Perseid meteor shower over Hawaii

I just learned that it is the season of observing the Perseid meteor shower.  This year the meteor shower is said to be active from July 23 to August 22.  Here on the Big Island of Hawaii, too, where you normally see enormous number of stars in the skies, you just look up to the night skies and can see the shooting stars even before the peak (August 13 in 2011.)  I saw several last night. 

It is said that your wish will come true if you can recite the wish three times to a shooting star before it disappears.  But who can?   Let's consider just seeing one brings you a luck.

Sharaku

I just went to see the exhibition "SHARAKU" at Tokyo National Museum.  It is fortunate that all the works except one that are on loan from overseas museums are here in Japan, after the major earthquake.  It is of course an excellent exhibition:  A great line-up of works and a clever layout that follows the 10-month career of the mysterious artist. 

Theories abound as to who Sharaku was.  Though I really don't care who he was, I kept thinking of  a theory while I was in the museum.  What if "Sharaku" was a group of artists or business persons who promised to carry out the 10-month project under cover?  Perhaps the artists took turns and that was the reason for the change of trends within the short period of time? 

In any case, it doesn't change the fact that Sharaku has left great works!

L'Amour Fou

Recently I saw a movie titled "L'Amour Fou."   It is a documentary on the life of Yves Saint Laurent and his lifetime lover and partner Pierre Bergé.  The film starts in Christie's where the couple's enormous amount of art collection gets auctioned after Saint Laurent's death. Obviously art was integral to the couple's life together.  It could be a source of inspiration, a symbol of success and a reflection of their shared sense of beauty.

The film is entitled simply "Yves Saint Laurent" in Japanese.  I agree that it must have been the best title in terms of marketing, but at the same time it has lost the connotations that the original title contained, such as passion, obsession and devotion.

It seemed to me that Bergé's decision of letting go of the art objects that once filled the couple's house was almost equivalent to the ritual of scattering the ashes of the deceased.   

Spring Approaches

Today it was officially announced that the cherry trees in Tokyo started blooming, 6 days later than last year.  The announcement is made every year when the Meteorological Agency confirms more than 5 flowers in bloom on one of the cherry trees at Yasukuni Shrine, located near the Imperial Palace.  

Obviously we were not in the mood to cheerfully look forward to the flowers, and since it has been especially cold for the past week, the news seemed to have appeared out of nowhere.

I am speechless when I think of people who suffered the most in the earthquake and tsunami,  and grateful to be safe and alive. 

The cherry flowers will be in full bloom in a week or so.  I hope the flowers will bring hope and strength to our country, and remind all the people that Japan is such a beautiful country. 

Penguin Aquarium

When you think of Nagasaki City, what comes to your mind first?  A port town with old western style architectures, trams, and the memories of Ryoma Sakamoto.  But do not miss the Penguin Aquarium.  I believe it is the only aquarium in Japan dedicated to penguins!

Penguins are interesting animals.  They swim like rockets.  In contrast, on land they stand still like statues.  They seem indifferent to others and won't budge, with some of them facing the wall.  I start to wonder if they are in meditation...

...until their feeders come.  The penguins rush to the humans who feed them every day.  They push and compete for fish.  It is hard to believe they are the same animals that I just saw.  I see.  They were just saving their energy.

Lights On for Christmas: London

Last night the Christmas lights along Oxford Street were switched on.
The sparkling season has come.     

Scent of Autumn

I know the summer by the buzz of the cicadas, and I know the autumn by the flagrance of Sweet Osmantus, or Kinmokusei as we call it.  The small tree bears a lot of tiny orange flowers.  It is a common tree found in Tokyo and other parts of Japan.

When I notice the subtle scent, I realize the autumn is here.  I look around to find the flowers, but most of the times I am not able to locate them.  It is almost a mystery.  The flowers are very flagrant and I think the aroma travels further than I imagine.

I don't intend to go search for the flowers.  As long as the flagrance tells me the season, that is the way it should be.