|
Beyond Japan Updates
Al blowing "Kansha" gratitude,
on Zzyyx Road, CA near Nevada
D O U M O
A R I G A T O U
G O Z A I M A S U
!!!!!!!!!!!!!
O K A G E S A M A D E!!!!!!!!!!!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Modern Day Takuhatsu
"Love is the the will to extend one's self for the purpose of one's and another's spirtiual growth."---Scott M. Peck
This quote encapsulates how I feel about this trip playing shakuhachi through the south and northwestern United States. It's like a modern-day solitary shakuhachi takuhastsu (traditional begging journey). Traveling long distances to various temples and art and culture centers to play honkyoku. It's dangerous and beautiful at the same time. Full of love. Spreading Bamboo Dharma. To play honkyoku with the intention to give good energy to the universe is a proper way to play I feel. Connecting with people and spirits. It's like a special kind of solitary,moving, retreat to play shakuhachi.
I am full of immense gratitude for everyone who has helped me on this trip. I couldn't have completed it without them. Especially for my brother, Alex for the use of his wonderful SUV to traverse the desert landscapes, Mom and Dad for donations of gas money, Pam for opening her heart and home to me in Tempe, Arizona, Barbara for her effort and kindness in making my stay in Arizona wonderful, James Cho for all his great hospitality and film work in Las Vegas and CA, Thom Pastor and Karen Rennick of the Great Brightness Zen Center in Las Vegas for showing me heaven in hell, James and Jennifer diProperzio for giving me lodging and warm friendship when most needed, Dharma Rain Sangha for welcoming me so warmly, Merm and Sue for opening their home to me in Portland, June Schumann and Amy Peterson for taking care of my needs at the Oregon Nikkei Legacy Center, Jacksonwellsprings, Breitenbush, and Tsubaki Jinja.....I'm eternally grateful!!!!!!!!
I embarked from San Jose, CA at 3 am on June 26th in my brother's red Ford Escape SUV with a feeling of fear and excitement like jumping off a cliff into a dark abyss, with only wings of bamboo and breath to fly on. Mapquest said that the ETA for Taos, New Mexico would be about 17 hours. Google said about 21 hours. In any case, I was in for a long ride into the desert.
It was beautiful to see the various plants and landscapes change as you drive from the coast to the high to the inner deserts. I caught my first glimpse of agave plant while passing through the Mojave desert. I stopped to take a closer look at the beautiful plant. White as bone, this species is smaller than the Arizona variety I encountered in Sedona a few years back.
I wondered how the first show in Taos, New Mexico would be as this was my very first time there and I didn't know anyone in that town. I only stopped once for a short nap on that incredibly long stretch of highways. It took me 24.5 hours to reach Taos. I don't know how I found the campgrounds in the dead of night, but I did.
Tipis at the Snow Mansion Hostel, Arroyo Seco, NM
There were teepees with beds within on the camp grounds of the Snow Mansion Hostel and a picked an empty one and quickly hopped into bed and fell fast asleep.The temperature had dropped drastically in the night. Luckily there were lots of blankets! I woke at 9 am, checked in with the staff, then headed to the Taos Center for the Arts where my show was the next day. In the daylight I could appreciate the the incredible beauty of the Taos landscape with expansive vistas and castles of clouds and light in the sky with mountainous regions to the north; pueblo architecture dominating the land with a strong native presence. It's a small town full of great character and uniquely mystical atmosphere.
Taos Center for the Arts
Rainclouds on the horizon in Taos
Tipis in Taos
Taos landscape
Galina Mts., New Mexico
I spent the whole day walking around town doing last minute advertising by putting up posters and talking to various shop owners about my show. I was fortunte to have a wonderful article written about my show in the local newspaper, Taos News. My great thanks goes to Virginia Clark, the journalist for doing this!
The next day was spent preparing for the show. The weather was pleasant and a refreshing wind and showers bathed Taos to cool the usual summer heat. The Stables Gallery where the show was to be held is an awesome acoustic space! It was originally a stable for horses but was rebuilt into a gallery with concrete walls, ceilings, and floors. Many people came which made me feel wonderfully welcome in Taos. One of audience members, Steven had just attended the Shakuhachi Summer Camp in Colorado Rockies and met one of my students, John Paul there.
