Friday, April 25, 2008
Kiyomizudera
My father was in Japan fifteen years ago and I asked him what his favorite temples are in Kyoto. After looking it up to refresh his memory, he told me Kiyomizudera was his favorite. (If I can remember that name fifteen years from now, or even remember enough to find it on the internet, I will be impressed with myself, as I am with him!)
The last morning I ran to Kiyomizudera and took a cab back. I learned that morning that a wooden structure high on a hill at 7 a.m. on Monday, offers a more tranquil experience (to say the least) than the ostentatious Kinkakuji (“Golden Temple”), which is smack-dab in the middle of the tourist track.
On the way up (after seeing the first Japanese jogger I had seen, making me feel a teeny-bit less odd), I heard chanting. As I came closer the chanting of monks became more audible and the temple appeared. I couldn’t see the monks but I stopped running to lean my head against a large stone gate at the entrance and let the music soothe me…
…and back to Japanese pop on my Ipod. (Morning Musume, a group of 17 members with questionable talent, in case you want to download some J-pop.)
Uphill again. I must run toward the goal and work hard for it and then I will slow down once inside. They made us do it at Saihoji and it worked.
I was on my way down when I saw a small uphill pathway to my left. More hills? Well, is it worth it? What does the sign say? Nothing I can understand. Well, maybe there are plum blossoms there and I must work to get them. There were no plum blossoms but rather a wooden pagoda at the end of the pathway – perfectly stunning and well worth the trek.
And for dessert? A drink from the waterfall of pure water.
Background on Kiyomizudera:
The main hall of this wooden temple complex is notable for its vast veranda, supported by hundreds of wooden pillars.
It was built in 780 and still functions as a temple for the Hosso sect. The present buildings date back to 1633 and Kiyomizudera was named an UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994.
Visitors from the sacred water of Kiyomizudera, which is believed to bring health, longevity, good fortune, and success in studies. It has been said, since the Edo Period, that if one were to survive jumping from the terrace at Kiyomizudera, his wish would be granted. The lush vegetation below may cushion from the 13-meter fall, however, from the 234 jumps recorded during the Edo Period, 85% survived. The Japanese saying to “jump off the stage at Kiyomizu” is equivalent to the English to “take the plunge.”
The last morning I ran to Kiyomizudera and took a cab back. I learned that morning that a wooden structure high on a hill at 7 a.m. on Monday, offers a more tranquil experience (to say the least) than the ostentatious Kinkakuji (“Golden Temple”), which is smack-dab in the middle of the tourist track.
On the way up (after seeing the first Japanese jogger I had seen, making me feel a teeny-bit less odd), I heard chanting. As I came closer the chanting of monks became more audible and the temple appeared. I couldn’t see the monks but I stopped running to lean my head against a large stone gate at the entrance and let the music soothe me…
…and back to Japanese pop on my Ipod. (Morning Musume, a group of 17 members with questionable talent, in case you want to download some J-pop.)
Uphill again. I must run toward the goal and work hard for it and then I will slow down once inside. They made us do it at Saihoji and it worked.
I was on my way down when I saw a small uphill pathway to my left. More hills? Well, is it worth it? What does the sign say? Nothing I can understand. Well, maybe there are plum blossoms there and I must work to get them. There were no plum blossoms but rather a wooden pagoda at the end of the pathway – perfectly stunning and well worth the trek.
And for dessert? A drink from the waterfall of pure water.
Background on Kiyomizudera:
The main hall of this wooden temple complex is notable for its vast veranda, supported by hundreds of wooden pillars.
It was built in 780 and still functions as a temple for the Hosso sect. The present buildings date back to 1633 and Kiyomizudera was named an UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994.
Visitors from the sacred water of Kiyomizudera, which is believed to bring health, longevity, good fortune, and success in studies. It has been said, since the Edo Period, that if one were to survive jumping from the terrace at Kiyomizudera, his wish would be granted. The lush vegetation below may cushion from the 13-meter fall, however, from the 234 jumps recorded during the Edo Period, 85% survived. The Japanese saying to “jump off the stage at Kiyomizu” is equivalent to the English to “take the plunge.”
In Japan…
In Japan…
…the elevators will close on you even if you have your whole body in the doorway!
Likewise, the bullet train doors may close on you, if the bullet-train-staff doesn’t push you inside the train first.
