COMING THROUGH THE RYE

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A few hours in Fukuoka:

we headed for Shofokuji Temple  -   Japan’s first Zen temple.

Arriving early morning the only life we encountered were the sparrows

having a sand bath at the old temple door: a building standing since 1195, when Eisai brought the Rinzai school of Zen Buddhism (and green tea) to Japan from China

(how many sparrows in all that time?);

taking off my shoes I crept into the new meditation hall for a few moments of silent meditation

clouds’ shadows

move across

the polished floor

Setting off again we had another ambition to fulfil: our first tasting of saki.

After much wandering we eventually spied a hostelry across a busy thoroughfare and    

waited at the crossing.              

Suddenly, as the lights changed in our favour, the air was filled with very loud music (signal to cross) 

astonishingly, what was playing was the Robert Burns song:

‘Coming Through The Rye’: the ploughman poet’s work still appearing

In the most amazing places -  as with his contemporary, Basho, whose frog is still plopping into pools all over the world  -  truth of the simple life!

With the arrival of our sakis we raised a warm one to Burns and Basho,

and later, a cool one to J.D. Salinger  -  who had also got in on the act  -

(after all it was the fourth of July!)

first saki  -
Santoka's haiku
swim past