The Spirit of Shizen: The Nature of Japan through 72 Seasons, with Robert Weis

Podcast host Amy Chavez talks to Robert Weis, curator of the Luxembourg Natural History Museum's upcoming exhibit, “Spirit of Shizen – The Nature of Japan through 72 Seasons,” running from July 1 to August 31, 2022. 

An accompanying catalogue, in the form of an anthology, will be published featuring essays by prominent writers on Japan's seasons.

Amy starts off the show asking  Weis, a paleontologist, how he ended up curating the exhibition “Spirit of Shizen” Weis explains his childhood fascination with fossils, his work at the museum, and his love for Japan. He says Mark Horvane, a Kyoto-based garden designer, was an adviser to the exhibition.

Amy expounds upon the meaning of "72-microseasons" as outlined in Mark Horvane's essay of the same title included in the museum catalogue/anthology.

While some Japanese arts and activities have obvious links to nature, such as  Ikebana flower arrangement, bonsai, gardens or cherry-blossom viewing, Weis notes that other links may not be so obvious, such as those in haiku poetry, Japanese sweets, or even the passing of time. These tie-ins to the seasons will brought into focus via workshops, demonstrations, and a publication that focuses on Japanese culture and nature.

Workshops include a Miksang contemporary photography workshop with John Einarsen, a calligraphy session by Japanese artist Rie Takeda, an exploration into the tea ceremony by Bruce Hamana, and a workshop on the seasons as related to Zen, presented by French Buddhist nun and author Kankyo Tannier. A movie, produced by Felicity Tillack especially for the exhibition, will delve into the seasons of Kyoto, and a gastronomic event coordinated with a local Japanese restaurant will look at the role of the seasons in Japanese cuisine. Visitors can enjoy a mock tea-house with tatami mats or enjoy tea in the museum's garden.

"Spirit of Shizen" (shizen means "nature" in Japanese), also offers an accompanying catalog/anthology of essays penned by prominent writers on Japan. The publication will be available in the Museum Store and as an online purchase.

Following is the contents of the publication, which is divided into four parts, with Pico Iyer penning an introductory essay for each section/season.

"Spirit of Shizen" Anthology

Table of Contents

AUTUMN – Radiant Wistfulness, by Pico Iyer

• Momiji-gari - Tracking Down the Colored Leaves, by Rebecca Otowa
• A Late Autumn Walk in Nara, by Robert Weis
• Naturally Attuned to the Seasons, by Edward Levinson
• The Japanese 72 Micro-seasons, by Mark Hovane

WINTER – Blue Invigoration, by Pico Iyer

• First Winter in Ohara, by Patrick Colgan
• Ontakesan - Seasonal Elements of a Sacred Japanese Mountain, by Jann Williams
• Kigo: Seasonal Words and Seasonality in Haiku, by Kawaharada Mayumi
• Nature is Culture, by Sébastien Raizer

SPRING – Pink-and-white Flutter, by Pico Iyer

• Petals on a Wet Black Bough, by Amanda Huggins
• Sakura, by Naoko Abe
• Seasons of the Seto Inland Sea, by Amy Chavez
• The Beauty of Japanese Gardens, by Yuri Ugayaya

SUMMER – Festivals in the Sultry Nights, by Pico Iyer

• The Message in the Garden, by Marc Peter Keane
• Awareness of the Seasons in the Tea Ceremony (Chanoyu), by Bruce Hamana
• Mosses for the Ages, by Karen Lee Tawarayama
• Notes on Ikebana, by Mark Hovane
• Tsuyu – Between the Sheets, by Edward J. Taylor

Weis advises that there are no coronavirus restrictions right now for visiting Luxembourg or the museum.

At the end of the show, Amy asks Weis to name his favorite books on Japan:

The Lady and the Monk: Four Seasons in Kyoto, by Pico Iyer

South of the Border, West of the Sun, by Haruki Murakami

The Japanese Chronicles, by Nicolas Bouvier

About Robert Weis

Robert Weis is the author of over thirty scientific publications about Jurassic fossils. He has nourished a deep interest in Eastern Asian cultures, and especially Japan, since his childhood. He practices Zen meditation and the art of Bonsai and is especially interested in Japanese garden culture. Accounts on his Japanese travels can be found on his blog theroutetokyoto.com. He is the curator of the exhibition “Spirit of Shizen – The Nature of Japan through 72 seasons,” to be held at the Luxembourg Natural History Museum during summer 2022. He is also a travel writer for Luxembourg’s travel magazine "DIARIES OF." His book Rocklines: A Geopoetic Journey across the Minett Unesco Biosphere, co-authored with Italian geopoet Davide S. Sapienza, will be on release in July 2022.

The Books on Asia Podcast is sponsored by Stone Bridge Press. Check out their books on Japan at www.stonebridge.com.

Your podcast host is Amy Chavez, author of Amy’s Guide to Best Behavior in Japan, and The Widow, the Priest and the Octopus Hunter: Discovering a Lost Way of Life on a Secluded Japanese Island.

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The Books on Asia Podcast is co-produced with Plum Rain Press.

Podcast host Amy Chavez is author of The Widow, the Pri