KYOTO? An attempt to discern Japan's ancient capital

	What's this place -
	Kyoto, Japan?

	Is it a place where
	Shinto shrines bow to obscurity
	and old temples
	stretch between valleys and peaks 
	or place where cracked concrete structures 
	sprawl like gigantic fungi
	as polyester litter blows in the breeze?

	Which Kyoto has more reality -
	the one where busloads of tourists
	with cameras in hand
	stopping at select destinations
	thinking "This is Japan"
	or one where
	homeless people
	shiver at night
	hoping their tiny flasks of wine
	will give them the strength
	to transcend suffering
	for a time
	? 


Bhäraté: Stereotypical images often differ from 'reality'.

Chariya: The word 'reality' makes me cringe, but the superficial images we have of most 
         places belie their incongruous complexities.

Daiki:   (nodding) Kyoto is certainly a strange cocktail of ancient artefacts and 
         post-modern absurdities. 

===================================================================================== 
from _Pan-Asian Pulses: Poetry, Art, and Dialogs about Asia_ by T Newfields 
SUMMARY: An image of Kyoto in winter and verse about some contrasting images of this city. 
KEYWORDS: Kyoto images, Miyako, Japanese contrasts, Kyoto imagery

Author: T Newfields [Nitta Hirou / Huáng Yuèwǔ] (b. 1955) 
Begun: 2005 in Kyoto, Japan  ≜ Finished: 2017 in Izu Kogen, Japan 
Creative Commons License: Attribution. {{CC-BY-4.0}} Granted 

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TRANSLATIONS 

DEUTSCH:  http://www.tnewfields.info/de/108kyo.htm 
ESPAÑOL:  http://www.tnewfields.info/es/108kio.htm 
FRANÇAIS: http://www.tnewfields.info/fr/108kyo.htm 
NIHONGO:  http://www.tnewfields.info/jp/108kyo.htm 
ZHŌNGWÉN: http://www.tnewfields.info/jingdu-108.htm