Writers in Kyoto had its annual writing contest for a piece 300 words or less. Here is my submission! I won just by entering! I won just by writing, because it's so healing and so much fun! I am grateful to my Sensei Masasihi Nakamura for these adventures in Japanese philosophy and nature! Part of … Continue reading Birthday at Kyoto Gyoen
A good friend of mine I met when I lived in St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands introduced me by email to a friend of hers. Joan D. Stamm is the author of the new book, A Pilgrimage in Japan - The 33 Temples of Kannon. It's a fabulous read for those of us … Continue reading Heaven and Earth Really Are Flowers – Ikebana in Japan for World Peace
One of the most refreshing things about Japan I find is that there is an exaltation of the human body and it can be seen in public sculptures all across Japan.
Happy to announce that photographs of mine I took of Ise Jingu Grand Shrine in Ise, Japan have been published in Kyoto Journal magazine issue 92. Titled "Devotion" it features photographs I took, ironically on a rainy day, of the most sacred shrine in Japan that is devoted to the Japanese Sun Goddess Amaterasu. The photographs … Continue reading My Photographs of Ise Jingu Grand Shrine Published in Kyoto Journal
Earthquakes, floods, heatwave and typhoons in Japan. A summer of living dangerously!
Along with the heat of summer and rainy season, shrines all over Japan host rice-planting ceremonies to pray for a plentiful harvest. Called the Otaue Shinto Service, since ancient times, Sumiyoshi Taisha Shinto Grand Shrine here south of Osaka hosts the largest ceremony in the nation and has been designated as an Important Intangible Folk … Continue reading Otaue Shinto Rice Planting Ceremony at Sumiyoshi Taisha Shinto Shrine Celebrates Life and Farming
Sakura fever has struck. The falling petals of many cherry blossoms throughout the Kansai region have forced me outside to make pilgrimages on my bike around Osaka and else where to view these breathtaking beautiful trees. They remind me of how short life is. Most cherry blossoms have now faded and dropped their petals like snow. … Continue reading Sakura Fever at the Japan Mint in Osaka is a Transcendental Event
The awe of experiencing cherry blossoms in Japan during Sakura season is a spiritual experience.
Schizophrenics tend to live in cities, research shows. Grow up in a city and you are more likely to have psychosis, and urban life can lead to depression and anxiety. Anxiety and busy being etymologically the root word of "business," by the way. No doubt, the constant stimulation of the mind, the hurry, hurry, go-go-go … Continue reading Nature Enthralls at Osaka’s Sakuya Konohana Kan Botanical Garden
