Shoichi Kina Speaks about U.S. Military Expansion in the Documentary ANPO

The film ANPO is a sequel to Wings of Defeat, which includes rare interviews with surviving kamikazi pilots. It portrays the movement against U.S. bases through the eyes of artists and musicians:

ANPO opens as a squadron of F-16 fighter jets thunder directly over local traffic to land on Kadena, the largest U.S. airbase in Asia. Ten miles south, the urban homes that crowd Futenma Marine Corps Air Station shake from the numbing drone of C-130 cargo planes whose novice pilots repeatedly practice “touch-and-go” take-offs and landings. The U.S. base at Futenma is one of 30 bases in Okinawa, an island that makes up only 1% of Japan’s land mass while shouldering the burden of 75% of the U.S. military installations in Japan. That presence includes over 28,000 American troops, rivaling  the number deployed to the active war zone of Afghanistan. America’s military presence was negotiated in 1951 under the terms of the lopsided U.S.-Japan Mutual Security Treaty, known in Japan as “ANPO.”  Under its provisions, American soldiers who rape Japanese women and girls are often protected from local prosecution. Prime farming lands have been confiscated from farmers to extend air force jet runways. Civilians are killed in hit-and-run accidents by drunken US servicemen with few held to account. In one particularly egregious case, a woman collecting shell casings to sell was shot in the back and killed by a US soldier who served no time for her death.

Protests by Japanese enraged by the onerous terms of the security treaty have generally been ignored by Japan’s ruling party. Yet for a brief window of time during the summer of 1960, shopkeepers, children and housewives joined a coalition of artists, farmers, students, laborers, and intellectuals in a series of massive demonstrations to block the renewal of the treaty. Tens of thousands of protestors marched on the Japanese parliament to demand an end to the unequal partnership with Washington. Among the protesters was a small cadre of Japan’s most talented artists. They used the creativity of their paintings, film, photography, manga, and music to give a powerful voice to the protests and to document the many ways in which the American military presence has intruded upon Japanese life and sovereignty.

Please spread the word about this film and post this clip on your websites!

Charles Douglas Lummis on U.S. Military Expansion @Osaka (Tues, Dec 22) @ Kyoto (Wed, Dec 23)

Charles Douglas Lummis at a book signing event

Charles Douglas Lummis, a San Francisco born, resident of Okinawa who contributed extensively to the anti-Vietnam movement in Japan has been invited to speak in Kyoto and Osaka this week about U.S. military expansion. He is prolific author, most well-known for his book Radical Democracy and for his outspokenness about his experience in the U.S. Military as noted in his self-introduction at the Oakland Table:

I entered U.C. Berkeley in 1954 on a Navy ROTC contract, and accordingly, when I graduated in 1958 I entered the U.S. Marines for three years, the third of which I spent in a military base on Okinawa. (Much of my life since then has been spent trying to figure out how I could have let such a thing happen.)

In a recent article entitled Yes We Can (But We Won't): Obama, Hatoyama, and Okinawa, Lummis writes about the resilience of Henoko and Futenma residents in opposing U.S. military bases.

Tuesday, December 23rd, Osaka: The Relocation of Futenma & Okinawa's Burden

Two Kansai organizations, the Citizens Group Against the Imposition of Bases in Okinawa and Osaka Action to Prevent the Construction of Bases in Henoko have invited Lummis to share his thoughts on the burdens that Okinawans face because of U.S. military colonization.

The event will take place at the Hirao Okinawan Kaikan which is in the heart of the vibrant Okinawan community in the Taisho ward in Osaka. This Okinawan community was born after the further amplification of Japanese colonization during the Taisho Era (1912-1925) brought economic crisis to the Ryukyu islands. This period is otherwise known as the "sotetsu jigoku," or "Cycad Hell" because the cycad was the only food that many Okinawans could find to eat at the time.

Mass starvation forced many Okinawans to migrate to Osaka in search of work in factories, although they were often turned away from employers, many of whom displayed signs on their windows stating "Ryukyuans and Koreans need not apply!" Facing ethnic discrimination and difficulties finding work, Japanese assimilation policies wreaked havoc on Okinawan culture and language. However, after ownership of the Ryukyus was transferred to Japan in the 1970s, a grassroots movement in the Taisho ward gained strength and started a housing movement to address Okinawan homelessness while the community began revitalizing its culture making the Taisho district a hub for lovers of the Okinawan festival dance Eisa.

