#Kakuzo Okakura

[kamala-laxman]

The art of life lies in a constant readjustment to our surroundings. Okakura Kakuzo

[las-microfisuras]

Los taoístas cuentan que en el principio de la No Existencia, el Espíritu y la Materia se entregaron a un combate mortal. Finalmente, el Emperador Amarillo, el Sol del Cielo, triunfó de Shuhyung, el demonio de las Tinieblas y de la Tierra. El Titán, en su agonía, rompió con su cabeza la bóveda solar de jade azul y la hizo estallar en pedazos. Las estrellas perdieron sus nidos y la luna erró sin rumbo por los abismos desiertos de la noche. Desesperado el Emperador Amarillo buscó quién pudiese reparar los cielos y buscó en vano.

Del mar oriental salió una reina, la divina Niuka, coronada de cuernos y con cola de dragón, esplendorosa en su armadura de fuego. En su mágica caldera soldó los cinco colores del arco iris y reconstruyó el cielo de China. Pero afirman también, que Niuka olvidó obstruir dos rendijas del firmamento azul y empezó el dualismo del amor; dos almas que ruedan por el espacio y no pueden reposar hasta que logren juntarse para completar el universo. Cada cual debe construir de nuevo su cielo de esperanza y de paz.

El cielo de la edad moderna ha sido destrozado en la lucha ciclópea entre la riqueza y el poder. El mundo marcha a tientas en las tinieblas del egoísmo y de la vulgaridad. La ciencia se compra con una mala conciencia, la bondad se practica por amor a la utilidad. Como dos dragones agitados por un mar tempestuoso, Oriente y Occidente luchan para reconquistar la piedra preciosa de la vida. Necesitamos una nueva Niuka para reparar el gran desastre; esperemos el gran Vichnú. Entretanto, saboreemos una taza de té; la luz de la tarde ilumina los bambúes, las fuentes cantan deliciosamente, el suspiro de los pinos murmura en nuestra tetera. Soñemos en lo efímero y entreguémonos errantes a la bella locura de las cosas.

- El libro del té. La Ceremonia del té japonesa (Cha No Yu). Kakuzo Okakura, 1906. Miraguano Ediciones. Traducción: Ángel Samblancat.

[sapphireshorelines]

The nineteenth century, pregnant with the theory of evolution, has moreover created in us the habit of losing sight of the individual in the species. A collector is anxious to acquire specimens to illustrate a period or a school, and forgets that a single masterpiece can teach us more than any number of the mediocre products of a given period or school. We classify too much and enjoy too little. The sacrifice of the aesthetic to the so–called scientific method of exhibition has been the bane of many museums.

Okakura Kakuzō, The Book of Tea

[a-ramblinrose]

“Tea began as a medicine and grew into a beverage. In China, in the eighth century, it entered the realm of poetry as one of the polite amusements. The fifteenth century saw Japan ennoble it into a religion of aestheticism—Teaism.  

Teaism is a cult founded on the adoration of the beautiful among the sordid facts of everyday existence. It inculcates purity and harmony, the mystery of mutual charity, the romanticism of the social order. It is essentially a worship of the Imperfect, as it is a tender attempt to accomplish something possible in this impossible thing we know as life.”

[bookwormbeat]

True beauty could be discovered only by one who mentally complete the incomplete.

The book of tea, Kakuzo Okakura

[moment-japan]

岡倉天心

福井藩出身、フェノロサと共に国宝という概念を作り、廃仏毀釈によって日本から消え行く貴重な文化財保護に尽力した芸術家・思想家。

廃仏毀釈・・・。

それは、薩摩・長州藩の輩からできた明治政府による気の狂ったような布告。

（気の狂った・・輩。笑）

1868年、比叡山の日吉神社で輩・明治政府の息のかかった神官が仏像、仏具、経典などを焼き払ったことを発端に廃仏運動は始まりました。

（また輩。（笑）しかし薩摩・長州って本当、糞だな）

ええ、糞です。

最も激しい廃仏運動が展開されたのは、水戸・松本・富山・苗木（岐阜）・伊勢・津和野・高知・宮崎・鹿児島といわれています。

もちろん、京都、奈良の大伽藍も多く破壊され、金目になる梵鐘は溶かして、明治政府の懐に。

その他の金属はなんと偽金の製造にまわされ、金なになりそうな仏像・仏具は明治政府の輩が横流し。

（もう、むちゃくちゃ悪人じゃないか！偽金ってもはやマフィアじゃん薩摩・長州の輩って。笑）

こういうのは明治政府とか薩摩・長州を美化してる連中は外に出してほしくない話ですが僕は容赦無い人間なので出します。

（ガーシーかよ！笑）

[thingsthinglike]

‘ n joy or sadness, flowers are our constant friends ~ Okakura Kakuzo

[squeakowl]

Meanwhile, let us have a sip of tea. The afternoon glow is brightening the bamboos, the fountains are bubbling with delight, the soughing of the pines is heard in our kettle. Let us dream of evanescence and linger in the beautiful foolishness of things.

