October 22, 2024
Back from Japan
My husband, Luke, submerged in the cool waters of a tributary off the Niyodo River (Kochi).
There is a certain kind of alive I feel when I am lucky enough to be traveling. A seemingly endless ability to walk and wander. This is certainly how I felt in Japan for the entire month I was traveling there with my husband. We had slow mornings here and there, naps, and space outs, but we were always taking in information. Little things would feel like an adventure. Like taking 45 minutes to search for a particular coffee shop that has a great flan somewhere in the matrix of Tokyo Station (never give up on flan).
The infamous human packed streets of Shibuya.
I’ve grown up going to Japan to visit relatives and I lived there for five years, but it still feels so exciting. I went with a more specific lens this time as my work with Fumi is deeply rooted in exploring my relationship with my Japanese heritage. That’s a pretty vast inquiry but it feels good to keep it open, fluid, and curious. I am not sure that it is necessary to mention this publicly as Fumi is ultimately just a lil shop. But I hope in sharing more of my personal motivations behind the development of this project that it more intentionally connects to some of you.
Burning incense at Kiyomizu Temple (Kyoto).
One thing that stuck with me on this trip was a reminder that most Japanese folks have little to no relationship with incense besides using it in the temple. It feels important to share this here as there is often an assumption that the work I am doing with incense is present in modern Japanese daily life. Something I am always thinking about is this meeting of contemporary culture with the ancient, especially across cultures and from the perspective of a person of mixed race and nationality. How has it influenced where we are? Is it relevant to contemporary life? What are the boundaries of bringing ancient traditions to life in new ways? I’m not exactly looking for answers. More a depth of understanding by paying attention to the many moving parts.
I got so much out of this trip and I’m excited to pour it into this next leg of Fumi. Thank you as always for following along!
Ebisu Shrine Torii gate and jet ski (Naoshima, Kagawa).