Fellow exchange students Marcio Kuwada, Mamta Lama, and I were incredibly fortunate to enter the beautiful inner altar of Gyōtoku-ji Temple in Gokayama, Gifu Prefecture. Gyōtoku-ji traces its origins to the untiring efforts of the ‘myōkōnin’ Dōshu of Akao in the sixteenth century who, having encountered the Jōdo Shinshū teachings from Rennyo Shōnin, was inspired…

  We are unhappy because we make ‘me’ the center of everything 苦しいのは 自分を中心に しているからだ Takayama Betsuin Shōren-ji Gifu, Japan

Definitely Back in Japan #32: a mountain of aluminum cans and plastic bottles—it’s the weekly recyclable trash collection day. In Honolulu, collecting cans and bottles is an important source of income for homeless people since each can/bottle is worth $0.05 for its deposit redemption value. Thus, cans and bottles placed outside like this would disappear…

Definitely Back in Japan #31: nice lady with a megaphone urging the neighborhood to vote for the Communist Party of Japan (note: this is entirely legal and allowed under the election laws of Japan, although it did wake up the baby next door).

Mimy has been making Hongwanji-style nenju using Hawaiian kukui nuts as the beads with carved wood oyadama, shitennō, bosa, and colorful cords purchased in Kyoto! ミミが作っている本願寺スタイルのお念珠はハワイのククイナッツと京都で購入した木彫りの親玉と四天王とボサや多彩な色の紐を利用。