A Year in Kyoto is a book by writer, scholar, and translator Lin Wenyue, in which the author records what he saw and felt during his study in Japan, showing the changing seasons and seasonal actions of Kyoto, and taking us on a journey through the beauty of Kyoto.
Before reading the main text, we will see the author's three prefaces, which also seem to bear witness to the author's mood at each publication. She said, "These words represent some of the people and things in Kyoto that I have witnessed", and the first visit to explore, the subsequent revisiting of the traces, and every warm memory seem to be connected by these words. After more than 50 years, these words still shine with their unique light, and I think that for the author, those landscapes he has seen and those footprints that have gone away have become clear at the moment of revisiting the words, and they have become more precious in the precipitation of the years.
The author has written about what he sees with his eyes and what he feels in his heart, and records the beauty of Kyoto word by word. On a dry and sunny autumn day, you can explore the history of Japan at the Shosoin Exhibition in Nara, in the late autumn when the yellow leaves of the maple trees and distant mountains reflect the distant mountains, you can experience the leisurely taste of the Oriental style at the Kyoto Tea Party, at the end of the year at the Kabuki performance in Kyoto, you can experience the traditional year-end prosperity that has lasted for more than 300 years at the Kabuki performance in Kyoto, you can experience the simplicity of Katsura Rikyu in the cold and dry winter, you can feel the beauty of nature and art in the gardens of Kyoto on the afternoon of every weekend holiday, you can feel the noise of the market in the sunshine of March in the spring, you can feel the intoxicating atmosphere brought by the dance in the warm breeze of April, and you can feel the solemnity of Karashodaiji Temple in the hot summer...... From the end of autumn to the end of summer, ten and a half months of life in Kyoto brought the author too many experiences and memories, and also gave us a deeper understanding of Kyoto.
Teacher Lin Wenyue's prose is different, not only the scenery and customs, but also the history and allusions, as if leading us into those temple pavilions and feel those customs and traditions. And in this journey, we will not feel lonely and boring at all, because along the way, there will always be someone whispering in your ear, bringing you the warmth and pleasure of traveling with friends.
We can never stop the passage of time, but the scenery of Kyoto will always remain in these words, still quaint and quiet.