gurdymonkey | A complete Genji manuscript and other Friday goodness.

The Nipponophiles among you will find this totally awesome:

"OSAKA--A full set of chapters "The Tale of Genji," the world's oldest surviving full-length novel, believed to have been transcribed in the Muromachi period (1333-1568) has been kept at the residence of a family in Tokyo, it has been confirmed.

It is rare for a complete set of manuscripts from the 11-century novel to be found in one place. The volumes are expected to be a major source for scholars of the novel, which marked its 1,000th anniversary this year."

Read the rest of the article here: http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/features/culture/20080712TDY02311.htm

They miss it.

They really, really miss it. Rising Sun, I mean. The bit that completely tickles my funny bone is that the guy who started the thread is this downright intimidating looking fellow: 6'4" or so, dark and broody looking. It's only when he writes he comes off like this. I miss it too. The Rising Sun enclave will be back at Estrella this February if I have anything to do with making it so.

Going to Obon in San Jose on Sunday with The Guys.

For the non-Nipponphiles, Obon (or Bon) is a Japanese Buddhist festival held in either July or August to pray for the souls of one's ancestors - and party with them. I attended Obon in Oakland the summer before last and took these: http://flickr.com/photos/70104978@N00/sets/72157603177703684/
Oakland's Obon was a big block party with food, demos of traditional activities (tea ceremony, koto), music and hours of dancing in the street. San Jose's Obon is a two-day-er and is supposedly the largest Obon celebration in the US.