一期一会 — This Moment, Only Once
一期一会 is usually translated as "one time, one meeting." But the characters mean something more precise: one life, one encounter. Each gathering, each moment — unrepeatable.
Wabi Sabi Journal
言霊 — The Spirit That Travels With Your Words
One evening after dinner, my son said something — the kind of thing you say when you are trying to rouse yourself, to keep going. I understood it completely. And...
木漏れ日 — The Light Through the Leaves
When our children were small, summer meant the campground — river swimming, 虫取り in the woods, and in the quiet between adventures, lying in the hammock looking up at the...
森林浴 — The Japanese Practice of Forest Bathing
There is a small grove of trees near where I work. I started walking through it at lunch without much intention. After a while I noticed I was going back...
鯉のぼり — The Carp That Swam Upstream
In the weeks before May 5th, carp appear in the sky above Japan. 鯉のぼり — carp-shaped windsocks billowing in the spring wind, mouths open, tails streaming, looking very much as...
初心 — The Feeling of the First Day
Every April 1st, the city fills with people who do not know what they are doing yet — and are trying anyway. Small children in new uniforms. New employees in...
Utamaro Soap — The Green Soap That Has Been in Japanese Laundry Rooms Since 1957
Utamaro soap has been in Japanese laundry rooms since 1957. A small green bar, unremarkable to look at. It is not fashionable. It simply works.
三寒四温 — Three Cold, Four Warm
Japan’s name for the weeks when winter and spring trade places.
桜梅桃李 — Blooming in Your Own Time
桜梅桃李 — Cherry, plum, peach, Japanese plum. They share the same earth and the same sky. But not the same timing. And none of them are late.
猫の日 — Cat Day in Japan
A personal reflection on cats in Japan — from Edo woodblock prints to a bowl of neko manma on February 22nd.
武者震い — Warrior Tremble, The Quiet Moment Before You Begin
武者震い — the warrior's tremble. It's the feeling just before something that matters. Not fear exactly. The body knowing before the mind has fully decided.
無事 — When Everyone Arrives Safely
無事 is written with the characters for "nothing" and "matter." The day passed without incident. In Japanese, that has a name — and it is understood to be a kind...
丙午 — The Year of the Fire Horse, A Year Meant to Move
A year that appears once every sixty years — and why it still matters today.
門松 — The New Year Decoration at the Threshold
Every December, a pair of pine and bamboo arrangements appears at Japanese doorways. A reflection on kadomatsu — and what it means to prepare the threshold before the new year...
大器晩成 — A Great Vessel Takes Time
I was in elementary school the first time someone told me I was 大器晩成. I felt two things at once: something like pride, and something like unease.