the CHERRY BLOSSOMS waited for me in tokyo
this seems like a good omen
the cherry blossoms only last 3 or 4 days maximum and all the weather reports called for early blooming, at least a week before my arrival but, lo and behold - there was a freak snow in tokyo and it slowed everything down! these flowering trees seem luminous to me, like the cherry blossoms are lit from within. the pink is so pale it makes the petals appear to be glowing. the effect of several trees together takes my breath away (pictures to follow). there is ecstatic revelry under the blooming trees at night, called Ohaname parties.

when i look around and try to say: what makes this japan and not any other landscape? in addition to kanji everywhere (japanese symbol writing derived from the chinese), its the ROOFLINES. the distinctive way the houses top off. maybe this is an important demarcation in any culture but im especially noticing it here. lots and lots of rooves have four slopes instead of two. almost all are finished with metallic bluegrey curvey tiles and almost all have a thick cylindrical bar that runs the length of the roofline. many of the rooves curve toward the eaves in that classic asian silhouette. smiling eaves.

of course, there is almost no writing in roman alphabet. all the signage is in KANJI or katakana or hiragana, the three alphabets. kanji are beautiful symbols that store meaning and get combined and recombined to generate composite ideas. it is generally thought that a person needs to recognize 2000 kanji in order to even be considered literate! im up to three...

our first night in tokyo, we were taken out to eat SUSHI. the experience revolutionized my concept of raw fish. i love sushi and i thought i was eating great sushi in san francisco until i tasted it at the source! WOW - i cannot tell what all the variables are (it seems like FRESH fish would be FRESH fish) but the sushi here is lightyears more delicious than any american version ive ever tasted.

and i love all the BOWING. it feels like a constant and subtle dance. i guess i dont get too much into the subservience or hierarchical issues - i just love to bow and find the gesture very satisfying. and the bowing is almost endless. i can start it off with an infinitesimal little nod on an elevator which gets answered, call and response. this can travel down from the top of the head into the neck and upper spine until there is full-blown bowing going on. of course, being an enthusiast, i see an opportunity for bowing everywhere. also, the word for thank you ARIGATO is extremely useful in almost any situation and no amount of repetition is too much.

having finished my work in tokyo (three shows and a bunch of interviews for media) and it seems to have been a resounding success (more on this soon). now i have come to KYOTO for a few days of pure tourism. i have much more to report but i much leave my little tatami room and join my hosts for some tea.

kio tsukete
mata ne,
kyoto lo