…it is Halloween everyday. Just kidding, but there are so many professions that take their uniforms very seriously. Think, taxi driver in full bellman-like suit and white gloves. Firemen outfits that must weigh 50 pounds with all their gadgets and pockets. Garbage women in the train station with pink tops, white pants, pink hats, carrying pink garbage bags.
…you will receive a coffee “to-go” with a sticker placed over the mouth hole and the cup put inside of a bag with another sticker to seal it. The Japanese do not eat on the go. Nor do they walk and smoke. Nor are there any garbage cans, because if you’re not eating while you walk, then you won’t be creating trash.
Consequently, the streets are very clean. I am not clear on the laws for littering, but I am sure that it’s not illegal to walk and eat. However, the Japanese seem to feel a responsibility over space. They use the city streets so they keep them clean. Highways, where trash is more hidden from the pedestrian, are filled with litter. If there is responsibility over space, it’s immaculate. If there’s questionable responsibility, it’s not always clean. Beaches are not clean at all. Hotel beaches are very clean.
…macaroni and cheese (which was part of the Japanese section of the breakfast buffet) is delicious.
…there are many Italian and Chinese restaurants but “almost no genuine Italian or Chinese food. Ingredients are altered and watered down, and there is even a brand of olive oil which bears the label ‘specially reconstituted for Japanese taste.’” (from airplane magazine)
…hot dogs, french fries, and even takoyaki come out of vending machines. Still, they don’t eat on the go.
…there are buttons all over the toilet, which when pressed may shoot water up in an unknown direction, and most toilet seats heat up. Also, there is a heating system in most hotel bathroom mirrors that stops them from fogging up when you shower.
…there is even emphasis on Japanese syllables. For instance, Hiroshima should not be said with an emphasis on the –ro, nor on the –shi.
…a Japanese woman said I look Indian. Well, my last trip was to India. Maybe on my next trip I will look Japanese.
…“do as the Japanese do.”
…the elevators will close on you even if you have your whole body in the doorway!
Likewise, the bullet train doors may close on you, if the bullet-train-staff doesn’t push you inside the train first.
…it is Halloween everyday. Just kidding, but there are so many professions that take their uniforms very seriously. Think, taxi driver in full bellman-like suit and white gloves. Firemen outfits that must weigh 50 pounds with all their gadgets and pockets. Garbage women in the train station with pink tops, white pants, pink hats, carrying pink garbage bags.
…you will receive a coffee “to-go” with a sticker placed over the mouth hole and the cup put inside of a bag with another sticker to seal it. The Japanese do not eat on the go. Nor do they walk and smoke. Nor are there any garbage cans, because if you’re not eating while you walk, then you won’t be creating trash.
Consequently, the streets are very clean. I am not clear on the laws for littering, but I am sure that it’s not illegal to walk and eat. However, the Japanese seem to feel a responsibility over space. They use the city streets so they keep them clean. Highways, where trash is more hidden from the pedestrian, are filled with litter. If there is responsibility over space, it’s immaculate. If there’s questionable responsibility, it’s not always clean. Beaches are not clean at all. Hotel beaches are very clean.
…macaroni and cheese (which was part of the Japanese section of the breakfast buffet) is delicious.
…there are many Italian and Chinese restaurants but “almost no genuine Italian or Chinese food. Ingredients are altered and watered down, and there is even a brand of olive oil which bears the label ‘specially reconstituted for Japanese taste.’” (from airplane magazine)
…hot dogs, french fries, and even takoyaki come out of vending machines. Still, they don’t eat on the go.
…there are buttons all over the toilet, which when pressed may shoot water up in an unknown direction, and most toilet seats heat up. Also, there is a heating system in most hotel bathroom mirrors that stops them from fogging up when you shower.
…there is even emphasis on Japanese syllables. For instance, Hiroshima should not be said with an emphasis on the –ro, nor on the –shi.
…a Japanese woman said I look Indian. Well, my last trip was to India. Maybe on my next trip I will look Japanese.
…“do as the Japanese do.”
aesthetically-pleasing or incredibly disorienting
Pumpkin, by Yayoi Kusama
and sunset from Benesse House, Naoshima Island
Japanese modern artists have been very imaginative.
The person who goes to a modern art museum and says over and over “I could do that” wants art to be representative and pictorial, which is fine. There is another kind of art. One that encourages conversation and contemplation, oftentimes about what art is and who we are. The Chichu Art Museum on Naoshima Island has art in places and ways you least expect, demanding from us to wonder if we are happy when we are disoriented. When art and architecture do not do what we expect them to do.
