In the Pines

For those living in Japan, you know it's that time of year--sports days abound. For those not familiar with this Japanese custom, allow me a brief explanation. Sports festivals are held by most schools at all levels in Japan. Some municipalities, Otaki included, also do general sports festivals that everyone can participate in. The festivals consist of a variety of events: races, tug-of-wars, relays, etc. that are all done in good fun--though you do get serious competitors at times. Prizes are also usually awarded. Oh, and there are almost always strings of international flags hanging above the ground (I've always thought it would be interesting to research the origins of and cultural beliefs surrounding this custom). From what residents have told me, Otaki used to have HUGE sports festivals that everyone participated actively in. The festival would take weeks to prepare and allowed residents the opportunity to get together, have some food, and drink. These days, however...

A post called " Shareland " on KenElwood , a blog that I follow regularly, touched on a theme that I've been thinking a lot about lately--the balance between nature and society--or, a bit less abstractly: the balance within each individual between being in nature and being in society. KenElwood made a good point about extremes: being too much in nature and being too much in society. This is a fascinating dichotomy to explore--though I wonder if, ultimately, it's not a false dichotomy; I think KenElwood is leaning towards this view as well (though I don't presume to speak for him). Perhaps "false dichotomy" is the wrong phrasing, because I think the dichotomy is real. However, I'm inclined to say that the dichotomy is a recent creation; one that stems from the development of the capitalist socio -economic system. Those who have talked about the extreme of being in society have referred almost exclusively to capitalist society. I'm thinking ...

These mountains and waters of the present are the expression of the old buddhas. Each, abiding in its own dharma state, fulfills exhaustive virtues. During a visit to Hokkaido in the summer of 2003 I developed a relationship with Dogen's san-sui-kyou (山水経)--Mountains and Waters Sutra . The words of the sutra solidified within me during a hike of Hokkaido's Asahi-dake; I've held a deep affinity for Dogen ever since. So, it was with great joy that I recently had the chance to visit Dogen's temple, Eiheiji (永平寺) , for the second time. Eiheiji is located in the low foothills above Fukui City in Fukui Prefecture. The temple is one of the main of the Soto-zen sect and practicioners from around Japan still come to study there. Lay practicioners are also allowed (you can find more information here ). Don't know that my words will do much justice to Dogen or Eiheiji--and surely not to the mountains and waters of the world. So, I thought I would just offer some of Dogen...

I've been away in Kyoto for the past week, busy with university busi-ness, so haven't had the time to post. However, just before I left for Kyoto I took an afternoon to walk into the Seto-gawa (瀬戸川) area here in Otaki, and have wanted to share a bit about the place ever since. I heard about Seto-gawa soon after I arrived in the village. People told me if I wanted to see a more "pristine" forest, that was the place to go (I recognize "pristine" is a problematic word; here it means that SOME of the trees haven't been cut since the Edo Period (1603-1867)--so, 200-300 year old trees perhaps). Anyway, I had wanted to see the place since that time, but never seemed to find the right time. Well, a week ago I had one of those moments when I knew it was time to go. . . nigiri -ed some onigiri , grabbed my pack--a few essentials, and flew out the door. The Seto-gawa ( gawa , or kawa , by the way, means river) tumbles down a steep mountainside to join the Otaki...

A friend in the village, I-san, has talked with me on a couple of occasions about creating a eco-friendly burial ground on Mt. Ontake. I'm intrigued by the idea, and so was happy to find the following blog entry recently. There is a growing literature concerning the negative environmental impacts of western burial practices (i.e., attempting to preserve a body with embalming fluid, coffin, concrete, etc.). See the Centre for Natural Burial website for more information. Ontake-san is a sacred mountain, and many worshipers expect that their spirits will return there after they die (stone monuments on the mountain are erected for this purpose). So, it seems like a logical step to move towards creating a green burial ground on the mountain. Anyway, seems no less obscene--in my mind anyway--than the ski resorts, tourist shops, and mountain huts that currently litter the mountain.

I found an article in the Mainichi Daily News that I thought was relevant to my last post about environmental management. (Find the article here ). The article discusses the vegetation growth that has occurred Yamanashi prefecture's Shosenkyo 　(昇仙峡), a valley that was designated as part of the Chichibu Tama Kai National Park in 1950. Since that time the valley has become known as "Japan's most beautiful". . .which is definintely argueable. Apparently, a hands-off management policy since the areas inception to the national park has allowed the valley's vegetation to grow to the point where it is obstructing some of the rock formations for which the valley has become famous. The tourists are starting to complain. So, logging concessions are currently being considered. Seems logical. However, in an age of illogic, we get statements such as the following, which came from the hairperson of the Shosenkyo Tourism Association, Takehiko Suzuki: "We would like to...

Otaki is literally being engulfed by the forest. Abandoned fields and plots of forest have quickly become overgrown and wildlife has moved in. The areas of thick forest are also unappealing to most villagers, giving them a sense of becoming enclosed. For these reasons, residents of Otaki participate in 環境整備作業 (environmental maintenance/management/improvement activities--something like that). Yesterday, I finally had a chance to participate in one of these projects: clearing weeds and trees from along the prefectural road that leads from Makio Dam to Otaki. There were only about 10 of us there that day, which isn't bad for a village of 1,000, where a third of the population is over 65 years of age. It was a hard day of work, but they let me use a chainsaw, so I had no complaints. I don't know what the organizers were thinking. Also, I think my chainsaw skills were being whispered about. Ah, I'm the egghead; not supposed to be too proficient with such tools. With such...