I absolutely love this framing of gratitude you describe. The rice is just now being harvested in South Korea too. Here, instead of the hanging bundles you describe, the stalks mostly seem to be laid on their side in square piles - making the entire landscape look like many golden patchwork quilts. Thanks for sharing!
My mother is from Iwate and is from a rural farming family in Japan.
Rice paddies surround their homestead and I have many memories of driving past the rice drying or watching the manual planting of the rice blades, one by one.
Eric, this is very very belated but thank you for sharing your post. I spent the whole morning reading it and sipping tea, it was a lovely read with so many wonderful quotes, thank you for sharing!
I've been reading and researching on matsuri recently, but I didn't know that they were in danger of disappearing several years ago. I'm so glad, however, that the tradition was saved. It's one of the reasons why I hope to visit Japan someday.
Glad you're back. Always enjoy your writing. Thank you for the reminder to focus foremost on gratitude. Looking forward to reading about future harvests.
I absolutely love this framing of gratitude you describe. The rice is just now being harvested in South Korea too. Here, instead of the hanging bundles you describe, the stalks mostly seem to be laid on their side in square piles - making the entire landscape look like many golden patchwork quilts. Thanks for sharing!
My mother is from Iwate and is from a rural farming family in Japan.
Rice paddies surround their homestead and I have many memories of driving past the rice drying or watching the manual planting of the rice blades, one by one.
Thanks for taking me down memory lane.
Nostalgic なつかしい！
Thank you so much for the kind words. You have the same name as my mom, so I thought there might be some connection to Japan ☺️
Hi Kana, I appreciate your thoughts on the harvest. I think many of us gain peace and perspective from tending gardens, as you lovingly put it. May I invite you to read one of my posts about gardening? https://open.substack.com/pub/ericmortenson/p/talking-like-chauncey-gardiner-out?r=u2cwh&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Eric, this is very very belated but thank you for sharing your post. I spent the whole morning reading it and sipping tea, it was a lovely read with so many wonderful quotes, thank you for sharing!
Thanks!
Thank you Kana. As usual, your writing is so evocative. I can almost smell the smoke as you prepare the shinmai.
"appreciation, much more broadly, is a catalyst for the preservation of culture."
wow, that's deep and thought-provoking. Always wonderful to read your posts, Kana. Thanks for sharing such richness
Another beautiful piece, thank you for sharing
I've been reading and researching on matsuri recently, but I didn't know that they were in danger of disappearing several years ago. I'm so glad, however, that the tradition was saved. It's one of the reasons why I hope to visit Japan someday.
Glad you're back. Always enjoy your writing. Thank you for the reminder to focus foremost on gratitude. Looking forward to reading about future harvests.
Happy Harvest!
Thank you Kana.
++++++++++++++++
What do you think about what this Japanese man has to say about Japanese culture?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbOe1pDdHkA
What do you think about what this Japanese man has to say about Japanese culture?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbOe1pDdHkA
Wow.