Ian Ropke writes…
The exotic world of the Japanese inn
At the beginning of the 20th century in Japan and Europe and elsewhere, there was a class of people, often men, who spent great portions of their life living in inns and hotels. Yasunari Kawabata, the first Japanese to win the Nobel Prize for Literature, was one of the last people to live in ryokan in what could only be called “the age of the gentleman”. Indeed, Japan’s great ryokan inns still are and probably always will be connected with wealth and leisure. Some of the finest of these host the stars and nobility of the world when they come to Kyoto, the Old Capital.
The Hiragiya Ryokan, Fuyacho, Kyoto
The best ryokan of Kyoto continue to inhabit a world that expresses the very essence of tradition and perfection. The traditions run to the very generations of families that clean, cook and otherwise service the guests. In some inns in Kyoto, one can still request the services of a blind masseuse at bed time. Reposed and relaxed in the comfort of your exquisite futon the masseuse adds the final touch and puts you to sleep long before the massage ends. In the morning, as always, the perfection and patina of master craftsmen and time awaits you. This is another of the wonders of the ryokan world. The flagstones and wood have been worn smooth in places by the long vanished guests of centuries past. The gardens breathe with a sense of time that only generations of care by skilled landscape artists can create. Continue reading
