Reflections
on a Visit to Japan
Exhibition opening at the Farmleigh Gallery, Dublin.
REFLECTIONS
View
the work in gallery 1
In
November 2005 I had the opportunity to visit Japan, a country whose
ethos I had already explored through haiku poetry. In Tokyo, during
an International Conference on haiku, I met Japanese, Irish and American
poets and visited Kamakura with a group led by Professor Tsunehiko
Hoshino of the International Museum of Haiku Literature. Here we paid
homage to R.H. Blyth, the renowned English translator, who was buried
in the temple complex of gardens and shrines. I also visited the Sekigucho
Basho Hermitage, now a centre of poetic activity. The graves and statues,
some with votive offerings, at Kamakura and the calm, peaceful setting
of the Basho centre made a deep impression on me.
I was also able to spend some time at Nara, the old capital, a very
different experience from Tokyo. Here I stayed in a Ryokan where the
old Japanese customs are paramount and the 'cloud pines' of the garden,
the tatami mats and the simplicity and harmony of my surroundings
were another world. As it was November the colours in this garden and,
most impressively, in the Isui-en Gardens were vibrant and exciting.
I have tried to capture some of the feelings aroused by my first visit
to this wonderful country.
Jean Duncan 2007
Jean Duncan, H.E.
Mr. Keiichi Hayashi - Japanese Ambassador,
Cliona Doris - Harpist, Deirdre MacKay - Composer.
