Deep Kyoto

good places - good people

  • About Deep Kyoto
  • About Michael Lambe
    • ARTICLES BY MICHAEL LAMBE
    • ARTICLES FOR INSIDE KYOTO
  • Books
  • Deep Kyoto Hotels
  • Flea Market
    • Bag Stall
    • Furoshiki Stall
    • Nintendo Playing Cards
  • 日本語

A Ginko, at Seishu Netsuke-kan

November 14, 2011 By Michael Lambe

Here’s this month’s poetry post from our friend, poet and translator, Keiji Minato.

Have you tried a ginko (吟行)? A ginko is a group excursion to make haiku or senryu: you visit a landmark, a museum exhibition, or any place of interest and write poems based on the experience. Usually, a kukai (句会; a haiku or senryu meeting) takes place afterwards, and you can share your works with others in a relaxed mood.

I was lucky to participate in one of such events on November 12th. We took a visit to Seishu Netsuke-kan (清宗根付館) in Mibu (壬生), a 5-minite walk from Omiya Station of Hankyu Kyoto Line. It is the one and only museum in Japan entirely devoted to works of netsuke (根付).

Drawing of a ''netsuke'' holding a medicine box at the belt.

A netsuke is a small traditional sculpture used to hold an inro (印籠; a container for medicines) at your obi or sash for a waist belt. You tie an inro at one end of a string and a netsuke at the other, and pass the netsuke under the obi from below (As always, Wikipedia has a great page, so check out pictures at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netsuke.). A netsuke is at most the size of a small chicken egg, but the art of Japanese artisans enables one to show animals playing with each other, a scene from famous stories, or a burlesque with comical human figures.

[Read more…]

Kyoto: A Literary Guide #AD

Deep Kyoto’s Best…

BARS
CAFES
DINING
EVENTS
HOTELS

Japan Station

Japan Transportation Guide
Japan Transportation Guide
Kyoto Transportation Guide
Kyoto Transportation Guide
Osaka Transportation Guide
Osaka Transportation Guide