![\"\"](\"https:\/\/billmitchell.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Bike_Park_Sign.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nIf you examine the Kanji separately, the following translations are in order:<\/p>\n
\u5c0f\u4fbf means piss in English<\/p>\n
\u7981\u6b62 means prohibited in English<\/p>\n
Taken together – \u5c0f\u4fbf\u7981\u6b62 = the sign would read no urination allowed.<\/p>\n
So I am sure the City authorities don’t want people to “Do urinating in the bike park”.<\/p>\n
There are many examples where the City has translated signs to help English=speaking people but have not sufficiently grasped the English and create rather humorous results.<\/p>\n
Suffice to say I did not obey the English but did obey the Kanji.<\/p>\n
But then I thought – who the fu&* would have a wee here anyway.<\/p>\n
Peaceful places to go and think near my work and house<\/h2>\n
I like to ride my bike around lunchtimes to places that are quiet and offer insights into the traditions of Japan.<\/p>\n
One such place is the – Sh\u014dkoku-ji Temple<\/a> – that you can access of Imadegawa which runs along the Northern boundary of the Imperial Gardens.<\/p>\n It is the home of the Shokoku-ji Branch of Zen Rinzai School and when I am running through the grounds I sometimes here the monks chanting in buildings to the side of the main temple structures.<\/p>\n It was built in 1382 and is a grand structure of several buildings and gates etc.<\/p>\n One feature is the lecture hall which has been rebuilt five times due to fire mostly.<\/p>\n On the roof is the Banry\u016bzu (coiled dragon image) of around 9 metres in diameter and is there to protect the laws of Buddha.<\/p>\n But the real feature for me is the garden to the North of the main hall and one can sit on the verandah and think while staring into the greenery and rock formations.<\/p>\n One of my favourite things to do in the afternoon is to take a break from work and ride my bike over to the grounds of the Shimogamo Shrine and visit – Saruya<\/a> – which is a little tea house that serves the most delightful tea and mochi.<\/p>\n The tea is served in beautiful flying saucer cups and I finally relented after several years and bought two of them from the shop attached to the Shrine so I can sip green tea from Kyoto when I am home in these great receptacles.<\/p>\n The mochi is good too.<\/p>\n Afterwards, we ride our bikes back to work and feel happy.<\/p>\n Saruya is a wonderful little place to sit and ponder.<\/p>\n Last year, I was over at the Shimogamo Shrine grounds near my home and I saw a large gathering of rugby teams for the annual touch football games.<\/p>\n This year, I decided to go deeper and discover why they were playing at that location.<\/p>\n Some research uncovered the reasons and an interesting past.<\/p>\n There is a sub-shrine on the grounds – \u6ca2\u7530\u795e\u793e<\/a> (Sawata Shrine) – which commemorates the birthplace of rugby in the Kansei region of Western Japan (within which Kyoto is located).<\/p>\n The games are played in front of the shrine.<\/p>\n What peaked my curiosity was that earlier in the day I was running back through the forest in the grounds and saw a gathering of people obviously engaging in some sort of devotional exercise in front of the sub-shrine that I have never really stopped to examine in the past.<\/p>\n We learn that rugby started in Japan in 1910 as a result of students at Keio University forming a club.<\/p>\n They then imparted skills to students at what is now Kyoto University (then the ‘Third Higher School’ or \u65e7\u5236\u4e09\u9ad8\uff08\u73fe\u4eac\u90fd\u5927\u5b66\uff09.<\/p>\n They trained in the Tadasu no Mori forest which is within the Shimagamo Shrine grounds.<\/p>\n The monument commemorates the ‘Birthplace of the First Kick’ and the shrine is dedicated to ball sports and represents the god of rugby.<\/p>\n Rugby followers make pilgrimages to the place.<\/p>\n Each year, teams from around Japan come to the original site to play touch rugby and it is a really nice event with music on the side, good Japanese snacks and lots of rah rah and cheering.<\/p>\n The centrepiece in the sub-shrine is this large football.<\/p>\n The signs are appropriately designed to ensure the rugby uniformed devotees give devotion in the right order.<\/p>\n At Shinto shrines, a visitor can purchase an item and right their wishes and post them on a wall in the hope that the spirits will deliver the goods.<\/p>\n At the rugby sub-shrine, the tokens are appropriately shaped:<\/p>\n The national rugby team signed their jerseys and they are on display at the sub-shrine.<\/p>\n The Sh\u016bsui Tei<\/a> – is a tea house on the site of the Kujo Family residence, towards the South-West corner of the Kyoto Gyoen National Garden (a.k.a. the Imperial Gardens).<\/p>\n The – Kuj\u014d family<\/a> – are “a Japanese aristocrat kin group” belonging to the very powerful – Fujiwara clan<\/a>.<\/p>\n It takes some time to work one’s way through all this peerage stuff in Japanese history but it is interesting nonetheless.<\/p>\n The Fujiwara clan were a dominant regent family in the imperial court since the earliest documented history up until the – Meiji Restoration<\/a> – in 1868.<\/p>\n The dominance was sustained because the “family’s primary strategy for central influence was through the marrying of Fujiwara daughters to the Emperors”.<\/p>\n Go to the top when in doubt.<\/p>\n The strategy started to lose effectiveness when the – Samurai<\/a> – the warrior class became more important politically and things became a bit tense between rival lords.<\/p>\n However, there are still family links in the current Imperial household to this clan.<\/p>\n The Kuj\u014d family was one of the – Five regent houses<\/a> – for the families that held the position of – Sessh\u014d and Kampaku<\/a> – between 1252 and 1868.<\/p>\n There were advisory position and stand-in positions (if the Emperor was a child) for the Emperor and were obviously very influential.<\/p>\n The five houses arose because the Fijiwara clan split into five separate households.<\/p>\n Even though the regencies were abolished with the Meiju Restoration, the aristocracy continued as hereditary peers (Dukes) until the American got rid of them as well during the Occupation.<\/p>\n The think I like about this little building is that it was part of a grand home build at the end of the Edo period (200 years ago) and the tea house survives.<\/p>\n The tea house also served the purpose of entertaining guests who came to play – Waka<\/a> – which is a very Japanese style of poetry involving strict metre.<\/p>\n The sign below talks about the style of Waka involving 31 syllables (Misohitomoji – \u4e09\u5341\u4e00\u6587\u5b57) in a distinct pattern 5-7-5-7-7.<\/p>\n The house overlooks the Kuj\u014d Pond and Takakura Bridge, which I often cross when I am out early running through the estate.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\nSaruya – Kyoto<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nThe beginnings of rugby in Japan<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\nSh\u016bsui-tei Teahouse (\u62fe\u7fe0\u4ead)<\/h2>\n