English speaking guides

I have two requests regarding our next Nihon trip of 5 weeks in October-November.

We have been in Japan for several trips for several months.

1. We would very much like to spend a day with an English speaking guide with whom we can talk about modern buddhism and buddhist influence on Japanese customs. Maybe he or she can visit with us one buddhist temple or monastery, but the main objective would not be giving information about the buildings or emperors or dates or Buddha's life but the main objective would be talking together about the essence of buddhism and traces of buddhism in modern Japanese culture. Could you please find out how we can get a guide for a day who can do that? In Osaka, or in Kyoto, or in Tokyo. So, I don't mean a person who guides us through the buildings of Nara for instance, you understand.

2. Could you please find out how we can get a guide for a day who can visit a museum of traditional ancient Japanese art, so that we can talk with her or him about the principles of classical Japanese paintings, drawings, screens, wall paintings, pottery, raku etc (NOT architecture) ? It may be a guide working in a museum or any other person who knows a lot about classical Japanese art. Of course we would pay the services of these guides. I once asked for such a museum guide in the National Museum in Kyoto but they said they had no such person. Maybe I did not explain very well what I meant. Now I don't even know which organisation I would have to address.

I hope this forum can help us. Arigatogozaimas, Carl Verschuren, Holland

about (1):
i think you can ask at various temples. some of them have "buddism trials / crash courses" where you might ask those questions to monks directly. i thought there was some webpage that was organizing this, but i couldnt find it right now...

about (2):
maybe try asking at a art-university. they may send you a student or even a professor, who can answer this question...

Thank you Glimpigumpi, especially for the second idea. As far as the first possibility, in the past we hesitated to ask Buddhist monks, as we were not sure whether their information would not be too subjective. Here in Europe I would not ask a catholic priest about the influence of catholicism on modern customs or behaviour. Arigato, anyway.

Instead of asking us to do the work for you, you might want to do some searching yourself, there are a few volunteer groups who will help with the guide, and you can request for someone who has some knowledge in that area if they have any, many are locals. It's not a guarantee that you will get one, but it's a start.

Dear gms, before finally asking this Forum I did a lot, a whole lot of searches on this subject. And when I did not find the experts I am looking for, I asked this Forum. And normally I get info from friendly and polite Japanese people.

maybe try asking at a art-university. they may send you a student or even a professor, who can answer this question...
A professor who guides a random foreign tourist? I don't think do such a thing.

Apparently, you haven't mentioned about yourself search before coming to this forum, and instead of asking members to find out, should you be asking if anyone's knows if there is or have information regarding this and that. My post has been very polite, and I did give you a suggestion or at least point you to the direction to give you a head start.

Thank you all, it is clear to me that my questions were too specialized. I will delete the thread.

Maybe this thread will be deleted before my post reaches you, or maybe you know all about what I'm going to write here, but I also thought about looking for students. And I don't mean professors but university students who are majoring in Buddhism or art and can speak some basic English (or whatever languages you can speak).

It would be difficult to hire someone with professional knowledge, but someone simply willing to be engaged in a detailed conversation would be easier to find. And if you don't mind interpreters who don't know professional terms, you can hire an interpreter AND a student who doesn't speak your languages just so that you all can enjoy the conversation.

In order to do so, I wonder if you have considered contacting your local university or art college. Maybe they have contacts. I also thought about asking JNTO. They may not have the answer, but it would be great to let them know that there are visitors who are asking for these things.

Professional museum guides are also difficult to hire. But whenever there is an exhibition at a major museum, there often are dates when they offer either free guided tours or free lectures by curators (gakugei-in) about the specific exhibition, and they would accept questions at the end. You can try to find such dates and bring along an interpreter you've hired.

Similarly, I'm not sure how many monks are willing to spend a day just for you, but temples often offer activities for a random audience. Or at smaller temples, the owner monk is often happy to chat his/her registered followers (danka), so if you get to know a religious local, you may get to talk with the monk.

The following portal site is just for reference. And they also have an inquiry form.
http://wa-qoo.com/en/