Kyoto. John H. Martin

      For centuries pilgrims labored up Ninenzaka and Sannen-zaka on their way to Kiyomizu Temple. (The strange names for the two streets have their basis in a superstition: to stumble on Ninen-zaka brought two years of misfortune, while a fall on Sannen-zaka could result in three years of bad luck.) Here, on these streets, the pilgrims found small restaurants which offered food, inns which provided a place to sleep and shops which sold the Kiyomiza-yaki and the Awata-yaki (yaki means “pottery”) as souvenirs of a visit to the temple, pottery which was made in the stepped noborigama kilns that were formerly ubiquitous on this hillside. Pilgrims still climb these slopes, as do thousands of tourists. The narrow two-story wood and plaster row houses one finds along the way once covered all of Kyoto, and although frequently destroyed by fire, they were always rebuilt in the traditional architectural style with the shop at the front and the family living quarters behind the sales area. Normally only 26 feet (7.9 m) wide, the buildings often extended as much as 131 feet (39.9 m) to the rear. Some of them were two-story structures that had narrow slatted windows at the front of the second floor. Since it was forbidden for commoners to look down upon passing samurai (warrior class) or daimyo (feudal lords), the narrow, slatted windows could help to hide the faces and eyes of curious merchant families if they dared to peer in forbidden fashion on their superiors passing beneath them. The great fire of 1864 destroyed 80 percent of Kyoto, and thus these buildings represent the latest rebuilding of the traditional cityscape prior to modern times.

      Today’s shops, with perhaps one or two exceptions, have modern storefronts and interiors. In the past, the shop consisted of a raised platform on which the merchant sat and perhaps even created the wares he sold. The would-be purchaser was always welcomed with a cup of tea so that a proper mood could be established before the merchant’s wares were brought forth and displayed in front of the purchaser. Modern life seldom allows for such niceties, and thus the present shops are more oriented toward a contemporary display of chinaware or whatever is currently desired by the public. Ninen-zaka and Sannen-zaka are lined with old buildings which still serve as purveyors to the pilgrim and the tourist, although one must admit that tourists seem to be the main clients to whom the shopkeepers now appeal. But then, weren’t pilgrims of past centuries souvenir seekers as well? For sale here are small Buddhas, iron lanterns, scarves—all the paraphernalia of an ephemeral trade which the visitor cannot resist. A few restaurants tempt the hungry with the variety of noodles such Japanese establishments offer, and, of course, the soft drinks of the modern age. One enterprising shopkeeper on Ninen-zaka even has a rickshaw in which one can be photographed or even trans ported, the latter, naturally, for an appropriate fee. A few rickshaws do still exist, but their day is past, and those which remain appear primarily at times of festivals.

      2 KIYOMIZU-ZAKA

      Ninen-zaka bends gracefully, as a proper traditional Japanese street should, and ends in a short staircase which leads into Sannenzaka. In turn, Sannen-zaka also ends in a steeper set of steps which lead up to Kiyomizu-zaka (Clear Water Slope). As has been the case for the past several centuries, pottery can be found for sale along both Ninen-zaka and Sannen-zaka, but you will not encounter the full panoply of chinaware until you climb the steps at the southern end of Sannen-zaka and enter Kiyomizu-zaka, which leads uphill from Higashi-oji-dori to the Kiyomizu-dera Temple at the top of the street. In the last century, English-speaking visitors nicknamed Kiyomizu-zaka “Teapot Lane,” a name it still deserves. Here you can find shops which sell Kiyomizu-yaki (Kiyo mizu pottery) and other chinaware. Souvenir shops line the street cheek by jowl. The street is always crowded with visitors heading to the temple, many in groups led by their banner-waving leader. It is always a street full of excitement and color during the daytime.