the sarashina diary

the waiting room

April’s calendar … April, a month of increasing memorial days eclipsing birthdays.

When from the neighbouring garden the perfume-laden air
Saturates my soul with memories,
Rises the thought of the beloved plum-tree
Blooming under the eaves of the house which is gone. ~ The Sarashina Diary

April is my mother’s birthday as well as her memorial month. April … a month of revisiting moments … reacquainting with an amazing woman … a person.

When we were together, within our mother-daughter roles, were we strangers hidden behind our labels?

April is my great-granddaughter’s birthday. A month of celebration … of joy …. of cuddly soft buddies … of new beginnings

*cited: Diaries of Court Ladies of Old Japan, digital.library.upen.edu

Fujifilm X-T4: f/11 1/6 s 80 mm 400 ISO

Fujifilm X-T4: f/8 1/25 s 80 mm 400 ISO

shadows of squares -9

wabi-sabi … the beauty within the transition of summer’s fading light to autumn’s slumbering shadows

“We crossed it in a boat, and it is the Province of Sagami. The mountain range called Nishitomi is like folding screens with good pictures. On the left hand we saw a very beautiful beach with long-drawn curves of white waves. There was a place there called Moro-koshi-ga-Hara (Chinese Field) where sands are wonderfully white. Two or three days we journeyed along that shore. A man said: ‘In Summer pale and deep Japanese pinks bloom there and make the field like brocade. As it is Autumn now we cannot see them.’ But I saw some pinks scattered about blooming pitiably. They said: ‘It is funny that Japanese pinks are blooming in the Chinese field.'” *

*Trans: AS Omori and K Doi. The Sarashina Diary, AD 1009-1059 Diaries of Court Ladies of Old Japan

Visit The Life of B to join November’s Shadows of Squares

lens-artist: reflections

In this hour of longing 
Reflection brings to mind each day gone by
And in each one 
Was less of sorrow.*

“… the dream interpreter interpreted my dream, but I could not realize this. Only the sorrowful reflection in the mirror was realized unaltered. …”**

Anne from Slow Shutter Speed invites lens-artists to explore images of reflections

*The Diary of Izumi Shikibu, Diaries of Court Ladies of Old Japan

**cited: The Sarashina Diary, Diaries of Court Ladies of Old Japan

7.19.2024 @ 6:02:59 am

O for a friend–that we might see and listen together! 
O the beautiful dawn in the mountain village!– 
The repeated sound of cuckoos near and far away.~The Sarashina Diary*

Fujifilm XT-4 … f/5.6 1/600s 60mm 160 ISO

*cited: Diaries of Court Ladies of Old Japan

life’s passages … 77

“For remembrance of her I wanted to write about her,”… but I stopped short with the words, “Ink seems to have frozen up, I cannot write any more.” *

How shall I gather memories of my sister?

The stream of letters is congealed. 

No comfort may be found in icicles 

  ~The Sarashina Diary (Diaries of Court Ladies of Old Japan)

Nikon D750 f/4.5 1/400 58mm

*The continuous writing of the cursive Japanese characters is often compared to a meandering river. “Ink seems to have frozen up” means that her eyes are dim with tears, and no more she can write continuously and flowingly.

life’s passages … 72

O for a friend–that we might see and listen together! 
O the beautiful dawn in the mountain village!– 
The repeated sound of cuckoos near and far away.~The Sarashina Diary (1009-1059)*

*cited: Trans: A S Omori & K Dot, Diaries of Court Ladies of Old Japan

Leica V-Lux 5: f/4 …. 1/125 s … 146 mm … 640 ISO