Sat - October 29, 2005
Korea Pictures
I've uploaded some pictures from my Seoul trip to
my website. You can link there from here.
Looking back I can only say that my trip was an interesting experience. I was proud to be offered the opportunity to go, but I must say I had my reservations. The Koreans have a very love/hate relationship with the Japanese. From what I gathered the love seemed to be for our yen, while the hate was for the repeated invasions and destruction of cultural monuments by the Japanese throughout the centuries. A few days before our trip Prime Minister Koizumi of Japan made a controversial visit to Yasukuni Shrine (for the fifth time in five years), a shrine commemorating those who have died in war this century, including those later indicted for war crimes. As they did in previous years, Chinese and Korean leaders got angry. Fortunately there were no riots, as there have been before.
It was under these circumstances that I departed with a large group of Japanese for the Korean peninsula. Following standard practice for Japanese group travel, we tended to stay in our group at all times, whenever we went out. That was fine for everyone, but I got a little claustrophobic and slipped out a few times on my own. We tended to go to restaurants and shops where Japanese was spoken which always gave me the weird feeling that we had separate menus, food, and prices. Judging from our $1500 tab at the Korean BBQ restaurant, I would say my suspicions were correct.
One of the highlights of the trip was definitely hanging out with Toshihana and Miyobana, two Maiko-san from Kyoto who came to Korea with their teacher who played shamisen while they danced. Maiko-san is what girls between the ages of 15-20 are referred to when they are practicing the art of being a geisha. Just to straighten it out, maiko/geisha are not prostitutes, they generally entertain by dancing, singing, pouring drinks, and talking nice. It would be nearly impossible for any of us to be entertained by maiko-san or geisha in Kyoto, as you must know the right people to even make a reservation as well as fork over LOTS of money. Knowing that, it was all the more interesting that we hung out with them almost every night after dinner, drinking, talking, and singing.
Looking back I can only say that my trip was an interesting experience. I was proud to be offered the opportunity to go, but I must say I had my reservations. The Koreans have a very love/hate relationship with the Japanese. From what I gathered the love seemed to be for our yen, while the hate was for the repeated invasions and destruction of cultural monuments by the Japanese throughout the centuries. A few days before our trip Prime Minister Koizumi of Japan made a controversial visit to Yasukuni Shrine (for the fifth time in five years), a shrine commemorating those who have died in war this century, including those later indicted for war crimes. As they did in previous years, Chinese and Korean leaders got angry. Fortunately there were no riots, as there have been before.
It was under these circumstances that I departed with a large group of Japanese for the Korean peninsula. Following standard practice for Japanese group travel, we tended to stay in our group at all times, whenever we went out. That was fine for everyone, but I got a little claustrophobic and slipped out a few times on my own. We tended to go to restaurants and shops where Japanese was spoken which always gave me the weird feeling that we had separate menus, food, and prices. Judging from our $1500 tab at the Korean BBQ restaurant, I would say my suspicions were correct.
One of the highlights of the trip was definitely hanging out with Toshihana and Miyobana, two Maiko-san from Kyoto who came to Korea with their teacher who played shamisen while they danced. Maiko-san is what girls between the ages of 15-20 are referred to when they are practicing the art of being a geisha. Just to straighten it out, maiko/geisha are not prostitutes, they generally entertain by dancing, singing, pouring drinks, and talking nice. It would be nearly impossible for any of us to be entertained by maiko-san or geisha in Kyoto, as you must know the right people to even make a reservation as well as fork over LOTS of money. Knowing that, it was all the more interesting that we hung out with them almost every night after dinner, drinking, talking, and singing.
Posted at 01:52 PM
Fri - October 28, 2005
Here today, gone Tamara
Man that was fast! My friend Tamara came to visit
a couple of weeks ago and now she's back in Brooklyn already. We spent the first
week enjoying Katsuura, there was a shishimai festival going on in my friend
Tomi's town, and we were invited to that a couple of times. Due to unfortunate
timing, the second week I left for Korea and Tamara traveled to Kyoto, Koya-san,
and a small temple near Wakayama City where a friend of my tea sensei's friend
lives and works. It sounds like she had a really interesting time. We met up at
the airport when I came back fro Korea and spent the next day together, but then
she was off again, back to the US. It was nice to talk and debate with someone
who hasn't been jaded by there time here. We have spent so many hours just
talking up a storm, and everything just fell right back into place. Thanks for a
great visit!
