AKIRA KUROSAWA & THE CODETALKERS IN KIYOMIZU

Navajo Codetalkers in Japan during the WWII

Today, The Jones have visited Kiyomizu-dera in Kyoto. The family has returned to this wonderful city by the bullet train again. 

During the travel, they have revised some English grammar like Past Simple vs. Present Perfect and The Possessives (Adjectives & Pronouns).

They have also read another amazing chapter of Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray.

The Grandma has talked about the ancient Basque language origins that have in common Catalan towns like Alòs, Àneu, Cansuberri, Esterri, Gavàs, Isavarre, Sort or Tavascan. It's an interesting story that demonstrates the importance of the Basque language and its ancestral origins. Basque language is a beautiful language which is spoken nowadays not only in Euskalherria also in the USA and dozens of countries where there is a Basque diaspora.

More information: Past Simple vs. Present Perfect

Basque language has a common story with Navajo one because both of them were used to send information to Japan during the WWII. American government considered these two ancient languages difficult enough to not being decoded y the Japanese troops.

 

Finally, the family has talked about options and wishes choosing between Ernie and Bert, two old Grandma's friends.

More info: Possessives Adjectives & Posessive Pronouns

 

We need only look to our Navajo Code Talkers during World War II 

to see the value that Native languages bring not only to their culture, but to the security of all Americans.  

Rick Renzi

Kiyomizu-dera, officially Otowa-san Kiyomizu-dera, is an independent Buddhist temple in eastern Kyoto. The temple is part of the Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto UNESCO World Heritage site.

The Jones at Kiyomizu-dera, Kyoto

The place is not to be confused with Kiyomizu-dera in Yasugi, Shimane, which is part of the 33-temple route of the Chūgoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage through western Japan, or the Kiyozumi-dera temple associated with the Buddhist priest Nichiren.

Kiyomizu-dera was founded in the early Heian period. The temple was founded in 778 by Sakanoue no Tamuramaro, and its present buildings were constructed in 1633, ordered by the Tokugawa Iemitsu. 

There is not a single nail used in the entire structure. It takes its name from the waterfall within the complex, which runs off the nearby hills. Kiyomizu means clear water, or pure water.

It was originally affiliated with the old and influential Hossō sect dating from Nara times. However, in 1965 it severed that affiliation, and its present custodians call themselves members of the Kitahossō sect.

More information: Kiyomizu-Dera Temple

The main hall has a large veranda, supported by tall pillars, that juts out over the hillside and offers impressive views of the city. Large verandas and main halls were constructed at many popular sites during the Edo period to accommodate large numbers of pilgrims.

The Jones at Kiyomizu-dera, Kyoto

The popular expression to jump off the stage at Kiyomizu is the Japanese equivalent of the English expression to take the plunge. This refers to an Edo-period tradition that held that if one were to survive a 13-meter jump from the stage, one's wish would be granted. 

During the Edo period, 234 jumps were recorded, and of those, 85.4% survived. The practice is now prohibited.

Beneath the main hall is the Otowa waterfall, where three channels of water fall into a pond. Visitors can catch and drink the water, which is believed to have wish-granting powers.

The temple complex includes several other shrines, among them the Jishu Shrine, dedicated to Ōkuninushi, a god of love and good matches. Jishu Shrine possesses a pair of love stones placed 18 meters apart, which lonely visitors can try to walk between with their eyes closed. Success in reaching the other stone with their eyes closed implies that the pilgrim will find love, or true love. One can be assisted in the crossing, but this is taken to mean that a go-between will be needed. The person's romantic interest can assist them as well.

More information: Japan Guide

The complex also offers various talismans, incense, and omikuji -paper fortunes-. The site is particularly popular during festivals, especially at New Year's and during obon in the summer, when additional booths fill the grounds selling traditional holiday foodstuffs and souvenirs to throngs of visitors.

This evening, The Jones have returned to Tokyo. They have watched an Akira Kurosawa film during the travel by train.

 I'm not a New Age person, but I do believe in meditation, 

and for that reason I've always liked the Buddhist religion. 

When I've been to Japan, I've been to Buddhist temples 

and meditated, and I found that rewarding. 

Clint Eastwood

 

Akira Kurosawa was a Japanese film director and screenwriter, who directed 30 films in a career spanning 57 years. He is regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema.

Akira Kurosawa

Kurosawa entered the Japanese film industry in 1936, following a brief stint as a painter. After years of working on numerous films as an assistant director and scriptwriter, he made his debut as a director during World War II with the popular action film Sanshiro Sugata, aka Judo Saga. 

After the war, the critically acclaimed Drunken Angel (1948), in which Kurosawa cast then-unknown actor Toshiro Mifune in a starring role, cemented the director's reputation as one of the most important young filmmakers in Japan. The two men would go on to collaborate on another 15 films.

More information: Akira Kurosawa

Rashomon, which premiered in Tokyo, became the surprise winner of the Golden Lion at the 1952 Venice Film Festival. The commercial and critical success of that film opened up Western film markets for the first time to the products of the Japanese film industry, which in turn led to international recognition for other Japanese filmmakers.  

More information: Biography

Kurosawa directed approximately one film per year throughout the 1950s and early 1960s, including a number of highly regarded, and often adapted films, such as Ikiru (1952), Seven Samurai (1954) and Yojimbo (1961). After the 1960s he became much less prolific; even so, his later work, including his final two epics, Kagemusha (1980) and Ran (1985), continued to win awards, though more often abroad than in Japan.

In 1990, he accepted the Academy Award for Lifetime Achievement. Posthumously, he was named Asian of the Century in the Arts, Literature, and Culture category by AsianWeek magazine and CNN, cited there as being among the five people who most prominently contributed to the improvement of Asia in the 20th century. His career has been honored by many retrospectives, critical studies and biographies in both print and video, and by releases in many consumer media formats. 

More information: Medium

 In a mad world, only the mad are sane. 

Akira Kurosawa