Japan - Small Industry in Kyoto
I was surprised by how many workshops and small factories I found while exploring the back alley ways of Kyoto. My first experience with it was at a temple complex. The temples are magnificent wooden structures that are several hundred years old and very well maintained. Despite their age, wear and tear appeared to be at a minimum. They were very clean, the paint was in impeccably good shape, and I could see no hints of structural breakdown. While wandering around the premises, I found what looked to be a woodworking shop. It was about the size of a medium sized car mechanic’s shop and was lined with lumber. I spoke to the man sitting outside. “Workshop?” I asked. “Huh? No English,” he said. I pulled out my dictionary, and after finding the words for “saw”, “drill”, and “fix”, he got my point and confirmed that it was the shop used for maintaining the temples. I would have liked to see and talk about it more, but his lack of English and my lack of Japanese made for quite a barrier against communication. I continued on my way.
While walking down a road that would be considered no more than half a lane, I noticed another workshop. It was about the size of a two car garage, but deep rather than wide. In it, a man was working on traditional Japanese flooring, which is made of straw bound together at the edges in panels of something like 3 feet by 6 feet. It’s not as soft as a nice carpet, but it is quite comfortable to walk on and is significantly softer than a wood floor. “May I come in?” I asked. “OK,” he said. He showed me panels of flooring against the wall that were being pressed together. “The panels need to be put under pressure to finish them,” he said. “May I take pictures of you working?” I asked. He assented to the intrusion and I snapped away.
A little further down the road, I found another shop about double the size of the previous, full of planks of wood and a section of a tree trunk. “What is this place?” I asked. “It’s a lumber mill,” he responded. “Woah! A lumber mill in the middle of the city!” I thought. “May I look?” I asked. He nodded his assent. I stepped inside and found what looked like a section of railway with carts leading to a one story tall bandsaw. It was a fantastic photo op. I snapped away until the man who owned the shop said, “tea time,” with perhaps a hint of impatience. “Oh of course,” I said. I hoped I wasn’t keeping him, as it was already after 5pm. Then I realized he wanted me to join him for tea. Great! We had a nice, but challenging due to language difficulties, conversation over delicious tea. I told him I thought his shop would make for beautiful pictures. He disagreed. I guess I understand why. His shop is very industrial, not exactly spotless, even though it seems well taken care of. However, there is a certain beauty in that kind of place even if it’s not of the traditional variety.
I left soon after finishing the tea, and he closed the shop behind me. Once again, I hoped I hadn’t been too much of an inconvenience, but it was a pleasure to meet him and see his shop. I wonder where all the small shops like this in the US have gone.