Posted at 01:00 PM
Tue - October 25, 2005
Back from Korea
Got back last night from five days in Seoul,
though for at least half of that time it didn't feel as though I'd left Japan. I
traveled there with my liondance festival group as a representative cultural
entity from my prefecture. We were part of a larger group consisting of
representatives from different prefectures in the Kansai area promoting tourism
to our corner of Japan. Our job consisted of performing three times a day for
three days on a stage near the entrance of Lotte department store, the largest
department store in Seoul and the owner of the big luxury hotel we stayed at for
four nights. Also performing on the stage just after us were two maiko-sans
(pictured) from Kyoto who danced while their teacher played
shamisen.
When not performing we spent most of our time as a group either shopping for omiyage (gifts for those back home) or eating. Almost everywhere we went was decided ahead of time and seemed to be arranged so that as little contact with the foreign tongue was needed. I spoke Japanese practically the whole time, and didn't meet any non-Japanese Koreans until our third day! Needless to say I would have prefered different traveling conditions, but since it was all-expenses paid I couldn't complain too loudly. I did make it out on my own for a while on the third and fourth days, met some real Koreans, and had a blast.
I have many photos, and even more pictures that I will put up on another post shortly. It was really cold in Seoul and I woke up this morning with a voice like Louis Armstrong whispering. I am a bit low energy today and still haven't had a chance to go through all the photos. More to come.
When not performing we spent most of our time as a group either shopping for omiyage (gifts for those back home) or eating. Almost everywhere we went was decided ahead of time and seemed to be arranged so that as little contact with the foreign tongue was needed. I spoke Japanese practically the whole time, and didn't meet any non-Japanese Koreans until our third day! Needless to say I would have prefered different traveling conditions, but since it was all-expenses paid I couldn't complain too loudly. I did make it out on my own for a while on the third and fourth days, met some real Koreans, and had a blast.
I have many photos, and even more pictures that I will put up on another post shortly. It was really cold in Seoul and I woke up this morning with a voice like Louis Armstrong whispering. I am a bit low energy today and still haven't had a chance to go through all the photos. More to come.
Posted at 09:49 PM
Wed - October 19, 2005
Going to Korea
My friend Tamara has been here for a a week now
and we have been having a great time. However, I abandoned my host duties and
will be leaving tonight at 3am (!!!) for South Korea as part of a cultural
exchange tour. I am going as a member of the Takashiba liondance group. We will
be performing in various places in Seoul through the weekend. Back on Monday
with stories and pictures.
Posted at 10:06 PM
Mon - October 10, 2005
Ohisashiburi!
(Long time no see/post!)
We haven't changed. But it looks like you have.
Posted at 08:52 PM
Like the glasses?
Maybe it is the change in the seasons, cool
nights lingering to leave the first cool days since last winter, or maybe it is
the excess of school and national holidays, or maybe it is that after a few
months of saving pretty well I am faltering, but I have doing a lot of shopping
lately. Last week I ordered and ipod nano that should be here sometime this
week. Kyoko and I went out last week and bought a bunch of new stuff for the
apartment: a clothes hamper to keep my dirty clothes off the floor, pillow
covers, my first electric razor, and a new pair of pants. Today I bought a new
pair of glasses and a new shirt. I had been looking for new glasses for a while
and was glad to find something that I liked that fit well. My face must be
smaller or narrower than average because I always have a problem finding ones
that fit well. The Gucci frames I got today fit
great.
