Please click on the images to enlarge them and see them closer to the way they were intended.
A different tack, back in the city, into the heart of gods and fate.
I’m not sure how I would feel with all those strangers and tourists taking pictures of my wedding…
Dusk fell and the gate guard began industriously shooing us out.
No matter how many times I turn up at them, many shrines have a way of instilling great peace.
Laughing Knees 
6 replies on “Daily Glimpse 12”
This is Meiji Shrine, right? Reminds me of one of the first dates I had with Yukiko about 10 years ago when we went to Meiji Shrine and unbeknownst to her, I was recording our rain-soaked conversation on my newly bought MD player. I eventually made a mix MD with that conversation on it, and now really want to find it and listen to it again after all these years…to see who we were back then and how much we’ve changed.
Wow. Thanks Miguel for taking me back in time…
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I should mention that we might have sat at the very bench you took a picture of…
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I’m glad that the pictures evoked something for you, Dan. Hearing your story made me a little sad, because these pictures were taken the one time when Y. came to visit me in Tokyo and we walked around Meiji Shrine. She was being difficult and it was hard for me to enjoy the day together. I escaped by trying to make something beautiful out of the day by taking photos, over which Y. later complained that I hadn’t taken any pictures of her (she didn’t say “us”; she said, “me”). There are a lot of places now that will always be hard for me to visit, especially Yatsugatake, which has always been a special place for me since I was a child. That her painful and unwelcome memories are now a part of those places angers me somewhat, because I don’t want to lose what those places did for me long before I met her.
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(o)
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Washing out the menories is never easy. I guess you know that time is one good cure, but so is facing them. Maybe when you are ready you could re-visit the place with the intention of taking more pictures, or just sitting on that bench and trying to find a bit of peace. You might be surprised that you can do it, or if not it would be one more step to working through the anger stage of grief.
I speak as one who’s been there, but we all have to find our own way. Another idea is to use your feelings to make some art, which you seem to be doing well lately. These latest photos are so good and so touching that I think they could be a book. I certainly am grateful to you for showing the Japan that I remember, in such a very beautiful way.
Take care.
🙂
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Hello Vegetablej,
I’ve been finding out how long such memories last. It perplexes me because I’ve always been a very forgiving and easygoing person. I even think that is what attracted Y. to me in the first place. I just don’t hold grudges. But this time I can’t shake it; is it some kind of tripping over my own self confidence? Is it a sense that I may have lost my final opportunity to really fall in love again, and that I may have to go through the rest of my life never feeling such trust and willingness to give my whole heart to someone again? Is it pure vanity? I don’t know. What I need is a place, time, friends, and occupation that heals me. My home right now is a step in that direction, but it’s still Japan, still the same soul-eating job, still few friends, and still a sense of not being engaged fully everyday.
I’m heading for Canada (Vancouver) tomorrow and I plan to take my time to really take it easy, walk around, meet people, eat good food, and stare at the horizon for hours. I hope it will do my soul some good. When I get back I think I’ll take your advice and go to those precious places that have been tainted by Y.’s memory and try to remember what it is about those places that I first fell in love with. Good advice. Scary, but important.
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