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Live Your True Nature

自分の自然を生きる

  • Home
  • English
    • Service
    • About
    • Testimonials
    • Writing
  • 日本語
    • メニュー
    • プロフィール
    • レビュー
    • ブログ
  • Art
    • Indigo 愛染め
    • Performance Photo archive パフォーマンス写真記録
    • Performance Video archive & Writing
    • Drawing
    • ATM Lessons 気づきのレッスン
  • Link
    • Instagram
    • Youtube
    • Facebook

Kefir

IMG_20150303_100930607

IMG_20150303_100930607

My friend shared kefir grain with me and I've been making kefir with cow milk for a few months.

Today I used goat milk for the first time. It formed kefir in a very different manner than cow milk.

IMG_20150301_093831844

IMG_20150301_093831844

 I was so drawn to how the kefir grain was interacting with the milk, forming this map of kefir continents.

IMG_20150303_103427165

IMG_20150303_103427165

What resulted is a soft, smooth, silky drink that placed me in the midst of nature. This is something very common sense, but when I drink cow milk kefir, it tastes like the essence of cow and goat as the essence of goat.

tags: Food
categories: Food
Tuesday 03.03.15
Posted by karakoro
Comments: 1
 

Miracle Apple: Making impossible possible

miracle_apples01

miracle_apples01

Akinori Kimura, a Japanese farmer,  succeeded in growing apples without fertilizer which had long been considered to be impossible.

He married into an apple orchard in his 20s. Working there, he had been suffering from sickness and his wife from terrible skin inflammation caused by the fertilizer. While he was pondering what to do to improve this situation, he encountered Masanobu Fukuoka's "The Natural of Farming". He decided to adapt this method to grow his apples.

Soon after he stopped giving fertilizer, his 800 apple trees got infested by harmful insects. They were so many and he picked them by hands (three full plastic bags per tree,) They lost leaves and started dying. He kept trying to find the right fertilizer chosen from food items such as soy sauce, milk, whatever he found. He lost all the money and started working for a night club. His wife managed to prepare meals using wild grass as material. His children supported him as well. However, year after year, no sign of apple. After not being able to find a solution for six years, he decided to commit suicide to take responsibility. He went up to a nearby mountain and was looking for a place to hang his rope. That's when he saw an apple tree with lots of apples shining in a distance. He wondered why this tree is growing without fertilizer in a forest. When he went closer to the tree, he found that it was not an apple tree, but he got an inspiration. He immediately checked the soil and it was soft. He intuitively realized that if he can reproduce this environment, his apples will grow without fertilizer.

He went home and grew wild grass in his orchard. Every day he intensely studied insects and succeeded in recreating the ecological environment where the harmful and beneficial insects are balanced (so there are not harmful insects that infest apples). Three years later, all his trees produced apples which don't turn yellow being exposed to oxygen or deteriorate for years.

tags: Environment
categories: Body, Food, life, Place
Saturday 02.28.15
Posted by karakoro
 

What is health?

IMG_20150221_183325088

IMG_20150221_183325088

This is one of the best books on 'you are what you eat'. In the chapter on 'health and illness: new definitions', she talks about what health means. These conditions might sound like a common sense, but it actually take good holistic care of the whole to stay in this condition.

PHYSICAL

1. No fatigue    2. Good appetite   3. Good sleep

PSYCHOLOGICAL

4. Good memory   5. Good humor   6. Precision in thought and action

SOCIAL

7. Taking responsibility   8. Making choices

SPIRITUAL

9. Honesty   10. Gratitude   11. Humility   12. Love

From "Food and Healing" by Annemarie Colbin

tags: Food
categories: Body, Food, life
Saturday 02.21.15
Posted by karakoro
 

Being vital

0007b

0007b

I’ve been thinking about being vital. It is not the same as the energy we feel when we are excited. When we are in high tension. But sometimes these two seem to be granted as the synonyms. As a performing artist, I experience the ‘high tension’ moments on stage. Heated, exhilarating intoxication takes over me. I love my audience. There is a charged exchange between us. My body feels ‘filled’. I feel alive, and awake. Unfortunately, these moments are short-lived. They evaporate immediately after arising, and so, to fill the void, the cycle of regenerating more of this feeling continues. Being vital seems different. It's about feeling quiet and continuous motor inside the body. Gentle and effortless. This amorphous, vibrating essence exists in all living things. If we descend into calmness to connect with it, every moment in life becomes vivid and special without seeking for excitement.

