May 4, 2004

The Old and the Dead


DSC02368.JPG Akutagawa's Grave Tanizaki's Grave

Planned trips out of Tokyo cancelled by a coming storm, I found myself walking with the old and the dead again today.

The old were in Sugamo to visit the Togenuki Jizou. The Togenuki Jizou is the Thorn-Removing God, and Tokyo's old folks came in their droves today to ask the Jizou to remove theirs. Christianity has no patent on the thorn as a metaphor for pain, sadness and sickness.

The dead were in the nearby Somei Cemetery, and counted among their numbers two of Japan's most famous modern writers, Junichiro Tanizaki and Ryunosuke Akutagawa. Akutagawa's grave is well signposted, Tanizaki's semi-hidden a couple of yards away.

Photos are in the gallery here. Posted by Setsunai at May 4, 2004 5:26 PM | TrackBack
Comments

Stuck in Tokyo during Golden Week? Eeeck. Not very nice. Hope it gets better.

Posted by: roxanne at May 6, 2004 12:30 PM | Permalink to Comment

Cheers. It wasn't too bad actually, although I would have preferred to head to the hills.

Posted by: Setsunai at May 6, 2004 4:54 PM | Permalink to Comment
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