Vast expanses of pastel greens and browns are broken by explosions of white and pink. It is cherry blossom time again in Sendai. This year is particularly impressive, the winter temperatures and precipitation causing a riot of blossom, which this week are in full bloom. People are partying in the parks and traffic slows to a crawl along roads lined with cherry trees. People are fascinated by the symbolism of the cherry blossom. They are dependent upon the conditions during the previous winter - directly reflecting the Buddhist ideas of dependent creation. And more importantly, although beautiful, their lives are short and end in decay - reflecting the human condition and the Buddhist ideas on non-permanence and constant change.
Spring
Comes
Again
Offering
Pink cherry blossoms
Beautiful but too soon passing
About Me
- Charles
- Nakagawa-machi, Chikush-gun, Fukuoka-ken, Japan
- I have lived in Japan since 1976 and now consider it to be my permanent home. I have a very varied background having studied engineering, Japanese and East Asian studies, and education at the university level. I spent ten years in the Army where my job involved Area Studies, mostly in East Asia. When I started to teach in Japan, it was at a post high school level and, after I completed a PhD in education, I moved to a university where I become a full professor. After retiring, I taught part-time but am now completely retired and spend my enjoying myself. I am reasonably fluent in Japanese and at present all of my friends are elderly Japanese.
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