All that shopping isn't the only reason I have been behind on posting lately. I joined a new band a couple of weeks ago that looks to be quite a good thing once we figure out what kind of music to play. We've got a tight bass player, Ken, who seems to be able to play anything, a guitar/banjo player, Manabu, who likes rockabilly and jamband stuff, Ray, a solid drummer who likes hard rock, a blues harmonica player, Tomo, and me on the piano hoping they are into playing jazz. So far things look good as everyone is into playing all kinds of stuff, and we are working on some jazz stuff already. We have our first gig in about a month, and we have lots of work to do. I'll keep you posted.
Went to my friend Meguru's new bar/ music hall, Nieche, tonight with Kyoko and had some onion rings and Newcastle beer while watching 'The Last Waltz', Martin Scorsese's documentary of the last concert of the The Band (that I recently bought).
All that shopping isn't the only reason I have been behind on posting lately. I joined a new band a couple of weeks ago that looks to be quite a good thing once we figure out what kind of music to play. We've got a tight bass player, Ken, who seems to be able to play anything, a guitar/banjo player, Manabu, who likes rockabilly and jamband stuff, Ray, a solid drummer who likes hard rock, a blues harmonica player, Tomo, and me on the piano hoping they are into playing jazz. So far things look good as everyone is into playing all kinds of stuff, and we are working on some jazz stuff already. We have our first gig in about a month, and we have lots of work to do. I'll keep you posted.
Went to my friend Meguru's new bar/ music hall, Nieche, tonight with Kyoko and had some onion rings and Newcastle beer while watching 'The Last Waltz', Martin Scorsese's documentary of the last concert of the The Band (that I recently bought).
Posted at 08:46 PM
Wed - September 28, 2005
Undokai
Thanks to an approaching typhoon that turned away
at the last minute, Sunday was a beautiful sunny day. Perfect weather for the
sports festival held by each elementary school in Nachikatsuura. Each year I
have attended a different school's festival. This year I attended Ohta
elementary school, one of my smaller schools that is located in a large valley
with a beautiful river and many, many rice fields. Sports festival is always a
good chance to meet the parents and grandparents of students, and at smaller
schools there are many events which involve the spectators. One of the most
interesting events was a relay race in which each team had a bicycle wheel rim
and a short bamboo stick to guide the wheel rim around the track. It is a toy
that kids often played with back in the day, but not so much these days.
Accordingly, in the relay, skill increased with age. The junior high school kids
had all kinds of trouble getting the wheel around the track, while the grandpas
whizzed around, making effortless turns and winning hands down. I was on a team
of dads and we finished somewhere in the
middle.
Other events included making rope from cut rice stalks, taiko drumming, three-legged races, and many more.
Other events included making rope from cut rice stalks, taiko drumming, three-legged races, and many more.
Posted at 12:56 AM
Mon - September 19, 2005
Shishimai festival
Another year, another Liondance festival in
Takashiba, the small neighborhood of Shimosato that lies on the west bank of the
Ohta River. It's the second year I have participated in the festival, so I had a
better idea of what to expect. I also had acquired a bit more skill at the flute
during the last month or so of nightly practices, so I felt a little more
comfortable and capable
participating.
Just like last year, there was a fair amount of rain throughout the weekend, but it had little to no effect on the events, and even less on the drunken revelers. The main performance on the second day had to be moved inside, but that was no problem. The rain also meant that we got to spend more time inside people's houses, which is my favorite part of the festival. Beside the two main public shishimai performances (on the first night and the second day) the bulk of the festival is thirty-odd yukata clad men (as well as a number of children, boys and girls), charged up on sake and beer (not the kids), playing the flute, drums, and either carrying or wheeling a 250lb+ wooden shrine from one house to another in the neighborhood along a pre-arranged, but seemingly random path. Upon arriving at a house, the procession enters the house, drinks, eats, performs, drinks, eats, and then heads off to the next house. This continues for two nights and three days.
This year my friend Jeff came down from Wakayama City to get in on the action. We found a yukata to fit him, but had less luck with the footwear. It was great having him there to share in the experience (though he did spend few hours crashed out in a friend's car). He has written about his weekend and put a few pictures up on his blog.
I also have a few pictures up on my site.
