Heaven and Hell—in Bruges

by Leanne Ogasawara “Every night God takes his glitteringmerchandise out of his showcase–holy chariots, tables of law, fancy beads,crosses and bells–and puts them back into dark boxesinside and pulls down the shutters: “Again,not one prophet has come to buy.”–Yehuda Amichai Jerusalem: utterly obssessed by the place, I even love finding copies of the holy city–…

repairing in gold

by Leanne Ogasawara For whatever reason, all of our conversations ultimately ended with him explaining why some aspect of Japanese culture was somehow extraordinary. And this time was no different. After thanking me for the pictures I had sent of our son, he said (apropos of nothing whatsoever): 日本文化の根底に、草木国土悉皆成仏があります。人間だけでなくすべてに心があるということ。これが大切やね。(At the root of Japanese culture is…