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December 12, 2004
It ain't Christmas yet, dammit!
Yesterday woke up wonderfully late. The sky was overcast and it rained off an on all day, a total contrast to the day before.
Headed over to St. Mary's Cathedral in Edogawabashi for 12 pm Mass. The church is at the top of a winding hill in a riverside residential neighborhood. I would never have thought I was in the middle of Tokyo.
The cathedral itself was stunning. It drew me in and focused me completely. Very sparse and effective. I'd never seen anything like it.
After wondering why I couldn't understand anything the priest was saying for a few sentences I looked down at my hymnal and realized the Mass was in Korean. Which was too bad, but it meant I could meditate in the church, which was fine.
It also meant I could write poetry.
Homily
Speaks eternity
Stretches luxuriously
Tones drift, so do I...
Good God, if this Word is yours,
Couldn't you have been a little more concise?
Yeah, that about sums up my emotional arc over those thirty-five minutes.
After the Mass I thanked the priest. It looked like they were setting up for a wedding next.
Then I wandered down to the river. The park on the riverside was a perfect place to walk in the afterglow.
Decided to go down to Odaiba and spend some time reading. Had lunch at Kua Aina, that burger place I'd been to with my mom last year (remember?). Very satisfying. Wandered around in the shallowness until I couldn't stand another nonsensical English-language Christmas song.
Headed back to Ginza for dinner. Kyushu Jangara Ramen. Tasty! On the way back I saw what may be the most hideous dresses ever.
Ended the day by returning to Odaiba to see Howl's Moving Castle. It wasn't one of Miyazaki's absolute best (very, very sappy) but it was still fun.
This morning finally got around to Tsukiji Fish Market at 5:15 am. Every five seconds I felt like I was going to be run over by a forklift or a motorized cart or an zealous old person. Crazy huge fish!
Now off to the library for some actual, um, work.
Posted by Ben at December 12, 2004 07:56 PM
Comments
More than cool. Korean Catholics in Tokyo. There's devotion. I went to a mass in Russian in Manhattan years ago for Easter (Russian). It was very moving, in an incomprehensible way.
Great pictures.
Posted by: Fred at December 13, 2004 11:23 PM
Wow. Saint Mary's looks like a really abstract bird with wings spread from the outside. I thought the "fish" were rice bags when I first saw the image. Your experiences sound very exciting.
Posted by: Augusto at December 15, 2004 07:38 PM
I went to palm sunday mass in Beijing this year. 35 minutes of Korean is much better than 1.45 hours in Mandarin! Looks like you're having fun!
Posted by: Dave at December 16, 2004 03:57 PM