my l ife as a g eisha

What woman can’t use some lessons in feminine allure? Shoba Narayan tr av els to to pick up some tips from the masters—the cit y ’s r enow ned . Trust us —ther e’s much more to Ja pa n’s

Liberated lady? most enduring were created to pamper men— icons than but they were also the freest women in w hite old , and masters of the arts face-pa int of calligraphy, flower arranging, music, a nd a dance, and drama. bee-stung pout Here, a present-day geisha in , one of Kyoto’s historic quarters. have come to Japan to learn about al- lure. I’ve been around and watch her slide married for sev- across the broad avenue. enteen years, With her floral-pink kimo- and while my no and erect carriage, she marriage isn’t and one underneath), how looks regal. Alluring. Imperial Palace compound, falling apart, it to slurp udon noodles, how which is surrounded by a is fraying at the edges: a vic- to sip green tea, how to place he diction- grid of neighborhoods, a tim of minutiae like leaky my chopsticks when I am ary defines allure style of urban planning in- taps, lost airline tickets, and done eating, and also how to as “the power to spired by the Tang Dynas- IPTA meetings. Nowadays treat a man. entice or attract ty’s capital city, Chang’an when I ask my husband a Suzuno-san says that Tthrough personal charm,” (now Xi’an). Bordered by fairly innocuous question peppering a man with ques- which has more to do with mountains on three sides, such as, “Does this green tions is a big no-no, some- gait and bearing than with this neat, green, low-rising dress suit me?” he gets this thing she tells all her maiko. beauty. The geisha are mas- city of 1.46 million people is deer-in-the-headlights ex- Questions put a man on the ters of allure. This, I believe, almost at the geographical pression. I want Ram to defensive. “I may know a lot is why we are fascinated by center of Honshu, Japan’s look at me without fear and about politics, but I won’t re- them. It isn’t that they are largest island. With its with adoration. So I have veal it,” she says. “Instead, I beautiful, although many of graceful Zen temples, come to Japan to learn will draw him out.” them are. Beauty is a wild crooked cobblestone streets, about feminine allure from This whole notion of card anyway, beyond our Shinto shrines, moss-cov- its acknowledged masters: playing dumb bothers me, control. Sexy, after a certain ered gardens, and the mean- the geisha. and I tell her so. Hasn’t she age, borders on tawdry. dering Kamo River, it is the Suzuno-san thinks I heard of feminism? Her in- Mystique is too much work. country’s spiritual and cul- shouldn’t even be asking terpretation is different. She But allure, as the geisha so tural heart. Kyoto is the questions. Suzuno-san is a plays dumb not because she magnificently prove, can be quintessential Japan, in Tokyo geisha. Like most is a woman and he is a man. taught and learned. Just like which every icon and art Japanese, she is slim and She does it because she is a etiquette. form that we associate with beautiful with high cheek- professional and he is her The Japanese call this iki, the country blooms into bones, Dior-red lips, and a client. It has more to do with an aesthetic ideal that im- perfection. chignon worn at the nape, hierarchy than gender. Japa- plies subdued elegance. Iki In a.d. 794, the dour Em- which the Japanese consider nese men play dumb with emerged in the eighteenth peror Kammu, freaked out the sexiest part of a woman. their clients too. century as a kind of reverse by a series of accidents and This is why geisha and maiko It is a smart answer, but it snobbery that the working natural disasters, moved the (apprentice geisha) wear doesn’t help me with my class developed toward the imperial capital from Nara their low on the marriage. I can’t stop asking affected opulence of their to nearby Kyoto. He named neck, the nape revealed. my husband questions even rulers. Iki pits subtlety his new capital Heian-kyo, Suzuno-san is in her for- though I know it puts him against gaudiness, edginess Place of Peace and Tran- ties, maybe fifties. I cannot on the defensive. I can, how- against beauty, relaxed sim- quillity. Here, during the ask. Geisha don’t reveal ever, learn what Suzuno-san plicity against gorgeous for- country’s thousand years of their age anyway. She teach- calls respect for both hu- mality. Loosely translated, relative seclusion from es etiquette and bemoans mans and objects. Respect iki means being chic or cool, neighboring China and the rising informality of her the tatami by leaving your but its nuances are particu- Korea, courtiers composed culture. “These manners are shoes outside. When you lar to Japan—curves, for in- poetry, painted landscapes, part