Everyone enjoyed the presentation and bought lots of CDs which felt great!
Houkouji, Arroyo Seco, New Mexico
Calligraphy of Koun-sama above the entrance of Houkouji Zendo entrance
Houkouji Zendo
The next morning I blew shakuhachi thanking the sun as it rose on the horizon. Then I visited the Hokoji Zen Buddhist temple where I meditated with the group there at 7 am. It was in the hills of Taos and is a very beautiful little zendo started by Houn Kobun Chino Otogawa Dai-Osho (dharma brother of Shunryu Suzuki Roshi). Micheal Clennan who came to my show invited me to the morning meditation. It was a very nice meditation in the traditional Soto Shu style of Dogen Zenji which made me feel very natsukashii for Japan.
In the afternoon I met with a few people who came to my show and were intersted in buying my hocchiku flutes and sold one (Wabi-do) to Andrew Tumason, musician, industrial engineer, and bamboo enthusiast. He has a really wonderful, sincere artistic and spiritual sense which left me feeling serene and peaceful.
John Bradford and Melisa outside their shop in Arroyo Seco, NM
One of my other purposes for doing this tour was to connect with potters in other parts of the U.S. for my wife Sandra's work. In Taos, I met two wonderful, young, prodigious (wood-firing) potters, John Bradford and his girlfriend, Melisa who have a shop in the little village of Arroyo Seco, just outside of Taos. I played my shakuhachi for them which they really enjoyed and made the interesting comment while watching my fingers that it was very similar to pottery; all the subtle fingerings used on the 5-holes using the edge of the fingers, use of my body and breath to create all the different tone colorings and nuances of sound.....Lovely comparison! While viewing the photos of his anagama kiln on his computer, I noticed he had a Violent Femmes CD on his desk, and let him know that the base guitarist for that band, Brian Ritchie, was a very fine shakuhachi player himself!
I spent the night next to a rivulet up on the Ski Valley mountain; this was Harry's summer spot whom I met at my show. Unfortunately, it was a bit too cold and noisy outside near the stream so I ended up sleeping in the car.
I woke at 3 am and hit the road to Arizona. Driving into the heart of the night listening to a band, Calexico, a fusion of alternative rock, tex-mex, trip hop, and electronica. Nice dark music for a mysterious atmospheric ride into the desert space.
It started to become light around 5 am which was about the time I hit Albuquerque. In Gallup, just before the Arizona/New Mexico border I stopped off at roadside diner and had a delicious vegetable omlette and fresh pancakes for breakfast.
At about 10 am, I was feeling very drowsy so I pulled off to the next exit and followed a road into the desert landscape toward a most beautiful geologic structure: a massive, flat-top, red rock mesa rising out of clouds of stone......
Mesia, NM
I took some photos and drove into a seemingly deserted, ghost-like village with clean, smooth, yellow-brown adobe-like structures. It was reminescent of a scene from the Martian Chronicles. I parked near a wall with a nice shade with a perfect view of the mesa and dozed off. I was suddenly awoken by someone tapping on my window. It was the highway police. I let down the window and quickly apologized for anything I did wrong. He was quite friendly explaining to me that Iwas on Native Land and asked me to leave as non-locals are not allowed in the area. I apologized again emphasizing that I meant no disprespect and that I was just admiring the great beauty of the land. He reinforced that this was indeed a beautiful land. Mesia.
I was quite rested by now and continued my journey into Arizona, the Valley of the Sun. A few hours later I began to see Dinosaurs......
Actually they were not real dinosaurs, but sculptures put up by some creative folks as the landscape is very fitting since millions of years ago this was in fact a veritable hotbed of dinosaurs. It was really cool so see what these creatures may have looked like roaming the land.
