Friday, September 26, 2008

GEO

Tear Series.


*Lasts for a year. $25.
REALLY CUTE ON ANY EYE COLOUR, MAKES YOU LOOK SUPER CUTE AND TEARY EYED

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

This blog moved

To visit my blog please click:

HERE

and if the link doesn't work somehow, please copy and paste the following into your browser:

http://gaudiumdelingua.wordpress.com

If neither works, well, farewell, I guess. Thank you so very much for fleeting visits and/or comments, looking forward to seeing you at my new place.

G

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

The Japanese Garden

The title of this article is a misnomer. There is no single “Japanese Garden.” First of all, every garden in Japan is perforce a Japanese garden. But that doesn’t make it a “Japanese Garden.” Japanese Gardens are born out of the combined influence of the two dominant faiths in Japan: Shinto and Buddhism – the former has a love for nature, while the latter has an ideal of paradise. In Japan, I found beautiful gardens surrounding both Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples. Specially in Kyoto, Japan’s ancient imperial capital and a city with over 2,000 shrines and temples, the gardens in the vicinity of which temples and shrines are built, are exquisite indeed. There are times when gardens are more beautiful than other times. This is because of the Japanese awareness of the seasons. Thus garden designers create a balance of shrubs and trees to portray a harmonious balance. Therefore, gardens are seen at their best mainly in the spring or the fall, when bursts of colors make their strongest impressions. Trees in the gardens are often chosen for their shape – both when they are in full bloom as well as when they are bare. In this manner they will maintain their glamor throughout the year – even in the cold of winter.

There are four types of Japanese Garden: Paradise Gardens, Dry-Landscape Gardens, Stroll Gardens and Tea Gardens.

My favorite Dry-Landscape garden is at Riyoanji Temple in Kyoto. This Zen-Buddhist sanctuary is home to what is arguable Japan’s most famous dry-landscape garden, made up of neatly combed grey stones and strategically placed rocks. The garden is an enticement to meditation. A place where simplicity is primary, where one can sit and contemplate silently in a minimalistic environment that encourages internal reflection. The dry-landscape is designed to be viewed from a single vantage point, as is the paradise garden. In both cases, features external to the garden itself are made to appear as if they are part of it. An intriguing sleight-of-garden, if you get my drift. I noticed that the garden wall at Riyoanji Temple is slightly higher in one place. However, when I viewed the garden from the appropriate vantage point, the garden wall looked perfectly level.
The huge garden around Riyoanji is a paradise garden. Made to represent the Buddhist ideal of paradise, it “adopts” the surrounding landscape and makes it appear as if part of the garden itself. It has a grand pond filled with floating lotus plants. Upon exiting the dry-landscape garden at Riyoanji, I found myself in a very peaceful state of mind, and the slow walk through the paradise garden on the outside was most relaxing.


The totally opposite extreme of the simplicity of Riyoanji is Kyoto’s Kinkakuji – a gilded Shinto shrine. No zen-Buddhist simplicity here. This is opulence at its most , well, opulent! The garden around this gilt spectacle is a stroll garden, combining a large pond with precisely placed rock and earth islands, a delicately arched bridge, finely trimmed bushes and the like. In the fall, this was one of the most beautil sights I saw in Japan. In summer it was beautifully green, but not quite spectacular.

Nearby, and along the route around this marvel of lavishness, there was a simple tea garden. It had a short rock-strewn path, low trimmed plants and it led to the tea house that used to be the favorite place of hospitality of the former resident of the gold-plated house. He liked to entertain his guests at elaborate tea ceremonies, in his tea house, in his tea garden.

If his home and gardens are anything to go by, his tea must have been delicious!

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Japan – Land of “Derekh Eretz”

If there was a single Jewish term by which I could use to describe Japan in an all-encompassing manner it would be “Derekh Eretz.” Our sages considered “Derekh Eretz” so important that they required that it precede even the study and practice of Torah. “Derekh Eretz Kadma LeTorah,” they said. What is “Derekh Eretz?” Literally, it means “The Way of the Land.” To expand, I would say it means “They Way Things Should Be Done” or “The Way People Ought to Behave Toward One Another.” Colloquially, to have or to show “Derekh Eretz”means to treat one’s fellow man with respect. Pirkei Avot, The Ethics of the Fathers, is filled with expressions and instructions regarding the manner in which we ought to relate to one another. As I travel around, I see in different cultures the way this is sometimes expressed. In Canada, my Israeli travelers were astonished and astounded that complete strangers said “Good Morning!” to them as they walked along the sidewalk. In Japan, some of them smirked upon seeing to local citizens bowing politely to one another. Others were embarrassed when a hotel manager would bow to us as we entered his or her establishment. In one case a traveler of mine berated a waiter for putting milk in her cofee. Even though he didn’t understand her English, the waiter understood the tone of her rebuke. He was so apologetic that he got down on his knees to beg forgiveness. She too was embarrassed – maybe rightly so because she had made a big fuss over something so minor.

