MAR 31, Japan Visit: to Koyasan - mountains and monasticism

Koya-san, a monastery town, remains a living spiritual destination for 10 million followers of Esoteric Buddhism in contemporary Japan. They celebrate and honour the sect's ninth-century founder, Kobo Daishi, who, returning from studies in China, was granted land by the Imperial court near the mountain-top far from worldly distractions. The sect's founder remains in eternal meditative rest in a forested cemetery surrounded by multitudes (estimated at 200,000) of his followers.

trains from Kyoto traverse steep gorges

transport to this remote religious centre
 by train, funicular, and bus

our shukubo (temple lodging) in
Koya-san  

Zen  garden

traditional lobby
(we attended a 6:00 a.m. morning prayer service)

The sect's historic religious and administrative centre, Kongo-buji:

main street of Koyasan

TODAY'S POEM (senryu *) 

Through Japan, "IC"

(integrated circuit) cards

simplify transit.

Giorgio Coniglio

* learn more HERE about senryu, a term that designates a lesser-known Japanese short poem that shares the physical characteristics of haiku (nominally 17 'on' / syllables in three non-rhyming lines), but deals in a satiric or humorous way with human foibles rather than with Nature. 

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MAR 30, ##singable satire: "SATURDAY NIGHT"

 

ORIGINAL PARODY-LYRICS

MUSICAL UNDERPINNINGS:

ORIGINAL SONG#1:  "Yesterday", Beatles song written for the album Help!, Paul McCartney, 1965. 

ORIGINAL SONG#2: "Saturday Night's Alright (For Fighting)" Elton John, lyrics by Bernie Taupin, 1973. 

PARODY COMPOSED: Giorgio Coniglio, August, 2015.

UKULELE and GUITAR-FRIENDLY LINK: Our whole series of songs can be found in a friendly format for ukulele (and guitar)-players on our sister blog "SILLY SONGS and SATIRE" with chord-charts for both the parody and original song, as well as helpful performing suggestions. 

To find ukulele chord-charts to help you accompany

 "Saturday Night?" on your favorite instrument, click HERE. 

You can also view the lyrics and commentary (without images or chords) displayed on a parody-lyrics website where they were first developed at AmIRight.com Post 

Note on the Parody lyrics: Among Oscar Wilde's most famous sayings, “Work is the curse of the drinking classes”

SATURDAY NIGHT as sung by the "Beatles" 

(to the Beatles' tune, "Yesterday")

Getting late

Wanna little action on my plate

Ma, your discipline just aggravates

I wanna rock; where are my mates?

These lyrics have been moved, along with ukulele chord suggestions, to a posting on our song-blog "Silly Songs and Satire".

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MAR 29, Japan Visit: Kyoto riverboating, conclusion

a typhoon had denuded this small section of the gorge

 

 

TODAY'S POEM (senryu  *) 

 

 

 drying oilless wings,

the cormorant, deep diver,

flaps in the sunshine.

Giorgio Coniglio

* learn more HERE about senryu, a lesser-known Japanese short poem that shares the physical characteristics of haiku (nominally 17 'on' / syllables in three non-rhyming lines), but deals in a satiric or humorous way with human foibles rather than with Nature. 

 _________________________________________________________________________

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OR, go back to the latest post on this blogsite ("Elegy to Tom Lehrer") HERE.

MAR 27, Japan Visit: riverboating near Kyoto

Adventuresome visitors can raft the Hozu-gawa River, a 16-km trip with occasional choppy sections, on poled flatbottom boats through spectacular gorges down to the western Kyoto suburb of Arashiyama.

turtles sunning

the "Romantic Train" runs from Kameoka
through part of the gorge. Seats on that train were not available, but the boatride was definitely better, it seemed.

W
 

 TODAY'S POEM (senryu *) 

write good poetry --

focus on the key moment

when Nature prevails.

Giorgio Coniglio

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MAR 25, submitted palindromes, RANDOM PILES 39

 

You have reached the "Submitted Palindromes" thread on the blog "Daily Edifying Nonsense", a light literary entity that emanates through the blogosphere daily (almost), i.e. 30 times per month.