tags: Body, Environment
categories: Body, life
Thursday 02.19.15
Posted by karakoro
 

Super Probiotic (3)

IMG_20150219_205738252

IMG_20150219_205738252

New Faces! From Left, Red cabbage with brine, Chioggia beets in Koji, Chioggia beets in lemon+salt, radish in lemon salt brine, and red cabbage in brine.

IMG_20150217_153409927

IMG_20150217_153409927

1396313127-103

1396313127-103

Chioggia beets are very pretty. This pattern and color somehow remind me of antique Japanese candies.  Perhaps this is why I'm drawn to this particular beets.

Then pickled garlic. After three months of wait, I can finally taste it!

IMG_20150219_204608192

IMG_20150219_204608192

tags: Food
categories: Food
Thursday 02.19.15
Posted by karakoro
 

About eating

IMG_20150217_114353524

IMG_20150217_114353524

Eating is such an amazing experience. It activates all my senses: seeing, tasting, hearing, touching, and smelling. The sound and feel of a wooden spoon hitting the surface of the porcelain bowl. The vivid red color of pickled cabbage.  I take one sip of the long-cooked chicken soup, noticing the harmony of egg and broth. My nostrils gradually open up.  My cells vibrate. Good whole food is an inspiration.

tags: Food
categories: Food
Tuesday 02.17.15
Posted by karakoro
Comments: 1
 

Cosmos of Chicken Soup

IMG_20150216_224102386

IMG_20150216_224102386

Chicken soup is God's given. What more assuring and warm food there is on this earth. It is perfect in its texture, consistency, scent, and visual look. So complete. So satisfying. My day starts with the morning ritual of re-appreciating this super food.

tags: Food
categories: Food
Monday 02.16.15
Posted by karakoro
 

Super Probiotic (2)

IMG_20150216_223840098

IMG_20150216_223840098

I've been crazy about pickles. I've pickled garlic, cabbage, carrots, eggplant, radish, red beets, golden beets, Chinese cabbage, daikon radish, and turnip. With just simple lemon juice and salt or brine (water + salt), any vegetable turns into powerful source of nutrition. You can also use koji or miso, which produces slightly sweet taste.

tags: Food
categories: Food
Monday 02.16.15
Posted by karakoro
 

Surface (2)

IMG_20150215_124153201

IMG_20150215_124153201

Today was probably one of the coldest days this winter here in Baltimore. One digit. As I move on the surface of snow, wind blows with force, hitting my body without mercy. One step, another step, running becomes a slow dialogue with snow and wind. Wind still keeps coming and the exposed skin of my face manages to responds by hardening its surface. I'm almost out of breath. My feet receives the freezing coldness of snow, slowly becoming numb. The boundary between inside of my body and outside stimuli becomes blurry. My whole body starts tilting forward to compliment wind and snow. It's a strange dance. I think of people who lose their lives in the severe snow in mountains. I think of a Japanese ghost story, YUKIONNNA (snow woman) and how the travelers get wrapped up by her white kimono as they embark on their journey to the other shore. I embrace snow's shamanic mischief.

tags: life, Life
categories: Body
Sunday 02.15.15
Posted by karakoro
 

Super Probiotic

I've been really into probiotic food lately. Here are the three examples of recent brunches. Chicken soup with miso, Spinach and tomato sauteed with butter, almond cake, strawberries+ blueberries + home made yogurt.