Agave Harvest
I hit Flagstaff, Arizona around 3 pm and had lunch. Then realized I was very close to Sedona. It was still early and light enough so I decided to go agave harvesting! My intention was to craft yidaki (didgeridoos) out of them. I drove around for a few hours in the high elevation hills of Sedona (6000 foot elevation) until I found a deserted canyon with the characteristic agave flowers calling out to me: Hey Al! I'm here! Take me to Canada!
I went about an started to harvest two standing ones that reached 20 feet into the sky! And 4 others that were fallen to the ground in a state of rapid decay. The agave is also know as the "death stalk" for as soon as these plants flower they immediately die and start decomposing. While carrying the stalks back to the car, I noticed I was bleeding on my left calf muscle. I thought snake?!!! But I didn't really feel it nor was it painful. Then realized it had been one of the spikey thorn-leaves of the agave plant that had pricked me. I quickly took off my head band and wrapped it around my wound and calf to help stop the bleeding. Luckily it's not poisonous!
 20 foot agave stalk in Sedona, AZ
15 foot agave stalk in Sedona, AZ
Fallen agave skeletons, Sedona, AZ
Fallen agave skeleton, Sedona, AZ
Red rock mesas of Sedona
I loaded the stalks into the SUV but had to open the back window as the big one was too long. It was a long, hot ride to Tempe as I couldn't use the AC as the back window was open the whole way.
I called my host in Tempe to tell her I was on my way and that I would be there soon. While driving, feeling the heat envelope me, I felt a strange sense of equilibrium, floating, propelled through the the high desert on rubber and steel, air and oil; generations of refined engineering, balanced chaos....Driving in and out of the showers of storm clouds dotting the landscapes, thunder and lightning and booming winds bathing the atmosphere. The smell of death stalks filling the SUV.
I made it to Tempe at 6 pm. The last time I was in Arizona was in 2003 where I performed at Borders Bookstore in Chandler, and then at the Desert Lotus Zen Sangha. Barbara was the one who "discovered" me and took me in. She is a truly sweet soul. Her friend, Pam owns a nice lot with two adjacent houses. She has a very nice guest house where I stayed. What an OASIS it was! Incredible feeling to be there in an aircondiitoned beautiful room, comfortable, clean bed, kitchen, fridge, and cold shower!!!! The temperature was about 115 degrees farenheit (46 deg. celcius!) It was truly and awesome feeling to be in that cool, relaxing haven after 15 hours on the road in the sweltering heat. Although I was tired I was buzzing from adrenaline rusing through my system. Also I was also anticipating all the work I had to do before I left Tempe in a few days to create the didges from the agave stalks. I had to start early morning the next day if I was to finish on time.
I met Pam, the owner of the house where I was to have my performance. She is an amazing woman and wonderfully kind. I am so grateful to her for taking me in. Barbara came by soon after and helped me unload the car. Suddenly we were hit by a tremendous squall! it was like millions of gods above were pouring great buckets of water down on the land. For a while, thestreets were flooded. Luckily the storn abated after a few hours and all the water quickly drained away.
It was good to see Barbara again. I almost forgot what she looked like. We discussed the schedule for the next few days then left to go home. I took a much desired cold shower the fell asleep to beatuiful dreams of thedesert.
Making Yidaki (Digeridoos)
The next day was spent making the agave yidaki. I went to Home Depot and bought all the necessary items: butane torch, hose clamps, carpenter's glue, bristle brush drillbit, and super-thick varnish lacquer. It was quite a messy ordeal to make these instruments, especially hollowing out the inner pulp of the stalk. Dust flying everywhere!
Standing with the harvested agave stalks in Tempe, AZ
I started on the 18-foot monster agave stalk.
I trimmed the bottom of the root end.
Detail of the inner material of the stalk.
(Jump to the future: August 2006, after returing from the trip I finished the yidaki at home in Madeira Park, BC, Canada. Photos below. I named the didge: Shi-ne Ryugin: Dragon Roaring in the Death Root. Ryugin, Dragon Roar, for short.)
