At the Roman Bridge in Salamanca, Spain giving a tour to my Japanese friend Haruna-san. While visiting my daughter in Salamanca, Spain last year, I noticed Japanese influence everywhere. I’m back in Salamanca after five months in South America and three weeks in Ireland, and upon arrival had the good fortune to give Haruna Takagi … Continue reading Japan in Spain and The Sydney Dispatch Travel Blog on Medium
photography
Wako-Ji Buddhist Temple in Photographs and Pomegranates Haibun Published
Wako-ji Buddhist Temple and pomegranates in Osaka, Japan photographs by Sydney Solis. The haibun Pomegranates has been published in MacQueen’s McQuinterly Arts and Literary Journal. The haibun was inspired by this place and its pomegranates.
重森三玲 Mirei Shigemori Residence and Rock Garden Kyoto
Rocks in Japan have long been seen as sacred, John Dougill of Green Shinto points out. In Shinto there are ‘spirit-bodies’ made of rock which form the object of worship, the idea being that ancestral spirits descend into them and are made manifest. These special rocks, known as iwakura, are hung with rice rope and treated … Continue reading 重森三玲 Mirei Shigemori Residence and Rock Garden Kyoto
Street Photography: Singapore 2019 by Sydney Solis
Street photography by Sydney Solis of Singapore during her visit in 2019.
In Photos: Traditional Japanese Najio-Gampi-shi 雁皮紙 Washi Paper Making 和紙
Traditional Japanese Najio-Gampi-shi washi paper-making process in Japan.
桜 Sakura: Beauty Alone Will Save Us
The cherry blossom season is in full bloom in most Japanese cities, and everybody is out because no more Covid restrictions for the first time in two years! This annual collective nature-gazing that reminds us of our connection to nature and eternal life is a celebration of beauty.
Kyoto’s Tofukuji Temple 東福寺 Bashō Haiku & Some Philosophy
The moss garden and pond at Tofukuji Buddhist Temple in Kyoto reminded me of the famous Basho haiku poem about a frog.
In Photos: Japanese Superfood Matcha
I’m delighted to see the matcha boom in the USA. I loved matcha in Japan, for its culture, antioxidant properties as well as the quiet-alertness it gave me rather than the crash of adrenaline-depleting caffeine in coffee. And of course it’s the star in The Art of Tea and all those tasty and mindful benefits. … Continue reading In Photos: Japanese Superfood Matcha
Looking: Random Jumble Film No. 1 of Osaka, Japan
I’ve been putting together the myriad film clips I took in Japan and doing something with them. Learning curve for moi, reluctant Luddite, has been high, but I never give up! Hey, I can develop silver gelatin prints in a darkroom; digital, not so much. So enjoy Looking: Random Jumble Film No. 1 of Osaka, … Continue reading Looking: Random Jumble Film No. 1 of Osaka, Japan
Photo Haiku No. 1 – Azaleas in Spring
Photo Haiku No. 1 by Sydney Solis celebrates the beauty of azaleas.
Sydney In Osaka 