Okay, I’ll try to explain this with a kind of allegory. Say you have a bird. You know, with the long neck. A looong necked bird. I can’t think of what it’s called, but you know what I mean right? The bird with the long neck. It just ate a fish. But you didn’t want it to eat the fish and don’t want it to swallow it either. So you grab the bird fast by the neck. And you squeeze and pull up to squeeze the fish out. But if you squeeze too hard you’ll break the bird’s neck “crack”. And it’ll die. You don’t want to do that so you squeeze just enough to get the fish out but not so tight you break the bird’s neck. You get what I’m saying? So now, imagine this type of situation when holding the bow. Apply and you can hold the bow correctly for kyudo allowing it to move freely after a shot.
Roughly translated from Japanese, this was said by one of my teachers in kyudo class. At times like these I remember how priceless life experience truly is. Never in my life shall I forget what he said as an example for gripping the bow. I will hereforth imagine a duck hanging by its neck and gagging as I set up my shot.
Writing from Koganei, Tokyo, Japan | June 13, 2009
Categories: Otsuka
Tagged: allegory, kyudo
Just wanted to let you all know I’m still alive and also decided to just show some pics I snapped on my way back home tonight from drinking with Photography Club. Don’t forget to read at the end of the post!
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Heading down the street to the dorm: karaoke on the right and an English cafe on the left.
The yakitori (grilled chicken-on-a-stick) place just a few steps from the dorm lit up with lanterns and vending machines in front.
The ominous low lighting of an apartment entryway.
A single light post in the corner of the parking area at the apartment just across the way.
And finally the view of apartment lights through my bedroom window. Look closely and you can make out the shatter-proof wiring in the glass.
I particularly enjoy the way low lights and such set the mood in this city at night. They don’t overuse heavy and bright night time lighting much like I’ve seen back in cities in the US. Granted it’s much safer here too.
So, recently I’ve been insanely busy! It’s really crazy. But so much has gone on since I last posted so long ago. I’ve attended and participated in a festival (for which I’m still trying to upload the videos to freakin’ YouTube), I was allowed to shoot the bow at kyudo at full length from the dojo and even hit the target for the first time (a most moving experience), I’ve been hard at preparing for and participating in the photo exhibit for photography club this weekend, and finally, school-wise I’ve been running through tons of homework, preparing for a speech on Monday about kyudo, and studying for the three exams in Japanese this week. These next two weeks will literally be hell and I may well not post again during that whole period of time, no matter how much I want to.
Despite the amount of stress I ought to have from all of this, I’m actually regulating my time well and really coming out of it all having a great time and enjoying myself a lot. Kyudo is amazing and spiritually moving. Photography Club is fun and meeting people from the other school’s club has been great too; plus, everyone likes my photos. And though I’m nearly failing Japanese class I’m still nonetheless enjoying learning new things. Staying stress free and enjoying my last two months here in Japan. Wait it out and look forward to my next post everyone!
Writing from Koganei, Tokyo, Japan | June 6, 2009
Categories: Tokyo
Tagged: exhibit, kyudo, night time, photography
