Japanese art at Scholten

Scholten Japanese Art is a gallery offering art both old and modern, both two- and three-dimensional, from prints to netsuke.



Scottish artist Paul Binnie's Asa ni Namida (Morning Tears).


—Mellow Monk

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Hiroshige galore!

Here is a large, well-organized repository of woodblock prints by the amazing Hiroshige.



Illustration 13, "Namazu," in the Hoeido edition of the Fifty-Three Stations of the Tokaido Road series.


—Mellow Monk

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Two books—tea espionage and the gardens of Japan

Read a review of For All the Tea in China, which chronicles the tale of an Englishman who stole the secret of tea from China in the 1800s.


Another book you may find interesting is The Gardens of Japan, which is reviewed here.



A landscape at the Adachi Museum of Art, which is one of the many featured in The Gardens of Japan.


—Mellow Monk

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One of my favorite do-enka songs

This enka song, Roukyoku Komori Uta, was a hit for Hitofushi Taro in 1963. I love the rough, folksy feel created by the old-fashioned instruments (including what sounds like a shochu bottle being tapped with a stick):





(The "do" in do-enka, by the way, means something like "seriously," "hard-core," or "old-school.")


The song inspired a Sonny Chiba movie of the same name. Lyrics [in Japanese] here. Video of Hitofushi belting out the tune a couple of decades later on live TV here.


I can’t wait to sing this on karaoke in Japan!


Although undoubtedly many people can wait.


—Mellow Monk

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Folk tales and the Tale of Genji

Here is a smattering of Japanese folktales.


(And, for good measure my favorite Japanese ghost story.)


But the Tale of Genji (Genji Monogatari) is no mere folktale. Although written over a thousand years ago, it weighs in at one thousand pages and is considered one of the world's first novels.


(The book's protagonist, Hikaru Genji, is not to be confused with the '90s boy band of the same name.)


Many of the sites featured in the novel can still be visited today, although they may have changed a bit in the last millennium.



Kyoto's Iwashimizu Hachimangu Shrine, said to be the tutelary shrine of the Minamoto (Genji) clan, to which Hikaru Genji belonged.


—Mellow Monk

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A tea ceremony in person, and temple gardens online

If you live in Saginaw, Michigan, you can experience an authentic Japanese tea ceremony right in town — at the Japanese Cultural Center and Tea House.


And now matter where you live, you can virtually visit some amazing Japanese gardens, courtesy of photographer John Lander (www.asiaimages.net).


PhotoShelter also has an automated slideshow of its blissful images.



A view at the amazing Shisendo Temple. (Photographer: John Lander www.asiaimages.net.)


—Mellow Monk

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Japan-o-ramas

360cities has literally hundreds of panoramas of sights to see in Japan, but the closest the website gets to our teas' homeland of Kumamoto is Usa Jingu, a sprawling, beautiful shrine located one prefecture over in out-of-the-way Usa.



This is only one small area of the entrancingly large shrine complex. If you are ever in Oita or Beppu, I highly recommended making the drive — or train ride — to Usa.


—Mellow Monk

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Japanese archery and tea—linked by mindfulness

There is a definite connection between martial arts and tea: As explained in part 3 of "Kyushu, Where Japan's Green Tea Grows," in both cases the practitioner's goal is to empty his mind (kokoro wo mu ni suru), to be so mindful as to completely shut out distracting thoughts.


Demonstrating this philosophy at work in kyūdō is a wonderfully insightful video from the wonderfully named Empty Mind Films, the "leading independent film studio for documentary films on Asia":





—Mellow Monk

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Two on the koto

Here are two lovely pieces played on the koto, starting with composer Michio Miyagi's "Tegoto" as performed by Kaori Kimoto.









—Mellow Monk

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The green, mellow island

Located at the southern end of the Izu archipelago, Aogashima ("Green Island") is one of Japan's most remote inhabited islands. The fewer than 150 residents are watched over by a lone policeman, whose duties include welcoming—with a salute—the daily helicopter that begins its trip from the island chain's northern end.





The island administratively belongs to Tokyo, but life there is about as far removed from Tokyo as can be—and the islanders wouldn't have it any other way. Many of them have cellphones, but one mother is proud that her young children don't have one. "It's safe here, so they don't need one," she explains.


In addition to cellphones, the locals also have Internet access, allowing them to sell their wares directly to consumers. The most famous of them is potato shochu.


