Kabuto Jinja under the Shuto Expressway, Chuo-ku, Tokyo. This shrine faces the Tokyo Stock Exchange. From the book Earth, Water, Fire, Wind, Emptiness: Tokyo Landscape. Click on the image for a larger view.
Category Archives: Books
Sacred Spaces, Part 2
The entrance to Atago Jinja, founded in 1603, marked by the shinto Tori gate or Torii. Built on one of the highest points in Edo overlooking the bay (26 m, 85 ft.), the shrine was famous for its views. Today, that view is obscured by buildings. The fire god Homusubi-no-mikoto is the main deity, reflecting how deadly and feared fires were to the Edo population. From the book Earth, Water, Fire, Wind, Emptiness: Tokyo Landscapes. Click on the image for a larger view.
Sacred Spaces, Part 1
Shusse Inari Jinja, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo. The shrine was founded in 1620 by Lady Kasuga, a powerful woman in the Tokugawa Shogunate. The sound that periodically sweeps through the shrine is a cross between wind and thunder—the noise of the Thunder Dolphin roller coaster, the structure in the background, as the cars pass the gap between the buildings. From the book Earth, Water, Fire, Wind, Emptiness: Tokyo Landscapes. Click on the image for a larger view.
Tsukiji Revisited, Part 3
Discarded scales in Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo. From our book Tsukiji: Tokyo Fish Market Suite. Click on the image for a larger view.
Tsukiji Revisited, Part 2
The former Tokyo Central Wholesale Fish Market in Tsukiji. From our book Tsukiji: Tokyo Fish Market Suite. Click on the image for a larger view.
Tsukiji Revisited, Part 1
The former Tokyo Central Wholesale Fish Market in Tsukiji. The market was known for its trade in tuna. From our book Tsukiji: Tokyo Fish Market Suite. Click on the image for a larger view.
Tokyo Bay Seawall
The defense along the artificial islands in Tokyo Bay. From our book Earth, Water, Fire, Wind, Emptiness: Tokyo Landscape. Click on the image for a larger view.
Winter
Solitary Sunday
Blanket of snow
My gaze
My silence
（1989）
TRANSLATED FROM THE JAPANESE POETRY BOOK ON LOVE
OTOHIME KARA URASHIMA TARO NI TSUGU BY NAOMI OTSUBO.
FROM CHAPTER ONE, BEFORE MEETING
冬
ひとりの 休日に
いちめんの 雪
みつめる わたし
音のない わたし
（1989年）
恋愛詩集「乙姫から浦島太郎に告ぐ」第1章出会い前 より
A Law of the Universe
I’m patting my dog’s head
over and over.
Something amazing is happening.
I am becoming happier and happier.
.（1988）
TRANSLATED FROM THE JAPANESE POETRY BOOK ON LOVE
OTOHIME KARA URASHIMA TARO NI TSUGU BY NAOMI OTSUBO.
FROM CHAPTER ONE, BEFORE MEETING
宇宙の法則
犬の頭をなでる
コロコロと なでる
なぜか 自分が うれしくなってくる
すごいことが おきている
（1988）
恋愛詩集「乙姫から浦島太郎に告ぐ」第1章出会い前 より
I won’t cry
My funeral
A friend’s funeral
Not to cry after a death
with unexpressed gratitude
I will face them now
with “arigato.”
Note: arigato is an expression of thanks or gratitude in Japanese.
TRANSLATED FROM THE JAPANESE POETRY BOOK ON LOVE
OTOHIME KARA URASHIMA TARO NI TSUGU BY NAOMI OTSUBO.
FROM CHAPTER ONE, BEFORE MEETING
(Original Japanese poem)
私は泣かない
自分の葬式
他人の葬式
死んでから
鳴いて感謝するよりも
向かい合った「ありがとう」を
私は選ぶ