This event on such an important issue in a region so rich in cultural survival is one not to be missed.

To get to the Hirao Okinawa Kaikan, get off the train at JR or Subway Taishou (大正) Station and then take the bus at platform 4 or 5 to Hirao (平尾)
A map in Japanese can be found on this page.

Event start: 7pm (Doors open at 6:30pm)
Entrance fee: 1000yen

For more information about the Osaka event contact the Okinawa Bunko.
Telephone: (06)6552-6709

Wednesday, December 23rd, Kyoto: U.S. Military Realignment and Okinawa

The Kyoto Organization Against the Strengthening of the Imperial System has also invited Lummis to speak in Kyoto on Wednesday, December 23rd at the Kyoto Buraku Liberation Center which is located five minutes walk on foot to the north of Kuramaguchi Station.

Event start: 1pm (Doors open at 12:30pm)
Entrance Fee: 500yen

How to Cool the Earth: Vegetables and Walking (Cool Earth Parade: Sat, Dec 12th)

"A lot of people with similar motivations to better the world all congregated in one place. I wish it would happen more often!"

What is Sam Dreskin (pictured left) referring to? The 7th Annual Kyoto Vegetarian Festival of 2009 held in Okazaki Park last October (formerly the "Veggie & Peace Festival"), an annual event to bring together:

vegetarian-, environment-, and peace-minded people from all over the country. An event for all ages, the festival gives you a place to enjoy vegetarian food and listen to music while learning about vegetarianism,the environment, and more. The Vegetarian Festival provides a place for people of all ages and nationalities to learn about a healthy lifestyle, while bringing attention to problems like the degrading environment and World Hunger.

With the goverments of the world waking-up to the realities of global warming and climate change, this year's festival focused on the following themes:

★Living a healthy life, both mentally and physically
★Respecting life, not just of humans, but of the animals with which we cohabit the world
★Realizing how pollution and food over consumption can degrade the environment
★Introducing organic retailers throughout Kyoto
★Providing a place to learn from NPOs

Over 80 different organizations, earth-friendly goods suppliers, and NPOs converged together sharing the multitude of ways in which we can fulfill the festival's ideals. Local vegetarian cuisine, including Deep Kyoto favourites Deep Kyoto favorites like Sunny Place, Falafel Garden, Mikoan, Caffe dell' Orso and Cafe Millet were cooking up a storm while masseuses from Malinka were soothed our souls with their dexterous hands.

Organic Beer from Yamaoka (left) and healist Malika(far right) from Malinka

NPOs such as Make the Rule/Kiko Network were informing the public of the need for Japan to move beyond the Kyoto Protocol and make even more drastic cuts in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in order to prevent further global warming.

Members of the Kyoto Make the Rule/Kiko Network Team selling furoshiki to raise money.

Seven activists from the Make the Rule/Kiko Network team are in Copenhagen at the Climate Conference advocating that Japan makes a law to reduce greenhouse emissions. One of the members, Mutsumi Hirooka explained:

Although Japan is obligated by the Kyoto Protocol to reduce greenhouse emissions by 6% against 1990 levels by 2007, emissions had actually increased by 8.7% . While government officials misleadingly brag about meeting the Kyoto Protocol goal in 2009 by reducing emissions by 6% in one year, the accumulative effect of the increase in GHG in the atmosphere is not taken into consideration, meaning the emissions are now 15% higher than the original target.

At present, Prime Minister Hatoyama is pledging to reduce emissions in Japan by 80% by 2050, on the condition that other countries make the same pledge to reduce emissions, increasing his pledge for emission cuts by over 65%. The highest Former Prime Minister Aso would commit to was 8%.

While the festival has come and gone, the Vegetarian Festival 2009 website provides a wealth of information for those interested in pursing a lifestyle sustainable to the environment in both English and Japanese. The meat industry wreaks havoc on the environment, 18% of greenhouse gases originating in the livestock industry. When one beef rice bowl requires over 2 tons of water to produced, versus 120 liters for a bowl of udon, the benefits to the earth of reducing meat consumption are quite obvious.

As Sam noted:

It is important that we see this as part of a daily lifestyle instead of a one day thing. The vegetarian festival inspires us to make the change by showing how easy, delicious, and full of love a vegetarian lifestyle can be.

