because they were really cool and super interesting. You might have a different favorite, but you should still come and find out. Maybe you will be inspired by origami, too!