Posted in Book, Religion, Writing on Jul 25th, 2008 No Comments »
In the process of reading Lafcadio Hearn (again) for my “Canon of 108 best books,” I came across this short story Hearn calls “A Fragment” (from In Ghostly Japan). It is worth quoting in full:
And it was at the hour of sunset that they came to the foot of
the mountain. There was in that place […]
Posted in Book, China, Writing on Jul 21st, 2008 No Comments »
Some of the earliest translators of Chinese and Japanese poetry into a Western language were made by poets who could not read the original sources. They knew no Chinese, no Japanese. The resulting poems have not surprisingly little to do with the originals.
Strangely enough, this is a discussion that even now sometimes flares up: should […]
Posted in Architecture, Film, Haiku, News, Sake, Web, Writing on Jun 6th, 2008 No Comments »
The Mainichi web site has recently published an interview with Murakami Haruki in five parts, about his inspiration in American literature, his translation work, his upcoming new novel, and the situation in the world: one, two, three, four, five.
Test your poetic inspiration by participating in the 12th Mainichi Haiku Contest.
The Japan Times feautures an interview […]
Posted in Book, Philosophy, Writing on Jun 1st, 2008 No Comments »
The Chinese Tang-poet Bai Juyi wrote the following tongue-in-cheek poem about the Daodejing, the Daoist wisdom book that claims that “those who know, don’t speak”:
Reading Laozi
Those who speak do not know, those who know are silent,
I heard this saying from the old gentleman.
If the old gentleman was one who knew the way,
Why did he feel […]
Posted in Book, China, Philosophy, Writing on Jun 1st, 2008 No Comments »
My ideas about what my personal canon should be have been evolving since I started to read for it. It is a personal canon, so different from a list of great world literature. I will only include books that mean a lot to me. Because of my focus on Japan and China, that will mainly […]
Posted in Book, China, Japan, Writing on May 27th, 2008 No Comments »
Whether I will make it to 1001 108 books, or get bored along the way, I do not know, but I have started reading in order to build my own “canon of great books.”
(After just two days I have lowered my target from 1,001 to 108 - 108 is a Buddhist number and a safer […]
Posted in Food, Philosophy, Sake, Writing on May 27th, 2008 1 Comment »
In previous posts about Japanese cuisine and sake-making I have talked about the obsession with ultimate quality in cooking (and in cutting, which is very important in Asian cuisine as the diners themselves do not have a knife!), as well as of sake brewing as a handicraft that in the end is practiced on a […]
Posted in Web, Writing on May 26th, 2008 No Comments »
This weekend, I happened to come across a NY Times review called “1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die” by Peter Boxall. The reason I bring it up here, is that this list is unbelievably and unashamedly Anglo-centered (including the U.S.) - it is not even a list of great Western literature, let alone […]
Posted in Book, Japan, Writing on May 22nd, 2008 No Comments »
Japanese popular culture is “cool” and for the first time in history, mass fiction is riding along on the high wave of manga popularity.
Although Nobel Prize winner Oe Kenzaburo is sadly lingering in the shadows, with too many important novels still going untranslated, today more popular fiction is being translated than ever before. Long established […]
Posted in Travel, Web, Writing on May 19th, 2008 1 Comment »
In Neomarxisme, Daniel Morales writes expertly about a neglected collection of short stories by Murakami Haruki (”Dead Heat on a Merry-go-round”) from the mid-eighties and its pivotal importance in understanding Murakami.
“He who would travel happily must travel light,” said Antoine de Saint Exupéry. His maxim has been translated into practical advice in this post […]
Posted in Festivals, Japan, Nature, Writing on Mar 24th, 2008 No Comments »
Look here for a sakura (cherry blossom) timetable!
As spring finally draws near, the first warm days bring a certain giddiness. And expectation. The great “sakura (cherry blossom) wave” is about to roll over our heads, enveloping us in its pinkish extremeties… sake and sakura, what better combination could there be?
[Sakura. Photo © Ad Blankestijn]
The sakura […]
Posted in Nature, Photography, Religion, Writing on Mar 12th, 2008 2 Comments »
The lotus is my favorite flower and although the ponds are still empty in this early season, I happened to come across these lotus pictures when reorganizing my slides last weekend. They were taken in Hokongoin Temple in Kyoto, which boasts a fabulous lotus pond in summer.
[Lotus (Hokongoin Temple, Kyoto). Photo by Ad Blankestijn]
I […]
Posted in History, Kyoto, Temples, Writing on Feb 16th, 2008 1 Comment »
Sei Shonagon is in the first place famous for her Pillow Book, but she did also write poetry and was even counted among the “Late Classical Thirty-Six Poetic Immortals.”
