Kyoto, Japan: A Tour Through the Seasons with Dr. Gavin Campbell
In spring, we’ll take in the famed cherry blossoms, geisha dances, and cuisine that welcome the season. As summer comes, we’ll visit the great Gion Festival, now more than 1,000 years old, to explore how Kyoto people prepare for the city’s heat and humidity. In autumn, we’ll explore famous temple gardens and prepare to welcome the ancestors for the annual Obon festival. In winter, we will visit homes for New Year’s celebrations and examine the rituals and food associated with new beginnings.
Led by an expert on Kyoto culture and history, Professor Gavin Campbell, this Conversation will take us through the city’s seasonal rituals. Designed to inform curiosity as well as future travels, participants will come away with an increased appreciation for how Kyoto people celebrate the unique beauties of each season.
Eager to explore Kyoto with Context in person? Explore our Private Tours of Japan here.
Gavin received a Ph.D. in history from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and came to Kyoto in 2001. He is a Ph.D. professor of history at Doshisha University. His teaching and research revolve around Japan's cultural encounters with the West, particularly during the Edo, Meiji, Taisho and early Showa periods (1600-1940), and he has published on the history of foreign tourism and of Protestant missionaries in Japan. To further explore Japan's global cultural encounters, he is currently writing a book on the history of Japanese menswear from the 1600s through the early 20th century. He is also an expert on Kyoto geisha culture and a frequent participant in geisha entertainment.
This conversation is suitable for all ages.
90 minutes, including a 30 minute Q&A.
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This was one of the BEST Japan virtual tours that Context Travel offers guided by Dr. Gavin Campbell. He covered lots of ground with delightful slides which complimented his webinar. It was well paced which allowed for questions and feedback.
Dr Campbell's Kyoto, Japan: A Tour Through the Seasons was very interesting.
I enjoyed how he linked the culture and life of Kyoto to the changing seasons and how that had been reflected in the ancient lunar/solar calendars.
The images he showed were stunning.
Kyoto (and Japan more broadly) is definitely a destination for people with an interest in differing cultures and how the local environment has shaped them,.
Excellently prepared and thorough presentation of Kyoto through its historical calendar year.
It brought back great memories and also brought many new things about Kyoto and it’s customs to me.