I was so charmed recently to read Junichiro Tanizaki’s description of the “full moon viewing party” in The Makioka Sisters. The entire family, including the maid and a young child, gathered outside in the garden, dressed in full kimono, to admire the beauty of the moon and write poems in her honor. That was Osaka in the 1930s, and this is Tokyo in the 2020s, but dammit we can be cultured too! I rustled up some poets (and a musician and a graphic artist) and dragged them out to Yoyogi Park on Wednesday night. The clouds were thick and the moon was shy, but the company was spectacular and haiku were dutifully written.
Hopefully one of the Makioka sisters, or Tanizaki himself, lingered for a moment or two at the outskirts of our lantern. I definitely want to do this again! The haiku I wrote were sadly not up to par, so next time I’ll scrap the form and just do free verse.
This being the full moon, we also charged up our crystals and did some Tarot readings. What delights does this lunar cycle portend…? The secrets remain locked in time on our little patch of grass in Yoyogi Park.