What keeps these people from leaving their island? A big reason is a sense of obligation to their ancestors. In 1785, a volcanic eruption forced the islanders to evacuate to Hachijo Island. Thirty-nine years later, a noble named Jiro Sasaki rallied his fellow Aogashima islanders and organized a move back to their beloved island. Even today, Sasaki is revered as the "Moses of Aogashima," and residents consider themselves his descendants and stewards of his legacy.



The volcano today.


"We wouldn't be here if it weren't for our ancestors," said two teenaged brothers. "They worked hard to protect this island, and that's why we have to, as well."


When asked why she stayed, the 86-year-old mother of a shochu distiller answered: "In the old days, life here was so difficult, and my parents went through a lot of hardship. That's why I have to continue [this way of life]."


[Source: Sankei]


Such words embody a spirit that is widespread in Japan—a sense of obligation to their land. This feeling of responsibility is strong among the country's farmers, too.


If you have a Google account, you can check out these pictures of a traveler who was stranded on Aogashima when rough seas stopped the ferry traffic for consecutive days.



I only half-seriously put this in the "sights to see in Japan" category, but if anyone ever does get to Aogashima, or has been there, I would love to hear about it.


—Mellow Monk

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Aso's natural spring water drinking fountains

The people of Aso are proud of and particular about their tea and their abundant natural spring water. So much so that the area around Aso shrine has a dozen or so public drinking fountains that serve up naturally flowing natural spring water.


The video below showcases these beautifully designed fountains, including one I blogged about recently.





—Mellow Monk

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Sake basics

With New Year's just around the corner, now is a good time to learn the basics of sake.

As the video below shows, quality sake begins with the planting of quality rice.




—Mellow Monk

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Undokai time lapse

From Rocking in Hakata comes a two-minute time-lapse video of an undokai (sports festival) in Japan.


Note also the movement of the ocean in the background.





—Mellow Monk

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Handcrafted wooden bathtubs from Japan

Bartok Design custom-crafts top-quality traditional wooden Japanese bathtubs made from hinoki.


And remember: These tubs are for soaking, not washing. But what a soothing, stress-relieving, whole-body-rejuvenating soak it is.



A wood tub like this would be such a luxury. I promise to be an environmentally good boy all year if I can have one for Christmas.


—Mellow Monk

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Teaching the yout' the calming art of tea

A nice story about a tea ceremony teacher and her pupil—who said she used to be stressed out "like a spinning top"—demonstrating sado to a group of 8th graders in Pittsburgh.



Learning a skill—mellowness—that will come in handy later in life.


—Mellow Monk

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Uniquely Japanese Christmas cakes

In Japan, Christmas is a relatively recent import, but like any country does when importing a new custom, Japan has made its own tweaks to the holiday.


For instance: small, elegant, and for the most part absolutely scrumptious Christmas cakes.



From Mitsukoshi in Nihonbashi. Price: ¥3,150 (about US$36). Did I mention that these super-elegant cakes can also be super-expensive? Cakes from less swanky shops are much more affordable but still very tasty—and they all go great with green tea, naturally.


—Mellow Monk

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NHK matcha documentary

Thanks to YouTube user Imarvanriet for tipping me off about a well-done NHK documentary on matcha. Here, for your viewing pleasure, is part 1:





—Mellow Monk

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A Japan twofer: names and neolithic idols

The writers at the Japan Times enlighten us on Japanese names and neolithic Japanese idols known as dogu.



A dogu nicknamed the Tanabatake Venus.


—Mellow Monk

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Interviewing the monk

Here's a photo of the monk featured in Part 2 of our green tea documentary being interviewed by the film crew.


Helping the crew is our tea buyer (lower left), who served as interpreter, guide, travel agent, driver, and interviewer.



caption


—Mellow Monk

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Awa dance festival photos

Jeff Henig has taken some excellent photographs of the Awa-odori festival in Tokyo.



For the full festival effect, you need to hear the music, too.


—Mellow Monk

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Mochi-pounding video

Lest anyone doubt it, making mochi the traditional way is hard work:




—Mellow Monk

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Hitchhiking in Japan: almost too easy

Trevor Mott observes that you almost never see hitchhikers in Japan. After an eventful journey starting in Oita, he offers an explanation for this phenomenon.



Lake Kinrin (Kinrinko) in Yufuin, Oita.


—Mellow Monk

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Sado island

Japan's Sado Island boasts beautiful scenery and a rich cultural heritage.


You can also visit the now-closed gold mines that financed the shogunate for hundreds of years. (Here is a page of panoramic photos of the island's sights.)