june-28

june-28

Chicken soup with an egg, avocado + lemon + miso tamari, Nut butter pancake + home made creme frache, spinach sauteed with butter, organic raspberry, lavender tea.

july-4

july-4

Chicken soup with one egg, Rainbow chard sauteed with butter, Cooked beats, Nut butter pancake, yellow peach + home made yogurt. Feels great after eating.

september-14

september-14

tags: Food
categories: Food
Sunday 02.15.15
Posted by karakoro
 

A lesson from the 'unexpected'

61909_430836467806_786649_n

61909_430836467806_786649_n

'Unexpected' events hold great potentials for growth regardless of our judgement of them. When I face an unexpected event, I can observe my reaction on multi-levels: my physical response to the event, psychological, emotional one, and how my brain starts to repair the damage these responses caused. I'm always astounded to see the brain's strategy to use the patterns learned in the past. And this is exactly what I think as counterproductive. When we see life on a large scale, most things don't proceed exactly as we had imagined. In fact, this is what makes life so potent. But somehow, most of us are not used to dealing with the 'unexpected'.

tags: Life, life
categories: life
Saturday 02.14.15
Posted by karakoro
 

Surface

IMG_20150210_115043453

IMG_20150210_115043453

There is something special to run on the icy surface. I need to balance my feet in a certain way. Not to hang on to the ground too much. Not to put too much pressure. I put a little more weight on the right edge, then the left edge, then the center, the front, and the back. This dance with my feet continues one step after another. Instead of making an effort to move forward, I'm in every moment, going up and down, enjoying the contact with the ground, having a dialogue with my weight sinking in and lifting from the slippery surface.

tags: Life
categories: Body, Place
Tuesday 02.10.15
Posted by karakoro
 

My child inside

person_human_child_girl_blond_long_hair_dress_run-725399.jpg

I've been on a journey to reunite with my child inside me. For a long time she has been hiding from me, with her back against me. I enter into myself carefully, with a calm mind and body, leaving the whole 'thinking' behind. My left brain calms down and my right brain starts being fully activated. My body slowly starts remembering what is was like to really feel. All of a sudden, my feet sink into the earth. with each step, many different parts of my feet scream. The trees start revealing their texture and their true personalities. Without touching, I can feel what it's like to touch them. Sensation takes over me. I FEEL them. Vivid colors start entering into my eyes without my trying to look at them. I'm EXPERIENCING the color. I start seeing patterns. Everything I become contact with becomes more and more vivid. Vital energy. I dive into myself. I knock the door and call her. I extend my hand towards her and slowly start pulling my little girl out of the dark small hideout. I can almost feel it. That aliveness. That vital energy which used to make me feel that anything was possible. Continuous flow of curiosity. Inner, deeply satisfying excitement. I'm gradually reuniting with her. My girl is smiling at me. Invincible.

tags: life, Life
categories: life, Body, thoughts
Sunday 02.08.15
Posted by karakoro
 

Super Probiotic (1)

I've been really into probiotic food lately. Here are the three examples of recent brunches. June 28th, 2014

Chicken soup with miso, Spinach and tomato sauteed with butter, almond cake, strawberries+ blueberries + home made yogurt.

June 28

June 28

July 4th , 2014

Chickin soup with an egg, avocado + lemon + miso tamari, Nut butter pancake + home made creme frache, spinach sauteed with butter, organic raspberry, lavender tea.

July 4

July 4

September 14th, 2014

Chicken soup with one egg, Rainbow chard sauteed with butter, Cooked beats, Nut butter pancake, yellow peach + home made yogurt. Feels great after eating.

September 14

September 14

tags: Food
categories: Uncategorized
Wednesday 12.03.14
Posted by karakoro
 

Dance, dance, what is dance, why dance?

