Finding a Butterfly in a Cup －茶碗の中に蝶々を見つけること－

I recently read a very interesting book called “The Book of Tea”.  It was written in 1906 by Japanese writer Kakuzo Okakura, to explain Japanese ideas of the appreciation of beauty and the tea ceremony to a Western audience.  It was originally written in English. 

Okakura notes that Westerners of the time tended to have a very simplistic view of Asian cultures.  He complained that they saw the Japanese as barbarians until they were successful in war with Russia, and felt that success in war was a poor measure of culture. 

Here are a few interesting quotes from the book: 

“Perfection is everywhere if we only choose to recognise it.” 

“[Tea] has not the arrogance of wine, the self- consciousness of coffee, nor the simpering innocence of cocoa.” 

“Teaism is a cult founded on the adoration of the beautiful among the sordid facts of everyday existence… It is essentially a worship of the Imperfect, as it is [an] attempt to accomplish something possible in this impossible thing we know as life.” 

“Meanwhile, let us have a sip of tea. The afternoon glow is brightening the bamboos,… the [whistling of the pines in the wind] is heard in our kettle. Let us dream of [fleeting things] and linger in the beautiful foolishness of things.” 

“We classify too much and enjoy too little.” 

“The Taoist and Zen conception of perfection... the dynamic nature of their philosophy laid more stress upon the process through which perfection was sought than upon perfection itself. True beauty could be discovered only by one who mentally completed the incomplete. The [strength] of life and art lay in its possibilities for growth.” 

“Alas! The only flower known to have wings is the butterfly; all others stand helpless before the destroyer.”

Vocabulary:

simpering – trying too much to be liked, such as by smiling in a foolish and self-conscious way

[eg., The simpering waiter tried hard to please the celebrity visitor to the restaurant.]

adoration – deep love or respect

sordid – involving dishonourable or immoral actions or motives

[eg., He was having a sordid love affair.]

fleeting – lasting only a moment; quickly passing away

[eg., A gambler’s success is often fleeting.]

to linger – to stay longer than necessary because of a reluctance to leave

[eg., Let us linger for a moment longer in the sunshine.]

 

Arriving Nowhere in Hakone －箱根で何処にもたどり着かない－

I recently took a short trip to Hakone with my family. 

My son was recovering from the flu, so we kept the itinerary simple.  We took a ropeway and cable car up a volcano, and smelled the sulphur and vapour hanging in the air.  We rested our legs in hot water as the cold wind whistled around us.  We took a boat across a lake.  And we enjoyed a lovely meal at the hotel restaurant, where I ate deer meat and tried some different kinds of wine. 

My son enjoyed all of the vehicles we travelled on.  He liked the “Romance Train” from Tokyo to Hakone, and a special train which climbed the mountain.  He loved the ropeway and cable car.  The thing he really didn’t like was when we arrived anywhere.  As soon as we got out onto the volcano, he wanted to get back in the cable car.  Maybe he is an instinctive Zen priest.  It is not the action that is important, but the process; it is not the destination that matters, but the journey. 

My wife was getting very frustrated in the hotel, trying to contact reception.  She wanted to ask about booking a taxi. 

“I can’t believe it!” she complained, “They’re engaged again!” 

Every time my wife called reception from the phone in our hotel room, the phone line was engaged.  No matter how many times she tried calling, she couldn’t get through. 

Eventually, my wife read the information sheet next to the phone a little more carefully.  For all of this time, she hadn’t been ringing the number for reception.  She had been ringing our own hotel room.  No wonder the line was always engaged.