08

TASHI-ZAN
(Addition)

1 + 1 = 2

3 + 3 = 6

2 pictures,
6 squid

Joanne Gover Yoshida, Aikawarazu Life in Japan

The Master Haiku Poet

1. Writing

In this dream
some call it life
I am holding a
book about Matsuo Basho
that I borrowed from the library.
I sit at a low table
finished breakfast (a pancake);
3 orchids w/o flowers
and goldfish swimming
on either side of my
perception.
Why did I create my dream like this?
Isn't it clear,
what I am doing in
this moment.

Joanne Gover Yoshida, Aikawarazu Life in Japan

2. Purpose

If all I want to do is to write;
to fill page after page
after page.
Then why is it that I question
what I want to do.

3. No Bookmark

A paperback book
turned upside down
on the low wood table
Inside the pages,
a journey
spills out.

Just Picture

Birthday, in red and white

Just before she put the needle in, the nurse in the starched white hat with a red cross who was taking my blood asked me a question to confirm my identity.
What is the date of my birthday?
(O-tan-joobi wa nannichi desu ka?)
I had to think for a minute, given the circumstances, but within the time expected I gave the most direct answer.
Ju-ni-gatsu, ju-hachi-nichi desu.
(December 18th)
Very businesslike, she tightened the tourniquet and with the very slightest smile and no change in intonation said,
"Kyo-o."
(Today)
"Hai."
(Yes)
I responded.
Without missing a beat in the professional precision-like manner of her actions, she picked up the needle and , with her head bowed down she said,
"O-tan-joo-bi, O-medetoo Gozaimasu".
(Happy Birthday)
I hear the words come out of the whiteness,
and I let out a childlike giggle.
She pushed the syringe of the needle and I watched the tubes fill up with blood.

Dialogue (from Oita to Tokyo)

J: Today from the airplane, I saw Mt. Fuji.
It only revealed a tiny piece of itself to me, but I knew it was Mt. Fuji.

K: How were you so sure?

J: I was looking thru the clouds to find it, and I saw what looked like a shadow of a cloud, a patch of something slightly darker than that.

K: ....?

J: I doubted my vision for a bit, straining my eyes to see if that was really something solid or a shadow.
The stewardess passed by; said we couldn't see Mt. Fuji because of the clouds.
But I kept staring at the spot and little by little my intuition was confirmed.
I saw a tiny bit more and kept watching as it revealed what seemed like a few millimeters more.

K: And the stewardesses, did they take notice?

J: No, they turned away.
I think if it wasn't the "image" of how Fuji should look, no one was even going to waste their time.

K: Except you?

J: Yes, I watched that sliver with all my attention.

K: I understand. Like the stars when they first come out at night.
Until you really start to look you think there are none. But once you really look,
there they are.

J: As if they are testing their viewers, perhaps?

K: And you're still sure it was Mt. Fuji?

J: Yes, as Mt. Fuji as ever.
Only to reveal that tiny piece.

Joanne Gover Yoshida, Aikawarazu Life in Japan

The Uselessness of a Moment (in words)

What is the "use" of a moment?
A pigeon looking for food,
that's different.
But two people sitting on a bench,
another one passing by.
Me watching it.
My watch is a blue shiny scarab
About to fly away.

The Uselessness of a Moment (in pictures)

Mirror

The Yamazaki Bread Truck.
The Red Bento,
the herons. Now, it's the diamonds on the tatami edge.

Japan.

Just the other day, I asked C., a collector,
why we are attracted to the things we are (attracted to).

(It must be the little girl's face in the red circle)

There are no countries.
Or rather, do we invent them in an elaborate search so we can travel far enough
to see ourself.

Joanne Yoshida, Aikawarazu Life in Japan

The Color Lesson (2)

Today I had lunch at the natural food store, Kokoro Hiroba.
From the table where I sat, I could see out the window to a piece of a torii (gate to a shrine) and a lot of blue sky.
A woman sat down across from me. She was wearing a turquoise blue sweater over a sky blue turtleneck.
After she took a bite of the natural food that was served, the woman put her chopsticks down on the chopsticks rest.
She then chewed with her eyes closed.
And when she finished chewing, she opened her eyes and smiled.
Then she repeated this again and again, slowly with each bite, putting her chopsticks down, and chewing with her eyes closed.
She looked up and smiled between each taste.

The Color Lesson (1)

The teacher hangs up the colors in 4 places in the room.
Within 8 seconds, kids run to what color they prefer.

One child slides into black,
the majority around green and orange.
A few at pink.

Why do you like that color?
(at pink)...
"Pink ga segoku kirei..." (pink is really pretty)
"Momo ga suki kara..." (because peaches are pink)
"Onna no ko rashii de..." (because it's girlie)

Midori (Green), Emerald Green, happa no iro ga midori dakara,
shizen ga suki da kara.

(at orange)...
Mikan no iro to...
ato taiyo no iro ga suki dakara.
Taiyo ga suki dakara desu.
Mikan ga suki kara desu.
Mikan ga suki dakara desu.

(Because its the color of the sun...
because its the color of oranges...)

A bird in a Dream showed me

We've gotten so far from nature,
that we're starting to think it's not there.
It's there. In all it's abundance, maybe more.
We just have to learn to
find it
touch it
see it again.
Then we'll be surprised how it comes back to us.
And how soft the earth feels.