One of the highlights for me was getting the playing the flute for Shinmeisha at both of our main performances this year. Shinmeisha is a song that is sung by the entire group that apparently tells a little about the history of the shrine where our shishmai festival originated, though I can't understand it at all. It is a lot easier to remember the melody than the words.
Another highlight was going to see the shishimai festival in Shimosato Tenma, another festival that happens on the same weekend in the neighborhood where Kyoko lives. Our festival ends early Sunday afternoon and Tenma has their main performance on Sunday night, so I headed over their, still reeling from the morning festivities. Upon arriving in Tenma I was greeted with open arms and overflowing cups that I tried, in vain, to refuse. After an hour or so a large contingency from Takashiba showed up to see some of the Temna festival as well. It was apparently the first time something like that had happened. In the past it was known that fights could break out if members of the other nearby festivals crossed into another nieghborhood. I had told everyone that I was going and apparently they decided they would go too. It turned out to be a very amicable meeting, no fights. The main performance in Tenma is performed inside a shrine. It was the only shishimai I had ever seen besides the one I am a member of, which was really interesting. Our shishimai is a male adult lion, and in Tenma it is a child. They played the same instruments and mostly the same tunes, but the melodies were embelished differently and the shishimai moved more playfully.
Next month I will go on a cultural exchange tour with our shishimai group to South Korea. I don't know many details yet, but I will put more up about that in later posts.
Just like last year, there was a fair amount of rain throughout the weekend, but it had little to no effect on the events, and even less on the drunken revelers. The main performance on the second day had to be moved inside, but that was no problem. The rain also meant that we got to spend more time inside people's houses, which is my favorite part of the festival. Beside the two main public shishimai performances (on the first night and the second day) the bulk of the festival is thirty-odd yukata clad men (as well as a number of children, boys and girls), charged up on sake and beer (not the kids), playing the flute, drums, and either carrying or wheeling a 250lb+ wooden shrine from one house to another in the neighborhood along a pre-arranged, but seemingly random path. Upon arriving at a house, the procession enters the house, drinks, eats, performs, drinks, eats, and then heads off to the next house. This continues for two nights and three days.
This year my friend Jeff came down from Wakayama City to get in on the action. We found a yukata to fit him, but had less luck with the footwear. It was great having him there to share in the experience (though he did spend few hours crashed out in a friend's car). He has written about his weekend and put a few pictures up on his blog.
I also have a few pictures up on my site.
One of the highlights for me was getting the playing the flute for Shinmeisha at both of our main performances this year. Shinmeisha is a song that is sung by the entire group that apparently tells a little about the history of the shrine where our shishmai festival originated, though I can't understand it at all. It is a lot easier to remember the melody than the words.
Another highlight was going to see the shishimai festival in Shimosato Tenma, another festival that happens on the same weekend in the neighborhood where Kyoko lives. Our festival ends early Sunday afternoon and Tenma has their main performance on Sunday night, so I headed over their, still reeling from the morning festivities. Upon arriving in Tenma I was greeted with open arms and overflowing cups that I tried, in vain, to refuse. After an hour or so a large contingency from Takashiba showed up to see some of the Temna festival as well. It was apparently the first time something like that had happened. In the past it was known that fights could break out if members of the other nearby festivals crossed into another nieghborhood. I had told everyone that I was going and apparently they decided they would go too. It turned out to be a very amicable meeting, no fights. The main performance in Tenma is performed inside a shrine. It was the only shishimai I had ever seen besides the one I am a member of, which was really interesting. Our shishimai is a male adult lion, and in Tenma it is a child. They played the same instruments and mostly the same tunes, but the melodies were embelished differently and the shishimai moved more playfully.
Next month I will go on a cultural exchange tour with our shishimai group to South Korea. I don't know many details yet, but I will put more up about that in later posts.
Posted at 06:50 PM
Sun - September 11, 2005
Shodo quiz
Can you guess which one was written by one of the
top calligraphy experts in Japan, and which one was written by
me?
