Notes from the 'Nog

Stepping from darkness, A pint-sized posse Of ghosts and witches On the turntable: "Bob Dylan Theme Time Radio Hour #5: Coffee" ...

Late July. I was walking through a light mountain rain toward the Western District of Hiei-zan. I lowered my head to avoid banging it on the...

Last year's summer seemed to go on and on. Except for some hot flashes in August, summer barely seemed to arrive at all. Or maybe with m...

筋肉痛に気付く Kinnikutsu ni kizuku On the turntable: Cheikh Lo, "Lamp Fall" On the nighttable: Randy Komisar, "The Monk and the Rid...

Bipolar autumn weather Makes it difficult To pick clothes On the turntable: "Padmasana" On the nighttable: Hillel Wright, "Ro...

Last week, in a surprise move, Kodo played a gig in Nara-ken. The event was Tenkyo-sai, held every year amongst the ancient burial mounds in...

Spent the week contemplating for the infinite time the role that my late son had in my life. During this period, coincidentally, I re-read M...

WANTED: One strong umbrella Capable of protecting against: Chinese acid rain, North Korean nukes, Japanese political fallout. On the turntab...

Foghorn chorus Of begging monks Pulls me from my dreams On the turntable: Rufus Wainwright, "Want One" On the nighttable: Julia Bo...

Saw "Before Sunset" with MatsuMiki last night. In some places, the film can be challenging, even for native speakers. At one point...

A month ago, I`d noticed that Tokyo, in a near unanimous showing of thick, earth-tone solidarity, had declared summer over. Today, I saw tha...

During my aimless meander across southern China, and again while wandering the length of Vietnam, I realized how fabulouly socialist Japan i...

About a week back, I went with MatsuMiki to have dinner at the home of friends. It was to my happy surprise that I found myself dining with ...

Swaying hands Direct water Down the Kamogawa On the turntable: "Rough Guide to the Music of Okinawa" On the nighttable: Russell Wo...

A friend in Tokyo asked me if I knew a certain yoga teacher currently on tour in Japan. I didn’t. When I noticed that this teacher was givin...

Gingko fruit Smashed on the sidewalk. Autumn's olfactory "Tadaima!" On the turntable: Peter Gabriel, "OVO" On the ni...

Large grey monkey Hops my neighbor's fence To pluck figs On the turntable: The Cure, "Staring at the Sea"

Last Thursday I took my first tabla lesson from Shen, resident of the Indo-Aussie-Nippon golden triangle. He and a santoor player called Ji...

From my bicycle Beckon to cat Realize it's stone On the turntable: "KlubbjazzMixed" On the nighttable: David Hadju, "Po...