of who we are,” she cross a room, don’t just stance, are not iki, but drank sake, and held moon- says. “It is what defines us as blunder across. Go behind straightness is. Iki combines viewing parties in autumn. Japanese.” people so that their conver- sassiness with innocence, The elegant Lady Murasaki We meet at Fucha-ryori sations are not disturbed. sexiness with restraint. Gei- wrote The Tale of Genji, Bon, a lovely restaurant with Cover your mouth when you sha, with their giggly co- widely considered the tatami-lined cubicles inside giggle. When you enter a quettishness, are emblemat- world’s first novel (its influ- which patrons can have tatami room, don’t just walk ic of iki, or aspire to be. ence still permeates Japan). lunch in rice paper–screened in. Sit on your haunches and Kyoto represents the apo- The city’s fortunes wa- privacy. Over the next hour, I slide across the threshold, gee of the iki aesthetic, and vered according to the learn how to pick up a soup then bow deeply to your that is where my journey be- whims of warring rulers, bowl (one hand on the side host while still kneeling. gins. At its center is the vast and Kyoto was taken over by We finish lunch.M y in- successive feuding clans, terpreter and I drop Suzu- shogunates, and armed sam- no-san at her street corner urai until the capital moved before speeding off. I turn to Tokyo in 1868. This checkered history has con- tributed mightily to Kyoto’s

Cond´E nast Traveler  layered character. Within Ja- dainty woman who spent part pan, the city is viewed with a of her childhood in America. combination of envy and dis- Trained in the classical Japa- dain. Ask a Tokyo teenager there is a nese arts, she tells me that there what he thinks of Kyoto-ans proper way to is a proper way to do every- black and gold. It is thirteen and he will use words like snob- thing, including opening a feet long. Old Japan was de- bish and conservative. Kyoto do ev ery thing, fusuma, or sliding door. It goes signed for a woman wearing a people never talk straight, he including like this: Kneel directly in front kimono—the squatting toilets, will say. They don’t reveal their of the fusuma; place your fin- temple steps, and furniture-less feelings, and consider you a na- opening a gertips in the handle; slide the houses. Now, they are all but tive only if you have lived there sliding door . fusuma open two inches; place invisible in the streets. for generations. Theirs is Japa- the same hand on the frame, Two attendants dress me, nese reserve multiplied by ten. i a m speechless about nine inches above the and then we adjourn to the at the lev el floor; push thefusuma open makeup studio below, where t twilight, the halfway; change your hand the kao-shi, or face master, city comes alive. of precision and push the fusuma open the smears a white herbal paste all Swarms of jeans- rest of the way; stand up and over my face and neck. My lips clad office workers means arts person, and mai-ko back away. I am speechless at are drawn thinner than they are makeA way for kimono-clad ma- means dancing girl. For two the level of precision. This, I and are painted bright red, like trons hurrying off to buy pick- days, I will receive some of the think, is the secret of Japan: to a rosebud. Then comes a wig les and eel at the bustling Nishi- training that the geisha under- see greatness in small things with an elaborate hairstyle— ki Market. Every now and go for years. and smallness in great things. not the famous split-peach then, a geisha appears, stand- Geisha have always played a Yume Miru Yume, where one, suggestive of the vagina, ing incongruously under a key role in preserving the arts. Koko-san takes me, is a tiny but another updo. The hair- neon sign advertising lingerie. This was how they differentiat- makeup studio near a shrine. stylist adorns my wig with lac- For a modern feminist like ed themselves from the courte- Three women descend on me quer combs, tortoiseshell bow- me, it is difficult not to view the sans of the Pontocho pleasure like fluttering sparrows and clips, and hanging silk flowers. geisha culture as archaic and quarters—by studying the arts whisk me up a flight of stairs to Finally, I am permitted to sexist—and perhaps it is. But look in the mirror. An exotic having grown up in the East, I stranger stares back—white know that perception doesn’t face, red lips. I look Japanese. equal reality. Contradictions “Kawaii!” exclaim the girls. exist within cultures—particu- “Cute!” larly in Japan, where myth and Kawaii is a word used to de- mystique are like a silken skein scribe maiko—their girlish gig- that shows but doesn’t reveal. gles and presumed innocence. Yes, geisha were created to An American woman I meet pamper