Understanding a local culture is the key to appreciating any country you may be visiting. Comparing anything I see to what I already know, dimishes from my new experience. That’s why I tell all my travelers to open their minds as wide as they open their eyes. For once you understand the local culture, the local customs become all the more beautiful.

Another thing our sages tell us in Pirkei Avot is: “Let the honor of your fellow be as dear to you as your own.” I would love to see that put in practice here in Israel. But in Japan, that is exactly what defines the mores of social intercourse. Your honor is dear to me, therefore when I greet you, I show you respect by bowing before you. It’s an amazing idea! That before I engage you in business, or in a conversation, I a priori show you respect. It boggles my mind, and I confess I love it. Sometimes when the conductor on the Shinkansen bullet train enters the coach and bows before he goes about checking tickets, I am sorely tempted to thank him by bowing in return. Seeing as no-one else does it on the train, I don’t do it either. Not sticking out is also looked upon fondly by the Japanese.

But when a store clerk thanks me for my business and bows, I am delighted to bow in return. When I have the opportunity to present someone a gift here in Japan, I appreciate the chance to show my respect in the traditional Japanese manner.

And this is “trickle down” good manners. Japan is noted for being almost completely free of street crime. It’s probable the safest country in which one can walk about at night. No one will accost you. Graffiti is nowhere to be seen. The ubiquitous Japanese vending machine is never broken into. Why is that? It’s quite simple. No self-respecting Japanese would dishonor him or herself by doing something like that. How would a person appear in his or her own eyes if they committed such an offense? Astounding. To know it, to understand it,and to appreciate it, is to embrace it with affection.

“Let the honor of your fellow be as dear to you as your own.” A Jewish teaching – that is practiced in Japan.

From Edo to Akihabara

Tokyo is the capital of Japan. It wasn’t always that, however. The ancient Imperial capital was at Kyoto. Later it moved to Edo, which grew from a fishing village on the banks of the Sumida River to a city of over a million by the year 1700. Then, under the stewardship of the clan of Tokugawa Eiyasu, the greatest and most important of all Japan’s Shoguns, it was the largest city in the world. Edo later became known as Tokyo and the Imperial capital of Japan was fixed there. Destroyed more than once by fire and earthquake, Tokyo is a multifaceted city. Parts of it are dull and grey. Apartment buildings are built functionally and with little imagination. Because land is scarce, dwellings are perforce small and cramped. High-rises look crowded, even from afar. Then there are other parts of Tokyo which are beautiful. My personal favorite is Tokyo’s municipal government buildings, designed by Tange Kenzo. These are spectacular towers that leap into the sky. The New York-based Uruguayan architect, Rafael Viñoly, designed the Tokyo International Forum, with its immense glass and steel interior - makes you gasp! The skyscrapers of Shinjuku are actually enjoyable. The governing authority of Tokyo has succeeded in this area to combine architectural creativity with day-to-day functionality, and it all helps make at least parts of Tokyo relatively easy to navigate. It’s hard to believe that this was once a simple fishing village.


No visit to Tokyo is complete without a stop in Akihabara, where any and every electronic gadget is available for sale. The area started as a market place where local students, after World War II, would come to by cheap parts from Japanese army surplus supplies. They would manufacture home-made transistor radios – the hit gdaget of the day – and sell them to desiring customers. After that, the electronics trade never moved out of the area. While the main drag hosts large stores with wares ranging from digital camera chips to extra-large refrigerators, once I headed into the alleyways, I came to places where the ultimate tourist activity really takes place – bargaining! What a place! And there were deals to be had here. Refurbished laptops for $150 and second-hand cellphones for a song.

Another thing I came across in Akihabara was store staff who spoke English! And what was even more interesting was that many of them were from all over the world and the English accents were fascinating! Some accents were pronouncedly Russian, others overtly Indian. Some were inflected with Spanish and yet others had Germanic/Dutch tones.

As I walked down the street, a muslim couple walked by me (I could tell by the way the woman was dressed). A customer representative stepped out of the store in front of them – in the manner that Japanese switch between the R and L letters - and said “Sarraam Arreikum!” They responded in kind, but declined his offer to enter the store and walked on.

I was standing there watching this exchange with some wonderment, when, seeing my kippa, he nodded at me, and said “Sharrom!”