THE LAND OF THE GODS
“That which I saw seemed to me a smile of the Universe.”
“Paradiso,” canto xxvii.
About This Book
A collection of travel sketches and essays portraying Japan's sacred sites, rituals, artistic crafts, seasonal landscapes, and domestic customs. The author moves among Buddhist and Shinto shrines, mausoleums, and village altars, describing temple architecture, ceremonies, and the atmosphere of pilgrimage; travels around a famous volcanic peak and coastal bays; and observes crafts such as cloisonné and flower arranging. Interwoven are portraits of festivals, theatrical performance, and private moments that reveal popular beliefs, everyday piety, and aesthetic sensibilities, with lyrical scene-setting and reflective passages about continuity, impermanence, and the visual arts.