Living in a small, rural Japanese village made me stronger. It’s like this. Now, after Japan, I train American students to prepare for the culture shock they will experience while living abroad. So, in small groups, I have them throw a tennis ball around to each other with one eye closed, using their bad throwing hand. This is awesome at first. Fun. They laugh. Then I…
西国三å三観音巡礼 When I first moved to Japan, I had to google the difference between “shrines†and “temples.†If anyone had told me I would end up on a pilgrimage dedicated to Kannon, the bodhisattva of compassion, I would have said, what[the hell]’s a bodhisattva? Actually, they’re called bosatsu in Japanese, and they are traditionally those…
書写山ã®åœ“教寺 Mt. Shosha, or Shoshazan is home to the temple known as Engyo-ji, recently famous for being the on-location film site of the 2003 film The Last Samurai. It is also number 27 of the Saigoku 33 Kannon Temple Pilgrimage, and is the farthest west of those 33. Established in 966, it is one of…
MESSAGE FROM THE EDITOR Welcome to November everyone! The days are getting shorter at a stupidly fast rate (sunset at 5 – seriously?!) and nights are starting to be more than a little bit chilly. It’s pretty much the best time of year (apart from the short days, you don’t have the time to appreciate…
If you are looking for somewhere slightly off the beaten track for your momiji-viewing pleasure, how about heading out to Kougenji in Aogaki, Tamba. Access – maps and other information available on the temple’s website http://kougenji-tanba.or.jp/ (Japanese only) Photos by Clint Denison, Sasayama-shi, 2007-2012
So, it’s a typical Autumn weekend: cocktails and pastry all Friday night while chit-chatting on Facebook; sleeping in late Saturday morning to be awoken by the mid-day sun; a lazy lunch date followed by light shopping — scouting out the sales; talking with my Mom on SKYPE….. blah blah blah. But this weekend, the issue…
Delicious shitake mushrooms stuffed with tuna and spring onion. serves 4 as an appetizer or side dish 12 shitake mushrooms 150 grams fresh minced tuna (maguro) 5 spring onions (aonegi) 3 tablespoons ponzu a little black pepper a little starch (katakuriko) Cut the stems off the mushrooms. Mince the spring onions, tuna and mushroom stems….
What is your “go-to†band? Thinking about living in rural Japan during the winter months, with washi thin walls and windows, how do you find ways to get a sense of what is happening? For me, it was through music. It seems that everyone’s favorite band has the press kit – the promo photos, demo…