Magic of Light and Shade

This year again, I went to see my old friends from university at the gallery in Daikanyama.
There one of them holds a photo exhibition every year.
Her exhibition gives us a good excuse  to get together once a year in Tokyo.

Photography is an art of light and I believe a professional photographer is an artist who stops time and captures  the moments we often overlook in our daily lives.

This year her pictures showed  impressive collaboration of light and shade. She looked at the scenery through window glass in the cities of NY and NJ, where she  lived more than 20 years. We saw natural layers of reflections in her pictures, which created a magical world of her own.

We were all fascinated with her pictures as we always are. Afterwards,  we enjoyed dinner and a lively chat with a couple of bottles of wine. That was the perfect ending.

Full Moon

Just like people on this globe have their own special sentiments toward the moon, so in Japan too, we have a traditional custom to enjoy the full moon in autumn.

At Tokugawa Garden,  they opened during the night on this special day for visitors to watch the full moon coming up above the garden forest. 

We name them "dango" (dumplings). They are symbols of good harvest. We decorate them with Japanese pampas grass besides the window as well.

It was really exciting that we saw the moon being reflected on the pond.  I almost forgot this was right in the city.

The full moon usually appears around on the fall equinox day. It's the season for harvesting. 
People have been appreciating the beautiful full moon by exchanging the poets, offering the autumn harvest, playing music and admiring every second of the moon light. 

Yes, it is true to Japan, too. Young people may not be so much interested in the traditional custom but it is also very true there are many other young people who find its significance. 

The moon  was so pretty.




location:Tokugawa Garden

Farewell to My Father

The farewell came to us all of a sudden. 
My dear father left us earlier this month at the age of 91 due to old age. 
He stayed in bed just for three days. He didn't suffer from any pain. 
At the end, he was gone just as a candle flame goes out. 
He looked as if he were still sleeping. I believe that his life of more than 90 years was a fulfilling one. 

Yet I miss him so badly. Even at my age, in my 50s, I was still his child. 
It is harsh to learn that I can't see him, hear him or even reach him any more in this world.
How I wish I could have turned time backward again to talk to him just once before he was gone. 
I know that's a ridiculous idea, but none of us expected that he would be gone that day. 

This was his and our destiny, though. 

Now I recall many stories of my father and experiences I shared with him in my life. 
All of them are so dear to me. 

He personally loved drawing, writing, reading and loved chemistry. Also I loved him playing the harmonica. He was extremely good at Japanese calligraphy — a talent which he inherited from his own father. I luckily take after my father in some of these ways too. I am proud of being his daughter. 

Well I have to go forward for my mother and my own family. 
That is what my father expects me to do now. 
I truly believe so.