In July 1950, Hayahi Yoken, a 22-year old novice monk, set fire to Kinkaku-ji, 金閣寺, the Golden Pavilion. In the smoldering aftermath, Japan confronted the unnerving question: why destroy beauty? At his trial, Yoken showed no remorse, saying only that his “hatred of all beauty” compelled him. Yukio Mishima seized on this confession for hisContinue reading “KINKAKU-JI”
Author Archives: protectivearts
Mining the Moon Redux
In Mining the Moon, I connected the Trump administration’s lunar-mining policy [1] to The Expanse and to Frederick Jackson Turner’s frontier thesis – the promise of new worlds opened by the Ring Gates. Would the writers treat these planets as another American frontier, a crucible for expansion and exploitation? The first three episodes of SeasonContinue reading “Mining the Moon Redux”
SELLING AIKIDO 2
Josh Gold is doing a yeoman’s job at keeping Aikido Journal (AJ) both timely and relevant (including an article by our own Mulligan Sensei). Nevertheless, the devaluation of Aikido’s currency is pronounced and continuing. The 2019 (pre-Covid) results of a AJ survey show that the typical Aikidoist is older (81% > 40 years), white, male,Continue reading “SELLING AIKIDO 2”