It is the New Year, 2014. How's my body and mind doing in the new year? Have I explored everything I had wanted to during the last year? Am I ready to embark on a new journey? I think so. In order to revisit my thoughts and ideas from previous years and to renew my hope and wish for this coming year, I decided to expose my work in a particular setup. A dance festival happening in the nation's capital, Washington, D.C.  This festival called "Modern Moves" is featuring twelve contemporary dance companies in D.C. The selection was done via invitation of Dance Place, a venue which has been presenting dance in DC since 1980. To be completely honest, I was a little surprised to receive this honor. As the readers of this blog might know, my work is experimental, bordering on dance, theatre, and visual art. I'm  not what people consider as a legitimate dancer (if such a thing exists, I know). I'm also not a part of the dance community. My work is not technique-based, beautiful, athletic, vibrant, nor sexy.

IMG_9807

IMG_9807

My dance stands on fragility, imperfection, subtlety and sensuality. It is the exploration of the body within the frame of some form or content. It is not the exploration of a theme or a subject matter using the body as a tool. Participating in this concert gave me an opportunity to reflect upon my thoughts on dance and clarify what dance means to me.

Dance is ultimately very personal. It is the living body's business. What is inside, fluctuating mind, rhythm of breath, speed of the soul, all of these create pre-movement that eventually manifest in movements externally. What I'm sharing with the audience is what is happening inside of me through the moment-to-moment encounter with the external environment. I am exposing what is happening in the deepest part of myself to the audience, in a universal form, with the hope that perhaps there is something like this inside of them as well. Perhaps we share something in common. Do we call this resonance? If so, all the companies performed today were aspiring for that. What is the difference? I keep pursuing the question. What do I think is important in dance?

My dance doesn't have a reason. It doesn't mean anything. It is not about anything. It's not about war, violence, love, politics, and relationships. It IS love, politics, war, violence, and relationships.

IMG_9773

IMG_9773

I am dancing Naoko and my perception of the world, how I see and feel the world, seeps through the movements. I am dancing Naoko. I am, I would like to be, dancing space and time. Existing space and time and imagined space and time. Dance for me is a strong yearning for connection. Connection with the immediate and distant environment. Channeling what is not tangibly existing in the immediate time and space, and at the same time existing in the immediate dimension. By doing so, swirling the audience into a larger cycle of the universe altogether. Dance is also a pilgrimage. A pilgrimage into my own self. Deeper, deeper, going down into the deepest part of self. What kind of 'I' is there? Dance is also ultimately somebody else's business. Through the encounter with my dance, different individuals  might be imagining and experiencing something completely different from each other. And that's completely ok.

IMG_9843

IMG_9843

After today's performance, two men came up to me on the street and commented on my dance. Two things they said - "It was so intense." "It's such control of the body to move so slowly." I'm actually not controlling. I'm being controlled. I'm rushing home to work further, train more, more time with my body, mind, spirit, and soul. Yes, this is the New Year's wish. Definitely.

Photo credit: Paul Emmerson

(Preview - http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/theater_dance/modern-moves-festival-to-feature-dc-areas-most-established-dance-troupes/2013/12/26/3e15d342-6b96-11e3-a5d0-6f31cd74f760_story.html)

tags: Performance
categories: Performance, thoughts
Saturday 01.04.14
Posted by karakoro
Comments: 1
 

What we see Why we see

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

We finished presenting "What we see Why we see" on January 8th at Dance Place, Washington, DC. This collaboration was one of the most adventurous and meaningful one for me in many ways. My collaborator, Tzveta Kassabova, and I come from a very different background. I'm from dance, theatre, literature and linguistics. She is from dance, gymnastics, and astrology. Since our common interest lied in sculpting the space, we started with a specific type of material to shape the space: plastic. For 7 days in June, we played with all kinds of plastic to see what intrigued us. In August, we met for 10 days to work with what we came up in June and generated some material. We documented everything we had in 45-minutes footage. Then I left for Japan.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Our real work started when I got back from Japan in December. We only had one month before the show opened. We viewed the footage and threw away 75% of the materials we came up with. We built the scenes. When we started deciding the details, we started clashing. Because we were both directors, choreographers, and performers of the piece, we made all the decisions together from large ones to the small ones. We not only came from different disciplines but also had different approaches in building work. So decision making sometimes took a long time.