Japanese men, but later tells me that she detests they were also the freest women the word; to her, it seems to in old Japan. “Successful gei- wipe out a century of femi- sha were strong-willed busi- nism. Japanese men, however, nesswomen,” says Japan expert love this non-threatening cute- Alex Kerr. “Unlike the typical ness. In fact, young maiko are sheltered Japanese wife, they’d with a discipline that would I’m iki: Accomplished geisha told not to look men in the eye been out in the world.” give a Russian ballet dancer a embody this Japanese because it is disrespectful. In- An American who speaks complex. In winter, it is said, aesthetic ideal, which combines stead, their eyes “skitter,” says sassiness with innocence, fluent Japanese, Kerr is an ac- they would dip their hands in sexiness with restraint. Koko-san. claimed author, calligrapher, icy water and then sit outside in It is showtime. I slip my feet and art collector. I meet him at the freezing cold and play the the kimono room. The Japa- into the high-heeled geta clogs an Origin Arts workshop he samisen, a traditional stringed nese love of seasons is reflected and step into the sunshine. conducts in Kyoto. Superbly instrument, until their frozen in their kimono, and because it People start taking photo- designed and executed, his ex- fingers bled. is spring, the ones I am shown graphs—me holding a fan, an periential workshops offer in- I remember this during my are decorated with azaleas, umbrella; simpering and skit- sights into the traditional Japa- next lesson, which involves weeping willows, and cherry tering. I hobble up the cobble- nese arts: tea ceremony, quite literally turning myself blossoms. I choose a royal-blue stone street to the Yasaka calligraphy, flower arranging, into a geisha. Kyoto has several kimono with red and green music, dance, and drama—all shops that offer to transform flowers climbing up the sides. Places & Prices arts that a geisha must master. you into a geisha or, for men, a My , the wide brocade belt The word gei-sha, after all, samurai. My guide, Koko tied around the kimono, is the glam life Ijuin, tells me that they are very Geisha wannabes, get thee to Kyoto! Here are restaurants and shops to popular with visiting Koreans fulfill all your court-life fantasies . . . and Chinese. plus places where you too can be Koko-san, as I call her, is a geisha for a day. See page 126.

Cond´E nast Traveler  Shrine. “Softly,” says Koko- san. “Don’t stride. Make a fig- ure eight with your feet.” Koko-san calls the elegant shuffle of the Japanese ladies be a geisha. When I mention shinayakasa. It suggests soft- how young she looks, she ness and ripples—like the laughs. Compared with her waves, with one movement friends back home in her vil- blending into the other. Young lage, she is very mature, she Japanese girls who have never says. She has been to fancy res- worn a kimono “do not experi- taurants and parties; met and ence such movement,” says interacted with important busi- Koko-san. “This makes them nessmen and dignitaries. “I can look very ugly when they put call them oniisan [big brother], on the kimono for the first laugh and joke with them,” she time.” For a few minutes, I says. “Plus I get to wear a kimo- achieve my fantasy, if not my no, practice my dance, and live goal. I am a Kyoto geisha, but it in this world of beauty.” is only as deep as my painted By now, I am starstruck by white skin; I have not yet been her poise. What, I ask, does she able to get under their skin and do to maintain her beauty? learn their secrets. Yoga, a special diet? She gig- gles again. “I only avoid things hat evening, I by listening to him sympatheti- Mirror, mirror: While geisha that affect my work.” She walk through the five cally and pouring more sake; embody the perfectionism pauses for a beat. “Such as gar- geisha districts of but they certainly do not sleep and effervescence of Japanese lic,” she ends with great comic culture, the concept of wabi-sabi Kyoto, also known around. Rather, they occupy a celebrates the old, the imperfect, timing. The room erupts in Tas , or flower towns. rarefied realm in which women the ephemeral. Kyoto’s laughter. Light spills through the lattice are both divas and directors. Kinkaku-Ji, like most of Japan’s I ask the okaasan how she screens and dapples the pud- The earliest geisha were in temples, is made of wood. picks the girls that she molds Late afternoon is the best time dles in the road. Beautifully fact men who played the role of to visit, when the gold paint into geisha. She pauses for a made-up geisha and maiko court jester to the feudal lords is reflected in the pond below. moment and lets out a heavy hurry between teahouses, go- of the thirteenth century. Dur- sigh. “They