Japan Trip 2008 Post Script

My trip to Japan has been over for a while but there are a few loose ends to tie up. It’s funny how this trip seemed to complete most of my Japan dreams. It’s almost as if it will be my last trip. My manager says different, but I am really not sure. The only thing left for me is to take Blondie to Okinawa where she was born. Now, I know my children will protest, because they want to go as well and I certainly want to show them around. It would be great fun. However, I am not sure I can do that and retire. It will take the same amount of funds. (no, really it will!)

Personally, though, I have always wanted to go to Kyoto and see the Golden Pavilion or Kinkakuji. I have heard so much about it and Kyoto in general, that when the opportunity presented itself, I had to take it. Kinkakuji is is a Zen temple formally known as Rokuonji.

In 1397 construction started on the Golden Pavilion as part of a new residence for the retired shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu. Kinkakuji was converted into a Zen temple after Yoshimitsu's death in 1408. The Golden Pavilion functions as shariden, housing sacred relics of the Buddha and is covered in gold leaf. The present building dates from 1955 as the pavilion was burnt by a fanatic monk in 1950.

Fanatics! I can’t believe that people will destroy beauty and peace for nothing! Moderation and care in all things. From English football fans to jihadists, it’s the same mind set. They must desperately need some validation in their lives to go this far. However, I digress......

Kinkakuji is more beautiful in person than it could ever be in pictures. It’s like a perfect photographic model, it never looks bad, from any angle. There is an unusual peace around the building and in the park that surrounds it. I have always said that if I did not belong to the religion I do, I would be a Buddhist. There is a stillness in the religion that appeals. Like the small lake that surrounds this shrine.


As I was leaving the shrine, I was accosted by some students, who at the urging of their English teacher, wanted to ask me a few questions. They were from Hiroshima and wanted to get my feelings on peace. It was an interesting question considering the peace I felt in the shrine and in achieving a goal. They asked me questions like, “How do you feel about war?” and “Do you think what happened in Hiroshima was right?” Tough questions, really. However, we did chat a little bit and then they (of course) wanted to take my picture. They gave me a handmade pamphlet about Hiroshima and the bomb and asked me to make paper cranes which they would then take to the Children’s Peace Monument. If you are interested in making some cranes (Juice!) Please put them in an envelope and send them to this address:

Yoshiura Junior High School
8-6 Karuga Cho
Kure-shi
Hiroshima-ken
737-0862
Japan

Finally, I did do karaoke in Japan. It was another small but important goal. I don’t have very good video of this but here is a sample. Also, it's not me singing and the audio is terrible. Forgot my good camera....


Japan is beautiful and I miss it all the time. I miss the people, their grace and typical good manners, their stubbornness and odd (to us) way of doing things. It’s all so foreign and so civilized and such a contrast to our life, that it enhances the beauty of our country as well as theirs.