A Piece, of the Sky

Song: “Never Let Me Down Again” by Depeche Mode

An alternate music video, similar to the original, would be done in sepia, with two guys in jeans and jean jackets and an old car. There would be one scene of them lying in a field of grass watching the clouds float above them, the shadows falling on the earth. The original video, in black and white, also features rolling fields and lying down, facing the sky, in tall grass.

endless possibilities

The Flower Dies; its Beauty is Forever

“Mono aware” is translated as the “pathos of things.” The cherry blossom is beautiful but exists for a relatively short period of time. Traditionally, the Japanese participate in “hanami,” or cherry-blossom viewing parties.

One such event that synchronizes with the appearance of the cherry blossoms, each spring, is the Kuzu Genjin Cherry Blossom Jubilee. The celebration takes place in Kuzu, Tochigi, “the Oldest Town in Japan,” located on the Kantō Plain. The town is now incorporated into the city of Sano.

Kuzu is also the name of an ancient people in Japan, who may be the origin of the name of the kudzu plant, or Japanese arrowroot, whose roots and starch they harvested. However, the Kuzu are from a different prefecture.

Kuzu Genjin is Japan’s Lucy, the oldest human remains found in Japan – long before the Jōmon period, with its Dogū (distinctive clay statues) and cord-patterned pottery, the oldest such craft in East Asia, and the world.

The essence of the “Sakura,” or the cherry blossom, is the eternity encapsulated in a moment.

See Also:
Bending Adversity: Japan and the Art of Survival by David Pilling

Learning to Bow: An American Teacher in a Japanese School by Bruce Feiler

haunter lol

The parable of “Majora’s Mask” explores the real-world concept of masks. Boss Remains are masks and the masks you wear in the game are all of the legendary dead. Masks are artifacts that seal the spirit of the entity, sealing also his, her or its power.

Wearing an entity’s mask gives you said being’s “other memory” (Dune), and mindstream. The spirit sealed in a mask can be good or evil. Sealing in general, much less sealing an entity to distinct physical form, takes a great deal of magic / chi (qi) / virtual energy. Seals can be place on pieces of paper, cards and amulets, as protection or to lock away evil spirits.

Masks are also sculpted to look like gods, and embody gods – who are really just immortal spirits – and dead heroes. In Jim Carrey’s ‘90s movie “The Mask,” the supernatural mask is of the Norse trickster god Loki. The film was based off a book series published by Dark Horse Comics (“Hellboy”). The soul of The Mask, like most masks, reacts to the soul and the state of the heart of whoever wears it, turning some into monsters and others into champions.

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