Respect & The Unbelievable Body Display
May 23, 2005
Yesterday we went to a more peculiar attraction than usual. At the Kyoto Cultural Museum was a great exhibition of 人体�?���?��?議展 or loosely translated, “The Unbelievable Human Body Display”. It’s basically a small exhibition of preserved human bodies arranged in a way to show different organ systems.
Something like a more morbid wax museum, people could see the nerve systems, muscle groups, cardiovascular, respiratory, and digestive systems up close in gory detail like never before. This exhibition has been touring Japan and we luckily caught the very last day of it. I found it interesting and fascinating. Because I used to read books on the human body as a kid (I was a weird kid) and because I watched The Learning Channel enough, I had a good clue on what was going on and why certain things looked in certain ways.
Maybe it was the last day of the exhibition or maybe the weird factor was high but the place was packed! We had to line up around the block in the rain to get in but it wasn’t too long a wait. What was annoying was actually in the museum, people were crowding around displays and pushing and shoving. I without fail become angry in these situations so I tried to see things from afar. My temper held.
What made me angry were the comments from some people. They were saying things like, “Ewww” “It stinks” “That’s ugly” etc. out loud. While I do agree that preserved corpses aren’t the most beautiful of items to see, I felt they should’ve respected the dead better. They donated their bodies for scientific pursuit and gave these onlookers a chance to see something they’ll almost never see. For this, they should not get disrespectful comments.
That’s my two cents.
If you’re in Kanazawa or Niigata, this display is coming! I’d try to catch it… and if it’s anything like Kyoto, go on a weekday morning to avoid the crowd. Go check out some of the stuff on display at the picture page.
Fushimi Inari Taisha
May 10, 2005
It’s been awhile since my last day trip alone and seeing how on my lovely 4 day weekend I had no plans, well, yeah.
Yesterday I went to Fushimi Inari taisha in Kyoto for a nice stroll through countless torii gates and the chances to see countless statues of foxes. Inari is the god of harvests (or something like that) and is worshipped in hopes of bringing bountiful rice harvests and what not. Foxes, as crafty and cunning as they are believed to be, are the messengers of Inari and are thus honored with the statues. I always thought the torii gates symbolized the entrance into a sacred ground (ie. a temple) but I’m not too sure what a walkway with so many torii is supposed to mean.
An idea from a long time ago
May 06, 2005
Here I lay, defeated and humiliated by the one I hate the most. By all accounts I should be dead already. I misjudged and underestimated him. I overestimated myself. And here I am on death’s door, not even worthy of a warrior’s death.
How dare she stop it. How dare she interrupt the natural course of a fight, defeat, finish, and death. Who is this peasant girl to think she can have a say in my life and death? I watched as my beloved princess and my children die before my eyes and this peasant girl has the gall to believe she knows how to run my life? The insolence. All the anger and rage inside only yearn to avenge my family. I swore I shall destroy them all or be destroyed in trying. How dare this peasant disturb this.
At the brink of the end, when the deathstrike was near, she races out and pleads. Pleads! She pleads for MY life? Having dealt out so much destruction and death and hearing so many others plead for their lives, she now thinks it’s necessary to plead for MY life? Life is an ironic bitch.
My honor is gone but my vengeance burns fiery red inside. I will recover. Even with a busted body and deplated lifeforce, I will recover and refocus my will. I will hunt down the fool whom I underestimated. I will destroy him and destroy all that he holds dear. I shall have my vengeance.
As for this peasant girl, I should destroy her in one swift blow. But… I have no need for that… I… I shall spare her. For now. She will nurse me back to health. She will prepare the necessities.
