Japanese Silk

I bought silk cocoons on a charming alley in Kyoto, somewhere near Adashino Nenbutsu-ji. This temple belongs to the Pure Land sect of Buddhism. At its exit starts a narrow shopping street packed with souvenir shops, where I noticed even silk cocoons.

Silk - 絹 kinu - started being harvested in Japan in the 16th century. It is widely known as being of high quality.

The cocoons are quite big. They just fit on one's finger as a thimble. It is usually forbidden to take photos at the shop windows, yet the shopkeeper was so kind to allow me to take a few shots. There are plenty of cute things exhibited there - everything creatively made of silk cocoons.

A street scene of the past, with on old rickshaw:

A cat:

Ladies coming from the rice field:

Pilgrims:

Playful monkeys:

Now, these are the silk cocoons I bought:

They seems to be excellent to massage the face as well - the ultimate facial scrub.