Saturday, August 30, 2008

the reason why I want to go to India.

when there is nothing to do, people think back in the past, as like I did this morning.
I don't know why I recalled this, maybe the ending summer air and saw many old friends. and maybe Haruki Murakami's novel.
I think that in normal days we don't encounter so much death even each moment people die. The death is calmly hidden from our lives. In that life, we feel the death is not in same world. It's away from us.
I've met the death, however, twice in two years. One is of my good friend, another is of my grandmother.
My friend was a friend from high school, spend 3 years in same class, shared many experiences. We separated when we got into University, but traveled together and kept in touch. But one day she killed herself. Just 2 weeks before that, I got a mail from her, and in that message she was saying that she was coming to my town to see me. She sounded really good, I actually knew she wasn't stable mentally sometimes, so I was happy to hear her released from depression. Then, I got call from other friend 2 weeks later.
I was really confused, couldn't understand. I couldn't imagine the death, and how I would react for that. When I saw her at her funeral, I just felt disconnect.
She was in front of me, but it was not her. ,,,yes, I felt "it", she seemed a thing. I was confused. It was actually her, but, she wasn't real. She existed in same world but it was just a figure. What I really felt odd was the gap between the life and the death. We didn't have a connection never more.
Then I realised that the death is hidden in our world, quietly. We live without being aware of death. But why? Her body was sharing the space at the funeral, but we were disconnected. What is death?
One year after, my grandmother passed away. She was old, and had a cancer, so everybody was convinced about her death. Seeing her getting weaker and weaker everyday at a hospital, I felt that now the life and the death were connecting. I felt death can be seen as relative thing, not definite thing. When she passed away, but still I felt something fail in my heart.
A hospital is really special place. There, death is daily thing. The life and the death exist in same time without any question. The people working there seem not to have any problem with that. I was surprised that people can be accustomed with death. But still, it's not in daily life.

Few days later, I found a photograph collection about India, the river Ganges . In those pictures, people live next to a dead as daily life. It seemed that there were nothing wrong for them.
I want to be that place and feel the atmosphere mixing the life and the death in daily life. I want to be convinced about life and death are connected, they are on a same line without any gap.
That's why I want to go to India.

Thursday, August 28, 2008

now, I need to get started.

It's getting cooler these days in Japan. I hear the sound of fall.
So far, I've had good summer vacation. I had many events, BBQ, playing tennis, swimming in the sea, a reunion of my relatives, and a journey with my VIP. My parents were a bit panicked because I brought my boyfriend from foreign country. Actually it's really rare to do this because in Japan usually a couple introduce their family after decision of marriage or engagement. Nowadays it's not so definite thing, but still reminds the atmosphere. Anyways I did say to them that it's not like that at all, just invited him home and wanted to show my family, mu background. The meeting was a kind of encountering with unknown world! My dad was a bit perplexed, my mom was less active, my brother was at loss. I really liked it though.
The journey was great, we went to Tokyo, Kyoto, Kanazawa, and Nagoya. This time, I really appreciated for my study about Japanese culture. It seemed that I could explain about our culture a bit, and find many new things in it with my boyfriend. It's really interesting to be with a person who has different background, then share the experiences and the opinions. Even better if we feel affection and respect each other. We talked a lot, had some trouble in the same time, and learned a lot, I believe.
For sure after the journey, there is no doubt for my feeling lonely. So I had asked to my friends to be with before, and they really cared about me. We can sympathize and encourage each other. I'm really grateful for my great luck to have those great friends around me.
It might be my last summer in Japan, and I'm really happy to be able to have this precious summer.

Now I just came back from the journey. Then this is the end of the free vacation, even I have one more month break, but the start of studying vacation. I need to get ready for the exhibition and the thesis. It's started, I gotta take a step forward!

my the first and maybe the last exhibition.

I'm going to have an exhibition of Wajima lacquerwares.
I've been reserching Osaki Lacquerware store in Wajima since my graduation thesis. In this time, I organize the exhibition of their old sample lacquerwares.
卒業論文でお世話になった、輪島の大崎漆器店の秘蔵、見本椀を展示します。
大崎漆器店 Osaki lacquerware store http://www.osakisyoemon.jp/

There will be the samples of lacquerd bowls design from Taisho(1911~1925) to Showa(1925~1989) period. They are valuable material for the history of the Wajima Lacquerware. The earthquake last year waked them up from the old storhouse.
These tablewares are a little different from typical "Wajimanuri". The skill and ingenuity of the artisans who have made the history of the Wajima Laqcuerware are integrated in these a bit old tablewares. I introduce these beautiful laqcuerwares.
今回展示する見本椀は、大正末から昭和にかけての、漆のお椀のデザイン見本、輪島の貴重な資料です。ずっと蔵の中で眠っていたのが、地震で揺り起こされました。
これらのうつわは現在の「輪島塗」とはちょっとイメージがちがいます。輪島漆器の歴史をつくってきた職人さんたちの、技と工夫がつまった、ちょっとむかしのうつわたちをご紹介します。

『大崎漆器店の見本椀-ちょっとむかしのうつわたち-』
期間 :9月12日(金)~16日(火) AM9~PM5(最終日 ~PM3)
Term: 12th to 16th september 9 am.~5 pm. (the last day untill 3 pm.)
場所:広坂休憩館(石川県立美術館に隣接)
Place: Hieosaka-Kyukeikan (next to the art gallery of Ishikawa)
     http://www.cg-kanazawa.com/kanko/m2006.html 
   Map http://www.cg-kanazawa.com/map/map02.pdf

展示期間が短いので、なかなか難しいかもしれませんが、どうぞ足を運んでください。
I'll be glad if you visit this little exhibition. thank you.