And if diving is your shtick, you can also frolic with the fishes.



Barrel boat rides are a popular attraction on the island.


—Mellow Monk

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Japan’s hip new generation of family farmers

In the Japanese countryside, parents often lament about grown children who balk at taking over the family farm, turning away from what they see as a lifestyle defined by the dreaded "three K's"—kitsui, kitanai, and kiken (demanding, dirty, and dangerous).


But no longer: A new generation of young farmers is striving to preserve the traditional family farm by revamping farm life so that the three K's now stand for kakko yokute, kando ga atte, and kasegeru—cool, exciting, and profitable.


Part of the transformation lies in taking a different approach to farm management. But like all such transformations, a big part is simply taking a different attitude.


And besides, who wouldn't want to work in an environment like this:



A screen capture from one of our "Stringing Tea" documentary videos.


—Mellow Monk

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Cherry blossom movies and Zatoichi music

"Oyabun" is obviously a man after my own heart—he runs a fantastic blog on old-school Japanese movies.


(The blog's name comes from the pervasive use of cherry blossom imagery in Japanese movies as a metaphor for the transience of life—blossoming magnificently to signify the brilliant end of existence—as an American cinematic tough guy might talk about going out "in a blaze of glory.")


And if you like the Japanese movie subgenre of Zatoichi flicks, then here's a rare find: a collection of Zatoichi movie music.



Tsuruta Koji about to go out in a blaze of glory in the explosively intense tough-guy classic Bakuto Gaijin Butai (The Gamblers' Foreign Legion), a.k.a. "Sympathy for the Underdog."


—Mellow Monk

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Evolution of Japan's tea ceremony

The Japan Society has an excellent essay on the evolution of Japan's tea ceremony.


As pointed out in The Book of Tea, the Zen monks who brought tea to Japan from China brought the powdered form, as this was the most common way in which tea was prepared. However, this practice was lost in China after the Sung dynasty there was overthrown by the conquering Mongols in 1281.


In short, the matcha used in the tea ceremony, which you can still enjoy today, represents a snapshot of tea's distant past: Time travel in a cup.



Frothed matcha with a piece of wagashi is a typical welcome treat at Zen temples even today.


—Mellow Monk

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Volcanic earthenware

Futoshi Yamashita is unique in the world of Japanese pottery. Located in the Aso area—where our tea is grown—he uses actual volcanic ash from Mt. Aso in his pieces.


He named his studio Aso Bougama, with the Bou from Bouchuu—the district in Aso where he's situated—and "gama" being the voiced-consonant version of kama, meaning "kiln."


Update: I forgot to mention another clever aspect of the potter's name: Together, Aso and Bou form asobou, which means "let's play."



The same volcano-enriched soil that makes for such exquisite tea also makes for exquisite works of art. But then, tea is a work of art, so it makes sense, no?


—Mellow Monk

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Sketches of Japanese manners and customs

Japanese publisher Doshisha has scanned and published online a book written in 1867 by traveler J. M. W. Silver called Sketches of Japanese Manners and Customs.


An album of the book's beautiful sketches can be found here.



A sketch of koinobori on Boy's Day.


—Mellow Monk

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Bentos and Lafcadio

My monkish instincts tell me that today is double feature Friday, so I present to you Homemade Bento Boxes and Visiting Lafcadio Hearn's Japan.


And as an added bonus, more about Lafcadio Hearn and the bento slideshow's accompanying article.





—Mellow Monk

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The heart of the Japanese way of tea

Powdered green tea is at the heart of the Japanese way of drinking tea, and you can cook with it, too.



A tasty, healthful, thirst-quenching glass of iced green tea made with powdered green tea.


—Mellow Monk

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Japanese school bell

Here's a video of an old-fashioned mechanical school bell at an unnamed Japanese school.


Now wouldn't this be great for the P.A. system at work?





—Mellow Monk

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Steeped in tradition

Until November 29 at UCLA's Fowler Museum, you can see tea items "practical and ostentatious" at the Steeped in Tradition exhibit.



I'd like to see this exhibit just to learn what the object in the foreground is.


—Mellow Monk

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The reactive way of the sword ... and the teapot

The Japanese martial art iaido is sometimes referred to as the art of drawing a sword from its scabbard, or its practitioner as wielding a sword "not to control the opponent, but himself."


But like most martial arts, iaido has its roots in actual combat—in this case, reacting to an opponent who has drawn his sword first and already begun his attack.


Think about that: Facing an opponent coming at you with sword drawn, when yours is still in its scabbard. Being in that situation must have been frightful indeed, hence the need for this highly specialized training.