have to be beauti- ing from one appointment to ing the Edo period, merchants, ally, she is not yet a geisha but ful, of course,” she replies, another. Tourists’ cameras shoguns (army commanders), will be in a few weeks. The fact “and disciplined, because they click. The scene is at once thor- samurai, and feudal lords that she is becoming a geisha at work long hours with few holi- oughly modern and utterly spent their time traveling be- nineteen shows how good she is days. They have to be smart timeless. tween Tokyo, the new capital, at what she does, Koko-san says and learn quickly how to play The geisha’s karyukai, or and Kyoto, where they might later. This means that she has instruments, dance, do tea cer- “flower and willow world,” is remain for months finishing found a danna, or patron, who emony.” After all, it takes three both exacting and secret—one deals or monitoring projects. will fund her studies and per- years to just get the basic stuff that prizes discretion (geisha Kyoto teahouses were built to haps have a relationship with right: posture, hand gestures, rarely marry and if they do, entertain these travelers. Many her. In her orange kimono with and what she calls “piling up they retire and never reveal the of the early geisha were daugh- her scrubbed face and frequent experiences.” But in the end, it father of their child or chil- ters of these teahouses, a tradi- giggles, Naosome looks far too is a gut feeling that she gets. “A dren), yet is open to misinter- tion that continues to this day, young to have a danna, let alone geisha is like the sun,” says the pretation. When the American with geisha being “adopted” okaasan. “When she walks into GIs occupied Japan, they by the okiya (teahouse) moth- a room, it becomes brighter.” brooke astor and stood in Tokyo’s Ginza district er—okaasan. I sigh—at the poetry of the and chanted for “geesha girls,” Naosome, the geisha I spend na n k empner words, at the audacity of my at- or prostitutes. Today’s geisha an afternoon with, has been ad- tempt to emulate the geisha. I would have made go to great lengths to explain opted by the Nakazato tea- can try to sit ramrod straight that they are sophisticated en- house. She is all of nineteen. excellent all I want. I can even learn how tertainers, not prostitutes. Our meeting is almost a round- to put on makeup. But flirting geisha—geisha They may hint at their sexuali- table conference: me, Koko- with decorum requires skill; in- ty using double entendres and san, the fixer who got us the in- have an uncanny nuendo while maintaining pro- sexual jokes delivered with the terview—a beautiful lady called priety requires talent. A good a bilit y to most innocent of faces; they Hamasaki-san—Naosome, the geisha knows when to flirt, and

Photograph Photograph by Diane Cook and Len Jenshel may draw out a man’s sorrows okaasan, and her assistant, who light up a party how to do the right thing at the brings in cups of green tea. opportune moment—like Naosome is of erect bearing, Brooke Astor and Nan Kemp- exquisitely polite, charming, ner, who would have made ex- and, for a geisha, candid. Actu- cellent (Continued on page 147)

Cond´E nast Traveler  Malaysia / Kyoto Word Trips

for this month’s contest, see page 142. tel’s Australian owner. She loves to cook, the background beat to several rock-paper- and the set meal this evening is exquisite— scissors–like games. Within minutes, my July 2009 nyonya, nine Malay and Chinese dishes kids are entranced—by Naosome’s grace, Paving the Way served up on a banana leaf. Narelle’s busi- her laughter, the softness of her touch as ness partner and a neighbor from down the she hugs them when they win. The evening Unused pieces spell road, a mustachioed Malay man who used passes in a whirl of perfume and giggles. YELLOW BRICK ROAD to deal in antiquities, are bantering about “Most foreigners think geisha only play politics, including the case of the exploding games,” says Sayuki, an Australian geisha, Mongolian mistress. whose condition for meeting me is that I will Where Are You? On my drive around the island next day, list her Web site, sayuki.net. Such straight- COMPETITION RULES (See page 110) I find long sandy beaches, turquoise water, forward negotiation seems normal in mod- NO PURCHASE OR PAYMENT OF ANY KIND IS NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN THIS SWEEPSTAKES. A PURCHASE WILL NOT and sumptuous hotels. As the afternoon ern business but comes across as blunt in a IMPROVE CHANCES OF WINNING. 