I had a really amazing day last Sunday, when a friend of my calligraphy sensei came to visit and held a weekend workshop on 'tensho', the old style Chinese characters that evolved into the kanji used today. They look a lot more like pictures and by studying them a little you can often make sense of the current versions. Writing 'tensho' requires a different kind of technique than the precise strokes of 'sosho' that I have been writing. The beginning and end of the strokes are a lot more coarse and there is less focus on 'pretty' lines. This approach is much more suited to my right (wrong) handed style, and I fell in love with it at once. I must have written those two characters at least fifty times that day. The picture above is an early version and I managed to make a less clean version later on (mine is on the right) that Itani sensei liked, which made me very happy. He wrote another model for me to work on that I really like. I will post a picture once I make a satisfactory version of it. I also received a kanji version of my name from Itani sensei, ’仁苦’, pronounced 'niku'. The meaning of the first character is "virtue, charity" ,and the second is "hardship, worry, difficult". I am still trying to figure out what he was going for.
I have been crazy busy lately, and apologize for my sparse posts. School has started up again and I still have another week of rehearsal, every night, for the shishimai festival. Today we put up the electric lanterns throughout the neighborhood. It around quick this year. I am really looking forward to the festival this year, as I feel a little more able to contribute on the flute and taiko. I will take many pictures.
I had a really amazing day last Sunday, when a friend of my calligraphy sensei came to visit and held a weekend workshop on 'tensho', the old style Chinese characters that evolved into the kanji used today. They look a lot more like pictures and by studying them a little you can often make sense of the current versions. Writing 'tensho' requires a different kind of technique than the precise strokes of 'sosho' that I have been writing. The beginning and end of the strokes are a lot more coarse and there is less focus on 'pretty' lines. This approach is much more suited to my right (wrong) handed style, and I fell in love with it at once. I must have written those two characters at least fifty times that day. The picture above is an early version and I managed to make a less clean version later on (mine is on the right) that Itani sensei liked, which made me very happy. He wrote another model for me to work on that I really like. I will post a picture once I make a satisfactory version of it. I also received a kanji version of my name from Itani sensei, ’仁苦’, pronounced 'niku'. The meaning of the first character is "virtue, charity" ,and the second is "hardship, worry, difficult". I am still trying to figure out what he was going for.
I have been crazy busy lately, and apologize for my sparse posts. School has started up again and I still have another week of rehearsal, every night, for the shishimai festival. Today we put up the electric lanterns throughout the neighborhood. It around quick this year. I am really looking forward to the festival this year, as I feel a little more able to contribute on the flute and taiko. I will take many pictures.
Posted at 02:10 PM
Thu - September 1, 2005
Hokkaido
Spent a few wonderful days in Hokkaido last week.
I was invited by my friend Saijo, who was introduced to me by
soon-to-be-francaise Julie, to go along on a trip planned by the hiking club at
Kokawa high school where Julie was ALT. The original plan was for two full days
-and by full days I mean up at 4 am and back after nightfall- of hiking, but the
weather kept us to only one day. We took full advantage of the day we had and
traversed the majority of Daisetsu National Park, the large national park in the
center of Hokkaido, home to many peaks including Asahidake, the tallest peak in
Hokkaido. We broke into two groups and hiked in opposite directions, enabling a
one-way path along a ridge that took us to three separate
peaks.
The next day brought strong wind and rain that prevented us from hiking, but we got to do lots of sightseeing. We visited the incredibly volcanically active area around Toya Lake, the nearby hotsprings, ate lunch at an all-you-can-eat lamb restaurant, and explored Sapporo, the capital of Hokkaido.
Pictures from the trip can be seen here.
The next day brought strong wind and rain that prevented us from hiking, but we got to do lots of sightseeing. We visited the incredibly volcanically active area around Toya Lake, the nearby hotsprings, ate lunch at an all-you-can-eat lamb restaurant, and explored Sapporo, the capital of Hokkaido.
Pictures from the trip can be seen here.
Posted at 12:34 AM
Wed - August 31, 2005
Ahhhhhhh.........
I've been back from my Hokkaido trip since
Sunday, but I feel like I haven't had any time to sit back and relax until now.
