the qualia journal

When I was a kid, I really loved to eat watermelons. I would sometimes eat them graciously with a spoon, with all the grace that a boy child...

In the great masterpiece by Soseki Natsume , Sanshiro , there is a humorous passage between Yojiro and Sanshiro, two University students. --...

Ever since I learned that there was going to be a total solar eclipse in the southern islands of Japan I wanted to be there. However, these ...

When I was a kid I used to be a bookworm. When I am really absorbed in reading, I become one with the book. On one memorable afternoon, I re...

I went to the performance of "Hansel and Gretel" of Seiji Ozawa Ongakujuku 2009. The first time I heard live music under Seiji Oza...

In the small house that I rented in Cambridge, there was an old wooden chair. I used to sit on them in the evening, sipping beer and watchin...

Some time ago, I was talking with the curator Yuko Hasegawa. We were discussing the nature of criticism, a necessary element in evaluating w...

I met with the Hungary born mathematician Peter Frankl for a radio program at NHK Peter is a fascinating character. He is also known for his...

I attended the rehearsals for the opera "Hansel and Gretel" by Humperdinck. The conductor was Seiji Ozawa. The rehearsals were hel...

I live in Tokyo. I travel on the Shinkansen (bullet train) to the western cities (e.g. Nagoya, Kyoto, and Osaka) of Japan quite often. In ...

Yesterday, I was giving lectures at University of Osaka. Walking along the street, I saw two common bluebottle (Graphium sarpedon) butterfli...

"Kaen-doki" ("Fire flame earthenwares") are found in various part of Japan, and are estimated to have been made 4000 to ...

I went to Vancouver, Canada at the age of 15 for one month to study English. My host family (Verna and Jim) lived in Richmond. They would of...

From time to time, when I am walking around for example, I have this strange feeling. I had one last night, as I strolled on the dimly-lit s...

Right now I am in Hakodate. I gave a lecture at the Future University Hakodate. The night fell. I was at a Sushi restaurant with my friends....

As a kid I used to collect and study butterflies quite seriously. My butterfly mania was quite famous in the neighborhood and school. One da...

When I strolled in Cambridge U.K. for the first time back in 1993, I was fascinated by the ancient ambience of the academic city. As I appro...

My mother originated from the southern island of Kyushu. I was about five when my parents took me to the hot spring city of Beppu , a few ...

I don't know how it is, but I can breathe easily when there are rooms for extreme people. Extremity is an art, and requires a certain le...

Now I have kept this journal for one month in a row, starting from the 6th of June entry "A double sin" . There were two entries ...