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Author Archives: d4vid
Design
This is a lovely spot by the Daiyu River where I sat and read my book.A huge boulder by the bank has a shrine nook carved into it — moss-covered and empty, now — and lots of Japanese (hard … Continue reading
Axis
The maps around Nikko look super ominous until you realize those are all Buddhist temples (and the swastikas are twisting in an inoffensive direction.)
Posted in 日光
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Blasphemy
As I approached Taiyu-in’s Niten-mon Gate… Fu-jin the God of Wind goes, “This temple is FABU-lous!” But then Komoku-ten the Protector of the West Sky is like, “Wait. Who invited you?” And Jikoku-ten the Protector of the East Sky is … Continue reading
Posted in 日光
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Kamikaze
I made my way to Kirifuri-no-taki. Perhaps not as impressive a waterfall as Kegon, but in some ways more beautiful, more serene, nestled away, forested mountains as far as you can see in every direction. I stood, red-cheeked, in what … Continue reading
Hallowed
Late one night, in the Stygian darkness, I stumbled on this impossibly chilling shrine & graveyard. Not nearly enough light to photograph then, but I captured it here the next day at twilight. (Twilight. Heh.) To enter, one must cross … Continue reading
Posted in 日光
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Pox-eclipse
Not even Japan and its tennis courts were spared. Makes sense. It’s the tell of us all.
Posted in 日光
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Daikatana
This is the biggest sword I have ever seen. I paced it out at 9 (David) feet long.
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Chasing
TLC’s advice be damned, I visited the Kegon Falls where Lake Chuzenji debouches into the Daiya River. Took a 100 meter elevator ride through bedrock down to the base of the falls at sunset. As impressive as anything I’ve seen … Continue reading
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Griffith
There is an apocryphal story that a thrifty Golden Age movie producer1 once said, “A tree is a tree, a rock is a rock, we’ll shoot it at Griffith2 Park!” I thought of that quote while riding through the Nikko … Continue reading
Lloyd
This somewhat underwhelming (yet somewhat overwhelmingly pink) wooden edifice of the Nikko Train Station built in 1915 was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Coincidentally, I’ve been reading David J. Peterson’s The Art of Language Invention. He claims that the proper … Continue reading
Irresistible
The two English nouns on this sign made the trail irresistible. Abyss? Bears??? Sign me up! What North America lacks — but what Japan shares with Europe — is the chance of rounding a trail in the middle of nowhere … Continue reading
Kawaii
Kyoto was pleasant but Nikko is proving to be majestic as fuck. Plus, my room here is super kawaii. I can see and hear the Daiya River from my window. And, I mean, just look at my room key. Just … Continue reading
Aesthetics
Toured the Kyoto Imperial Palace. Beautiful, especially the gardens. But clearly the obsession here was with aesthetics. This is a stark contrast with China’s Forbidden City, every aspect of which screams You are minuscule and irrelevant and the emperor is … Continue reading
Posted in 京都
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Loki
Mythologies separated by half a world, but this immediately made me think of the serpent dripping venom on Loki.