京都旅行
2023.10.14
A trip to Kyoto
I traveled to Kyoto for two nights and three days in mid-September. It was the first time I went to Kyoto since my third year of junior high school on a school trip, but the places I visited this time were completely different from where I went on my school trip. Instead of going to famous tourist attractions, such as Kiyomizu Temple, Kinkakuji Temple, and Fushimi Inari Taisha, I went to Nonomiya Shrine, Kyoto Imperial Palace, and Uji to visit Byodoin Phoenix Hall and the Genji Monogatari Museum. My major is Heian literature, so, I and three fellow seminar members along with our seminar professor set out on a journey around places linked to Heian literature.
There are nine independent seminars in the Japanese literature department. First to fourth-year university students and graduate students can belong to one of these seminar groups. These seminar groups are divided into five categories according to the period of Japanese literature being studied. There are other seminars on the Japanese language, such as for writing original Japanese novels, for cross-cultural exchange of Japanese literature, and for library informatics.. Since my first year at university, I have been a member of the “Early Middle Ages Independent Seminar” studying Heian literature.
It was the first trip in a long time for me, as part of the generation whose high school field trips were canceled due to COVID-19. Traveling with family and friends is good, but traveling with friends and a teacher for the purpose of learning is also a different kind of fun.
What I particularly liked this time was the Costume Museum. The museum is in a building very close to Kyoto Station and is such a minor place that even taxi drivers don’t know the location and had to ask us for directions. However, based on “The Tale of Genji” and “Murasaki Shikibu Diary”, a one-quarter-size doll was used to display the clothes, customs, and culture of the Heian Period, which was worth seeing. Until now, it was difficult to conjure images just reading literary works, but I think I can read them more deeply from now on by recalling the exhibition.
It was such a fulfilling three days that even after I came back to Tokyo, I couldn't help but keep thinking about Kyoto. I can't go one day without spending time looking back at the photos I took on my smartphone of my trip.
京都旅行
夏の終わりが近づく９月半ば、２泊３日の京都旅行をした。京都に行くのは中学３年生の修学旅行以来だったが、今回訪れた場所は、修学旅行の時とはまるで違う。清水寺や金閣寺、伏見稲荷大社などの有名観光地には行かず、野宮神社や京都御所、宇治まで足を伸ばして平等院鳳凰堂や宇治市源氏物語ミュージアムに行った。なぜなら、今回の旅行は日本文学科の「中古自主ゼミ旅行」だからである。平安文学を球天下体育している私たちは、平安文学とゆかりのある地を巡る旅に出かけたのだ。
日本文学科には９つの「自主ゼミ」がある。これは、大学１年生から４年生、大学院生も入れるもので、文学の時代区分によって５つに分かれており、ほかにも日本語や創作、日本語日本文学交流や図書館などのゼミがある。私は大学１年次から、平安文学を扱う「中古自主ゼミ」に所属している。
球天下体育の影響により、高校の修学旅行が中止になった世代の私にとっては久々の旅行だった。家族や友人との旅行もよいけれど、学習を目的とした仲間との旅行も一味違う楽しさがある。
今回、特に私が気に入ったのは、風俗博物館だ。風俗博物館は、京都駅のすぐ近くのビルの中にあり、タクシーの運転手さんでも場所を確認してしまうほどマイナーな場所である。しかし、『源氏物語』と『紫式部日記』をもとに1/4サイズの人形を用いて、当時の服飾や習慣、文化を展示しており、見応えがあった。今までは、文学作品を読むだけではイメージしにくい部分もあったが、展示を見たことで今後より作品を深く読めると思う。
東京に帰ってきてからもつい京都に思いをはせてしまうくらい、充実した３日間だった。しばらく写真フォルダーを見返す日々から抜け出せそうにない。