procession part i - natural procession at arashiyama

having both read about and being told about the reknowned bamboo forest at arashiyama, i decided to spend the afternoon there and see what all the fuss was about. the journey to arashiyama was straightforward enough, but once i arrived i had to ask for directions to the forest since i couldn't understand the japanese map. the station attendant told to me follow the main road for about 500 m and then i would see the entrance to the forest on my right. it took a while to actually find it since the entrance is not clearly marked, and sort of just quietly branches off from the main road.

hang on a second, why does something naturally occurring like a forest need an artificially designated entrance?

and why is there a paved concrete path running through it, flanked on either side with 6 foot tall fences?

the forest itself is completely blocked off from public access; you are only free to experience it from the path cutting through the bamboo trees designated by... well i'm not really sure who by. yes, the view from the artificial path isn't exactly bad, but i would much rather be able to freely walk amongst them, choose my own path, and perhaps even (gasp) touch them. what's more, the paved path only extends some 4-500 metres (i estimate) up a hill, and then you arrive at the observation deck where you are presented with this view:

and then it's time to turn around and go right back down the way i came. hang on another second, LOOK AT ALL THOSE TREES! oh wait, i can't get to them. drats, time to go home then.

sure, it's a pretty view, but it still doesn't disguise the fact that the so-called "bamboo forest" seems less of a forest and more of just a mountain (hill) path with bamboo trees planted on either side. and i would dare even to say that the trees are subservient to the path itself. truly, i wonder which came first, the path or the trees?

regardless of my cynicism, the natural (but artificial) procession and repetition of the bamboo trees generates a vertical rhythm that is, for lack of a better word, quite magical:

the repetition of the slim vertical trunks creates a grill that selectively lets light in, which, coupled with the natural filigree of the canopy above, generates a beautiful, almost ephemeral, illuminance. it is easy to see the appeal of using bamboo as a structural material and/or emulating such an effect in asian architecture, such as at the entrance of our kyoto hotel:

this is the first of a two part post which will be followed up by the artificial procession of the "thousand toriis" at fushimi.