In addition to reducing our consumption of animal products, walking is much kinder to the earth than riding around in gas guzzling automobiles. This weekend, walk a little more in solidarity with the "Cool Earth! Kyoto Action 2009” Parade. The Parade will send a message from citizens in the Kansai Area to the Climate Conference in Copenhagen taking place December 7th – 18th.

DATE: Saturday, December 12, 2009
PLACE: Kyoto City, Japan


Download English flyer here:
http://gaj.s263.xrea.com/internal/091212_flyer_eng.pdf
Download Japanese flyer here:
http://climatekyoto2009.blogspot.com/

PARADE STARTS AND ENDS AT KYOTO CITY HALL
2:00pm Gather in open air space at front entrance of Kyoto City Hall /
Rally begins
2:30pm Parade Departs
4:30pm Parade returns to Kyoto City Hall / Parade ends


Dress colorfully, bring instruments, carry a placard you made, or just
bring yourself.

Organized by:
“A Cool Earth! Kyoto Action 2009” Organizing Committee
Co-sponsored by: Kyoto Ecology Center
Supported by: Kyoto Prefecture and Kyoto City
Endorsed by: Japan Environment Exchange (JEE) Kyoto International
School and other organizations.

Details follow:
The parade will leave from Kyoto City Hall at 2:30pm, go west to
Karasuma Rd., turn south to Shijo Karasuma, turn east to Shijo
Kawaramachi, turn north, returning to Kyoto City Hall at around 4:30pm.

Join any part of the parade. Come with fun costumes, placards, musical
instruments, or just bring yourself.


Kyoto City Hall access:
Tozai Line (Kyoto municipal subway line)
Get off at: “Kyoto-shiyakusho-mae”, and you are there.

Contact information:
Kiko Network: 075-254-1011 E-mail: Kyoto@kikonet.org
Chikyu Ondanka Boshi Kyoto Network: 075-251-1001
E-mail: syodanren@mc2.seikyou.ne.jp

The Ainu Art Project meets Kyoto (Dec 1-6) and Oki Tonkori Set (Fri, Dec 4th)

"Politics" can often be a huge turn off for many people. Mastering the art of political discussion often involves access to control over media, and actions based on "realpolitik"concerns, rather than the real issues. Therefore, it is no wonder, that politics, often driven by its left hand, consumerism, many times leaves a bad taste in the mouth, breaking down vehicles of communication. Keeping that in mind, the Ainu Art Project was formed to achieve what is considered a very political objective, the survivance of Ainu culture within Japanese society, through art that inspires people, encourages communication, and leaves a positive impression that lingers in the soul.

At a lecture at the Foundation for Research and Promotion of Ainu Culture in Tokyo, Koji Yuki, one of the founders of the project, emphasized the importance of sustaining the activism of Ainu people like his father, who fought constantly against an extremely difficult situation. The project's activism, however, comes to life in a different form- art. Realizing the power of art and culture in transforming negative stereotypes in society, the Ainu Art Project offers more than just a performance for the audience, but a glimpse of life and Ainu people taking on Ainu culture in various ways through their everyday lives. He provides reggae as an powerful example of a form of music helped people through a difficult period and emerged as a status of "cool" amongst younger generations. In a Reuters interview he noted, "By using the important cultural tool of music instead of speaking to an audience from a stage, Ainu feelings can be communicated differently. I think it's very effective."

Voices has another excellent interview with Koji Yuji, where he describes that through through coming to terms with his Ainu identity, the Ainu Art Project was born:

I was born in Hokkaido as an Ainu. During my childhood, discrimination against the Ainu took many forms. So, I did not like to be Ainu at all. I left home early for Tokyo hoping to have nothing to do with the Ainu. However, I could not escape from a burning question of who I am. When I heard that the Ainu People were building "Itaomachibu", Ainu"s traditional wooden ship, I came back to Hokkaido to join. While building the ship with friends young and old, I felt at home. I was deeply grateful for learning the wisdom of our ancestors. I enjoyed picturing us going to an open sea in this special ship.

