KJ
Reviews
I
Sing the City Eclectic
Kyoto: A Cultural and Literary History
John Dougill, Oxford: Signal Books, 2005. Paperback. 242 pages.
Reviewed
by Preston Houser , in
KJ#66
Cities
are whole organisms yet most writers introduce them anatomically, by
isolating the material parts. Neighborhoods, regions, crafts, citizens,
monuments, areas — a city like Kyoto is especially prone to such
expository vivisection, which lays out the city for examination while
overlooking the culture that unites its seemingly disparate parts into
a cohesive entity. Living here, one quickly learns that Kyoto is a synergistic
city: what it has to offer the visitor and resident far exceeds the
sum of its parts. Granted, there are thousands of unknown, unexplored
nooks and crannies to be discovered; there are just as many artists
and craftspeople who maintain and develop the traditions which make
Kyoto one of the centers of the cultural universe. It takes an experienced
and devoted observer to bring the pieces we call Kyoto into a coherent
whole.
Veteran
resident John Dougill, in this timely publication, offers a peek behind
Kyoto’s glorious façade to reveal the history and workings
of a remarkable culture. He has done his homework, which amounts to
an ongoing celebration of discovery and articulation, without a moment
of drudgery — Kyoto: A Cultural and Literary History
appears to have been as much a delight to research and write as it is
to read. Luckily for us, Dougill’s often erudite prose is matched
by the infectious enthusiasm he brings to his rather complex subject.
As
a means to comprehending a complex personality, he structures his text
by assigning eleven personae to clarify Kyoto’s character —
from Kammu to Genji by way of introduction to the mysterious geisha
and not so mysterious “Japaneseness” by way of conclusion.
In between these parameters, Dougill adds generous doses of Buddhism,
Zen, Noh, the Tale of Heike as well as tea and tradition. He also identifies
a trio of unifying leaders — Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi,
and Tokugawa Ieyasu — as pivotal in defining Kyoto as we know
it today, centuries after the devastation of the Onin Wars. Many other
notable personalities, such as writers Mishima Yukio and Kawabata Yasunari,
Buddhist leaders Shinran and Ikkyu, filmmakers such as Kurosawa Akira
and Mizoguchi Kenji also enhance a textual symposium of which Dougill
is self-appointed master of ceremonies.
Kyoto
as a cultural capital defies categorization. It contains at once so
much diversity that to approach the city exclusively through any of
its figurative “gates”— temples, shrines, crafts,
history, arts, even technology — is something of a disservice
(if not, as some might argue, a profanation). Dougill has attempted
to bring the various overlapping traditions and practices which inform
many Kyoto sites simultaneously into a cohesive context. Kyoto is a
cultural house of cards: subtract one element and the whole structure
may collapse. Tea, temples, shrines, theater, film and flowers —
traditions that reinforce holistic notions of what a city can be. It’s
Kyoto’s comprehensiveness which gives the city its magic and this
book its cohesion. If, by some miracle, Kyoto were to write its own
autobiography, this is what it would likely write — a tale of
people, places and arts.
Dougill
does not attempt to provide a conclusive definition of Kyoto; on the
contrary, nearly every paragraph inevitably prompts further investigation
and response from readers, which is to say that the writer’s style
is discursive, and it’s his authorial engagement which separates
Kyoto: A Cultural and Literary History from most guides to Japan’s
ancient capital. For example, Dougill graciously acknowledges the many
writers who through their commentaries on Kyoto have influenced and
inspired him, underscoring the discursive quality which Kyoto inspires:
Donald Keene, D. T. Suzuki, Donald Richie, and Ivan Morris update Dougill’s
text as much as any historical personage.
Finally,
Dougill presents Kyoto as a palimpsest of contexts which enhances the
cultural experience of tourists and residents alike. For the reader,
his book amounts to an informal conversation with a Kyoto aficionado
seasoned by years of devotional curiosity about what makes the city
tick. Imagine having a private guide at your ear, whispering pertinent
tidbits as you traverse Kyoto’s urban grid. For the prospective
visitor and the aspiring resident, Kyoto: A Cultural and Literary
History is an indispensable stepping stone towards that distant
shore we call cultural fluency, a compact appreciation of the cultural
and historical components which inform a locale as rich as Kyoto. Perhaps
one day arts, sciences, history, and literature will be acquired cybernetically,
like Trinity in The Matrix learning to fly a helicopter. Until
then, we have Dougill’s lively treatise on Kyoto to help us along,
a painless segue towards a deeper understanding of Kyoto’s heart
and soul.
Copyright
held by the author
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