Tokyo, Japan Reading a academic article today, I came across this poem by Retired Emperor Go-toba written when his loyal courtier Fujiwara no Ietaka was about to leave the island where Go-toba was exiled.
Edited on January 31, 2022.
Yokohama, Japan Today, May 5 or 5/5, is Children’s Day, one of the string of national holidays this week. These holidays are collectively known as Golden Week, which doesn’t mean much to me, because my academic work doesn’t end, but it’s really nice to see people enjoying themselves at the neighborhood park or among the crowds in Shibuya, where I ran errands yesterday.
I didn’t realize until I looked it up just now that today is called Children’s Day and is supposed to be for both genders as of 1948. I thought that strange, because I somehow thought it was Boys’ Day, considering the images of Kintaro (the golden boy) and kabuto (samurai helmets) that contrast with the dolls of Girl’s Day, celebrated on March 3 or 3/3. Politicians can change the name, but they can’t change traditional festivals, I guess. It’s just unfortunate that in effect, “children” means boys today. I’m all for the boys having a festival, but call it what it is!
Lightly edited on January 31, 2022.
Yokohama, Japan At the end of last summer, which ended in late September for me on the Japanese academic calendar, I realized I had not taken advantage of my free time and decided to leave the Tokyo metropolis on a little trip. Photographs by a friend of mine who had been to Kumano earlier in the year had caught my fancy, and combined with the significance of Kumano as a pilgrimage destination in the Japanese middle ages, I thought it a suitable place to go.
I went for a total of two nights, staying at an onsen resort on an off-season, no-meals attached rate. The complex was in a small valley surrounded by greenery, which was a beautiful respite after a hot summer in the city. The day I arrived, the weather was rainy, and the forests and mountains were interwoven with low clouds that snaked through valleys and between trees like dragons.
Lightly edited on January 31, 2022.
Tokyo, Japan It rained today, but I had a strong urge to get out and do something, so I went to the Nezu Museum for the last day of an exhibition that included Ogata Kōrin’s pair of folding screens depicting irises (kakitsubatazu).
The museum is located in Omotesandō, an area where many upscale fashion designers have elaborate boutiques, and yet the Nezu Museum itself bridges contemporary design and tradition. It’s main building was recently rebuilt in metal and glass. Yet its vast tile roof, deep eves, and dim lighting are reminiscent of traditional Japanese architecture.
Behind the museum gallery, the large traditional garden has four tea houses, all of which were in use today by women in gorgeous kimono ostensibly engaged in private tea ceremonies within the clay walls, paper covered windows, and thatched roofs.
Lightly edited on January 31, 2022.
Yokohama, Japan Let me begin with a story:
A long time ago in China, King Xiang of Zhou proceeded to the Cloud Dream Pavilion accompanied by the poet Song Yu. Beholding the peak of Gaotang, they saw a single cloud billow and rise straight up, suddenly changing and shifting within a short time.
The king asked Song, “What kind of spirit is this?”
“That is called the morning cloud,” said Song.
“What is the morning could?”
Song explained:
Sleeping Mountains