Patricia is excited, we both are, to share the story of our traditional Japanese wedding at Senju Shrine, a Tokyo shinto temple.
Date: Friday, June 9, 2023
Time: 10:00 am (following Tai Chi on)
Address: 21682 "B" Ocean Vista Drive. Laguna Beach, 92651
Go-yen and Goem
Tom and Virginia display their go-yen (5 yen coin necklaces). In Japanese word play, go-yen and goem, a word community are often linked together Yugi, my friend from Niimi told me that in Japan, people carry two or three of these in their wallets, or as shown here, wear them as a necklace.
Click HERE, for Yuji: a short documentary or click on the image below.
Click HERE for our Japan Web site. It includes 34 Travel Tips, a Library and hundreds of pages of interesting notes and photos about both ancient and modern Japan. (The site is optimized for tablets and computers, but on mobile devices you can scroll to the bottom, then click on WEB VERSION.
When you click on each of the following photos, they are rendered in a larger, more dramatic, even more beautiful format. Thank you Ron.
Below: Tom in a summer Yukata, and Anna in a kimono from Kyoto.
A kintsugi style bowl,
once broken,
now more beautiful.
If you have photos of our Japan Day celebration, I will post them here.
Please send to 1tobymanzanares@gmail.com
Travel through time. Walk the way of the Shogun. Thinking back on 9 visits to Japan, I can see why my journeys there felt more like time traveling. One moment you're enjoying a wedding reception 50 floors above Rippongi, Tokyo and the next you're walking the Temple of the Correct Fortune from the Kamakura period over 600 years ago.
ShÅfuku-ji in Hagashimurayama, Tokyo, the Temple of Correct Fortune, is registered as a National Treasure of Japan, the oldest building in Tokyo.
Tip #15 Click HERE for Home Stays In Japan They are the best way to learn about the culture of Japan. Book home stays instead of ordinary hotels. Stay with a three generation Japanese family. In Asuka Village for example, Patricia was treated by Tanaka-san to the 23 step process of dressing in a kimono.
When Tanaka-san (above) in Asuka, Japan,
first dressed Patricia in a formal kimono, there were braided cords, a silk obi and, I lost track, 22 other pieces used to dress her properly. While it took a long time for such a happy outcome, each moment was visual and kinesthetic poetry.
Like all of our experiences in Japan this was done in a mindful, thought filled way, without a sense of time.
This reflected the Japanese concept of
Ryote to ryome de
"With both hands, and both eyes."
In the presence of our Japanese hosts, or even people on the street, each experience left us with a sense that something just happened that was mindful, earnest, and heart-felt.
Ryote to ryome de
a gift,
given with both hands.
In 2005, while preparing for my Japan-Fulbright time in Japan, we were taught, when exchanging business cards, to receive their cards with both hands, bow, read earnestly each word on their card, check the back, then with both hands bow and give our card, mindful and timelessly.
Ryote to ryome de
a gift,
given with both hands.
While I take this moment to bow out, check back soon as more photos will be posted.
If you have photos of our Japan Day celebration,
I will post them here.
Please send to 1tobymanzanares@gmail.com
Maybe next time, I will introduce you to Gassan Sadatoshi,
the finest sword smith I've ever met in Japan.
I spent 2 timeless hours with him, one afternoon.
His time, a gift, given with both hands.
For Gassan in his home, slide the scrubber bar to 1:56,
one minute, 56 seconds into the video clip.
Wedding slide show (click below to start sound track)