From 18 feet, Ryugin was reduced
to 8 feet in the end; pitched at Gb/A#
Staring down the throat of Ryugin
Root end detail of the big lovely Ryugin
Detail of the skin of Ryugin
Ryugin and Al
(Back to Tempe, Arizona, July, 2006)
The next morning I had a wonderful treatment of Shiatsu from Brian Skow. He traded a session of his shiatsu for a shakuhachi lesson from me. I'm glad I did, as it felt wonderful. He left me feeling calm and energized. I highly recommend Brian to those in the Phoenix and surrounding areas!
I spent the rest of the day working on the digeridoos then practiced shakuhachi in the evening.
The next day we prepared for the performance in the living room of the main guest house. Barbara really made a great effort make the space look really nice and inviting.
House concert @ Pam's home
The audience was small but everyone was very warm and appreciative and enjoyed my offering of honkyoku. I connected with the folks how run the Japanese Friendship Garden in Phoenix and they want me to play there the next time I return to Arizona. Also met Terry Melser who studied shakuhachi with Ron Berger several years ago. He was really moved by the performance and wants to study shakuhachi again and is even considering coming to Japan with us this year! That night, Barbara also bought one of my hocchiku (Do-teki) and started playing which was wonderful.
Terry came over for a lesson the next day which was very nice. He also plays Irish flute which he brought to share with me. It was definitely a beauty made of dark, aged hardwood.
That night I finally had time to spend with Pam and got to know her better. She is an incredibly wise woman with the sweetest soul that touched me profoundly. She really opened her heart to me that night, sharing very personal and traumatic events in her life and how she overcame them, showing me how it fit into the larger context of life's circumstances. I'll never forget that night, talking to Pam and playing my flute for her childern who smiled and swayed to my sounds. I projected love and healing towards them and wished them joy and happiness.
On the morning before my departure, I gave Barbara her first lesson on her new flute. She caught on very quickly and it was great to hear and see your enthusiasm for playing the flute. I also gave Pam, as a token of my gratitude for her kindness and hospitality, a 1.5 flute I made (Shoteki). We all gave each other a hug and kiss before I hit the road once more.
On the Road Again!
Off to the City of Sin!!! Las Vegas.
It's an incredible feeling to drive through the desert feeling the change in atmosphere from one sector to another which is quite distinct. The wide barren spaces, distinct vistas of rock, stone, sand, dust, rain, wind, plant life is truly beautiful.
Yucca Elata
On a long stretch of highway, US 93, I saw another species of agave appearing on the landscape. It was a thinner variety than the Agave Leguichilla that I harvested in Sedona. It was much thinner and the stalk looked like a mix between bamboo and rattan, but white as bone with flowers that were an off-brown/yellow color with a stripe patern on the inside of the flowers that reminded me of a wasp's belly. This was the famous Soaptree Yucca (Yucca Elata), (one of the) state flowers of New Mexico.
Further down US 93, I came across yet another beautiful species of agave plant that was thicker than the yucca elata, but whose color ranged from white to glowing brown-red with stalks that spiraled high into the sky and smelled like corn. Many of them had fallen to the ground naturally and were decomposing into stalks of gray splinters. This was the rare Agave Delemateri.
Fallen Agave Delemateri
Blooming Agave Delemateri
Fallen Agave Delemateri
Agave Delemateri
Agave Delemateri grove
Beautiful cactus near the agave
I reached the Nevada-Arizona border around 3 pm and drove through the Hoover Dam where I stopped and had a bite to eat.
Hoover Dam
Hoover Dam reservoir
I noticed the water level was significantly down. There must've been a drought. I would be staying at my friend Jame Cho's place in the suburbs of Las Vegas. But before going there, I checked in at the Great Brightness Zen Center where I was to have my performance the following day. The building was kind of non-descript in a semi-industrial area of the city. Inside was a cozy little zendo with beautiful buddha statues and buddha altar with fine paintings and calligraphy works from zen masters. There I met Jane, who I've been communicating with via email for the past several months trying to set up this show. Also there was John a botanist who just recently moved to Las Vegas and was working for the parks and recreation board for the state. Jane and I discussed the schedule for the show and got acquainted.
It was July 4th so on the way to James' place, the skies were dotted with fireworks exploding around the skyline.