Four friends of Kyoko's from when she was living in Osaka came for the weekend
and stayed at my place until Monday, I have shishimai practice every night until
the festival, which begins sept.16, and work has turned from lazy hours of
non-productivity to frantic ass-in-gear mode as school starts up again this
week. All of that has kept me on my feet for the last few days, until right now,
when I put on some music, sit down on my tatami and crack open a Kirin 'Akiaji',
a limited edition autumn beer that is only available for a few months a year.
Nevermind that is still hot as any summer I've known; I'm sitting here with a
thin veil of sweat at midnight as I write. To the Japanese, summer ends with
Obon (August 13-15), the festival of the dead, during which time the spirits of
your dead relatives return home for a few days and most everyone gets a few days
off of work to go back to their home towns and meet them. Once Obon is over
people stop going swimming at the beach, clothes stores put shorts and t-shirts
on the sale racks and unveil their long-sleeved fall selections, and 'Akiaji'
beer hits the shelves. Meanwhile, it still looks a lot like summer out
there...........
One upside to this madness is that 'Akiaji' is good, really good. And with 6% alcohol it will get you there, faster than you might expect.......
One upside to this madness is that 'Akiaji' is good, really good. And with 6% alcohol it will get you there, faster than you might expect.......
Posted at 12:28 AM
Mon - August 22, 2005
Midnight on Monday
Just back from the onsen a bit ago and am
starting to pack my bags for tomorrow's trip. I'm heading to Hokkaido with the
Iwade High School hiking club to climb a couple mountains and drink a few
Sapporos in the town that calls it a local beer. I got mixed up with this high
school club through my friend Julie, who is now in France, but who introduced me
to her hiking club leader, Saijo sensei, who then invited me on this trip. I
know little about what to expect, except that we will be hiking on two
mountains, Yoteizan and Daisetsuzan. I have been wanting a chance to go to
Hokkaido for a while now, especially in the summer, because it is much cooler,
but not freezing snow storms like in the winter. I will take lots of pictures
and post them on my return.
Spent this past weekend with Kyoko in a really old house owned by the family of a friend of mine. Located in a quiet beach town (beach just visible to the right of the house), the traditional, all-wood house is almost never used. The overgrown garden and nearby abandonded houses give it a haunted feeling that isn't helped by the many charms and bound leaves inside and outside of every entrance that there to keep ghosts away. During the day at least it was a very relaxing place. The water at the beach is at its warmest now and there were many kinds of fish to see. But it was the ones you couldn't see that you had to watch out for. I got stung a number of times by what must have been really small jellyfish. It didn't hurt much or leave a mark, but really surprised me a couple of times.
Shishimai practice has begun daily rehearsals until the festival on Sept. 16-18. I am doing my best to learn a few more flute parts this year.
Spent this past weekend with Kyoko in a really old house owned by the family of a friend of mine. Located in a quiet beach town (beach just visible to the right of the house), the traditional, all-wood house is almost never used. The overgrown garden and nearby abandonded houses give it a haunted feeling that isn't helped by the many charms and bound leaves inside and outside of every entrance that there to keep ghosts away. During the day at least it was a very relaxing place. The water at the beach is at its warmest now and there were many kinds of fish to see. But it was the ones you couldn't see that you had to watch out for. I got stung a number of times by what must have been really small jellyfish. It didn't hurt much or leave a mark, but really surprised me a couple of times.
Shishimai practice has begun daily rehearsals until the festival on Sept. 16-18. I am doing my best to learn a few more flute parts this year.
Posted at 12:26 AM
Thu - August 18, 2005
They won't miss the gokiburis
Three weeks went by just as fast, if not faster
than we imagined. This morning, after one more trip to the dojo to say goodbye
to Tomi, his father, and to do zazen, we went to the train station where they
got on the Ocean Arrow for Wakayama City and from there the airport. Around now
they should be somewhere over the Pacific, gaining a day, and arriving in Arcata
sometime earlier this afternoon.
We had a blast. I am glad that they were always up for doing new things, eating weird food ('taco' doesn't refer to a Mexican dish around here), and hanging out with just about everyone I know here. I'm glad there weren't any fights. Lots of good memories all around, Marc and Matthew will be remembered in Katsuura by many, and they are welcome back anytime.
