November 29, 2004
Peaceful Sunday
Another beautiful fall weekend just passed. I went for a walk with my friend Nana and took lots of pictures around Tokyo station and the Imperial Palace Garden. It was sunny (which made me happy as a little kid - after all I’m Swedish and Swedish people are crazy about the sun and the light in general).
The same day Nana and I visited a tempel in Gotanda to transcribe Buddhist scrips, the sutra called "Han-nya Shingyo". It was my first time writing in Japanese as well as using a Japanese calligraphy brush. The ceremony started out by eating a clove (kryddnejlika) to purify oneself, and yes, it was refreshing but spicy. I had to pass an elephant and sit down by a small table with a piece of thin paper in front of me. There were the ingredients to make my own ink and I spend one and a half hour writing Japanese signs in total silence. It was relaxing and really peaceful.