A key concept in iaido is being completely reactive—restraining your emotions so thoroughly, and focusing so completely on your opponent, that you can anticipate his movements and begin countering his strike before it begins.


But it is impossible to read an opponent so deeply while being distracted by one's own emotions, hence the need to subdue fear, anger, and all other emotions.


And in the tea ceremony (sado), as a host about to receive a tea guest, one is trained to similarly subdue one's emotions completely (kokoro wo mu ni suru) and instead focus on your guest to the point that you become the selfless host, instantly anticipating your guest's needs and preempting any displeasure before it occurs.


It's ironic, though, that a skill honed for battle is the same needed to fulfill the aesthetic and spiritual potential of something as peaceful as the tea ceremony.



Filming an iaido student last year at the Senshinkan (洗心館) dojo in Hitoyoshi City. The sword is real ... and real sharp, hence the respectable distance the crew is keeping.


—Mellow Monk

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Another Onda Festival picture

Taken from the same spot as yesterday's pic, this shot shows one of the priests leading the procession taking rice offerings to Aso Shrine to wish for a bountiful autumn harvest.



Old meets new, as a horse and rider part of a thousand-year-old tradition pass by a local bakery.


—Mellow Monk

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Raising mellow kids

"Children Full of Life"—an episode of the Canadian TV series "The Passionate Eye"—focuses on a 4th-grade teacher in Kanazawa, Japan, who teaches his students to find happiness for themselves and compassion for others ... and that the two are inseparably intertwined.


You will also be surprised to see what painful experiences some of these young and otherwise cheery-looking kids had been keeping inside them—and how that inner pain was manifesting itself outwardly.

































—Mellow Monk

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Japan's cat cafes

Cat cafes—where you can relax with a cup of tea in the company of the establishment's feline employees—are becoming more and more popular in Japan.


If you have a cat or other pet at home, why not include him or her in your next at-home green tea break—break out some catnip or some other special treat and enjoy the relaxing time together.



A pleasurable, relaxing interruption. (There are more pictures accompanying the article: click on the pic to see them all.)


—Mellow Monk

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Shinichi Murayama's splashy art

The art of Shinichi Murayama is soothing and strangely entrancing—great material for a green tea break.



Now how do you think he did this?


—Mellow Monk

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Pikachu van in Japan

I'll bet the average fifth grader would be totally jazzed if Mom came to pick him up at school in this Pikachu van.


(And just think how mortified your teenager would be.)


If you liked that custom van, here are more you might enjoy.





—Mellow Monk

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Japanese house shaped like—and not much bigger than—a slice of pie

Japan is known for its small buildings, but this one really takes the cake—a tiny, slice-of-pie-shaped building.


The current owner says his grandfather built the structure about 100 years ago.





—Mellow Monk

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A Zen garden's lesson

The karesansui garden at Kyoto's Ryoanji Temple contains 15 rocks, but only 14 can be seen from any one location. The idea is that no matter what your perspective into any situation is, you're always missing something.

Karesansui means "dry landscape" and is more commonly known in English as a Japanese rock garden.


There are more pictures of the beautiful Ryoanji Temple here.



As you sip your green tea, close your eyes and imagine you are contemplating this serene garden.


—Mellow Monk

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Another D.C. cherry blossom panorama

Below is another panorama I found of Washington, D.C.'s famous cherry trees.


A previous pic is here.



Click to see the glorious full-sized panorama, then click again to zoom in.


—Mellow Monk

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Coffee in a can from a vending machine is big (and manly) in Japan

It's interesting, if you think about it, that Japan's beverage industry decided to market canned coffee as a manly drink.


For instance there's Suntory's Boss, whose label features an iconic man who looks suspiciously like Ernest Hemingway.


I don't see why it wouldn't be possible to market green tea as a manly drink. After all, we green tea drinkers include some pretty tough monks, for instance.



Just a few of the wide variety of canned coffee drinks sold out of Japan's ubiquitous vending machines.


—Mellow Monk

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Japanese girl group Tokyo Pinsalocks

Here are a couple of music videos from Japan's Tokyo Pinsalocks, who have a very unique sound.


Their music may initially seem somewhat cacophonous, but I find their rhythm and melody soothingly entrancing:


"Plutonium"







"Repeat"





—Mellow Monk

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Origami paper airplane sets new world record

The chairman of Japan's Origami Airplane Association has set a new world record for longest flight by a paper airplane:





—Mellow Monk

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Three cups of tea

The book Three Cups of Tea isn’t about tea, but it does relate to the philosophy of tea.


