Toji Temple Flea Market

In the beginning of my modern Japanese literature class, things seemed to be going reasonably well--the books we read were interesting, and Professor Berry's lectures were reasonably insightful and relevant, even if he did from time to time release his terrible laugh of death. We have now read 4 books (Shadow Family, Gold Rush, Goodbye Tsugumi, and Twinkle, Twinkle) and are on our way through the 5th (one that I had read already, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle). However, I feel that unfortunately, things have really lost their steam over the past few lectures. The readings are still engaging and interesting, but there is just not enough conversation to last though a 90-minute period, which has lead to some uncomfortable silences and many boring, rather irrelevant remarks. Other professors might end class early once the material has run dry, but he seems determined to keep us there to the bitter end. On top of that, the laughing has continued.

On the plus side, Professor Berry is very encouraging of our exploration around the Kansai area and "really experiencing" Japan, so from time to time if there is an interesting event going on, he will let us know and maybe will also give us a map. Those events have, thankfully, proven to be interesting and worthwhile. Last week he told us about the monthly flea market at Toji temple in Kyoto, which I attended last weekend.



Toji Temple

On the 21st of every month, by around 8 am, literally hundreds of vendors begin to show up in the spacious courtyard around Toji temple and pitch their tents and lay out their wares. (Toji temple itself is most famous for its 5-story pagoda, which is the tallest wooden structure in Japan.) Several stands sell typical flea-market goods, like used and somewhat stained clothes, antiques, and old records. There were also stands selling foods like okonomiyaki, takoyaki, udon noodles, and taiyaki (delicious fish-shaped pastries that have pancake-like batter on the outside and usually have red bean paste on the inside), as well as bulk foods for later consumption like dried fish, candied fruit, and mochi.



A view of the market as I entered at 10 am

Since we are in Japan, there were also some very intriguing and distinctively Japanese items. There were a lot of artists there, as well as people selling antique-type art. Many stands sold ceramic items, some of which were really nice, while others sold woodblock prints and calligraphy scrolls. On the more expensive side, there was some Buddhist artwork and figurines, as well as Noh masks that seemed to run around the range of $150-$300. You can haggle for anything, so I bought 2 small brush paintings that were marked at 1,000 yen each (a little over $10) for half price, as well as 4 cute little black-and-white woodblock prints of cats, frogs, and owls for 500 yen.



A ceramics stand

Most interesting, I thought, were the stands selling used kimonos. They had both women's and men's kimonos, and the price and quality ran a huge range. At the bottom end of both, I saw at least 5 stands with kimonos lumped in a pile on the ground, and the top and bottom pieces as a set usually came out to about 1,000 yen (again, around $10). Sometimes they had pieces there that looked like they were once pretty nice, but unfortunately they were generally in pretty awful condition. Most of them were covered with stains, and they were frequently ripped or had snags in the fabric. In the middle range were some okay-looking kimonos that had obvious signs of wear, but nonetheless looked much better than the bottom-level ones. They were usually hung up on racks and cost maybe 2,000-8,000 yen. Alex bought a haori, the coat that goes on the outside of men's kimonos, at one such place. On the upper end were some really beautiful kimonos, which I suspect were new because they were in excellent condition, and they were really attractive. I think some of them must have been wedding kimonos because they were so nice. They came in all kinds of bright colors and often had metallic designs on them, and they all had intricate detailing across the bottom. They were so pretty. I really wanted to buy one, until I found out that the ones that I was looking at were around 50,000 yen, or $500+. (Plus, how many times would I actually have an occasion to wear it?) (I think that if you go to a real kimono store and look for something of top quality, they can cost upwards of $10,000.) Other stands also carried the necessary articles that go with a kimono, such as obi (the sash type thing) and geta (traditional wooden clogs).



People looking through women's kimonos

The flea market was very well-attended. Not only was this a lucky chance where the 21st happened to fall on a Sunday, but the weather was unusually warm and sunny. I ran into a clump of my friends from Kansai Gaidai as well as an acquaintance from Oberlin who happens to be studying abroad in a different program from me, and who I had not communicated with for at least a year. The market was packed with Japanese people of all ages, and I had not seen so many gaijin (foreigners) in one place (off of campus) since I got here.

Most of the stands started to dismantle and close down by around 3. Attached to the grounds of the market was, of course, the temple itself. Entrance cost 800 yen, and we happened to be there on one of the few days of the year that the pagoda is open to visitors. I'm not sure why it was open, but the inside was very old and intricately designed with Buddhist artwork. There were also 2 prayer halls with bigger Buddha and Bodhisattva figurines, although unfortunately none of them were open to photographers. They were really nice. There was also a garden attached, and I think that it would have been really pretty if it looked more alive.



Imagine that there are leaves on the plants

Apparently there is a similar although slightly smaller flea market at Kitano Tenjin, another temple in Kyoto, on the 25th of every month. I will have to check it out sometime.



On my way from the train station to Toji in the morning, I saw the cutest cat ever. It was sitting in front of the glass front door of a shop, and it was really fat and proud looking. All these people were gathered around it taking pictures on their cell phones, and it just sat there giving people contemptuous stares. It was the best cat ever. I wanted to squeeze it.



People crowded around taking pictures


"yeah, I am the best."