Hey everyone, Belmont in Japan 2009 Program Director Bisson here with an update of her experiences so far in Japan. I must say that I have had a wonderful time getting to know my students better in class and out. Together and separately we have all had a lot of different experiences that will make wonderful memories for all of us. This is my second trip here and I cannot get over how each time there is more to learn about this country and its people.
Today I went to the Daitokuji Zen Temple complex. It is greatly associated with the history of the samurai. The temple was founded in the early Ashikaga period (1336-1573) (history people always put in the dates) but was patronized by famous men like two of the unifiers of Japan, Oda Nobunaga and Hideyoshi Toyotomi. For those who are familiar with the greatest master of the tea ceremony, Sen no Rikyu, well I got to see the place where he committed seppuku on orders from Hideyoshi. I also got to see the smallest zen garden in Japan. In fact I got to see about eight different zen gardens at the Daitokuji. They are all smaller than the one at Ryoanji, but each one was very unique.
Speaking of the samurai, many of the sites that we have visited so far have samurai connections, even Hiroshima which had a castle and the Byodoin Temple in Uji where the loser of the first battle of Uji Bridge in 1180 committed seppuku.
But samurai sites are not the only highlights of my trip. I got to celebrate my birthday with my longtime Japanese friend Hideki from Osaka. We went to traditional Japanese restaurant with traditonal and very delicious Japanese food.
We leave here on Wednesday, but like the students and Dr. Velikova, I will be trying once again to experience as much of Japan as possible.