Heaven in Las Vegas
On July 6 was the day of the peformance. James and I arrived at the Great Brightness Zen Center early and meditated with the group there. I very much enjoyed the Korean style of zen (Chogye) practiced at the GBZC. We started with 30 minutes of silent meditation. Then did several chants in Korean which was very lovely and melodic. Thom Pastor, the abbot of the center, I could tell was very deep into his practice as he memorized all the Korean chants perfectly and had a developed singing voice. Later I was to find out he was a music major from the prestigious Berklee School of Music and is also the treasurer for the Nevada Muscian's Association. After meditation be showed me his alto Boehm flute which much longer and deeper than the standar silver flute. I suceeded in making the lowest note on it. Thom Pastor also had a shakuhachi but said he didn't play it as switching between the two created too much confusion with his embouchure. So he sticks mainly with his silver flute. But I tried to encourage him to play his shakuhachi more as he can get used to changing between the two.
Whe setting up this performance in Las Vegas a few months back, I did it with no expectations of any gain. It was purely to play for the sangha there for anyone who would listen. Even if it was one person, that was ok. Even no people, just playing for the Buddha Hall was fine with me. My notion of Las Vegas, I must admit was one devoid of spirituality; and landscape of hungry ghosts drowning in a sea of their own excess. So when came to the Great Brightness and met all the wonderful people who practiced zen diligiently and I saw that there were people who came to the offering, I was very pleasantly surprised and happy! Everyone enjoyed the presentation greatly and bought several CDs. After my performance I was joined by Thom Pastor's friend, the superb harpist from Paraguay, Mariano Gonzales who interestingly has a very strong connection to Japan having lived there for several years, playing in many of the great halls in Tokyo and around Japan. His Japanese is very good as well! We played impromptu versions of Sakura Sakura and Kojo no Tsuki. We made a very good connection together and we resolved to make a show together when I return to Las Vegas.
At Great Brightness Zen Center, Las Vegas, Nevada
At Great Brightness Zen Center, Las Vegas, Nevada
Master harpist, Mariano Gonzalez and I playing
"Sakura Sakura" and "Kojo no Tsuki"
Reverend Thom Pastor, me and Mariano Gonzalez
After the performance, James took me to visit "The Strip" where all the gaudy, neon bursting casinos and corporate night club resorts were like The Stardust, Circus Circus, Luxor Pyramid, Bellagios, Mirage, Ceasar's Palace, et., etc.
As John Donne had said: "O miserable abundance, O beggarly riches!"---This perfectly describes Las Vegas!
Coming from a small town like Madeira Park, seeing all this incredible excess was almost overwhelming. Gambling, drinking, smoking, sex, eating, spending, constant, neverending cacophony of slot machines, nightclub music and black jack dealers.....Seeing the hundreds, thousands of people doing all this, blindly mesemerized by their excessive desires was shocking, surreal to say the least. There were even slot machines in Safeway! What an irony that is! I felt as if I were some kind of alien explorer on this alien planet of "The Las Vegas Strip" observing the native inhabitants, trying to understand their strange behavior. It certainly was interesting to visit that place, but I could never live in a city like that. All the more amazing and wonderful that a heavenly place like Great Brightness Zen Center exists in a place like Las Vegas.
Back in the Saddle Again
The ride back to San Jose, CA was long but beautiful. On the way we visited a ghost town called Calico where I played Tamuke for the dead next to the large, white wooden cross on the hill overlooking the quiet, lonely cemetary. Truly "sabishii". James took some nice photos of the skyscapes around the area as well.
Do you know the way to San Jose?
On the way back to San Jose we got lost for a bit and had to ask a security guard at some company if we were on the right track. He assured us we were. In Fresno, I took a small nap it was already 1:30 and I was falliing asleep at the wheel. When we got closer to Alex's house I had to ask directions from a convenience store clerk as I was still not used to navigating the streets in San Jose, espeicially at night. We got to Alex's house at 3:30 am and immediately crashed into a deep sleep.
