Images
天皇映える (Tennō Glow)
Satoko and I were in Toritsu Daigaku, and the Emperor of Japan, aka, 天皇 (Tennou or, Tennō), and his wife, Michiko, just happened to be driven through. It’s sort of a big deal for the obvious reason—he’s the Emperor of Japan, but also because this is the last month he will be the Emperor in this 平成時代 (Heisei jidai/period). He’s stepping down to make way for the next in line—his son, and the new period, 令和時代 (Reiwa jidai/period). This is unusual, as the Emperor usually will hold his position until death, but Akihito (his given name) may be wiser than his predecessors in that he’s willing to live out his final years as a common mortal. I hold him in higher regard simply for wanting a relaxing life. It was cool to be able to see him and Michiko •
Neighbies
The neighbors often made too much noise. Nearly every night the neighbors were too noisy. Why can’t they pipe down, he wondered. I can’t sleep. It’s late. What can I do? There wasn’t much he could do because the noise was within an acceptable range–legally, anyway. After many years of noise, he decided to take action. The following afternoon he went over to the neighbor’s house and knocked on the door. Right away a baby started crying. A moment later the father opened the door, not looking too happy. I just got her to sleep, and now–he gestured to the noise. I’m sorry, I didn’t know. You didn’t see the sign? He pointed to a sign displayed prominently on the door–baby sleeping, please come back later. Oh, I didn’t see it. Again, my apologies. He waived it off. Water under the bridge. So what can I do for you? Oh, yes, I just wanted to ask you to keep the noise down at night. I can’t sleep due to all the racket. Oh, ok, no problem •
Tokyo Solo 1
(Update: The show was a success for me–many people attended and I sold five pieces. The following was the original message and invite… )
My first solo gallery show is coming up in a few weeks. The opening party will be on Saturday, May 5, starting at 6:30. I will be there all week until the following Saturday, the 12th, for the closing party. All nineteen pieces are new (a few are only relatively new) ballpoint pen drawings. I made the frames as well, which took nearly as long to assemble as creating the art. This is going to be fun; looking forward to it! •