29 April 2016
Edo, Tokyo, 1834A late winter snow obscured the sunrise over Edo, casting the city in hushed grey tones. Vendors and stores were slow to open. Young girls with morning chores hurried on their way under oiled paper umbrellas while merchants wearing straw capes and bamboo hats jogged with heavier strides. Yet, despite the cold and early hour, a group of people were already lined up against ...
22 April 2016
Tibet has always existed in geographic isolation, buffered by the Himalayas to the south; the Kuen Lun Range and Tsaidam Desert to the north; the deep river gorges of the Salween, Mekong and Tangtze rivers to the east; and the Karakoram Range to the west. In addition, the country existed in political seclusion to just about all but neighboring countries. As a result, the Tibetan people and...
14 April 2016
Springtime – Nara, Japan A small cherry blossom petal landed abruptly and silently in a cup of chilled barley tea. Shinobu, the man cradling the cup found his gaze drawn to tiny ripples spreading across the surface, momentarily forgetting what his wife Chiyo, was talking about. A gust of wind blew across the hillside meadow where they sat picnicking under the Sakura trees in full blo...
01 April 2016
The Chinese appreciation for stone stems from a deep veneration of nature. The three prominent schools of philosophy and religion in ancient China – Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism – all preached the importance of maintaining balance and harmony between humankind and nature. For example, early folk beliefs portrayed mountains as the abodes of gods imbued with sacred powers wh...