Being a frog in a well

Count the number of times I’ve included Japan in my blog posts and you’d think I was in love with the place. Japan appears every few weeks — here on regrets, here on career advice, this on the power of words, one on having a calling and here on the strength of letting go. I use the word “appearing” as I’m not doing this intentionally. Japan seems to be conjuring itself up before my eyes. Whilst Japan has just 1.6% of the world’s population, it’s expanding and filling my mind.

“I’m turning Japanese, I think I’m turning Japanese, I really think so.”
The Vapours, 1980

I haven’t written about Iceland, Argentina or Romania or probably 230 of the 239 countries in the world. So why are 10% of my posts about Japan? I like Japanese food and I studied Karate for a while, but those are slim pickings. I think Japanese blossom in the spring and their autumn foliage look beautiful, but I’ve never visited the country at either time. In fact, I’ve never visited at all. So, why this apparent love affair? Either the Japanese Tourist Board is channelling itself through me or something else is at play.

Perhaps it’s because I’m interested in a number of Japanese ideas; for example “ma” which I wrote about in February 2020. Ma doesn’t translate exactly but it’s something like a gap, or a space or a pause. The picture below is ma in garden form. The spaces in between make it…