The final version of their on-line photo album is up here.
We had a blast. I am glad that they were always up for doing new things, eating weird food ('taco' doesn't refer to a Mexican dish around here), and hanging out with just about everyone I know here. I'm glad there weren't any fights. Lots of good memories all around, Marc and Matthew will be remembered in Katsuura by many, and they are welcome back anytime.
The final version of their on-line photo album is up here.
Posted at 07:46 PM
Wed - August 17, 2005
Shodo Board #2
Welcome to the second installment of the Shodo
Board. This month once again features two guest artists, though not the same two
as last month. Marc and Matthew have gone twice now during their stay to
practice shodo with me at Harano sensei's house in Shingu. In the course of only
two weeks, sensei was more than a little pleased with their progress. Out of the
large stack of inked
和紙
(washi= Japanese paper) we chose a representative piece to mark our progress.
Matthew took to Shodo like a frog to water, quickly mastering the important
first stroke
"一"
(ichi= one). It took me months to write
"一" half
that well. Marc's contribution
"山"
(yama= mountain) is remarkable not just for it's balance, but he managed to
produce it at all in spite of it being written under the close supervision and
incomprehensible tutelage of three older women who were also practicing that day
who repeatedly adjusted his grip, posture and patience. My contribution is the
fifth of seven sheets, each containing six strokes or kanji using the basic
strokes, that I was given to work on before I can move on to more difficult
strokes. This particular piece is a corrected version that I am particularly
proud of, as there is usually significantly more orange corrective ink on the
sheets I turn in.
Marc and Matthew will be returning home with the materials needed for doing shodo back home. I hope, for everyone's sake, that they do.
Thank you for tuning in to another edition of Shodo Board. Until next time.
Marc and Matthew will be returning home with the materials needed for doing shodo back home. I hope, for everyone's sake, that they do.
Thank you for tuning in to another edition of Shodo Board. Until next time.
Posted at 05:36 PM
Fri - August 12, 2005
Leap of faith
Back from Tokyo last weekend and settled quickly
back into countryside mode; home-cooked food, toilets you can sit on, and a
daily swim in the ocean or the river. We had a great time in Tokyo, saw the
sights, enjoyed the nights, spent all our yen, and walked 'til our feet cried
"uncle" and hurried back to our capsules for the night. Some highlights were
going to the Miyazaki Hayao Ghibili Museum and going to a concert by a band of
Rebecca Lindsay's friends in Nishi-Ogikubo with a couple friends of mine who
live in Tokyo.
Earlier this week we went to a maki-zushi party at Kyoko's house, went to Shodo practice again, and last night participated in a monster-walk for kids through a mountain cemetery behind my friend's temple. Marc and Matthew were told they didn"t even have to wear masks, as they would be scary enough as it were, poping out from behind a rock or grave.
Today we went canoeing on the Kozagawa River. It was a beautiful day and the water was perfect for swimming. We found a big rock to jump off which alone makes for a successful river trip. After canoeing we ate an awesome BBQ eel restaurant along the same river. Oishi!!!! Tonight I hope we will be hanging out with some friends in Shimosato, or maybe just down to Makaroni for a beer.
Earlier this week we went to a maki-zushi party at Kyoko's house, went to Shodo practice again, and last night participated in a monster-walk for kids through a mountain cemetery behind my friend's temple. Marc and Matthew were told they didn"t even have to wear masks, as they would be scary enough as it were, poping out from behind a rock or grave.
Today we went canoeing on the Kozagawa River. It was a beautiful day and the water was perfect for swimming. We found a big rock to jump off which alone makes for a successful river trip. After canoeing we ate an awesome BBQ eel restaurant along the same river. Oishi!!!! Tonight I hope we will be hanging out with some friends in Shimosato, or maybe just down to Makaroni for a beer.
Posted at 05:08 PM
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Published On: Oct 29, 2005 01:52 PM
Published On: Oct 29, 2005 01:52 PM