However, the ship was actually sent to a museum. I was shocked. I was deeply sad to see the ship leaving our hands without even touching the ocean of our land. Our ship became a showpiece. I felt that the ship was dead not alive. At that moment, I asked myself again, "Who am I?" My response was "I am Ainu, not dead. I am living in this modern society." I did not want our culture to become only "good and old." I did not want our identity represented as a souvenir for tourists. I really wanted to carry our voices and expressions as Ainu from our generation. In 2000, three of us who worked together building the ship formed an artist group called the Ainu Art Project.

The Ainu Art Project will be displaying woodblock prints and embroidery work at Sakaimachi Garaw, a beautifully maintained machiya in the heart of Kyoto from December 1st through 6th from 11am-19pm. Machiya are known for their distinctive long shape that facilitated the business endeavors of merchants by opening up a space to display goods in the front of the house and a place to live in the back.

Each woodblock print has a story to tell about Ainu conceptions of coexistence with nature, each story encapsulated in one powerful image. The prints are available for purchase and the one below will be welcomed into my home soon.

Although the wolf no longer exists in the lands of Japan due to the ravishes of humankind, it lives on through the voice of this woman who continues to tell the wolf's story.

The week of art, expressing the Ainu in modern society, will culminate with Ainu storytelling and a talk led by woodblock print artist and Ainu Art Project founder Koji Yuki, and a live performance by Nagane Aki on the tonkori and mukkuri, two Ainu instruments.

Reservations are required for Sunday's December 6th's performance from 3pm-4pm (Email- sakaimachi-garow@h8.dion.ne.jp).

Entry is 2500yen. Kabocha Ratashikep, a traditional Ainu dish, and Ochatsuke flavored with the fruit of the Kihada tree, the only citrus fruit native to Hokkaido.
The fruit of the Kihada (ki =yellow hada =bark) tree, used extensively in traditional medicine, cooking, and in dyeing fabrics.

On another note, Oki and his tonkori will be funkin' up Kyoto Friday night at Club Metro at 10pm.



Tickets 3000yen at the door, 2500 in advance (Ticket Pia Code = 339-170 and Lawson Code = 55616).

See you there!


- Jen Teeter

Halmoni Shares her Story- Osaka- Nov 28th/Kyoto Nov 29th

The Shogen Shukai (The Evidence Assocication) and the Kyoto division of the All-Japan organization to find a Proper Settlement for the Former Military Comfort Women invite "comfort women" from Asia to share their experiences with the people of Kansai every year. This year's guest will be survivor Ms. Kan Iltchul from Korea, who will bravely share her horrifying experience being coerced into becoming a war time "comfort woman" (ianfu) by the Japanese Imperial Army during World War II.

Ms. Kan Iltchul was born in 1928 and now lives in a small city near Seoul Korea in the "House of Nanumu (Sharing)." This house was founded in 1992 to be a safe place where former Korean "comfort women" could share their mutual experiences and support each other. Mr. Ippei Murayama, a young Japanese staff member working at the house will accompany her to Kansai. There will also be a movie screening at a different venue of My Heart Will Not Lose, a film about Sonshindo Halmoni, who was taken to China as a "comfort woman" She brought a lawsuit against the Japanese government for the atrocities committed against the "comfort women" during and around WWII.

The "comfort women" system was constructed during World War II as an explicit attempt to protect Japanese troops from venereal disease and shield women in conquered territories in Asia from rape by Japanese soldiers. The system would eventually enslave 50,000 to 200,000 women living in all parts of East Asia and Australasia to become victims of infectious disease and violence while not achieving any of the system's original objectives. Not all women sent overseas to serve the Japanese soldiers were abducted, however, once made a part of the forced prostitution system for the military, they were treated like indentured slaves based on a historical and institutional precedent marking women as second-class citizens. Towards the end of the war, "comfort women" were forced to provide free sex for kamikaze corps and to intercept telegraphs across enemy lines in the place of soldiers. Many "comfort women" were murdered because they were considered a liability or embarrassment if captured by the enemy. The Japanese government has yet to issue an official apology for the suffering that former "comfort women" faced and continue to deal with in their everyday lives.

Last year's events were haunted by the presence of extreme-right wing groups including Zaitokuka intent on disrupting the event and this year they have posted information on their website this year proclaiming "Let's pulverise the terrorists of the soul!"