We woke at 10 am and Alex and I went into San Francisco for a few hours. I played on the street in Japan Town while Alex attended a meeting for his church. After lunch we went to Sausalito, just over the Golden Gate Bridge and checked in at the Cobalt Sun, the venue for my next performance and workshop. No one was there so I left a note on the door to Dwight and Lynn, the owners of the space.
The next day was the workshop at Cobalt Sun at 9 am. I didn't know who was going to show up. I was surprised and happy to see a familiar face walk through the door: Rich Powers! Then another person walked in: Harry Gilling who was new to the shakuhachi. James also joined in. We had a nice time working on the basics of blowing and making a good sound. We also worked on Honshirabe. It really challenged Harry and helped Rich greatly, I think. Rich even bought one of my hocchku (Tsukimi)! It was really nice to hear Rich's various serendipitous experiences with the shakuahchi.
Al, Lynn, and Dwight
After the workshop James and I got to know Dwight and Lynn better. They invited us to their incredibly beautiful home in the hills of Sausalito. Lynn's late husband was an architect and designed an amazing 4-storey circular home on the side of a hill with an unbelievable view of the San Francisco Bay. Lynn and Dwight are truly angelic spirits! Lynn is a fascinating light "architect" who creates flowing, atmospheric, interactive light environments to encourage and enhance well being, inspiration and open eye meditations. Dwight is a wonderful ambient electronica musician who has been involved in the forefront of alternative rock and electronic music since the 70's as a professional broadcaster - and as a composer of experimental and ambient electronic music of his own making for nearly three decades. We really connected on many levels and share many similar interests which warmed my heart.
The evening performance was beautiful. Everyone was moved and I had some significant connections with some of the audience members. One woman, Brynn Bishop was actually a fellow alumni from the University of California, Santa Barbara who was also a Religious Studies major! It was a great feeling to meet a kindred soul and chat about studying under some of the same teachers. She was really beautiful. It felt great to give her a hug at the end of the evening. We left the Cobalt Sun at midnight and had a late dinner at IHOP which was delicious!
The next day I visited Danongan Kalanduyan, North America's foremost Kulintang master.
Guro Danny Kalanduyan
I've had a great fascination with Kulintang for quite some time but never had the opportunity to acquire a proper instrument much less access to a good teacher. For kulintang, Guro Danny is the best in the field and I feel very fortunate to have met him personally and get to know him a little more this past July. We talked about how many Filipino Americans are practicing kulintnang as a way to get in touch with their Filipino heritage. Also life as a musician and other interesting topics. Once I get a set of kulintang I will start studying with him. Before we left, we exchanged CDs and name cards. I will try to get him to come to Vancouver to do a performance and perhaps do a collaborative project with him.
The Journey Northwards
The bus up to Ashland, Oregon was gruelling. I had a heavy suitcase, a box of 300 CDs, a big bag of flutes, and my camping gear in a backpack. It was the weight of bags that made things difficult, switching buses, moving all stuff around. Luckily the suitcase had wheels or I wouldn't have made it. I made it to Ashland the next day at 2 pm. I didn't know anyone in Ashland personally so I had to take a taxi to the Jacksonwellsprings where I was to have my next workshop and performance. I stayed in another tipi which was pretty rough this time as there was no bed, and I didn't have sleeping pad, so I tried to find the flatest area to lay my sleeping bag on. Luckily the evenings were pretty warm in Ashland. Like in Sausalito, I didn't know who would show up to the workshop the next day. Three people came which pleasantly surprised me: Todd Barton, Lauren Rubin, and James di Properzio. We all enjoyed spending time together working on strengthening the basics of blowing. We even went through the advanced pieces, San-an and Tsuru no Sugomori!
The evening concert went well and the acoustics of the space was great. I also met new friends who are interested in shakuhachi such as Sergio Scales and his girlfriend. Perhaps the most interesting meeting was with James diProperzio, who shares the exact same birthday as me! Same year, same day, and perhaps the same time of birth. Really cool meeting someone who shares this astrological experience. James opened his home to me inviting me to spend the night, which I am incredibly grateful, as wasn't looking forward to spending another night in the tipi. James and his wife and three children have a nice house in Ashland, close to the main street, Siskyou. James is a writer and his wife, Jennifer is an English Professor at the local University. They will be going to Niger in a few months for about 9 months for Jennifer's work. James is also poised on publishing a fascinating new novel about in instrument maker in rennaisance Italy.
