Book Review: Walking in Circles: Finding Happiness in Lost Japan. A Shikoku Memoir

For the second time in seven years Todd sets off on the 88 temple 1,400 km Pilgrim’s Trail (Shikoku Henro) around the smallest, and possibly least visited by foreign tourists, of Japan’s four principle islands; Shikoku.

Book Review: Living Buddhas: The Self Mummified Monks Of Yamagata, Japan By Ken Jeremiah

st AsianLong after death, these ascetics continue to be revered as Living Buddhas!

Coincidental to the recent review of ‘The Old Jōruri Puppet Play ‘The Tale Of The High Priest Kōchi’ (himself a sokushinbutsu, or living mummy) at Diverse Japan this is, according to the author, the first English language book on the subject of the self-mummifying Buddhist monks of Yamagata Prefecture of North-Western Japan who, long after death, continue to be revered as Living Buddhas and are little known to the outside world. An earlier English language 20 page article from 1962 does exist, written by Ichirō Hori and entitled ‘Self-Mummified Buddhas in Japan. An Aspect of the Shugen-Dō (“Mountain Asceticism”) Sect’ (History of Religions, Vol. 1, No. 2. (Winter, 1962), pp. 222-242. The University of Chicago Press) and this is included in

Film Review: Silence – A Film By Martin Scorsese

Sometimes silence is the deadliest sound!

Based on Shusaku Endo’s 1966 novel Martin Scorsese’s film ‘Silence’ is the third adaptation of the novel following ‘Chinmoku’, a 1971 film adaptation by Masahiro Shinoda, and the 1996 Portuguese version ‘Os Olhos da Ásia’ (The Eyes of Asia) by João Mário Lourenço Bagão Grilo.

Directed by Martin Scorsese, with a screenplay by Scorsese and Jay Cocks, it is set in the historical ‘Kakure Kirishitan’ (Hidden Christian) period of 17^th century Japan. The main story takes place between 1640-1641, a few

Book Review: Where The Dead Pause And The Japanese Say Goodbye – A Journey By Marie Mutsuki Mockett

Its pages are often full of a light that illuminates a fundamental human experience!

On Friday 11^th March 2011 at 2.46pm local time the 9.0 magnitude Tōhoku Earthquake, the most powerful on record to have ever hit Japan, struck off the Pacific Coast of Tōhoku triggering Tsunami’s some of which reached up to 133 feet (40.5 metres) and travelled up to 6 miles (10 km) inland. Nearly 16,000 people were killed, over 6,000 injured and just over 2,500 people are still missing. It is against this back drop that Mutsuki Mockett weaves her way through a landscape of grief; that of her own personal, complicated, grief at the loss of her beloved father, and that of the people of the region from where some of her ancestors came.

Book Review: Japanese Stone Gardens: Origins, Meaning, Form

Written by Stephen Mansfield with a foreword by Donald Richie!

With a foreword by the formidable Donald Ritchie, in itself a recommendation, the Japanese Stone Gardens is divided into two parts. The first covers the pivotal points during the development of the Japanese dry landscape garden (kare-sansui), often referred to these days as a Zen garden. It explains how this developed from the pre-animistic use of stones as markers of space to their use as connections to the natural world and the landscape, their use as mystical vectors with which to communicate with the Gods, the influence of Korea and China, their eventual

Lecture: Zen – Its Practice and Philosophy for Everyday Life

26 April 2012, 6:45pm

The Oriental Club, Stratford House, 11 Stratford Place, London W1C 1ES

In this talk, the Reverend Sokun Tsushimoto, a Zen master of the Rinzai School and qualified medical doctor, will provide insight into the essence of Zen, its traditional practices and discipline. He will also discuss his role as both clinician and priest in the context of birth, aging, sickness and death.

Zen is one of the main schools of Buddhism and originally came to Japan from China in the 13th century. Over time, a

International Buddhist Film Festival Returns To London

11 – 15 April at the Apollo Piccadilly Circus

Presented by The Robert H.N. Ho Family Foundation

In conjunction with the Buddhist Art Forum at the Courtauld Institute of Art

The International Buddhist Film Festival (IBFF) returns to London this Spring, bringing a compelling selection of Buddhist cinema to the capital from 11-15 April 2012 at the Apollo Piccadilly Circus.  The diverse programme will

Wagashi – Edible Works of Art!

Wagashi (Japanese confectionary) make a wonderful compliment to Japanese tea!

Wagashi are delicious traditional Japanese confectionaries that embody the four seasons and masterfully fashioned by artisans – a skill that has been passed on from generation to generation – to represent various motifs of nature and come in all colours and shapes and are a feast for the eyes as they are for the mouth…