1. Enter Condé Nast Traveler’s “Where Are You?” contest by sending a wanes, I retreat to Temple Tree’s long, nar- world where a geisha’s time is measured by 3½-by-5-inch to 4¼-by-6-inch postcard with your name, address, and telephone number, and correctly identifying the place shown in this month’s row, slate-colored pool, which looks out the number of incense sticks used while she installment of the “Where Are You?” contest, to: Condé Nast Traveler’s “Where Are You?” Contest P.O. Box 413050 over a lagoon. I am alone. I slice through entertains. In the wispy smoke trailing from Naples, FL 34101-3050 Enter online by filling out the online entry form at cntraveler.com and cor- the water, then flip onto my back. Floating the stick lies the key to an entire subculture. rectly identifying the place shown in this month’s “Where Are You?” contest according to the instructions given on the contest page. By providing your in the water, I see an old Malay house with a e-mail address, you grant Sponsor the right to send you commercial mes- sages and share your address with others, unless specified otherwise as Chinese daybed in its entrance on my right, t is near the end of my time indicated on the entry form. 2. Entries that are lost, late, misdirected, incorrect, garbled, or incompletely the lagoon and rustling sea grass on my left. in Japan, and while I know I shouldn’t received, for any reason, including by reason of hardware, software, brows­ er, or network failure, malfunction, congestion, or incompatibility at Spon- A flock of herons flap overhead. Later, I lie say this—being Indian, I’ve been sor’s servers or elsewhere, will not be eligible. Sponsor, at its sole discretion, reserves the right to disqualify any person tampering with the entry process on a chaise, absorbing the noises of Asia: Itreated to my own share of cultural stereo- or the operation of the Web site. Use of bots or other automated processes to enter is prohibited and may result in disqualification at the sole discre- tree toads clucking in the trees, cicadas types—I am convinced more than ever that tion of Sponsor. Sponsor further reserves the right to cancel, terminate, or modify any promotion not capable of completion as planned, including screaming. A green-eyed cat crawls onto Japan’s aesthetic is singular, so distinct that by reason of infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, force majeure, or technical failures of any sort. In the event my chest, purring. it can make the country feel, at times, al- of a dispute, entries will be deemed submitted by the authorized account holder of the e-mail address submitted at the time of entry. “Authorized I am thinking about how peaceful this most impenetrable. Consider: Most ancient account holder” is defined as the natural person who is assigned to an e-mail address by an Internet access provider, online service provider, or other place seems, and the rich images of the past civilizations base their notions of beauty organization (e.g., business, educational institute) that is responsible for assigning e-mail addresses for the domain associated with the submitted week roll through my mind—the lush rain on symmetry. Think of the Taj Mahal, the e-mail address. 3. Only one correct answer will be registered per entrant per month for the Monthly drawings. For the Grand Prize drawing, contestants who have one forest, Malay women, Chinese temples, op- Pyramids, the Parthenon. But Japan wor- registered correct answer at the end of the contest period (on or before Janu- ary 10, 2010) will have one entry in the Grand Prize drawing; contestants position politicians, former colonialists— ships asymmetry. Most Japanese rock gar- with a total of two registered correct answers will have two; and so on. Condé­ Nast Traveler reserves the right to discontinue the contest at any time, although it’s impossible to predict what the dens are off-center; raku ceramics have an in which event prizes will be awarded based on entries received to date. 4. For each issue, one potential Monthly winner of the contest will be cho­ near future will bring. “There will be more undulating unevenness to them. sen, on or after the eleventh day of the following month, in a random draw- ing of qualified entries that have correctly identified the location in that casualties,” Anwar has warned, adding What’s also unusual about Japan is how issue’s “Where Are You?” contest. The potential winner will be notified by phone or mail. If the potential winner cannot be contacted within 14 days that he is prepared to go back to prison. But highly evolved, almost modern, its ancient of attempted notification, an alternate winner may be chosen. All decisions by the judges are final. Malaysia is being reborn. This country is aesthetic traditions are. Fragmentation, for 5. Each Monthly winner will receive an award of $1,000. There is no limit to the number of times a contestant may win the Monthly prize during the on the road