Lost In Translation

Penguin Classics: Puddn'head Wilson

Back in college when I was an English Literature major I was surprised to find that Mark Twain at the end of his career was a bitter, pessimistic moralist when I read The Mysterious Stranger. But I see this version of Twain in Puddn'head Wilson (1894) as well. I was inspired to read this after reading Paul Theroux's descriptions of it in his book The Old Patagonia Express. It is an interesting novel that has comedic elements, twins separated at birth, as well as those well-suited to a murder mystery: courtroom procedural solving the murder with a stolen dagger. But there's a dark undercurrent present as well that asks about the questions of nature vs. nurture in relation to man's wickedness-which can easily be seen in the institution of slavery and Tom's heartless self-interested behavior in the novel. There is an interesting introduction from Malcolm Bradbury. It is a flawed novel, however, it is also a compelling one as well.

Deep Kyoto Saturday Night

The owners of a local guesthouse/bar, Pan and Circus celebrate a year in business.

On my tour of Deep Kyoto with Micheal at one of his favorite eateries Mund Shokudo.

Another drink stop on the Deep Kyoto express.

Colorful names in Sanjo.

Seiryo-ji

Seiryoji temple wasn't listed in my guidebook, which is too bad since it is free and has some impressive sights.

Gio-ji

Gio-ji is named after a Buddhist nun, Gio, a great beauty who renounced the world at a young age.

 

Adashino Nembutsu-ji

Adashino Nembutsu-ji is where the abandoned bones of paupers and destitutes without next of kin were gathered. There are thousands of stone images crammed in the temple grounds.

Okochi Sanso

Okochi Sanso villa is located at the end of the bamboo grove pathway and it was one of highlights of my visit to Arashiyama. It is the former home of Denjiro Okochi (1898-1962) a silent film star of Japanese cinema.

Mount Hiei.

Here are some pictures of the villa's former owner Denjiro Okochi.

The entrance fee is ¥1000, which is more than most attractions, but it includes a cup of maccha (green tea) and kashi (Japanese sweet), with which to contemplate the bamboo forest.

Arashiyama Bamboo Grove

Amazing.

Tenryuji

Tenryuji is a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site and has one of the oldest gradens in Japan.

The Old Patagonia Express

I suppose Paul Theroux’s travel writing isn’t for everyone. If you don’t like his traveling persona you aren’t likely to enjoy his books. That being said, I like his traveling persona, so every travel book is a pleasure and there are still books to be read. But I decided to read The Old Patagonia Express because a friend reminded me that he travels to South America in this book. South America is a place that I have had a recent interest in and this summer I made my first visit to the continent when I attended a conference in Peru. I often travel alone like Theroux, for different reasons perhaps. Theroux writes about travel being its best as a solitary experience in that you get to see, examine, assess alone, which is something that requires that you be unencumbered with a companion. I’m not sure that I completely agree but I feel that traveling alone does give you this perspective. In my case few people have the time or inclination to travel the way I do, so I tend to visit friends in far flung places and combine work with leisure travel. I would rather have companions, but I agree that you have better mediation while traveling alone with the time and peace to think clearly without the company of other people.

I am also an avid reader and traveling gives you ample time to read, something, which Theroux always incorporates into his travel writing. During this trip he takes a somewhat academic approach. During the first leg he reads obscure novels from some of America’s most famous authors: The Wild Palms by Faulkner, Pudd’nhead Wilson  by Mark Twain, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket by Edgar Allen Poe, and The Assassination Bureau, Ltd. By Jack London. Of these he has persuaded me to read the Twain and Poe works, the Poe novel he called the most horrifying novel he has ever read. Some of his other light reading includes The Life of Samuel Johnson by Thomas Boswell (he read this large tome twice! on the journey) and The Pledge: Requiem for the Detective Novel by Friedrich Durrenmatt. In the final chapter he visits Jorge Luis Borges and reads him Kipling, it seems that while he was traveling The New York Times book review ran an article by Theroux on Kipling so he was able to visit Borges who he shared a publisher with. In fact, Theroux’s whole section on Argentina was so complimentary that he inspired me to give up my plans for going to Brazil next year for a conference in favor of Argentina. This books comes across as somewhat exotic since it was written in the late 70s when there were many dictators and eroding states in Central and South America. The Peru and Panama he writes of no longer exist and are far different from what I encountered in visits to these two countries in the last two years. Panama is thriving as they expand the canal, which was still in dispute when Theroux visited where he stayed among the American Zonians. He had no affection for Torres the way that Graham Greene did, who was visiting Panama during the same time. Peru was a backwater and had yet to endure the long terrorist-counterterrorist war of the 90s. It is now one of the leading economies in South America. In addition, he does an excellent job of describing and characterizing those budget travelers who boast of the currency exchange rates and $5 a day budgets-among the most tedious of travelers in my opinion, of which there is no shortage of in SE Asia. While traveling through Costa Rica he talks of inspiration for a novel set there on the Mosquito Coast about a family of castaways based on the missionaries he sees while traveling in Central America. This would, of course, becomes one of his great successes, the novel The Mosquito Coast (which was subsequently made into a film starring Harrison Ford). I really enjoyed this book and it gave me a lot of food for thought, inspired me to seek out some of those forgotten American classics as well as move Argentina up on my list of countries to visit.

Kyoto: Arashiyama

My trip to Arashiyama started by boarding a bus at the controversial, ultra modern Kyoto station.

I was told by some Kyoto citizens that the fall colors would be much better in two weeks-looks good to me. These pictures are of Katsuragawa river in Arashiyama.

Here are some fresh Matsutake mushrooms on sale. Mushrooms are considered a fall season treat in Japan.

Here's a random shot of a gate and some fall foliage.

A traditional statue in an open courtyard.

Spectacular colored leaves in front of a torii gate.

Monkey fern trees.

A fierce looking wooden demon mask.

A small roadside shrine.