In the end, I was glad that this collaboration happened. It was a kind of a relief that I was not alone in the decision making process. I still felt that it was my piece as much as it was hers. I faced my insecurities, relearned my weaknesses, and discovered my strengths. Tzveta and I were not playing in either of our backyards, but were taken into the third place borne out of all the clashes and harmonies between us.

The piece is not complete but is on its way and I hope we'll have another opportunity to work on it sometime soon.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

tags: Performance
categories: Performance
Saturday 01.21.12
Posted by karakoro
 

0.01 Decibel ~ Improv. Menu

100_0381

100_0381

Just finished dancing "0.01 Decibel" at Improv Menu in DC. I asked my cellist/vocalist friend Audrey Chen to join me since she was back from Berlin for a short time. I have worked with Audrey a couple of times in small and big projects in the past and was missing moving with her sound. I wanted to feel her again and meet her with where I was now - it was like a impulsive short rendevous I looked forward to. The duet with her felt like 8 minutes instead of 18 minutes. I was thoroughly enjoying her sound, her presence, her silence, and give and take between us. At the end, she was going far and farther away from me. I caught the last glimpse of her and she disappeared from my sight.

100_0345

100_0345

100_0429

100_0429

tags: Performance
categories: Performance
Tuesday 01.17.12
Posted by karakoro
Comments: 1
 

ライフイントーキョー#13 最後のレッスン

img_0893.jpg

「自然に色がにじみ出てくる。」O先生が最後のおけいこで言ってくださった言葉だ。「つくっているとすぐわかる。それで、その場はいいかも知れないが、伸びない。」 能という芸術は考えてみれば、気が長い。時間をかけて熟成するのを待つという、厳しいが、人間的な面がある。能楽師の卵は、最初はうまくなくても、若いうちから機会を与えられ、舞台に出され、育てられる。西洋演劇では、競争に勝ち残った才気ある者だけが舞台に出る。一般的な商業演劇では下手だとオーディションで落とされてしまう。能の世界でも、多少はあるのかも知れないが、やはりスパンが長いような気がする。能楽師になると決意した時点で、人生を捧げる約束をしたのと同じだから、よっぽどのことがない限りは又、自分から他の道を選ばない限りは、師も責任をもって育てるし、習う者もその道を全うしようとするのだろう。こうしてこの芸術が続いてきた背景には、日本文化の継続や何やら以前に、歴史を続けていく者の誇りがあるのではないだろうか。多様化されていく世界の傾向に抗って、一つのことを全うする職人魂。

外から塗ったものと違い、中からにじみだしてきた色はそう簡単には消えない。能舞台は年配の客が多いが、こういった色の褪せない芸術こそ、今の若者が見るべきなのではないだろうか。

 

tags: jother
categories: Life in Tokyo
Wednesday 12.07.11
Posted by karakoro
 

ライフイントーキョー#12 能舞台での稽古

img_0893.jpg

「はい、じゃあここに立って。この辺ね。」キビキビとO先生は、揚幕の後ろの立ち位置を示された。先生のお稽古はいつも緊張する。今日はお面をつけているせいもあって、よけいだ。舞台での稽古は二回目。最後になるので、能仲間のLさんにビデオを撮ってくれるように頼んだ。時間は30分。短い。私を能に始めて紹介してくださったE先生にも来ていただく。この3ヶ月間の成果を見てもらうためだ。 それにしても、舞台の位置取りもよくわかってないのに、面をつけて敦盛の後ジテを全部やろうというのだから、無謀だなーと思う。でも、どうしてもやってみたい。やるしかないのだ!と自分をふり立てていると、舞台からもう、O先生の謡う一声(入りの音楽)の囃子が聞こえてくる。よし、と腹を決める。ヨー、ホー、ホーという鼓のかけ声をたよりに、橋がかりを渡っていく。一の松でサシて行き、シテ柱を左肩にかすめて舞台に入る。。。と。。あれ?今日は感覚が違う。体の回りを風がスースー通っていくようで、広いところにぽーんと一人放り出されたような感じだ。少ししか見えないせいかな?と考えている間もなく、どんどん劇は進行していく。今日はO先生、やっていつ間中一言も発しない。うまくいっているのかな?それとも?あとで聞くところによると、これは、面をつけたらもう直せないという決まりがあるということだった。