Nov 28th, Sat. (Osaka)
Listen to the voices of the former "Comfort Women" and Settle the Issue in Law Now!
Host: Shogen Shukai (The Evidence Association)
● 2:00(open 1:30)～4:30pm (Japanese)
●1000yen (general)/500yen (students)/Free(all JH students and younger)
★Osaka Kitaku Center- Large Hall
Access: Right in front of JR Tenma Station, Subway Ogimachi
★In addition to the talk there will be a mini Concert by a Zainichi Duet!♪
◇Contact: 080-6185-9995
http://www.jca.apc.org/ianfu_ketsugi/index.html

Kyoto
Nov 29th, Sun.
All-Japan organization to find a Proper Settlement for the Former Military Comfort Women　（Kyoto Division)
● 2:00(open 1:30)～5:00pm (Japanese) sign language interpretation available.
● Large Meeting Room, Hitomachi Kouryuukan.
http://www.hitomachi-kyoto.jp/access.html
●500yen (general)/300yen (students)/Free(18 or younger; all HS, JH students)
●5:30pm～ Friendship meeting, at the same venue.
◇Contact:090-9981-6608
http://shogenkyoto.blog70.fc2.com/
welcomeharumoni@hotmail.com

Nov 28th, Sat and Nov 29th, Sun (Osaka)
Movie Screening: My Heart will not Lose
●11/28-7:30pm
●11/29- 11:00am
●500 yen
(proceeds will go towards the construction of a Women and War Human Rights Museum
★Day Center- Heartful Momodani (Map)

Actualize Ainu Self-determination Workshop @Kyoto Sunday, November 22nd- Featuring Kawamura Kenichi and Oki Dub Band member Kano Rumiko!

Pressured by the United Nations adoption of the Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the Japanese government is finally making a move to renew their policies about Ainu people. In deliberating these policies, it is paramount that the policies are not be decided in favor of Wajin, the majority Japanese, but rather understood as an issue of Ainu people’s self-determination. When it comes to the issues of Ainu people, shouldn’t Ainu people themselves be in charge of making decisions?

We have invited two Ainu guests from Yaunmosir (the island of Hokkaido) who have been active in various Ainu activities. We hope to learn and think deeply about the rights of indigenous people and the relationship between Japan and the Ainu people while also enjoying Ainu songs and dances.

Date: November 22^nd (Sunday)

Time: 17:30-20:00 (17:00 Open)

*There will be a dinner with the guests after the event. Please stay and socialize if you are interested.

Guest: Ainu rights advocate Mr. Sinrit-Eoripak-Ainu (Kawamura Kenichi) & Musiciaon Ms. Kano Rumiko (from the world reknowned Oki Dub Band)

SIMULTANEOUS ENGLISH TRANSLATION PROVIDED

Venue: Kazenone (7-2 Shimoyanagi-cho Tanaka Sakyo-ku Kyoto 606-8204)

Organized by Ainu-Okinawa wo Kangaeru Kai and other volunteers

Blog in Japanese: http://blog.namako.versus.jp/

email: ainu.okinawa@gmail.com

(Correspondence in English, Spanish, and Japanese. We will have a go at other languages)

Fee: 1000yen, 500yen (student discount, etc. please ask if you have special circumstances)

Below you'll find Sam Dreskin tagging the billboard displayed at Hyakumaben in front of Kyoto University.

The government has neglected to recognize the Ainu as indigenous people for years because recognizing their indigeneity means coming to terms with Japanese history, in particular, the Japanese colonization of the Ainu people and their land. This recognition comes in conflict with Japan’s desires for control over the distribution of resources, as confronting Japan’s colonial history comes part and parcel with providing apologies, compensation, and other rights.

The United Nations Declaration of Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) was adopted in 2007 and it was publicly recognized in the eyes of international society that indigenous peoples around the world are entitled to indigenous rights. The declaration marks a breakthrough since Columbus’ colonization of the Americas- a global trend to revitalize collective indigenous rights.

In accordance with these international trends and pressures, the Japanese government recognized the Ainu people as indigenous people last year. The government has created a consultative body on Ainu issues and is in the midst of drafting new policies. However, their report is by no means satisfactory; although some constructive suggestions have been made, the report does not discuss the need for an apology and compensation for Ainu people.

Before discussing each policy recommendation, we have to ask why Wajin have the right to decide the future of the Ainu people. In the consultative body, there was only one Ainu representative. If Ainu people are not allowed to make decisions about their issues by themselves, if we look away from the issue of self-determination, then can we really assure the true revitalization of their rights?

