the qualia journal

When I was going to the Kindergarten there was only one drink that a kid loved. Fanta. In the children's gatherings, the adults would br...

In Japanese, some words have double meanings. "kaki", for example, can indicate a persimmon fruit. It can also mean the "oyst...

I came to a Haiku meeting ("Kukai") at Yugawara, a famous Onsen (hot spring) retreat, about one hour from Tokyo. The meeting was o...

De Prufundis , an essay in the form of a letter written during imprisonment by Oscar Wilde, has such a beautiful ending. Wild imagines how h...

Close to midnight I had a phone call from Shinya Shirasu. He was drinking with his friends, and wondered if I could join them. I had my work...

I don't know what is happening, but I seem to be less interested in the physical testimonies of life such as photos, and sound recording...

Right now I am in Kochi city, where the ENJIN 01 conferences are being held. In the evening, after a long day of strenuous and yet enjoyable...

On a recent visit to an elementary school, I remembered one thing which has been cherished in my bosom for so many years. I don't quite ...

I was reading Oscar Wilde's De Profundis, and came across this sentence, where Wilde refers to Jesus Christ. "He was the first pers...

On the Shinkansen train back from Kyoto, I was returning to my seat after going to the deck. Passing by, I saw a traveler with his girlfrien...

I have several masters whom I respect very much. The writer Makoto Shiina is one of them. Makoto Shiina is known for his poignant novels bas...

I was going to a theatre for a practice, when the car passed by the Tokyo Sky Tree. I stopped typing on my laptop computer and looked up at ...

In Japan, the Meiji era is known as a great time of change. Under Western influences, Japan tried to catch up, importing many ideas and tech...

A few days ago, my Amazon Kindle arrived. I have been purchasing several books on the online store since. My friends know well that I am a g...

Nowadays, we are used to the idea of capturing moments of life with camera. Needless to say, it used to be quite different in the old times....

After writing about "Alice in Wonderland" yesterday, I remembered many different things. The sequel, "Through the Looking-Gla...

The immortal "Alice's adventures in Wonderland" by Lewis Carroll begins thus: Alice was beginning to get very tired of sitting...

In Andrei Tarkovsky's film "Solaris", the ocean plays an important role. The ever changing, whirling tides are living organism...

I went to lecture at the International Conference Center Hiroshima. On the way, I passed by the Atomic Bomb Dome (Genbaku Dome). Its shape a...

On Saturday and Sunday, I was in Shinjo village to attend a symposium. Shinjo is such a hidden treasure. There is a street with cherry trees...