  On the 25th of each month you will find a slide-filling group of palindromic phrases submitted to the editors by a panel of 7 palindromists. These folks have all been working on this project since January 2020. The personal profiles for each of these contributors are displayed in panels published here at the start of things, and then, we have asked them to provide (palindromically, of course) their views on one of the iconic items in the classic literature, starting with "A man, a plan, a canal -- Panama", continuing with other well-known phrases, such as "Dennis sinned". Otherwise, their contribution will be grouped in monthly random piles (a phrase that you might recognize as an anagram of the word p-a-l-i-n-d-r-o-m-e-s).

You can access this delightful entertainment right here by entering submitted palindromes in one of the two search bars at the top of this post and scrolling downwards through the wordplay posts that you will discover, OR, just follow the links indicated above. 

Devotees of palindromic wordplay can further explore limericks and other short verses about the classic palindromes (and quite a few recent concoctions) that are randomly scattered on this blog after September 2000, or collected into grouped postings on our more scholarly blog "Edifying Nonsense" -- start HERE.

MAR 23, Japan Visit: still more Kyoto shrines

strumpidity: a neologism describing a narcissistic suspension of reality

Please refer to the post of April 1 for a limerick-verse on this topic.

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More photos from Japan:

at Fushimi-Inari Shrine, Kyoto

Foxes, not an inherent part of Shinto burial rituals, are mythic messengers of Inari Okimi, the deity of rice and prosperity

View of Kyoto from Mt Inari (rainy day)

Golden pavillion, Kinkakuji shrine

TODAY'S POEM (17-syll. senryu)

pronounce Japanese?

rōmaji (ローマ字) * letters convey

sounds to English ears.

Giorgio Coniglio. 

* readers are advised to refer to the Wikipedia article on the "Romanization of Japanese".

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MAR 21, Japan Visit: Kyoto, Castle and Palace quarter

 

  

TODAY'S POEM (senryu  *) 

buffet at hotel --

links Asians and westerners,

in worthwhile breakfast.

Giorgio Coniglio

* learn more HERE about senryu, a term that designates a lesser-known Japanese short poem that shares the physical characteristics of haiku (nominally 17 'on' / syllables in three non-rhyming lines), but deals in a satiric or humorous way with human foibles rather than with Nature. 

 _________________________________________________________________________

READY TO SEE MORE ?

To navigate around the 2,000 posts on this blog ("Daily Illustrated Nonsense", or D.I.N.), scroll downwards until you get to a widget with a clickable SUMMARY OF CONTENTS BY DATE displayed with blue fonts -- the most recent are at the top; the oldest at the bottom of the list. Then, just click on any year or month to view the detailed contents.

OR, go back to the latest post on this blogsite ("Elegy to Tom Lehrer") HERE.

MAR 19, Japan Visit: Kyoto 2

conveyor-belt sushi

CLASSIC JAPANESE HAIKU, in translation

even in Kyoto,

hearing the cuckoo's song,

I long for Kyoto.

Kobayashi Issa

TODAY'S POEM (senryu, a haiku variant *) 

snacks and essentials --

I buy those at konbini

(convenience stores).

Giorgio Coniglio

 * learn more HERE about senryu, a lesser-known Japanese short poem that shares the physical characteristics of haiku (nominally 17 'on' / syllables in three non-rhyming lines), but deals in a satiric or humorous way with human foibles rather than with Nature. 

 _________________________________________________________________________

READY TO SEE MORE ?

To navigate around the 2,000 posts on this blog ("Daily Illustrated Nonsense", or D.I.N.), scroll downwards until you get to a widget with a clickable SUMMARY OF CONTENTS BY DATE displayed with blue fonts -- the most recent are at the top; the oldest at the bottom of the list. Then, just click on any year or month to view the detailed contents.

OR, go back to the latest post on this blogsite ("Elegy to Tom Lehrer") HERE.