August 14th
It is the end of summer, when balmy hot days translate into different traditions around the world.
In Japan people imagine the spirits of the ancestors returning for a visit between August 13th to the 15th. Families light small Bon fires with ogara (a dried herb) to guide the ancestors home and bid them farewell. Home decorations and community bon dances make the last hot days of summer more bearable if not fun.
In Georgia it is the Dog Days, when people hang out on the porch, or under the porch if you are the dog, and try to stay cool. If you live in the mountains of northern Georgia, picking stringed instruments on the porch, drinking iced tea, and eating muscadine grapes are part of the season. Here Daniel practices for his debut on the back porch some day.
The Aoyagi-Adams family now resides on opposite sides of the globe where these different traditions continue in late summer sun.
In a couple of months, if all goes well, we will be reunited in Georgia. In the meantime, Sayuri is building a small house and I (Papa Joe) am finishing-up the cabin in Georgia. Still no running water or bathroom, but getting closer. In the process of designing and building our modest homes in Japan and Georgia, we have noticed big differences in the way that we view houses in Japan and America. At the level of building a home, the "American dream" and the "Japanese dream" translate into different visions. In Japan, Sayuri thinks in terms of tatami mats and storage space for futons (foldable beds). In Georgia, I think of open spaces, windows, and views to inspire. In Georgia, people like to spread out and get as far away from the neighbors house as possible. In Japan, there are open spaces and plenty of mountain land, but people choose to live in neighborhoods on smaller plots of land. We will post pictures of the houses as they get finished.