The Quaich's Journeys Through Japan

[CDNSushi]

I was thrilled with the arrival of the Quaich on Friday, April 1, 2011. Having been a member of the XMTS rabble for several years now, it was with great honour that I accepted Steve Ashton’s kind invitation to inaugurate this vessel’s journeys around the world.

For the past two weeks, it has been my goal to share the Quaich as a token of international friendship with as many people as I could, from close friends to future friends who just don’t know it yet. I also took the Quaich with me on several cross-country adventures, with the intent of showing my clansmen at X Marks the Scot and the whole world, some of the most beautiful and scenic spots Japan has to offer.

On March 11, 2011, Japan was irreversibly changed when a massive 9.0 magnitude earthquake rocked the northern shores near Miyagi Prefecture, which was then quickly followed by a enormous, devastating tsunami that flattened entire towns to the ground and took the lives of tens of thousands of people. In the wake of the recent tragedy, we mourn with those who have suffered loss but amidst the loss it is truly a blessing and a privilege to interject with a small token of joy and hope, expressing the duality and fragility of life itself.



One Japanese word: hakanasa captures the essence of the symbolism the Quaich’s coincidental arrival during the height of the blooming of the cherry trees. The awe we experience from the incredible, fragile beauty of cherry blossoms is fleeting and rapidly lost; at the height of their beauty, cherry blossoms fall from the trees and die as quickly as they arrive, reminding us of the razor thin, and fragile thread that separates life from death.

As I traveled throughout Japan with the Quaich, the cherry blossoms accompanied me everywhere I went. Now, fourteen days later, as I prepare the Quaich for her next recipient and adventures in Australia, a snow storm of cherry blossoms fill the air and carpet the ground with soft, pink petals. How apt.

Japan is known as the Land of the Rising Sun, and so my journey began on the East coast, in the crashing waves of the Pacific Ocean. Miho-no-Matsubara in Shizuoka is one of the most amazing spots from where Mt. Fuji can be seen. Ironically, it eluded my camera lens for most of the time that the Quaich was with me, staying shrouded in the clouds or haze.


Miho-no-Matsubara, Shizuoka Pref.

Upon my return to Kofu, Yamanashi Prefecture, I attended a hanami, which is a traditional, Japanese cherry blossom-viewing picnic, held beneath the cherry trees. There, I carefully explained the Quest of the Quaich to some of my best friends, and shared a “wee dram” with all of them. I felt that it brought us closer together in friendship as I reminded them that they had taken part in something much larger, joining a global clan of friendly, open-minded, (kilted) people.


"Hanami" party: Kofu, Yamanashi.

Friday, April 8, 2011: Mt. Minobu, Yamanashi. Minobu Temple is the ancestral and global home of Nichiren Buddhism. On the monastery grounds are several ancient weeping cherry trees, one of which is over 450 years old! I brought the Quaich with me and had the unique experience of arriving in the middle of a ceremonial procession into the main sanctuary hall, where a special service was held to commemorate the Buddha’s birthday. Then, I also ascended to the top of Mt. Minobu for a few more photos.




Minobu Temple, Yamanashi Pref.