Tsukimi 月見 Moon Viewing

Sunlight on Mt. Fuji

Hiking Mt. Fuji last year was a memorable experience, and one I do not plan to repeat. Visualizing plodding elephant legs as I slightly lifted my booted foot forward, just skimming the ground,  got me to the top. Last year I was thinking of sunrises, this year I am thinking of the moon and light.

A full moon is coming: 12 September 2011

There will be a full moon tonight. It is my friend's daughter's birthday so I asked my friend if there were any associations with full moons in Japanese culture. Turns out there is a long history of moon viewing in Japan, Tsukimi 月見 - it seems no opportunity is missed to admire nature here. Westerners may think of Tokyo, city life, as Japan, but I am guessing that the city dwellers in Tokyo pay more attention to the rhythms of nature than New Yorkers.

What to do to honor the full moon besides watching it? Why cooking of course. My friend said she will make dango a pounded rice dumpling made from rice flour. The balls look like a full moon. The tastiest thing to do is have you watch "Cooking with Dog" on Youtube. They will show you how. These are a variation as they have tofu in them but it just makes them healthier and no less tastier.

Boil dango until they float then be ready with skewers and toppings!

I also couldn't pass up this poem, The Word, by Tony Hoagland about sunshine which was posted via The Writer's Almanac:

Down near the bottom

of the crossed-out list
of things you have to do today,
between "green thread"
and "broccoli," you find
that you have penciled "sunlight."
Resting on the page, the word
is beautiful. It touches you
as if you had a friend
and sunlight were a present
he had sent from someplace distant
as this morning—to cheer you up,
and to remind you that,
among your duties, pleasure
is a thing
that also needs accomplishing.
Do you remember?
that time and light are kinds
of love, and love
is no less practical
than a coffee grinder
or a safe spare tire?
Tomorrow you may be utterly
without a clue,
but today you get a telegram
from the heart in exile,
proclaiming that the kingdom
still exists,
the king and queen alive,
still speaking to their children,
—to any one among them
who can find the time
to sit out in the sun and listen.

"The Word" by Tony Hoagland, from Sweet Ruin. © University of Wisconsin Press, 1992. Reprinted with permission. (buy now)

Sunlight on Mt. Fuji

Hiking Mt. Fuji last year was a memorable experience, and one I do not plan to repeat. Visualizing plodding elephant legs as I slightly lifted my booted foot forward, just skimming the ground,  got me to the top. Last year I was thinking of sunrises, this year I am thinking of the moon and light.

A full moon is coming: 12 September 2011

There will be a full moon tonight. It is my friend's daughter's birthday so I asked my friend if there were any associations with full moons in Japanese culture. Turns out there is a long history of moon viewing in Japan, Tsukimi 月見 - it seems no opportunity is missed to admire nature here. Westerners may think of Tokyo, city life, as Japan, but I am guessing that the city dwellers in Tokyo pay more attention to the rhythms of nature than New Yorkers.

What to do to honor the full moon besides watching it? Why cooking of course. My friend said she will make dango a pounded rice dumpling made from rice flour. The balls look like a full moon. The tastiest thing to do is have you watch "Cooking with Dog" on Youtube. They will show you how. These are a variation as they have tofu in them but it just makes them healthier and no less tastier.

Boil dango until they float then be ready with skewers and toppings!

I also couldn't pass up this poem, The Word, by Tony Hoagland about sunshine which was posted via The Writer's Almanac:

Down near the bottom

of the crossed-out list
of things you have to do today,
between "green thread"
and "broccoli," you find
that you have penciled "sunlight."
Resting on the page, the word
is beautiful. It touches you
as if you had a friend
and sunlight were a present
he had sent from someplace distant
as this morning—to cheer you up,
and to remind you that,
among your duties, pleasure
is a thing
that also needs accomplishing.
Do you remember?
that time and light are kinds
of love, and love
is no less practical
than a coffee grinder
or a safe spare tire?
Tomorrow you may be utterly
without a clue,
but today you get a telegram
from the heart in exile,
proclaiming that the kingdom
still exists,
the king and queen alive,
still speaking to their children,
—to any one among them
who can find the time
to sit out in the sun and listen.

"The Word" by Tony Hoagland, from Sweet Ruin. © University of Wisconsin Press, 1992. Reprinted with permission. (buy now)