Kyoto is like a Matryoshka doll of interestingness, really.  You can’t spit in the city without hitting something with a fascinating story or a compelling appearance to it, and one of my favorite elements of  Kyoto Teramachi Sanjou no Holmes is definitely the way it ambles down the endless side paths this part of Japan offers you.  All of the best cities to visit – Kyoto, Brugge, Venice, et al – have in common that they’re wonderful places to get lost in.  And an anime that treats Kyoto as such has a huge leg up in my book.

Take, for example, Shinkyogoku.  Today’s it’s kind of Teramachi’s garish sibling, packed with tacky souvenir shops and maid cafes as a contrast to Teramachi’s antique shops and teahouses (though Teramachi also has a Toranoana and Animate).  But Shinkyogoku is actually the second-oldest shoutengai in Japan (after Nakamise in Asakusa, Tokyo).  It was once a domain of movie palaces, too.  But I was totally unaware of the “eight holy places” Kiyotaka took Aoi to – I had no idea such an urban pilgrimage existed in Shinkyogoku.  I definitely get travel ideas from this series, that’s for sure – I’ll probably do the mini-circuit (7 temples plus a Tenman shrine) when I’m in Kyoto in a couple of weeks.

Then there’s the matter of Sharaku, the mystery man of ukiyo-e.  While not necessarily associated with Kyoto he’s certainly an important figure in the appraisal world, given that his works are some of the most valuable in Japanese art.  Sharaku truly is an enigmatic figure, a painter who appeared seemingly out of nowhere and managed in 10 months to become an ageless legend with his depictions of kabuki actors, radical for their realism and vibrancy (which made them a flop at the time).  To this day no one knows for sure who Sharaku really was, and theories (including some pretty wild ones) abound.

All this ties in to another round in the Holmes-Moriarty duality that Kyoto Teramachi Sanjou no Holmes has been building up.  It’s party time again – this time the owner trying to one-up his friend Yagashira, who upstaged him with the appraisal game at his own party (the rich truly do have too much time on their hands).  Among the other delights here is a look at Kiyotaka’s room (Aoi boldly asks to see it), which is yet another Holmes parallel – Sherlock’s Baker Street abode was described as extremely cluttered (like, one assumes, his mind must have felt).  Kiyotaka designs a treasure hunt game for his grandfather’s bash, but an uninvited guest soon shows up to spoil (or perhaps enhance) the fun.

One thing is becoming very clear here – there’s a mutual obsession between Kiyotaka and Enshou, much as there was between Holmes and Moriarty.  Even a sort of affection.  Enshou solves Kiyotaka’s puzzle and spoils his party game because he’s compelled to, plain and simple.  But then, why would Kiyotaka repair – to spec – the sensu that Enshou had broken, if not compelled to?  That’s a rather fascinating one to ponder, actually, if one is inclined to try and deconstruct Kiyotaka’s psychology.  Personally, I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that Enshou is desperate to be acknowledged by Kiyotaka, and Kiyotaka longs to try and harness Enshou’s massive talent for good.

As for the other main thread, well – Akihito seems fully to be in wingman mode here, but things are still moving slowly.  Aoi’s sudden interest in looking grown-up (black coffee) is surely no coincidence, but she remains convinced that “someone like her” could never truly catch Kiyotaka’s eye in that way.  She’s wrong of course (I think) but it’s to her credit that she’s not swept along in schoolgirl fantasy as many others in her position might be.  This is headed somewhere more concrete, surely, though I suspect we have many more agreeable detours to come along the way.