[ Dated Archives ]
July 2004
Tokyo Heat
A rather awkward way to start off a blog, but I thought I might as well write about both the good stuff AND the bad. I have been in bed the past two weeks unable to move - Tokyo heat this year is the hottest on record. I don't know if any of you have experienced the summers here, but this metropolis of 11 million has a heat bubble from all the airconditioners and concrete... Each year keeps getting hotter, and this year, is just insane. The heat and recent stress got the best of me, and had a panic attack (hyperventilation), which, if any of you know, is not harmful, but will scare you to death! It being my first experience of having my body go numb and paralized, I certainly thought death was staring me right in the face. So, bedridden, and still exhausted, I am slowly recovering and gaining my strength. With Global Warming becoming more a part of our reality - I keep thinking how my body right now is a reflection of how out of balance this world is. Will enough humans get to a 2nd tier consciousness in time before we all start dropping like flies? hmmm...
Welcome to Kenji's Blog
Hello from Tokyo, Japan, and welcome to my blog site and journal! Over the coming months, I will be writing and posting notes, photos, videos - of anything and everthing, "personal, professional, or illegal" - as I was instructed by the IN folks :)
This gives me goosebumps of joy, to be able to share my experiences wherever I may be in the world - from a hot sweaty club in Pittsburg, to Hindu ceremonies forbidden to the public in Bali, to an outdoor gathering with Japanese bellydancers in the mountains of Japan... (a hint of what's to come!) I hope to make your stay here entertaining, educational, and stimulating - and hopefully create a space to learn a bit more about the human being - "Kenji Williams" in addition to the art and music of "Kenji Williams". This, I feel, is an important element in the world of integral art - to understand a little bit about the life experiences and influences of the artist in an intimate way. In learning about the human being behind the art, one can better understand the art itself, and thus the experience of the art on the receiving end. My life experiences have a rhythm and vibration of their own, and as familiarity is established with these things, you are more in 'sync' with my vibe - perhaps more details will appear in my music upon second listen, or deeper meaning is realized in the experience of a film with the better understanding of where I am coming from.
So, for the summer of 2004, I am mostly living and performing in Tokyo, Japan. Get ready for a peek into the Tokyo underground.... Japan journal, here we go... !
The Appreciation of Flowers -
An example of some of the things that continue to shock me about the beauty of Japanese culture - the appreciation of Flowers. I went back to my home town of Tatebayashi, in Gumma Prefecture to visit my grandmother together with my mother visiting from Washington DC. As I love flowers, I expressed great interest in this "flower festival" - but did not expect such a rich ritualized experience.
Open to the public, and free of cost, we sat in meditation with these exquisite Iris flowers - all impeccably manicured to the exact same height, the exact color combination, and arrangement. Our host explained how to appreciate the flowers, to love and appreciate the beauty of the flower and observe all its attributes from eye level, and then from above. The shape, the color, the texture, the spirit of the flower - all to be observed with delicate attention and utmost respect. I just kept thinking to myself... this is a scene out of a culture at an extremely advanced state... in action now, today, in modern Japan. This exercise was aparently developed by the Samurai, when the country was not at war, and in the Meiji era, the establishment ordered the Samurai to develop things to do while not at war, and not fighting. Exercises to keep developing the spiritual and cultural side were developed in this way. Not a bad way for a country to spend its time and resources when not at war... Unbelievable....
This one goes into my Integral Toolbox :)
