We’re slowly making our way through Shogun (2024). Tonight we watched episode 7 (of 10) with Dwight fast-forwarding through the commercials. I appreciate the show’s high production values, how it sheds light on events leading to Japan’s Edo period (in fictionalized form), and how it resists the white savior trope.
Category: Place
Coming Soon: New Mouths to Feed
Across the river from our home there’s an eagle’s nest. It was empty last year but on our walk this morning we spotted an eagle’s head peeking out. Sometimes one of the eagles swoops right past our apartment at eye level.
Simple Rigs on Stone Arch Bridge
Walked as far as I could across Stone Arch Bridge to see what was going on with the restoration. What I saw was quite low-tech: wide frames on wheels on the bridge deck supported and counterbalanced platforms that raise and lower, much like the system used by window cleaners on tall buildings. Below, a pontoon… Continue reading Simple Rigs on Stone Arch Bridge
Temple Plumbing 2024
Posted Temple Plumbing 2024 about four temples on the Shikoku 88 Pilgrimage I visited this year.
Temple Plumbing 2024
On my Shikoku 88 temple visits, I have a tradition of photographing the temizuya (purification stations). Here’s the crop from my most recent trip to Japan.
Sunday Afternoon Concert
This afternoon, a relaxed chamber music concert highlighting members of the Minnesota Orchestra in smaller ensembles. The program was a mix of old and new, with a modern socially conscious American piece by Kevin Puts, Credo (new to us), sandwiched between works by Rossini and Brahms.
Last Ride Before Repairs
During my bike ride, paused on the Stone Arch Bridge to take in this much-photographed view. Starting Monday, the bridge will undergo maintenance and repairs for the next two years, with half the bridge closed at a time.
Donki Shopping
I rarely buy souvenirs; however, I have a running joke with my oncologist about Japanese KitKats. So, here I am in a typically garish and cluttered Don Quijote (Donki), selecting boxes of uniquely flavored KitKats for the care team: Strawberry Cheesecake, Amaou Strawberry, Island Lemon, and Tamaruya Wasabi.
A Quiet Trail With a Tiny Shrine
Completed my temple and shrine quota for this trip with a visit to Kamakura, Japan’s capital from 1185 to 1333. On a hike along a fine trail in the hills above the city, I stumbled upon this tiny cave shrine. The few other hikers I encountered, nearly all Japanese and mostly older than me, seemed unfazed by the trail’s more technical sections.
Yokohama’s Foreign Hill
In Yokohama, I explored a hillside area that served as the foreigners’ section when Japan opened to the world in the 1850s. The Europeans and Americans who settled here played a vital role in Japan’s modernization. The Foreign General Cemetery offers a glimpse into these lives, like this Scottish islander who became an officer with the NYK Line (Nippon Yusen Kaisha, founded 1885).