to something new. I can feel it in instance, is a modern photographic idea, contest period. The Monthly winner’s registered correct entry will be en- tered in the Grand Prize drawing. the air. but the Japanese had it figured out aeons 6. One potential Grand Prize winner will be chosen, on or before February 25, 2010, in a random drawing of qualified entries that have correctly identi- ago. Japanese paintings, for example, often fied locations in the “Where Are You?” contests published in 2009. The potential winner will be notified by phone or mail. If the potential winner depict a single branch instead of a tree. A cannot be contacted within 14 days of attempted notification, an alternate winner may be chosen. All decisions by the judges are final. Kyoto fragmented moon hidden by clouds is con- 7. The Grand Prize winner will receive a trip for two to one of the destina- (Continued from page 115) tions featured in the 2009 “Where Are You?” contest. The choice of the sidered more beautiful than a full in-your- destination is subject to approval by Condé Nast Traveler; disapproval may be based on potential danger, inordinate expense, or other factors. The geisha. Geisha have an uncanny ability to face moon. They call this mono no aware, Grand Prize will include accommodations for the winner and his/her guest for seven days and six nights, air transportation (coach) from the major commercial airport nearest the winner’s home in the U.S. or Canada, and light up a party and switch on the atmo- which implies an acute sensitivity to the hotel transfers. Winner and travel companion must be available to travel on the same itinerary, as selected by Sponsor. Additional transportation, sphere; they understand and prize the art beauty of objects, the “ahhness of things,” meals, in-room charges (e.g., minibar, movies), telephone calls, gratuities, incidentals, and all other expenses are not included. Prize elements subject of conversation. They know exactly what to as the Japanese would have it. Mono no to availability, certain restrictions, and blackout dates. Scheduling is subject to availability and blackout dates, and accommodations are on a double- say to the shy wallflowers to draw them out aware attunes people to the fragile and the ­occupancy basis. Travel must be completed within 10 months of notification of the winner. No substitutions for the Grand Prize will be allowed except without making them feel self-conscious. transient. It values the soft patina of age by Condé Nast Traveler, in which case a prize of equal or greater value will be awarded. The retail value of the Grand Prize is approximately $10,000, The Japanese call this kikubari—paying more than the sparkle of newness. depending on exact itinerary. 8. Income and other taxes, if any, are the sole responsibility of the winners. careful attention to others and understand- Another important concept in Japanese Prizes are not transferable. 9. The contest is open to legal residents of the 50 United States, the District ing their desires before they vocalize them. aesthetics is wabi-sabi, which again is con- of Columbia, or Canada (except Quebec) who are 18 years of age or older as of the date of entry, except for employees of The Condé Nast Publications, One evening, Naosome entertains me trarian. The Japanese are a perfectionistic participating promotional agencies, contributors to Condé Nast Traveler, and the families of any of the above. and my children at her teahouse. My daugh- people, yet wabi-sabi honors the old and the 10. The contest is subject to all federal, state, local, and provincial laws and regulations. Void outside the 50 United States and the District of Columbia ters are six and eleven, dressed in recently vulnerable; the imperfect, the unfinished, and Canada, in the Canadian province of Quebec, and where prohibited. In the event the winner is a resident of Canada, the winner may be required to purchased and looking slightly and the ephemeral. While other ancient cul- correctly answer a time-limited arithmetical skill–testing question. 11. Odds of winning depend on the number of correct entries received. bemused by the unfamiliar Japanese food tures emphasized permanence and endur- 12. All entries become the sole property of Condé Nast Traveler and will not be acknowledged or returned. 