Kakuzō Okakura, The Book of Tea

[normalweirdoboy]

My reading list, August 2022:

Killing Commendatore - Haruki Murakami

Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie

The Book of Tea - Kakuzō Okakura

Killing Commendatore:

Like all of Murakami's novels, this one has a sense of mystery and fantasy embedded in realism. I've only read about half the book and I'm hooked. I ended up watching the Don Giovanni opera on YT as well lol. At first I thought Menshiki is the man without a face, is he?

Midnight's Children:

I started reading it this morning after what happened yesterday.

It'll be my first Salman Rushdie book so I don't really know what all the fuss is about but here's what I don't understand is, if you're that offended by Mr. Rushdie's writings, just don't read them. Nobody's forcing you. And I really think people need more faith. If you think someone needs to be punished for blasphemy, why not let God do the judgement? Why not just keep faith that judgement will be delivered. Do you really need to wield a knife to prove your faith? And all the people wishing for his death... Scary, what a world we live in.

I'm not saying criticising people's religious beliefs is a nice thing but you can't attempt to kill people for that!

Hope what I'm saying doesn't offend anyone, I just think freedom of speech should be a thing.

Anyways, the description of Aadam Aziz's nose is fascinating lol.

The Book of Tea:

I finished this one last week. I love how he uses sarcasm to bash the Western supremacists. I can see the pan-asianism that the Japanese tried to develop in that era. It's a nice read, beautifully describes tea ceremonies and the history of tea in Asia.

I really feel like translating this one to Hindi and Bangla. I couldn't find any Indian language translations online...

[wordsandpeace2u-blog]

Six degrees of separation: from a Japanese American author to a Japanese nuclear power plant

Six degrees of separation: from a Japanese American author to a Japanese nuclear power plant

Picture found at: https://www.melindatognini.com.au #6Degrees Six degrees of separation: from a Japanese American author to a Japanese nuclear power plant Time for another quirky variation on this meme. I’m so thrilled I started with a Japanese American author, and ended up in Japan, of course without anything planned ahead. Using my own rules for this fun meme hosted by Kate at…

[kamala-laxman]

It is not the accumulation of extraneous knowledge, but the realization of the self within, that constitutes true progress. Okakura Kakuzo

[takmiblog]

岡倉天心がなしえた日本論

『（松岡）（前略）にもかかわらず、天心の『東洋の理想』に掲げられた「エイジア・イズ・ワン」（アジアは一つ）という言葉もずいぶん誤解されてしまいましたね。

（田中）大アジア主義と見られてしまった。

（松岡）欧米列強か、さもなくば大亜細亜。こういう二択だけでは片寄りすぎです。これでは日本を入れようとすると、第三極としての日本主義になってしまう。内藤湖南くらいでいてほしかった。

（田中）そうですね。内藤湖南以降は学問をやる人たちから何かがすっぽり抜け落ちてしまいましたね。

（松岡）そう、何かが抜けた。一番大きく抜け落ちたのが、やはり江戸思想だったんじゃないですか。』

「江戸問答」　田中優子／松岡正剛

[sapphireshorelines]

Tea began as a medicine and grew into a beverage. In China, in the eighth century, it entered the realm of poetry as one of the polite amusements. The fifteenth century saw Japan ennoble it into a religion of aestheticism—Teaism. Teaism is a cult founded on the adoration of the beautiful among the sordid facts of everyday existence. It inculcates purity and harmony, the mystery of mutual charity, the romanticism of the social order. It is essentially a worship of the Imperfect, as it is a tender attempt to accomplish something possible in this impossible thing we know as life.

The Philosophy of Tea is not mere aestheticism in the ordinary acceptance of the term, for it expresses conjointly with ethics and religion our whole point of view about man and nature. It is hygiene, for it enforces cleanliness; it is economics, for it shows comfort in simplicity rather than in the complex and costly; it is moral geometry, inasmuch as it defines our sense of proportion to the universe. It represents the true spirit of Eastern democracy by making all its votaries aristocrats in taste.

Okakura Kakuzō, The Book of Tea

[infinitedonut]

"It is not the accumulation of extraneous knowledge, but the realization of the self within, that constitutes true progress."

- Okakura Kakuzo

[quotes-by-dilanka]

Those who cannot feel the littleness of great things in themselves are apt to overlook the greatness of little things in others.

―Okakura Kakuzo

[danielapelli]

“In joy or sadness, flowers are our constant friends.” ― Okakura Kakuzo, The Book of Tea