First a little back story.


After an unsuccessful attempt to climb K2—the world’s second highest mountain—Greg Mortenson became lost and eventually staggered, exhausted, into a remote village in northern Pakistan. The village’s children had no school or teacher. In exchange for nursing him back to health, Greg promised the village elder that he would return and build a school there.


Which he did—and then some: He and the organization that he helped found has built a total of 55 schools in the region.


The book’s title comes from a Balti proverb:

The first time you share tea with a Balti, you are a stranger. The second time you take tea, you are an honored guest. The third time you share a cup of tea, you become family. . .

In other words, tea is not just a means of achieving inner tranquility but also a way to bond with others.


In Japan, a cup of green tea offered to a guest is the foundation of hospitality. Perhaps it's the symbolism of sharing one's bounty with another.


But I also suspect that mellowness induced by green tea is infectious. Just as it helps us find harmony within, green tea, I believe, also creates harmony with others.


Greg Mortenson bonded over tea with people in a culture he previously new little about. Perhaps green tea can open a similar door for you.





—Mellow Monk

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Mellow Monk's Tea-Buying Trip to Japan, Part 2

This is the latest in a series of photo, text, and video posts about my most recent tea-buying trip to Japan, which was documented by a film crew from Europe's Arte Network for its "360° Geo" TV series.





—Mellow Monk

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Stringing Tea: The Monk Who Said No

[This is part of a series of postings about my recent tea-buying expedition in Japan. Click here to see the other installments.]


What I most admired about the artistic approach taken by the film crew—and the producers back in Germany—was their desire to explore green tea not merely as a beverage but as a key element of Japanese culture.

In fact, the documentary's theme was that through green tea, you could understand every aspect of Japanese culture.

The director, Ilka—here is a clip of the English version of one of her documentaries—was herself keenly interested in the role of green tea in Japanese Buddhism. She had done plenty of research before coming to Japan and had learned that the Buddhism–green tea link began over a thousand years ago in China, after monks discovered that drinking green tea kept them alert and focused during marathon meditation sessions.

I myself knew a bit about monks and green tea. After all, our company's namesake is a Japanese monk who was one of the first to bring green tea to Japan from China. But I hadn't heard of tea's use in meditation.

So when our van finally finished snaking up the long and winding mountain road to Shogoji Temple (聖護寺), that was the second question we asked the gracious monks who greeted us. (The first being Where's the bathroom?)

   

Unfortunately for our intrepid director, none of the monks we interviewed would definitively state that the tradition was being strictly continued today. Some monks did drink green tea while meditating, but others drank black tea. Some drank coffee. Some even drank—gentle reader, are you sitting down?—instant coffee. It was, you know, a personal choice.

(I have more bad news for the traditionalists: The monks all had cellphones, too—although there was no reception on the mountaintop.)

In fact, our smooth-headed friends would not even state on camera that the monks of yore actually did drink green tea for its stimulative properties. The closest we got to this confession—after much prodding—was getting one monk to confirm that yes, he had heard the theory—the theory, mind you—that Chinese monks had begun imbibing green tea to keep them focused during long hours of meditation.

"But does he personally—and his fellow monks—still drink green tea for that very same reason? Ask him," implored Ilka.

All the other monks whom we had previously asked this question—and we had asked them all—were too polite to come right out with a negative answer. So instead we received replies like Well, I wouldn't really say that or Not me personally, but others do, I'm sure.

But this monk was different: Tall, solidly built, and with a steely-eyed, quietly tough attitude to match, he clearly would not be one to mince words. When I finished translating the director's question, he paused briefly, with furrowed brow, then boomed out his reply: a deep, resounding "NEVER!"

The crew and I almost fell over laughing. Ilka naturally did not share our laughter but instead turned away, one hand pensively stroking her chin, with a look that resembled resignation and . . . something else.

That "something else" could have been the seeds of an idea—perhaps common in the filmmaking world—that would let her get the last laugh.

Months after I had returned home, a small, stiff envelope arrived in the mail: my DVD copy of the show. While viewing the program that night—cup of celebratory tea in hand—I noticed a highly amusing and creative edit: Our nay-saying monk's words had been deftly edited so that he seemed to be saying simply that "monks drink green tea to stay alert and focused during meditation."

Sneaky? Yes. But hey, that’s show business.

But I, too, have a confession to make: After our temple visit, I also engaged in some creative editing.

