Lobster Cook

These lobster dolls may tell us a few things. Firstly, we can eat them because they are ridiculous. Secondly, we can punish them because they act like humans. Thirdly, they should be resurrected as cooks because they deserve compensation. The cooked become cooks by association, or by guilt?

- MT

A Mad Cow

Often times, restaurant owners like to caricature the animal featured in his/her business. By poking fun at it, they may feel that it helps us eat the animal meat without feeling very guilty. This rather serious-looking cow, however, led me to speculate that there may have been other reasons for the shop owner to display this figure.

- MT

Rainy Shrine

It was raining when I came across this modest and unassuming shrine. It looked very natural with the greens of the moss and leaves. It may be that the rain combined with and enlivened all the components of the scene.

- MT

Symmetry

Symmetry has long been used to attract our attention. This Buddhist temple was not an exception. I was impressed with the numerous vertical lines of the roof, which contrast with the simplicity of the doors and windows.

- MT

The Road Midway

A husband and his wife, probably with a baby in her womb, are walking on a wooden bridge in a park. They may have had a long conversation on the way. The husband is pointing to a discovery he made midway through their walk... Well, scenes like this spark the imagination.

- MT

After the Rain?

The Nagara River is famous for an annual show of birds called uh catching sweetfish in the water. When I arrived at a hotel by the river in the late afternoon, the sunlight was shining and highlighting the bridge under a clear sky. I noticed that the road and the riverbank were completely wet but could not be sure how or why.

- MT

Temple

Sensoji temple in Tokyo is filled with people colebrating the New Year. This event, as well as many similar events taking place at thousands of other temples and shrines in Japan is evidence that the Japanese are religious people. Yet, you may be surprised to know that the majority will say, when asked individually, that they don't believe in any particular religion. The phenomenon has been dealt with in several books in Japan, but without any satisfactory explanation.

- MT

Clones or What?

If you want to talk about cloning humans, this image may have some relevance. Or, does it? I took this photo at a Buddhist temple dedicated to Kukai, a Japanese monk who founded the Shingon sect of Buddhism in Japan. These clone-like figures are his miniatures, about two-inches tall. Visitors to the templer buy one of these figures and display it as a symbol of his/her devotion to and faith in the monk. You may notice the white characters inscribed at the bottom of each figure. These are the names of the people who dedicated each. These figures, en masse, demonstrate the wide and intense popularity of Kobodaishi, another name for the monk.

- MT

Billboard

A billboard in the scene from a window is often an annoyance when you are in a hotel room. This electric billboard, however, was so big and bright at night that I could not help noticing the beauty in the combination of colors and darkness that was cut out by the window frame.

- MT

Spotlight

Hotel rooms have various atmospheres -- humble, gorgeous, pretentious, clean, dusty, dry, wet, warm, and cold. The first impression I get after entering a room usually lasts until I leave the room the next morning. My wife's impression sometimes differs from mine. This may be due to the ways we see things in the room. I tend to look at items like paintings, wall paper/cloth, TV set, soap, and shampoo. When I entered this dimly lit room, the small spotlight above the side table was illuminating the glasses and tea cups. They looked so clean and attractive.

- MT

Two Heads

These two species of animals have two very different heads. Yet, they share many commonalities: two eyes, two ears, two nostrils, hair, and a mouth. Indeed, the appearance betrays internal commonalities. DNA sequences shared by humans and cows are vast. They can communicate with each other. They even share diseases: "Mad Cow" disease can spread among humans, for example. When we look at the differences, we feel it's acceptable to torture, kill, and consume the animal. But when we remind ourselves of the similarities, we can reduce the death toll.

- MT

Animal

A cat is an animal because it is animated. This simple statement invites many questions when we look at this photos. Is it possible to say that a cat in a photo is not an animal because it is not animated? If the cat is still an animal even in a photo, what about the sandals and boots? Is it appropriate to say that the sandals and boots are also animals when they are animated (by someone's feet)? We may say that they are not animals because they don't have life. But the problem still remains: We cannot measure life. A lotus seed in a stratum thousands of years old may or may not sprout. We cannot predict this in a scientific manner.

- MT

Dating

The essential part of dating is conversation. You may not be able to tell from appearance whether or not a couple is truly enjoying the conversation. But you may be able to see their eagerness to connect.

- MT

Green Tower

A green tower stands out in the dark of Harajuku, one of the most popular districts in Tokyo. I live about one bloc south of the building but seldom go inside because most of the shops in it are for girls. Harajuku once was a quiet and serene residential area, with a tree-lined street dotted with shops and restaurants for older adults. It is now filled with beauty shops, boutiques, and restaurants for young adults. This building represents the new trend, in which I feel increasingly uncomfortable. But the night showed it differently.

- MT

Night Tower

The night in Tokyo creates unexpected sights at unexpected times. The 1100-feet-high Tokyo Tower is the tallest landmark in the city but not the brightest since it does not have as many internal lights as an ordinary skyscraper. But, when seen from a direction, with no other buildings in sight, it does look the brightest, and even dangerous.

- MT

Tunnel

Once every week or two, I travel throughout Japan on business. I generally take a flight that leaves Tokyo at around noon on Saturday and get back at night the next day. On the way from Tokyo International Airport (Haneda) to Shibuya where I live, there are several long tunnels. This photo was taken on one of my trips back home when I felt very free and relieved after my trip.

- MT

Dolls at the Grave

If you are Japanese, the immediate interpretation of something like this would be that there were a number of unborn children, aborted or miscarried, who do not have a final resting place. Japanese women remember these children in this way by putting dolls in front of a diety. The words engraved in the tallest stone read, "Please bless all souls in the three worlds." I don't know why all the dolls are girls, though.

- MT

Fish Head

Fish heads are a delicacy in Japan, especially when they are from large fish such as blue-fin tuna and bonito. I found this head at a fish market in Misaki, Kanagawa prefecture. There is a wooden tag attached to the nose of the fish reading "Reserved for the restaurant Kaneko." Cartilage, cheek, and even eye balls are served for the Japanese dish "kamayaki."

- MT

Three Pots

These pots displayed in the shade of a Tokyo restaurant caught my eye. They looked like three proud persons neatly dressed.

- MT

An Accident

Surfing through the Internet, I recently came across a photo of an Japanese old man closely resembling my father. Actually, I thought at first he was my father. But he couldn't be my father because my father has been ill in bed for more than a year. I asked the photographer when and where he took the picture. The answer: recently in Shibuya, Tokyo. My father lives in Shibuya, next to my house. I showed the photo to my father, and he denied the photo was him.

This is an example of an accident, an unintentional happening. Or, it can be called coincidence, a simultaneous agreement without human intervention. But I doubt this happened truly without human intention or intervention. Given the global population, it is conceivable that anyone's appearance resembles someone other than himself/herself. But the probability that they would meet face to face, unless they are identical twins, is very slim. Does the emergence of the Internet, where time and space are minimized, make this probability greater? I think so. But the meeting of any two persons on the Internet, even for the first time, is not an accident or coincidence because it necessitates a series of intentional selections on the part of both parties.

- MT