Mao Ishikawa- The people living around the U.S. Bases in Okinawa November 7-14th.

Kaze no Ne is hosting a photo exhibition of Mao Ishikawa's photographs of Okinawan islanders living around the US Bases from November 7th to November 14th.*.

Okinawawan photographer Mao Ishikawa, and author of Okinawa Soul (pictured below) is known to be one of the first female photographers to break into to the male dominated field.

According to Eyecurious:

Mao Ishikawa grew up on the islands of Okinawa, which meant a childhood where the US military was a major and unavoidable presence. Speaking about her relationship with the American military, she has said, “I have two hearts in one body,” describing her love for American soldiers and hatred of the American government.

 The 50 photos displayed at the exhibitoin, provide insight into the Okinawan self-determination movement to discontinue Futenma Airfield reconstruction plans.


At present, 75% of the funding for U.S. bases on Japanese territory comes directly from the Japanese government. This revenue would better serve Okinawan citizens if it were redirected to create a self-sufficient Okinawan economy, rather than relying on military colonization.


This exhibition marks the first time that Ishikawa's photos will be presented in Kyoto.

*Kaze no Ne is closed on the 9th and 10th.

075－721-4522

Japanese map available here. 

The event is brought to Kyoto by  Kyoto Action.

Actualize Ainu Self-Determination Event @Kyoto 11/22(Sunday)

Sunday, November 22, 2009 at Kaze no Ne
6:30pm to 8:00pm (Social dinner to follow!)
More details coming soon...

For Gaza Vol 2 @ Urbanguild in Kyoto: Friday, November 6, 2009

For Gaza Volume 2 @ UrBANGUILD

Music and politics with guest speakers, films and discussion!

7:00pm until 1:00am
(Doors open at 6:30pm)

Advance and student tickets: 1600yen
Door: 1900 yen
(Includes one drink and a raffle ticket)


(Photo: Getting down at For Gaza vol. 1, May 2009)

Proceeds go to the Japan International Volunteer Center(JVC) whose vision is to "realize a society where all people can live in harmony with each other and with nature" through "Community-based Sustainable Development; Post-Conflict Reconstruction and Reconciliation; Disaster Relief and Reconstruction; and Grass-roots Networking"

JVC's activities in Palestine include "providing nutritional, educational and cultural support for children; addressing problems that threaten peoples' lives such as the separation wall; and exploring the possibility of income generation in an impoverished economic situation. Moreover, we will try to build peace at grassroots level by analyzing and transmitting information through these activities."

For more information in English about their activities in Palestine/Occupied Palestinian Territories, click here.


FOR GAZA VOL 2 WILL FEATURE:

Inouratomoe
Fantastic Klezmer Band that will get your feet tapping.
踊らせてくれることまちがいなしのクレズマーバンド

Naked Mozart
Performance Art Meets Classical Music Improvisations on Violin
バイオリンによるクラシカルな即興音楽とパフォーマンスアートの融合

Salads In Space with Yangjah
Improvising Spacemen who cook with a Butoh inspired dancer
舞踏ダンサーYangjahとインプロ・グループSalads in Space のコラボ

Hanaarashi
Kansai Based Butoh Performance Dance Company
関西を拠点に活躍する舞踏グループ

Oh My Cow
Disco dancing pranksters and noise makers
ハチャメチャな(!?)ディスコ＆ノイズ・ミュージック

The Pumpkins
Folk Rockers
フォーク・ロックバンド

DJ AFRIphoniCAAAA
Eclectic music selection
各パフォーマンスの合間にあらゆるジャンルの音楽を提供

Address:
UrBANGUILD
tel/fax:075-212-1125
〒604-8017
京都市中京区三条東木屋町下がる材木町181
ニュー京都ビル３F

181-2 Zaimoku-cho
new-Kyoto bldg. 3F,
Kiyamachi Dori
Nakagyo-ku
Kyoto
604-8017
Japan
Click here for a map:

Here are some basic directions:

From Sanjo Dori go down Kiyamachi Dori
(This is the narrow street running alongside Takase stream
Urbanguild is on the east side (left hand side as you walk down from Sanjo) approximately 150 meters. Its on the 3rd floor of New Kyoto Building- access by elevator or stairs.