July 28
I can’t believe that today is the last day of my summer program in Kyoto and I am leaving tomorrow. Time went by so fast. I am feeling a bit sentimental towards the end of the six weeks.
This week we continued on practicing Kuzushiji: I have gained some experience in differentiating between similar cursive fonts, and really enjoyed deciphering ancient handwriting texts. We read Konjaku Monogatari this week, particularly the story of Dojoji. It is such a wonderful coincidence that I studied this story and Noh play with Professor Bolton in Japanese literature class last semester, but in English, and it feels totally different to read it in primary source in classical Japanese.
I visited Osaka last weekend. It was way bigger and more hectic metropolis than Kyoto, but I still like Kyoto more for its traditional beauty. Now I am sitting by the bank of Kamokawa appreciating the gorgeous sunset, the sky is so red, blended with touches of clouds almost touching the river, creating thousands of ripples in the river and in my heart. I really like Kyoto for its beauty, culture, and everything, as it is such a great place to study classical Japanese and to live, and I am definitely coming back in the future.