Keeping Busy In The Floating World

Studying abroad ain’t easy, dear readers, but it’s so very very fun. As you may have noticed, I’ve been a bit too busy to post lately, for which I apologize. These past two weeks have been full of midterms, festivals, and the largest Buddha in the world.

Where to begin? I say, I do believe that Kyoto has the vapors! Someone fetch a moist towel and get Al Gore on the line about this global warming tomfoolery. It’s technically “autumn” in Kyoto, but most days it’s rather hard to tell. The weather is perpetually humid and shifts between grey, rainy days of the Morriseyan mode and being just cool enough to warrant a sweater but just warm enough to make wearing one too hot. To quote Lewis Black, this “is not weather; it’s malaria.”

Despite it all, Kyoto remains beautiful as ever, especially its myriad temples. As the leaves begin to change, their majesty increases exponentially. If you ever get the chance to come here, I highly recommend it during this time.

The gate of Nanzen-ji

Recently, I visited Nanzen-ji, a Zen Buddhist temple home to one of the largest gates in Japan, with my friend Corey and had the distinct privilege of encountering a geisha on the temple grounds. She was absolutely stunning and did not say a word to me when I asked her if I could photograph her. Rather, with a certain quiet elegance, she moved her head ever so slightly and I had my answer.

Shut up, Edward Said. She's beautiful and you know it.

Such an Orientalist moment, but, honestly who cares? I mean, look at her! But, I digress.

This past weekend,  I traveled to Nara, ancient capital of the Japanese empire and home to both the largest Buddha in the world (the Daibutsu) and friendly deer who roam the streets. Apparently my anozmia (read: I don’t have a sense of smell) worked to my benefit yet again in Nara as the deer are clearly not housebroken and, as such, do their dirty deeds right there on the streets. Take that, genetics!

Sorry, buddy, I don't have any food for you

Apart from the biscuit-hungry, street-roaming deer, there were many more impressive sights to be seen. For example, Kōfuku-ji is temple complex with a five-story pagoda located right off of the main road. Walk down a short dirt road for about a minute and a half and….BOOM!

Five stories of fun!

Majestic, right? You don’t even know the half of it until you’ve feasted your eyes upon Todai-ji, the largest wooden structure in the world and home to the world’s largest Buddha. It kind of makes America’s “world’s largest strawberry” and other inanities pale in comparison. I would say “humbling,” but I know no one in America would take note.

The exterior of Todai-ji

The craziest part of it all is that it’s only two-thirds of its original size. In a word, “mind-blowing.”

America personified in one man at Todaiji

The Daibutsu

This man was equally mind-blowing. At first, I thought he might have been the Daibutsu, but I was evidently mistaken when I tilted my head up to behold the real thing. Massive, imposing, yet strangely welcoming, the Daibutsu is truly a sight to behold. You feel tiny — both physically and metaphorically — standing next to it, but at the same time it has a calming effect. I guess that’s the point of Zen to a certain degree, yeah? Five hundred metric tons of serenity.

This Wednesday, I went to the Jidai Matsuri (“Festival of the Ages”) and the Kurama No Hi Matsuri (“Kurama Fire Festival”). My pictures are currently offloading from my camera, so please hold on to your literal and proverbial horses because I’d like to wait and post about them separately from this and in greater detail. You see, dear readers? This is called a “teaser.” It will (hopefully) inspire you to come back soon to this “study ablog” of mine.

Other than that, not much else is new with me. I’m sure I’ve forgotten something, but if so, I’ll post about it right soon. This week, I am on fall break, so I’ll be traveling to Tokyo and Nagoya, sampling the local wares, enjoying the nightlife, and eating enough delicious food to hibernate for the winter. I’ll most likely be lacking internet access for the next week or so, but I’ll try to pop into an internet cafe and update if I can. I’ll leave you with a picture of some zany street performers I saw by the Kamogawa River.

Yoga FIRE

Additionally, if you’d like a postcard, please send mail me your address at danielmcasey [at] gmail [dot] com. Once again, for you visual learners out there, my flickr has been updated with many new pictures, so please view at your leisure. Much obliged, and I hope you’re all doing well. Well then, until next time, dear readers.

the sound of a typhoon on a sunday morning

What a way to start your day

There are few things more pleasant in this world than awakening to the sound of a typhoon gently beating down upon the roof outside your window. After a string of brutally hot days, the great gods of wind and thunder Fuijin and Raijin have graciously delivered a typhoon unto the good people of Kyoto. I know that what you might be thinking — “A typhoon? That sounds serious.” — but fear not, gentle reader. It’s just a big ol’ rainstorm on a wonderfully grey Sunday morning. It almost reminds me of Boston; this summer was nothing but heat stroke-inducing days interspersed with epic thunderstorms. Actually though, this is more like what I imagine everyday would be like if I were Morrissey, except with less self-imposed celibacy and pompadours.

