‘Listening to scent’

The Japanese Art of Scent

Fragrance of the orange Flowering at last in June Wafts through the summer night The memory of scented sleeves Of someone long ago Scent has an amazing power to evoke and transport, to bring back a sudden memory of somewhere or someone once loved and long forgotten. The Japanese have always celebrated scent but not … Read more

Court lady of the Women’s Palace with blackened teeth and iridescent green lipstick. Woodblock print by Yoshitoshi (1839 - 1892)

Black Teeth (Ohaguro)

‘The tayu knelt next to me, adjusting her skirts. Underneath it all she had a cheeky, elfin face with a tiny nose and pointed chin. How long had she been a tayu, I asked, then gasped when she opened her small mouth to answer. In the chalky-white face with the blood-red lips, her teeth were … Read more

The noise they make is like a dragon’s roar, like a thousand conch shells being blown all at once

Sharp-eyed Hambei the Fisherman and the Invading Aliens

On a hot steamy summer’s day like the last few here in England, 163 years and 14 days ago, on July 8th 1853, something happened that would entirely change the course of Japanese – and world – history. Read my short story … Sharp-eyed Hambei the Fisherman and the Invading Aliens Sharp-Eyed Hambei is the … Read more

At Kumano Nachi Taisha shrine

Walking in the Japanese hills

Here is a wonderful article with great photographs about walking in the Kumano region. The Kumano Shrines are among the most revered in Japan and for many years women were not allowed in these sacred mountains. Many many years ago I spent time in nearby Shingu and took the waters in the hotspring at Kii-Katsura … Read more

How Jordan is trying to reassure tourists

“We are in the eye of the storm,” says Sami, the moustachioed owner of a tiny café perched on the edge of a precipitous canyon. “Israel, Egypt, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia – they’re all around us. But here is calm.” He gestures around the spectacular ravine in front of us. We’ve spent all day zig-zagging down one side and up the other. “Is Jordan not calm and peaceful?” I have to agree. “But tourists no longer come,” he adds gloomily. “They’re afraid. Tourist industry is in trouble. We can’t make ends meet.” […]

Cruising the waves of Japan’s culture

As the great ship surges into Tokyo Bay I’m on the prow, hair streaming in the wind, like Kate Winslet in “Titanic.” Wooded crags come into view, dotted with buildings and the odd factory chimney. The buildings are modern, not wooden houses, but the crags are still much the same as Commodore Matthew Perry must … Read more

Nagoya Castle before it was destroyed by fire

Nagoya Castle – Tokugawa splendour

Nagoya has many memories for me. I used to live near here, in a little city called Gifu, half an hour away on the local train. In those days Nagoya seemed like a huge industrial city. Many years later, when I was researching my book on Sadayakko (the turn of the last century geisha who … Read more

Yokohama and Kamakura …

So I watched from my balcony as the great ship glided away from her berth in Tokyo Bay with the Kodo Drummers there on the quay to drum us out … To reposition a little farther up the bay in Yokohama. I’d never realised Yokohama was beautiful! I used to always come here by train … Read more

Hirakawa Gate - dolphin on roof beam

The women’s palace – what it all came to …

The poet Basho wrote: Summer grasses – All that remains Of mighty warrior’s dreams Was reminded of this poem when I went back to the women’s palace, the women’s vast palatial residence which formed a huge proportion of Edo Castle, the shogun’s headquarters. (Akin to a harem, the women’s palace housed 3000 women and the … Read more

+ More