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
Japan
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.
Sydney in S. America Spreading Japanese Culture with Kamishibai for Peace and Kids Yoga
Japanese culture is diffused with kamishibai for peace, meditation and sustainability as I travel in S. America.
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
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.
My Me & Mu 無 Haibun Published in The Haibun Journal
I wrote the haibun Me & Mu 無 after visiting the Saihō-ji 西芳寺 Zen Temple in 2018. We were required to do sutra copying before viewing its famous moss gardens and landscape, which prepared our minds for the sublime event. I’m grateful and honored to announce that Me & Mu 無 is published in The Haibun Journal 4:1. I … Continue reading My Me & Mu 無 Haibun Published in The Haibun Journal
勿体無い Mottainai! As Supply Shortages Loom, Look to Traditional Japan and Thrive by Living With Less
The non-profit organization Mottainai Japan’s motto is, “In the spirit of mottainai, we continually give back to society,” The policy of selfishly wasting your enemies’ petroleum to keep up an alienated consumer lifestyle to profit global capital is over. Getting back to nature is in, and looking to Japan’s culture of Mottainai shows the way!
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.
Nagasaki Kunchi 長崎くんち Dragon Dance Ja-Odori
Nagasaki Kunchi 長崎くんち Dragon Dance Ja-Odori rehearsal.
Lantern Festival at Kasuga Taisha Shinto Shrine
Video of a priest at Kasuga Taisha Shinto Shrine making a Hana Chochin, flower lantern, at the Chugen Mantoro lantern festival in Nara, Japan.
Sydney In Osaka 