A plum-blossom-shaped ochazuke monaka

To end the day in Kyoto. I set a red-painted rice bowl in front of the white-tiled okudosan, the old stove, and boiled water in the iron kettle. In the tatami room, a paper lamp with the silhouette of a maiko was lit.

Rice into the bowl, then a plum-blossom-shaped monaka wafer on top, and hot water from the kettle over it. The wafer shell softened and opened, and rice crackers and other bits floated out. Would you care for some bubu-zuke?

In Kyoto, ochazuke, rice with tea or broth poured over it, is called bubu-zuke. Being offered it, they say, means "it's time you went home." Whether that is true, I can't say. In my case, I would take the words at face value and gratefully eat. Saying things gently and indirectly rather than head-on: I feel a kind of consideration in that. Sitting on a red flowered cushion, I slurped it down with a beer.

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