The architecture and nature of this island work together to make an individual constantly question where they are among it. While architecture traditionally serves as protection from nature, here it serves as the medium through which we experience nature. Similarly, the art - which can be inside or outside, aesthetically pleasing or incredibly disorienting - encourages us to allow ourselves to be disoriented and have fun with it. As our study leader Angus said, “This place is about play. It reassures you that you don’t have to take art too seriously. Let’s move on. Let us use Japan to move on.”
Japanese modern artists have been very imaginative.
The person who goes to a modern art museum and says over and over “I could do that” wants art to be representative and pictorial, which is fine. There is another kind of art. One that encourages conversation and contemplation, oftentimes about what art is and who we are. The Chichu Art Museum on Naoshima Island has art in places and ways you least expect, demanding from us to wonder if we are happy when we are disoriented. When art and architecture do not do what we expect them to do.
The architecture and nature of this island work together to make an individual constantly question where they are among it. While architecture traditionally serves as protection from nature, here it serves as the medium through which we experience nature. Similarly, the art - which can be inside or outside, aesthetically pleasing or incredibly disorienting - encourages us to allow ourselves to be disoriented and have fun with it. As our study leader Angus said, “This place is about play. It reassures you that you don’t have to take art too seriously. Let’s move on. Let us use Japan to move on.”
And in the words of the modern artist Man Ray: "I have been accused of being a joker. But the most successful art to me involves humor." (Undated interview, circa 1970s; published in Man Ray: Photographer, 1981.)
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Classmate looking for a bone marrow donor
A classmate at Oxy and a wonderful person (and 6,000 others in the U.S. at any given time) is looking for a bone marrow donor.
http://ericamurray.blogspot.com/
http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/media?id=6058314
You can look for drives by zip code here: http://www.marrow.org/HELP/Join_the_Donor_Registry/Join_in_Person/index.html
Registering is incredibly easy - just a cotton swab in the mouth and it puts you in the registry. When someone like Erica needs a donor, they will search the registry to try to find a match. The fact that she may not find a match is heartbreaking. There are a lot of people in the registry, but it is such a small percentage of our country. In my opinion, everyone should be in it. If you are called, even years later, you should be committed to donating your bone marrow, so I shouldn't pretend it isn't a commitment, but if you read Erica's blog, you will be convinced that donating would be a small price to pay for being able to save someone's life.
People of mixed ethnic backgrounds are especially needed (Erica is half Chinese, half Caucasian): Because tissue types are inherited, patients are more likely to match someone from their own race or ethnicity. Adding more donors and cord blood units from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds to the NMDP Registry increases the likelihood that all patients will find the match they need.
http://ericamurray.blogspot.com/
http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/media?id=6058314
You can look for drives by zip code here: http://www.marrow.org/HELP/Join_the_Donor_Registry/Join_in_Person/index.html
Registering is incredibly easy - just a cotton swab in the mouth and it puts you in the registry. When someone like Erica needs a donor, they will search the registry to try to find a match. The fact that she may not find a match is heartbreaking. There are a lot of people in the registry, but it is such a small percentage of our country. In my opinion, everyone should be in it. If you are called, even years later, you should be committed to donating your bone marrow, so I shouldn't pretend it isn't a commitment, but if you read Erica's blog, you will be convinced that donating would be a small price to pay for being able to save someone's life.
People of mixed ethnic backgrounds are especially needed (Erica is half Chinese, half Caucasian): Because tissue types are inherited, patients are more likely to match someone from their own race or ethnicity. Adding more donors and cord blood units from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds to the NMDP Registry increases the likelihood that all patients will find the match they need.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
An attempt at writing
Japan was wonderful and I have been having a very hard time putting it into words. Why was it that India prompted countless thoughts while Japan leaves me tongue-tied?
I have to let it soak in, I suppose. As Adam advised when I returned from India - you must give your travels the reflection time they deserve. To pay honor to the experience. Perhaps after some time I will be able to write more.
Until then, I will try a haiku! Only 17 syllables, that shouldn't be too hard. Right?
At times do follow
Pick the plums or kindly wait?
You will be taken
Haha! Nice try...
Ogenki de (Keep well)
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
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