Category Archive:
Loveliness Without End
Whenever the seasons change, it’s a good time to check in with Kenko (1283-1352), the medieval Japanese monk scholar behind one of my favorite books, Essays in Idleness. “No season is so crowded with events as autumn.” I love his take on…
Idleness by the Numbers
I’ve been too busy, so today I looked back at Essays in Idleness, by the medieval Japanese monk and scholar Yoshida Kenko (1283-1352). I need Kenko to remind me what it’s all about. “What a strange, demented feeling it gives me when…
Furoshiki Chic
The great Japanese art of origami is found in Encyclopedia of the Exquisite, but today I’m interested in its cousin—furoshiki, using square pieces of prettily printed cloth to wrap up packages. During the 1600s, furoshiki, literally meaning ‘bath mat,’ were…
Season of the Crickets
Now is the time, according to Japanese connaiseurs, when the suzumushi cricket sings at its sweetest, in the autumn, just before it dies. I write about these insect musicians in the Encyclopedia of the Exquisite, but I couldn’t give you…
Comments