Since I didn't have a plan yet on where I would be staying in Portland, Jennifer called her friends in Portland (Merm and Sue) and asked them if I could stay at their place. This proved to be lifesaving for me! I can't emphasize how grateful I am to Jennifer and James for helping me.
 Folks at Ashland
With James diProperzio at his place,
Ashland, OR
I rented a car from Ashland and drove up to Portland where I dropped it off at the office there after my shows at Dharma Rain (Portland Dharma Center) and The Oregon Nikkei Heritage Center). What a relief to be driving a car again!
The sangha of Dharma Rain were wonderful!!! As usual I wasn't expecting anything and didn't know who would show up. The zendo was packed and many people bought CDs, and donated generously. I was very moved and very grateful.
With Daitetsu of Great Vow Monastery
The next night was at the Oregon Nikkei Heritage Center. I love that place. There was an excellent museum with detailed displays and dioramas of the living conditions of concentration camps where the Japanese Americans were interned during WW2. There was also a traveling exhibition of "Big Drum" which highlights history of taiko in North America and showed all the major taiko groups in the States and in Canada.
The coordinator for ONLC, June Shumann, was incredibly helpful and supportive of my visit. I was very moved by her kindness. Also, Amy Pederson, another board member of the ONLC was very warm and friendly and exerted good efforts to connect me with the JA community of artists. I want to give a big thanks to Rich Iwasaki for taking photos of me during my performance at the ONLC!
At the show I was very happy to see Randall Havas and Joel Taylor again. Also met many new friends who enjoyed the show. One woman, Margaret Chula, who is a very fine and distinguished poet of haiku composed a haiku while listening to my performance:
new bamboo
darkens in the winter sun
hollow with sound
-----------Margaret Chula
I was very moved as I dabble a bit in this artform.
After the show June and her husband, John and Amy took me out for sushi which was great.
One interesting thing that emerged was that Amy mentioned that she has a biwa that was given to her by her grandmother and she wants it resurrected as there were some missing components to it. We met a few days later so I could inspect the biwa. It turned out that it was in pretty good shape. Only needed new strings and ivory moon inserts which is only aesthetic. I offered to fix it up for her and play it when I return to Portland. I will play Atsumori.
My next performance was at Breitenbush Hotsprings in Detroit, Oregon, 30 minutes from Salem. It was a very beautiful place, nestled deep in the mountains of Oregon near Mt. Hood. It's Oregon's premier hotsprings retreat center. It was very clean and organized with excellent facilities. I wish I could've stayed longer but I had a time constraint and had to be back in Portland right after my show.
View of a mountain from Mt. Hood
The show went well with more people coming than I was expecting. One person in particular whom I connected substantially with was Claude Palmer and his wife, Monica Singh. Claude was friends of Joel Taylor in the past and they used to be neighbors with Phil Gelb several years ago. Claude plays oud as well. They live in the bay area. I will definitely contact them when I'm back there.
Before heading back to Portland, I soaked in the hotsprings for a few hours under the deep night sky full of stars, framed by old-growth trees and branches. It was very relaxing and enchanting. I wish Sandra was there to share it with me. Yes, by this time, I was quite missing home in Madeira Park.
I arrived back in Portland at 3:30 am. I woke at 9 am and took CDs to the Traditional Chinese Gardens to put in their store as well as the excellent Japanese Gardens. I practiced for 5 hours on a slope overlooking the Japanese gardens then headed back to the house.
The next day was took the bus up to Everett, WA, where Tsubaki Jinja shinto priest, Koichi Barrish picked me up and took me to the kaikan where I lodged.
The offering to the Kami Sama was very nice and was grateful for Barrish Sensei for allowing me the offering.
This ends the tour.
Thanks for following me on this journey. Blessings and may the wonderful winds of love, beauty, and meditation transport you to fulfill your deepest desires.
|