能舞台は最初、屋外にあった。役者も観客も共に、自然の息づかいと呼応しながら、一つの壮大な世界をつくっていった。この開かれた吹き抜けの舞台に立って、外の世界との道を開くには、自分の中に固まっていたのではだめだ。体の中には常に、風や、気や霊や音や、魂など、いろんなものが出入りする。体は宇宙の四方からひっぱられ、宇宙の中心に立っていく。エゴの無い体と心が一体になる状態を役者はめざすのだろう。

「はい。」O先生の声が聞こえた。20分の後ジテを終えて舞台から出るところを指導される。「ここは大事。背中を意識してしっとりと。」ゆっくり足を運ぶ私の横を先生も歩いてくださる。鏡の間に入り、鏡の前に立つ、面をつけた自分を見る。なんとかのりきった。「今日は出来なくても、それが明日の種になる」O先生から教わった、喜多流家元の言葉が聞こえた。

 

tags: jother
categories: Life, Life in Tokyo
Monday 12.05.11
Posted by karakoro
 

ライフイントーキョー#11 言い訳なし

IMG_0893

IMG_0893

昨日はお稽古日。12時に間に合うように喜多能楽堂へ行く。いつもは、「何々の間」という所でお稽古があると、先生の名札がかかっているのだが、O先生の名札がかかっていない。あれ?時間を間違えたかなと、事務所に問いかけると、「来ていらっしゃいますよ」とのこと。そこで、先生出てきて、「ちょっと待ってて。」と仰る。こころなしか、少し微笑まれた(?)様子だ。

10分ぐらいして、「前芝さーん」と声がかかる。「今日は上で。」階段を上がっていくと、「舞台が空いてたから、今日はここでやりましょう。」「はい」とは言ったものの、内心焦る。12月に入ってから、舞台で稽古をつけて欲しいとはお願いしていたのだが、今日?心の準備が。。。等と考える暇もなく、揚幕の後ろに’少し左寄り’に立つように言われる。後ジテの出はここから、橋懸かりを渡って、シテ柱をよけるようにして舞台に入っていく。先生は舞台上で囃子の調子をとりながら、見ている。半ばぐらいまで通してやると、ダメ出しが入る。何度か、タイミングとか舞台に入る角度、立ち方等を注意された後すぐに、もう一度やる。今日は先生、厳しい。気合いがピっと入る。不思議なことに、細かいところをきちっと直していくと、自分がだんだん敦盛になった気になってくる。やっと通し終えると、「はい。一回目からそれぐらいやって欲しいね」と言われ、ややガックリくるが、まあしょうがない。先生から見れば、大分練習不足だろう。100回は練習しないと、と言われていたのだから。

それにしても能は正確だ。舞台は9つ割になっていて、一番橋懸かりに近いブロックを常座というが、入るとまずそこに立つ。右から板三枚目だ。タイミングは鼓をしっかり聞いて。そして間。空気を張っていくように体を動かす。止まる。そして最初のセリフ。全く気が抜けない。厳しい。「女だから」とか、「プロじゃないから」とか「練習する場所が狭い」とか、関係ないのだ。要は、やるかやらないか。自分をたたき直して、今度はがんばるぞー!と、O先生、舞台で今日やってくれて有り難うございました!

tags: jother
categories: Life in Tokyo
Tuesday 11.22.11
Posted by karakoro
 
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