Category: Japan

The Good News, 3.8.2017

I once asked Mayuko and Minami (both in my fall 8 a.m. MWF Humanities class) if they had heard of Sei Shōnagon (清少納言). Of course they had!  They had read her years ago in school. …

Doctors in Hiroshima

for Amy, Charity, Neeta, Neil, Neil, and Nima Being their comrades becomes the only way we can remain true human beings. And if we would also be authentic human beings, then we already have impressive…

It’s as Simple as That

Won’t apologize for Hiroshima obliteration Won’t apologize for Indochina devastation American Exceptionalism means never having to say you’re sorry

Yoshida Kenkō, Tsurezuregusa

for Caroline   Going on a journey, whatever the destination, makes you feel suddenly awake and alive to everything. There are so many new things to see in rustic places and country villages as you wander…

Don’t Waste Your Life

Yammamoto Gempo Roshi used to say, “There is no murder worse than the killing of time.” He devoted an entire teisho to this topic, reading aloud from the crime section of the newspaper. So-and-so knifed…

Itadakimas

Itadakimas is an important word in the Japanese language. Literally, it means, “I place this over my head,” and is translated as “I humbly receive.” It is the blessing which all Japanese, from the day laborer…

Word of the Day: Gassho

Gassho is the Japanese equivalent of the Sanskrit Anjali. It is the greeting, palm to palm, found among people throughout Asia, from the Dalai Lama to the Singhalese peasant, from the Pakistani weaver to the…

Yesterday/Today

Yesterday I was reading a history of Truman’s decision to use the atomic bomb against Japan In one of the chapters The author noted  that during the war The US thought of the Japanese As…

Simple Words

Give back my father, give back my mother; Give grandpa back, grandma back; Give my sons and daughters back. Give me back myself. Give back the human race. As long as this life lasts, this…