I have chosen Kyo bijin -- which means Kyoto beauty -- as the theme of this column's first installment. Some of you might already be thinking I'm sexist before continuing any further. But I hope you can be a little patient, and read on.
To understand Kyoto is to understand its history. The term Kyo bijin appeared in Japan during the Edo period (1603-1867), according to Shoichi Inoue, a professor of the International Research Center for Japanese Studies.
In that long, peaceful period -- a rarity for the world -- people invented various games. Mitate banzuke, in which all manner of things could be ranked on a chart -- is but one example. These printed charts imitated sumo ranking charts and were for judging the best of a variety of things and affairs: delicious restaurants, skilled artists, noted places to visit, the medical benefits of hot springs in different regions, cute female workers at teahouses, and so on.
Japanese like ranking things very much. Even if candidates are scarce, they will still determine the Nihon sandai, meaning Japan's top three: the top three views, festivals, castles, beautiful women, and so on.
The Nihon sandai bijin comprises Kyo bijin, Akita bijin and Hakata bijin.
The top three views have been popular travel destinations. The top three festivals have also attracted many spectators. In the Edo period, Kyoto drew travelers who probably came to see the beautiful women and many beautiful views. Japan, at that time, was experiencing an unprecedented travel boom.
But why were the women from those areas recognized as the most beautiful?
Each of the areas has its own reasons. Women from Akita in the north of the country have very fair skin, considered by Japanese to be a prerequisite for being beautiful.
Hakata, a city in northern Kyushu, once prospered as an international port, meaning many exotically beautiful women could be found there.
And some say Kyoto, which was the capital of Japan for a long time, brought together beautiful women from all the regions.
Who called these beautiful women to Kyoto? The Imperial court.
Sultans in Arabia or kings in Europe might have called beautiful women to their palaces. In Japan, though, a law stipulated it. Yoro Ritsuryo was a basic legal code enforced in 757, requiring gunji local administrative officials to select beautiful girls from among their own sisters and daughters and present them to the Imperial palace.
The girls, called uneme, took care of the emperor. Some of them gave birth to emperors' children.
Although ritsuryo -- an ancient legal system -- gradually became a mere formality, it continued until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. After its abolishment, Tokyo replaced Kyoto as the capital.
If you want to look for the most beautiful women throughout Japan's long history, Ono no Komachi is a good place to start. Komachi was a female poet in the court of Kyoto in the ninth century. Where she was from is uncertain. Some say Akita; some say Kyoto. She is at the center of many romantic legends, such as the story of a young aristocrat who was so desperately in love with her that it ultimately killed him.
In fact, Komachi's facial features are also unknown. Many portraits depict her from behind -- stirring people's imaginations and leading many to believe she was an exquisitely beautiful woman.
It is the things that are unseen that have created the history and culture of Kyoto.
* * *
This column, which appears once a month, is about various aspects of the culture of Kyoto.
Mori was born and raised in Kyoto. He has 30 years of experience in reporting about Kyoto culture. He has extensively covered scholars of the New Kyoto school, the heads of tea ceremony and flower arrangement schools, as well as maiko in the Gion area of the city.
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
