The Soul of Japan: Autumn Poetry by Georg Trakl

9.30.2009

Autumn Poetry by Georg Trakl

Whispered Into Afternoon

Sun of autumn, thin and shy
And fruit drops off the trees,
Blue silence fills the peace
Of a tardy afternoon's sky.
Death knells forged of metal,
And a white beast hits the mire.
Brown lasses uncouth choir
Dies in leaves' drifting prattle.
Brow of God dreams of hues,
Senses madness' gentle wings.
Round the hill wield in rings
Black decay and shaded views.
Rest and wine in sunset's gleam,
Sad guitars drizzle into night,
And to the mellow lamp inside
You turn in as in a dream.

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My Convictions & Motivations

Welcome Message

This blog is about how I see and define Japan and its five fundamental charms: sake, onsen, shinto shrines, delicious cuisines, and Jukujo. These views do not represent that of the Japanese people, just my own.

In this blog I have captured some of the everyday pleasures that I feel many Japanese take for granted nowadays. I also want readers to understand that there is a spiritual harmony and beauty in Japan which can be found in its symbols:

The Tenno, Mishima Yukio, Jukujo, Japanese cuisine, the Hot Spring, and Shrines, are for me the ideal symbols of Japan in my opinion.

On Mishima, a functional schizophrenic who was a five time Nobel Prize nominee, had a vision of a spiritual army that would protect the Emperor, which could be symbolic in protecting old traditions and values. That through his own private army he would prove his love and loyalty to the "Son of heaven" through self disembowelment . This form of expression committed at the very height of Mishima's physical beauty and maturity was considered the most dignified way to die.

"Mishima felt that at the very height of ones beauty it is better to die then, than to be remembered being in a state of decrepitude at ones death."

Beauty can come in many forms and can be expressed in many ways, but one must first define a sense of beauty first - mine is this blog. I too, like Mishima, focus on the 'old way' but through another form of expression, I also feel that many things in Japan should never change and should be protected at all cost. One thing that's just as painful as the death of the Soul of a Nation that's spinning out of control, is the impending doom of a culture fast becoming too Westernized too quickly for its own good.

On a final note: Jukujo, for me, represent the ultimate beauty that a Japanese woman could aspire to attain, and although Mishima was homosexual, he found beauty in women also.

The term"jukujo" itself could come off a bit negative to some listeners, but it depends. The term literally means ripe and well developed Japanese women in their thirties and forties , and up . Jukujo are very intuitive, intelligent and extremely nurturing.