michael lambe's scrapbook

Today on Deep Kyoto, there is a fresh post on the delightful Shizuku cafe.

I just spent the day traipsing round town looking for a new sofa bed, failing to find one, getting frustrated by the dawdling crowds (why does everyone but me dawdle?) and upon going home ordering this little beauty from amazon.co.jp instead. Praise be the interwebs! Now I have to wait a week or so until I can test it out. Hope it’s comfortable. If you’re wondering why I need a new sofa bed, my old sofa is falling to pieces and my old futon – well, a dog peed on my futon. Don’t ask why or how. These things simply happen.

Last Sunday I went to see the Tale of Genji Millenium exhibition at the Museum of Kyoto; a very impressive collection of priceless manuscripts, emaki, beautiful folding screens and other precious knick-knacks to celebrate 1000 years since this tale of nobility and nookie first made a big splash in the Heian court. What really impressed me was just how popular and important this story has been to Japanese people down the centuries and still is today – the place was packed. Actually, it was a little too packed, and with quite a few ladies of a certain age with vicious elbows. I’d recommend going to see it, but not on a weekend. Anyway, I’ve been inspired to dig the two-volume copy out of the school library and have another crack at it. Or I could read it here I suppose but I prefer a paper copy.

Later, the same day I went to see Atonement at the Cocon Karasuma cinema. Wow. Great movie. It started off so slow I was thinking “This is going to be a very pretty but dull couple of hours…“, but then it started to build and build, and the story had me totally in its clutches until the devastating ending. I heartily recommend it. The sort of movie that makes you very very thankful for whatever happiness you’ve got. Here’s a trailer.

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