It was my fourth visit to Kenrokuen this year, and to my delight I found that I was being guided by my ears. My eyes thus released, the sounds of the park began to dictate the pace of my footfalls, which themselves became an instrument in the symphony. The cry of a heron, the wind sweeping through the reeds, the clack of bamboo, the scratch of branches on stone. All the cry of an autumn newborn.
So I lay back in a quiet corner of the park, the maples above silhouetted against a clear blue sky, each leaf small and delicate and perfect, like a baby's hand. Then with eyes closed, I let one of Japan's most beautiful gardens wash over me...
On the turntable: Yes, "Close to the Edge"
On the nighttable: Harold S. Williams, "Tales of the Foreign Settlements in Japan"
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