13. Acceptance of a prize constitutes consent to use the winners’ (and the in front of them. Right off the bat, my six- ance (Indian stone sculptures were built to Grand Prize traveling companion’s) names and likenesses for editorial, advertising, and publicity purposes without further compensation (except year-old announces that the food tastes last forever, as were the Sphinx and the Sis- where prohibited). The winners may be required to sign an affidavit of eligi- bility, and the winners and the travel companion may be required to sign a “weird.” How will Naosome handle us? She tine Chapel), Japan celebrated transience liability and publicity release, which must be returned within 14 days of the attempted notification or an alternate winner may be chosen. doesn’t speak English, and we don’t speak and impermanence. The tea ceremony, 14. Contestants, by entering the “Where Are You?” contest, agree to be bound by the above rules and regulations. Sponsor is not responsible for Japanese. The evening is going to be a wash- which is often considered the acme of Japa- errors in the administration or fulfillment of this sweepstakes, including without limitation mechanical, human, printing, distribution, or produc- out, I decide. nese arts, leaves behind nothing but a mem- tion errors, and may modify or cancel this promotion based upon such error at its sole discretion without liability. What Naosome does—after treating us ory. Wabi-sabi connotes “spiritual longing” 15. For the names of the winners, send a self-addressed, stamped envelope, after the eleventh of each month but before August 25, 2010, to Condé Nast to a traditional fan dance—is play games. and “serene melancholy,” which sounds Traveler 2009 “Where Are You?” Contest Winners, 4 Times Square, New York, New York 10036. Sponsor: The Condé Nast Publications, 4 Times She teaches my girls a song that provides pretentious but makes perfect sense when Square, New York, New York 10036. october 2009  Kyoto you visit rural Japan. The cherry blossoms are displayed like works of art. A slim man “I look at their shoes,” he replies. A rid- are ephemeral and therefore wabi-sabi; who vaguely resembles Jackie Chan, Ota- dle-like answer. the tea ceremony connotes loneliness and san looks ascetic but is in fact an aesthete, Much later, Ota-san drives me back into longing for a higher spiritual plane, hence pursuing a life revolving around beauty. He Kyoto in his Mercedes. It is pitch-dark. The it is wabi-sabi. The old cracked teapot, the is a painter, a tea master, a confectioner, and road winds. A stream gurgles nearby. We weathered fabric, the lonely weeping wil- a patron of the arts—a Japanese Renais- are happy. We chat about Barack Obama, low are all wabi-sabi. sance man. He invites me to witness a tea Nepali restaurants, and Kyoto’s beauty. Geisha, however, are anything but. “Just ceremony at his rural retreat in Ohara, an “Enjoy the light spilling through the lat- as the tea ceremony represents the wabi- hour outside Kyoto, for my final lesson in ticework,” Ota-san says as he drops us at a sabi aspect of Japanese culture, geisha rep- the Japanese arts. street corner. “That’s the beauty of Kyoto.” resent the opposite—the effervescence of The tea ceremony is exquisite. For those the culture,” says Toru Ota, a scholar and accustomed to the casualness creeping into t has been two months since confectioner who teaches at Kyoto Wom- the modern world, it can seem long-winded I got home, and the geisha of Japan still en’s University and owns Oimatsu, one of and needlessly formal. There are at least six- influence my thinking. I pay attention Kyoto’s best sweets shops. I meet Ota-san teen steps, including cleaning the utensils, Ito how I walk; to my movements, whether above his shop, where bejeweled pastries in admiring the teapot, exchanging greetings, they are compact and graceful. These are candy pink, baby blue, and melting orange eating the tea sweets, and then drinking the small things, you might say. But to the Japa- matcha (strong) and sencha (light) tea. In nese, the small is big; the simple is profound. ancient Japan, Chado, or the Way of Tea, I am still feminist, but Japan seems to have CONDÉ NAST TRAVELER IS A REGISTERED TRADEMARK OF ADVANCE MAGAZINE PUB- was considered the essence of civilization. rubbed off the edges. I tolerate stuff from LISHERS INC. COPYRIGHT © 2009 THE CON- In a dark tatami room lit by candles, Ota- my husband that I previously wouldn’t DÉ NAST PUBLICATIONS. ALL RIGHTS RE- SERVED. PRINTED IN THE U.S.A. san mixes powdery matcha tea with hot have. Again, it is small things. water and offers it to us in a bowl. Just as Yesterday, for instance, my husband VOLUME 44, NO. 10, CONDÉ NAST TRAVELER (ISSN 0893-9683) is published monthly by the Con- I am about to sip, he casually lets it drop ranted about our new puppy. She is peeing dé Nast Publications, which is a division of Advance that the bowl I am drinking from is worth a all over our apartment and driving us nuts. Magazine Publishers Inc. PRINCIPAL OFFICE: The Condé Nast Building, 4 Times Square, New York, New million dollars. I carefully Over dinner, my husband York 