He’d always wanted to go to Japan. Many long years he studied the language, the culture. He made sure he wouldn’t be “that American”, the one who talks too loudly, too much, and always in English. That American was always asking for directions, always crossing over some invisible line, some taboo. That American made him want to say he was from Canada, or England, or anywhere else that he could pretend to be from.
He looked Swedish, with his shock of snow blonde hair and six-foot frame, but he couldn’t claim a home he’d never been to. He was descended from a long line of Swedes, but he’d only gotten the genes and not the language or the accent. Even his last name had been assimilated, Americanized to fit in. He couldn’t pretend for long. Once anyone heard his Midwestern accent or saw his passport, the jig was up.
So he blended in other ways. Learned how to not offend. Learned their habits. He always bowed lower. He always wore the right shoes, even the special bathroom slippers. It was important not to stick out any more that he had to.
He hoped that even if he couldn’t blend in physically, he could blend in culturally. Even if you look Japanese, you’ll stick out if you break the rules. He wanted to lay low as long as possible, hoping they wouldn’t notice him after long. This was the only chance to get to stay.
He wanted to see all the temples, praying at every one in the country. This was why he had to not get noticed. Going to just a few temples wouldn’t do. He had to go to every one. Maybe then he would get an answer to his prayer.
He had never spoken of it to anyone, never written it down. He didn’t want to jinx it, to have a self-fulfilling prayer. Or was it prophecy? He forgot. All he knew for sure was that it would only count if his prayer was answered through divine means. Anything else was sure not to last.
Daily Archives: November 7, 2015
She came out of the forest.
She came out of the forest, laughing, singing. She was unafraid of the crowd that was waiting, unafraid now of their jeers and taunts. She’d gone in alone, afraid, untried. She emerged a month later, at the next new moon.
If you survived a month with no supplies, alone in that unmapped place, you were never taunted again. The people who called you scaredy-cat to your face or behind your back had a new name for you if you emerged, whole and intact a month later. Wisdom-woman, perhaps, or keeper of the flame. Seer. Prophet. There were many names to be had then.
Women and men both ventured into those woods to prove themselves. It wasn’t required, and it wasn’t expected. About half returned. About half of them that did were never able to speak again, never able to even feed themselves. They’d returned, but in body only.
The others who never walked out of the woods? Forgotten. Their names were never mentioned again. Did they die? Run away to another village? Start a camp? The only ones who might know were those who returned, and they never said.
(Written 3/27/15)
Books on Japanese garden/home design
I spent one summer studying what makes a Japanese garden distinctly Japanese. These books were very helpful on my quest. Some of them cover interiors as well as exteriors of Japanese homes, so there is more to them than just gardens. I found it quite interesting that the Japanese word for “home” is composed of two characters – the one for “house” and the one for “garden”. A house isn’t a home unless it has a garden. The home is often designed around the garden, rather than the other way around.
A Path Through the Japanese Garden by Bryan Albright and Constance Tindale
The Japanese House: Architecture and Interiors by Alexandra Black
Zen Gardens by Erik Borja
Quiet Beauty: The Japanese Gardens of North America by Kendall Brown
The New Asian Architecture: Vernacular Traditions and Contemporary Style by William Lim
Japan Style: Architecture Interiors Design by Geeta Mehta
Japan Modern: New Ideas for Contemporary Living by Michiko Rico Nose
The Art of Japanese Architecture by Michiko Young
Serene Gardens – creating Japanese design and detail in the western garden. by Yoko Kawaguchi
Creating Japanese Gardens by Philip Cave
Books to inspire your artistic side.
Do you want start or become better at sketching? You can’t go wrong with these books –
The Art of Urban Sketching: drawing on location around the world by Gabriel Campanario
Urban Sketching: the complete guide to techniques by Thomas Thorspecken
The Creative License: giving yourself permission to be the artist you truly are by Danny Gregory
An Illustrated Life: drawing inspiration from the private sketchbooks of artists, illustrators and designers by Danny Gregory
Watercolor Journeys: create your own travel sketchbook by Richard Schilling
For inspiration, look at:
When Wanderers Cease to Roam: a traveler’s journal of staying put by Vivian Swift
Drawing from Memory by Allen Say
For mixed-media artistic experiments, try these –
Art Lab for Kids: 52 creative adventures in drawing, painting, printmaking, paper and mixed-media for budding artists of all ages by Susan Schwake
Drawing Lab for Mixed Media Artists – 52 creative exercises to make drawing fun by Carla Sonheim.
Also, look at anything by Keri Smith to get your head out of that rut. “Wreck this Journal” is a mandatory purchase.
betsybeadhead 
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