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 schedule, we went to a Sushi restaurant. We ordered some delicacies. The Aori Squid was one of them. As I...

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 know how it started, but when I was a 2nd grader the fad among boys was to make "canals" on the desk in the...

I was reading Oscar Wilde's De Profundis, and came across this sentence, where Wilde refers to Jesus Christ. "He was the first person who ever said to people that they should live 'flower-like lives.' He fixed the phrase. He took children as the type...

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 girlfriend, apparently an American. The sight of him made me jealous. Not because of his beautiful girl friend. The...

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 based on his own experience, as well as humorous essays in the outdoors. He is well-built, and yet smart, and...