by kuri | May 31, 2021 | Go-go-go, Japan, Personal Reflections
There is a stele at the top of the east road at 555, right around where I think the old road branched down the hill to the next village. This stone tablet was hidden by weeds until this week, when someone in the work crew uncovered it. It’s a bit of a mystery....
by kuri | May 28, 2021 | Go-go-go, Japan, Personal Reflections
After a day of heavy rain yesterday, we were back at the burn. I didn’t take too many photos today because around midmorning, one of the hydraulic lines on the yumbo sprung a leak. We spent a couple of hours feeding the fire manually while we waited for a...
by kuri | May 26, 2021 | Go-go-go, Japan, Personal Reflections
This morning I sang an improvised dirge as we started to burn the broken beams of the house. I don’t think anyone heard it but me, but it was comforting to sing to the house. It was a sad moment for me, and I can only imagine how the Kawasakis felt. They were...
by kuri | May 25, 2021 | Go-go-go, Japan, Personal Reflections
This morning, I woke up feeling insecure and my anxiety was turned up to 11. I saw on Facebook that they had been working at 555 yesterday, but I’d missed it. I asked about today’s plan and Fujii-san said he thought they’d be gathering again but he...
by kuri | May 24, 2021 | Drawings, Go-go-go, Personal Reflections
Processing shock and loss takes many forms. For me, physicality is key. I need to be present in the charred space, exploring at the scene. I bear witness. I feel it intensely. And then I start to draw or write to release it. I went up to 555 this morning and climbed...
by kuri | May 24, 2021 | Go-go-go, Personal Reflections
A week ago in a meeting, I shared a story to illustrate that business setbacks or successes can be reframed with a single word. Alan Watts delivered the Story of the Chinese Farmer with his usual panache: And here I am, wrapping my head around the events of this...
by kuri | May 23, 2021 | Go-go-go
We got a call this morning requesting us to go to 555 for questions from the fire investigators. After the quickest of breakfasts, we headed out the door. We ended up spending the majority of the day there. The questions were mainly for me as I was the last person in...
by kuri | May 22, 2021 | Go-go-go, Japan, Personal Reflections
555 Hiratsuka burned to the ground today. At about 12:30 this afternoon, an announcement came over the loudspeaker: 大山地区。建物火災。平塚５５１。 (Oyama area house fire. Hiratsuka 551.) 551 is the old house next to our kominka – the one with the big gate. Oh! But the...
by kuri | May 14, 2021 | Personal Reflections
Well, well, well. Nature attacked. I have kabure – contact dermatitis – on my face and neck. I’m not sure if it was urushi, the tree that makes Japanese lacquer and also the toxic urushiol that poisons ivy, oak and sumac, or if it was chadokuga, the...
by kuri | May 12, 2021 | Books and Writing, Personal Reflections
I started teaching yoga when I moved out of Tokyo in 2015. At first, I held a weekly class at Satoyama Design Factory, and then a daily class at Monaka, and from the start of the pandemic, a daily morning class via Zoom. Today is Day 415 of the Zoom yoga class –...
