Over the final weeks of the program, we’ve seen more contemporary examples of how the volcano Mt. Fuji shapes lives. We’ve spent time at each side of the mountain, particularly noting the differences between the North, South, East and West flanks. The areas are distinct in their primary industries, susceptibility to natural disasters, and agriculture. […]
Wilderness: Problem or Priority?
I feel a bit homesick for my forests. I love strolling off the trail and sticking my nose in a flower or the dirt, running my hand over mossy tree trunks. This is no unique desire among many Americans. Some of us have had the privilege of growing up climbing trees and jumping into lakes. […]
Mt. Fuji in Process
There’s something electric about Japan. Amid our ceaseless moving, the endless influx of sensation and the hyper speed of modernity, almost nothing seems constant or steady about the culture. But having left Tokyo and settled in at the base of Mt. Fuji, the focus of our study, I can’t help looking each day in awe […]
Mt. Fuji: More than Memento
Representations of Mt. Fuji abound in Asakusa. Located there is the site of the biggest Buddhist temple in Tokyo, approachable almost exclusively from a network of streets lined with souvenir and specialty shops, snack booths, and restaurants. Milling about the streets was the largest collection of foreigners that I’d yet seen in Japan. Some Japanese […]