First a little backstory.

Whenever we interviewed someone for the documentary, we had to ask that person to sign a standard release form that Arte Network was required to have on file in order to broadcast the footage of that person.

(Because of the TV show's international scope, the law did allow the form to be filled out and signed in the interviewee's native language, as long as someone then wrote a few summarizing notes in German or English across the top of the page. This comes into play later in our story.)

Consequently, if the film crew forgot to get a signed release from an interviewee, or if the signed form was lost after filming, Arte would be legally unable to broadcast footage of that person.



But that’s exactly what I did after we filmed at the Shogoji Temple—I lost the bloody permission forms for the two monks we interviewed (including Dr. No).

More specifically, my brother-in-law—at whose place I was staying when in Aso—burned them along with the rest of the trash after dumping the forms into the dust bin along with the rest of the clutter on the kitchen table. After he told me, over the phone, about his trash collection and burning procedure, and that he had just implemented it the previous day, I knew that’s what had happened.

A chill ran down my spine when I got off the phone. The temple was at least 2 hours away, 4 hours round trip—4 hours I knew I could never squeeze out of our already air-tight schedule.

Panic began to set in.

Hold on a second, I told myself. Think, man. Think!

Then it occurred to me: The monks had signed the forms; it's just that those forms were no more. As far as the monks were concerned, their permission was still in effect. That wouldn’t change even if I, say, gave the director a “substitute” form written by someone else—and in a language unintelligible to the director.

So, I had my brother-in-law fill out two new forms, using whatever details I could remember and making up the rest.

("Place of birth? How about those islands Japan and Korea are always fighting over? Yes!" This was done over sake, you understand.)

The upshot: Ilka got her signed forms, and the monk interviews stayed in the film, with no one the wiser.

Sneaky? Yes. But hey, that’s show business.



—Mellow Monk

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Hanami at Kiyomizu Kannon Shrine, by Kunisada Utagawa

The spectacular painting below, by Kunisada Utagawa, depicts flower-viewing (hanami) at Kiyomizu Kannon Shrine—which you can still visit today.


More Utagawa images here.



This is only part of the amazing painting. Click the see the whole thing.


—Mellow Monk

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Super takoyaki balls in Tokyo

This Is Gonna Be Good—a great blog that, "in the spirit of Tony Bourdain, treats food as adventure"—reviews the fare offered by a takoyaki food van in Akihabara.



Mobile food factories like this are a common sight throughout Japan, although perhaps not quite as ubiquitous as vending machines.


—Mellow Monk

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Please don't trample the geisha

Please try not to be too intrusive or aggressive when photographing the maiko or geisha on Hanamikoji street.



Like superstars, but without the superstar paychecks.


—Mellow Monk

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Kinkakuji in winter

A Japanese blogger has posted some beautiful photographs of the Golden Pavilion Temple (Kinkakuji) in the wintertime.


Of these pictures, this one is my favorite.



The titular structure in Yukio Mishima's Temple of the Golden Pavilion.


—Mellow Monk

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Japan's most offbeat hot springs

UPI has two really cool slideshow—some of Japan's most offbeat hot springs (onsen), and the cherry blossoms blooming in Washington, D.C..








—Mellow Monk

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High on Hiroshige

Submitted for your approval—a nice, mellow woodblock print by Ando Hiroshige (1797–1858). I could literally spend hours gazing at his wonderful artwork. So here is more of it.



"Otsujuku" (Otsu Station), from Hiroshige's "Fifty-Three Stations of the Tokaido Road" series.


—Mellow Monk

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Seiho the painter

The Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art is having an exhibition from its permanent collection of the works of Takeuchi Seiho (1864–1942), who at the turn of the century was considered the leader of modern Japanese painting's Western school.



Takeuchi's "Green Pond" (circa 1927).


—Mellow Monk

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Daily tea could prevent strokes

A researcher at the University of California Los Angeles reports that drinking tea every day could reduce the risk of stroke by as much as 21 percent.


The linked-to article also has an accompanying video report.



In addition to green tea, making regular excursions to mellowing places like art museums is another way to reduce the stress that contributes to strokes.


—Mellow Monk

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Japanese bladesmiths

Kohei Ebuchi, a third-generation bladesmith, doesn't make samurai swords, but perhaps his ancestors did. Instead, he makes kitchen knives (houchou) in the city of Sakai, where some of the world's best — and most expensive — knives are made.


And when you read the article about Mr. Ebuchi, don't forget to check out page 2, too.





—Mellow Monk

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