I made another friend in the form of an old Japanese man, though this time he didn’t speak a word. We were at the covered shopping arcade in Teramachi, a large shopping district in downtown Kyoto, and wasting some time by playing one of those crane prize games, the kind you might find at your local cinema. We played one outside of a store full of them (apparently, they’re huge in Japan) and were largely unsuccessful. After a bit, an employee came outside, opened the machine, and rearranged things so that it was tantalizing yet physically impossible to get most of the prizes. Enter the ojii-san (literally: “grandfather,” but used for old man too). We shared a laugh over what happened and then he nodded and disappeared. A moment later, he returned with a prize from one of the machines — Snoopy riding a banana (weird, I know) — and handed to me with a smile before disappearing back into the crowd. Bemused, I put it on my backpack and went about my way; I haven’t seen him since.

The Sanjūsangendō

Our history professor charged us with finding a piece of twelfth-century Kyoto, so yesterday I traveled to Shichijo with some of my erstwhile compatriots to find ourselves something worth seeing. We completely and utterly hit the jackpot by exploring the Sanjūsangendō, a Buddhist temple that was constructed by the legendary samurai leader Taira Kiyomori and home to the retired emperor Go-Shirakawa during the 1100s. Not only that, but it is also home to the 1,001 images of Kannon, the Buddhist deity of mercy, and the amazing statues of Fuijin and Raijin, the Japanese gods of wind and thunder respectively.

A sampling of the 1,001 statues of Kannon

It’s hard to describe the feeling I felt upon seeing 1,001 amazing statues of this Buddhist deity. “Breathtaking” is certainly appropriate, but somehow I feel it doesn’t do the Sanjūsangendō justice; “overwhelming,” might be a better term.

So very very tasty

Fact the first: Thursday was my birthday.

Fact the second: My host mother is an amazing cook.

Inevitable conclusion: Delicious birthday dinner.

Pictures say a thousand words, but, tell me, can you eat a picture? If not, then please know that this sashimi was the best I have ever had and lingers on in my mind even now. For those of you who don’t know, sashimi is a Japanese delicacy — small pieces of raw fish sliced very thinly. To my more conservative readers, please don’t let the “raw” part discourage you; it is absolutely delicious and probably just as safe as whatever you’re eating normally.

Also served was sekihan, a Japanese dish consisting of adzuki bean and rice that’s traditionally served on special occasions like birthdays, holidays, and weddings. Adzuki beans are one of my favorite things in the world, so I was beyond pleased when my okaa-san unveiled the rice. After dinner, we dined on cream puffs from Beard Papa’s, a Japanese cream puff chain that does dessert right. My, oh my, what a wonderful birthday dinner. I did miss having my mother’s chocolate cake, but this was a pretty good substitute.

All this talk about food has made me hungry for asagohan (breakfast), so with that I leave you, dear reader, for the sounds of rain falling and the tastes of Japanese cuisine.

Trouble is the spice of life

Large groups of college students in an unfamiliar area are a true litmus test of patience. After yesterday, mine was particularly acidic.  Before I went exploring in Teramachi, Kyoto’s preposterously large shopping district, we spent approximately an hour deciding that we should split up since we weren’t going to find a restaurant that would seat thirty people. Sixty minutes, guys?  ざんねんだね

Thankfully, a good thirty minutes of that time was spent talking to a seventy-year-old retiree named Kozo. The tiny, bespectacled man walked up to us excitedly and asked if we were Americans (good guess). Like many Japanese, he’s very interested in learning English and was eager to practice in a real life setting. He was reading John Updike’s Terrorist, but having trouble understanding it. Together, we went through various phrases that he didn’t understand and I tried my best to explain them. Explaining what “a flying fuck” was and why he shouldn’t use it in polite conversation, for example, was quite the experience. Thankfully, his zeal for learning made it a breeze. Eventually, he gave me a rundown of his personal philosophy. In a phrase, “trouble is the spice of life.” Well put, Kozo, well put.

Classes started today. Interestingly enough, everyone that used Tufts’ Japanese textbook (Genki!) was placed into the lowest level Japanese class.

Genki banzai!

If Koizumi-sensei wasn’t my favorite professor at Tufts, I would be mildly upset.  On the bright side, my Japanese professor seems like he’ll be a hoot. He’s very young and friendly and only speaks to us in Japanese, which can only help.  My Japanese Pop Culture class seems like it could be intellectually stimulating. Hopefully I can use this class as an opportunity to begin my senior thesis (the subject of which I really should finalize sometime soon), but we’ll see where the wind blows.

Note to self: Thrylla and Charybdis, great name for the next disco-influenced dance-party DJ sensation.

→ For those who are interested and didn’t see the link on the sidebar, the URL for my Flickr (where all my photos will be posted) is http://www.flickr.com/photos/29466443@N02/

Once again, let me apologize for the lack of substance in these posts. Once the shock of actually being here subsides enough for me to realize that I’m actually here, I’ll be able to use my words again like a big boy. Until then, oyasuminasai♥!