10036. S.I. Newhouse, Jr., Chairman; Charles put it down, and we all lectured me about how I H. Townsend, President/CEO; John W. Bellando, Ex- The tea ceremony, ecutive Vice President/COO; Jill Bright, Executive Vice laugh. The next round of should fix the problem. President/Human Resources. Periodicals postage paid tea, which is more dilute, the acme of In my previous avatar, I at New York, New York, and at additional mailing of- would have lectured him fices. Canada Post Publications Mail Agreement No. is offered in a bowl that 40644503. Canadian Goods and Services Tax Regis- he picked up in Brazil, he Japanese arts, right back. Why is the tration No. 123242885-RT0001. Canada post: Return says. It is almost worth- puppy my headache? I undeliverable Canadian addresses to Box 874, Station Main, Markham, Ontario L3P 8L4. less, he says, and laughs. leaves behind would have asked, and I gaze at the bowl from gone on a tirade about POSTMASTER: SEND ADDRESS CHANGES nothing but TO CONDÉ NAST TRAVELER, Box 37629, Boone, Brazil. The two countries shared chores and equali- Iowa 50037-0629. FOR SUBSCRIPTIONS, AD- could not be more differ- ty in marriage. The whole DRESS CHANGES, ADJUSTMENTS, OR BACK a memory ISSUE INQUIRIES: Please write to CONDÉ NAST ent. Brazil, with its color- thing would have spiraled TRAVELER, Box 37629, Boone, Iowa 50037-0629, ful, straightforward exuberance, is extro- downward and out of control. call 800-777-0700, or e-mail subscriptions@cntraveler .com. Amoco Torch Club members write to Amoco verted and open. Japan, with its penchant Post-Japan, I just listened to him vent. Torch Club, Box 9014, Des Moines, Iowa 50306. for gray, its reserve and formality, is as yin as The man is distressed, I thought. What Please give both new and old address as printed on most recent label. First copy of new subscription will Latin America is yang. I try to picture Ota- would a geisha do? I wondered. And so I be mailed within eight weeks of receipt of order. Ad- san at Copacabana Beach. It is impossible. shut up and let him get it all out. dress all editorial, business, and production corre- spondence to CONDÉ NAST TRAVELER, 4 Times Which is the best tea ceremony you’ve ever I can’t say that I’ve become more alluring Square, New York, New York 10036. For permissions done? I ask. I expect him to mention one that after my time in Japan, but I’ve certainly and reprint requests, please call 212-630-5656 or fax become more patient. I try to appreciate the requests to 212-630-5883. Visit us online at www he did for knowledgeable Japanese scholars .cntraveler.com. To subscribe to other Condé Nast who knew the various steps of the tea cer- present and watch the moon—wabi-sabi, magazines on the World Wide Web, visit www.conde emony. By now, I am able to intuit that a tea you know. Allure can be a sideways glance, nastdigital.com. Occasionally, we make our subscriber list available to carefully screened companies that offer ceremony can be like a symphony—if all the a hand gesture, or just listening. Allure can products and services which we believe would interest players know what to do, the experience can be the simple realization that I am not let- our readers. If you do not want to receive these offers and/or information, please advise us at Box 37629, be sublime. Ota-san has performed the tea ting down a whole generation of feminists Boone, Iowa 50037-0629 or call 800-777-0700. ceremony for famous personalities including by being more attentive to my husband. For CONDÉ NAST TRAVELER IS NOT RESPONSI- architect Tadao Ando and fashion designer that, I have the geisha to thank. BLE FOR THE RETURN OR LOSS OF, OR FOR Issey Miyake, both of whom were guests in DAMAGE, OR ANY OTHER INJURY TO UN- SOLICITED MANUSCRIPTS, UNSOLICITED the very tatami room I am kneeling in. So ARTWORK (INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED which is your favorite tea ceremony? I press. TO DRAWINGS, PHOTOGRAPHS, AND TRANS- PARENCIES), OR ANY OTHER UNSOLICITED “This one,” replies Ota-san. MATERIALS. THOSE SUBMITTING MANU- His answer reminds me of a Zen koan, or SCRIPTS, PHOTOGRAPHS, ARTWORK, OR OTHER MATERIALS FOR CONSIDERATION riddle. Ota-san tells me that he gears each SHOULD NOT SEND ORIGINALS UNLESS SPE- tea ceremony to the guests. The scroll, the CIFICALLY REQUESTED TO DO SO BY CONDÉ flowers, even the choice of tea utensils is NAST TRAVELER IN WRITING. MANUSCRIPTS, PHOTOGRAPHS, AND OTHER MATERIALS based on what he thinks they will like. > Room with a View Unfold the SUBMITTED MUST BE ACCOMPANIED BY A “But how do you know what they will SELF-ADDRESSED STAMPED ENVELOPE. following page to experience Koh like?” I ask. Samui’s remote Four Seasons retreat. >

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