One of her poems has been included in the Hyakunin Isshu collection - it is a piece that demonstrates her quick wit, something that was expected […]
Posted in Culture, History, Japan, Writing on Jan 19th, 2008 No Comments »
Which royal house in the world is interested in poetry? Which royals can even write poems themselves?
When the royals of this world are in the news, it is seldom for literary activities. No, they have been drunk, promiscuous, gambling… you name it. Of course there is a bias in the press for scandals, but […]
Posted in Kyoto, Temples, Writing on Jan 7th, 2008 No Comments »
The Shimogamo Shrine has Kamo no Chomei as famous resident poet, but also the Kamigamo Shrine with its deep forest and clear streams often was the subject of poetic effusions in former times.
In the grounds stands a monument to Poem No 98 of the Hyakunin Isshu anthology that is situated here in the rustling woods, […]
Posted in Travel, Writing on Dec 28th, 2007 No Comments »
The other day, passing Mt Fuji, I saw traces of the first snow near the summit of the mighty mountain. Interestingly, the Fuji was covered in clouds and only the top, in an incredibly high position in the sky where you would never expect a mountain to be, was visible.
It reminded me of one of […]
Posted in Religion, Writing on Nov 23rd, 2007 No Comments »
Gojo-dori, one of the most eye-sore heavy-traffic arteries of Kyoto, is not exactly a place where you would expect to find a poem. On an ugly wall behind which lies a small graveyard, Jodo temple Sainenji has put up a board with a beautiful poem by its founder Honen:
[Photo © Ad Blankestijn]
Though the moon […]
Posted in Writing on Nov 15th, 2007 1 Comment »
Every year now there is speculation whether Japan will receive its third Nobel Prize for Literature, and this year, again, it did not happen - the prize went to Doris Lessing.
The Japanese author everyone expects to get it is of course Murakami Haruki, certainly the most translated and also the most popular of all modern […]
Posted in Museums, Writing on Oct 21st, 2007 No Comments »
The house Tanizaki lived in for the longest period during his sojourn in the Kansai, was a house he called “Isho-an” in what is now Uozaki in Kobe. Although it has been moved 150 meters from its original location due to the extension of a road (it stood at the bank of the Sumiyoshi River), it […]
Posted in Museums, Writing on Oct 13th, 2007 No Comments »
After the great Tokyo earthquake of 1923, “Edokko” Tanizaki Junichiro, Japan’s foremost 20th century author, moved to the Kansai. Fear of another quake and despair at a quick recovery of the metropolis were certainly factors, but in his literary work Tanizaki also was reaching a stage of maturity where he reached out to Japan’s tradition […]
Posted in Travel, Writing on May 2nd, 2007 3 Comments »
One of the weirdest Shinkansen stations is without a doubt Shinkobe. The station building hangs on the side of Mt Rokko, above the city, with only a green mountain at the back. The trains arrive and depart via long tunnels bored in that same mountain. Right under the station a river comes cascading down the […]
Posted in Art, News, Writing on Mar 17th, 2007 No Comments »
Earlier this month the Akutagawa Prize for new writers of literary fiction was awarded to Aoyama Nanae for Being Alone. Here she is interviewed by the Japan Times (registration required).
While art markets worldwide are soaring (and in Asia the Chinese one is setting new records), Japan’s restrictive and rather traditional market is not sharing in […]
Posted in Web, Writing on Mar 6th, 2007 No Comments »
2001 Waka for Japan 2001 is an extensive collection of classical waka poems from major anthologies, such as the Manyoshu, Kokinshu and Shinkokinshu. Besides the translation, a romanized version as well as the original Japanese are included. Brief introductions are provided; in a separate section you will also find information on the poets and some […]
Posted in Kyoto, Writing on Mar 5th, 2007 No Comments »
During my New Year visit (hatsumode) to the Shimogamo Shrine in Kyoto, I also walked into a sort of sub-shrine, that stands to the side at the beginning of the path leading to the main shrine. It is neglected by most people, for me it was also the first time to visit.
Aptly called Kawai Jinja, […]
Posted in Writing on Feb 23rd, 2007 No Comments »
The great Japan scholar Donald Keene does not need an introduction to readers of this blog, as anyone even slightly interested in Japan is bound to have come across his many translations of Japanese literature, new ( for example, After the Banquet and Thirst for Love by Mishima) and traditional (Essays in Idleness, The Narrow […]
