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No Country for Old Homes

In the remote rural town of Katsuyama, nestled beyond the San-In mountains, opposite a lumber yard and next to a gaudy supermarket, is the house my cousins grew up in.   It is a grand, old Japanese country house, complete with massive wooden doors for a gate, two kura (warehouses), an inner courtyard and expansive front garden crowded with ancient trees, including pines, maples and a magnificent cherry tree.   I used to visit this house as a child, every… Read more »

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Matsumoto Craft Fair

It was the last weekend in May and I was happy to be back in Matsumoto (松本) after an absence of a few years. I was one of the scores of visitors making my way to the annual craft fair. The city in Nagano Prefecture is about three hours from Tokyo on the Azusa Line, and I took a train that would get me to the city with time to spare for the opening of the craft fair at 11… Read more »