Manuel Bruges

When in October 2008 Tempelhof (one of the earliest commercial airports in the world) closed, plans to build luxury apartments soon emerged. Knowing what gentrification and unnecessary development do to a city, Berliners organized themselves to oppose the project until the former airport became a protected city park. The Reichstag, the meeting place for the German parliament, is another example of ecological commitment. The reconstruction of the house of parliament (Bundestag) was a public project that an English architect, Norman Foster, won. Foster’s success was partly due to his careful attention and use of natural light and heat. The futuristic looking cone, at the center of the dome’s entrance, is filled with moving mirrors to reflect light into the parliament chamber located below, significantly decreasing the need to produce artificial light. The top of the dome, too, is permanently open to control the building’s temperature ecologically. However, Berlin effort to regulate carbon emissions extends well beyond public buildings and parks. To learn how the auto industry is dealing with the recent ecological demands, I contacted Claudia Fried, from the Clean Energy Partnership; a joint venture between government and leading industrial companies to further the possibilities of hydrogen as an alternative source of energy...

Zen attends to a reality that can only be understood by a mind that has already emancipated itself from the unrestrained chains of thought, it thus can fully concentrate on the very present - the Now. Springing from a World view that heavily leans on result focused action - on Doing - as opposed to inner development, art in the West concentrates on expression rather than on understanding and consequently expects or demands either the conveyance of a message or the achievement of an aesthetic goal. A "master" in the West is often considered the one who can translate an idea, or feeling, into a material medium. Conversely, Japanese traditional arts (kyudo, kendo, sado, kado, etc.) involve a recognition of inner states without fixation on achievement or goal. A master in any of these skills (the suffix "do" pronounced with a long "o" as in door means "way") is not one who best expresses thought through striving and achievement, but rather one who best bypasses conceptualization and striving to achieve. In other words, a master is one who "masters" his/her inner states...

Bunraku has a long and complex history. The first written records of puppets in Japan date from the 11th century, and it’s likely that puppetry has a much longer history in the islands. Itinerant puppeteers known as kugutsumawashi roamed the Japanese countryside, but these early puppets plays were a far cry from the complex puppets and sophisticated drama form that became bunraku. These early itinerant puppet players settled around the Kobe area and on the island of Awaji, from whence the sophisticated puppet drama eventually developed. Bunraku’s dramatic narrative form traces its roots back to the epic narratives of medieval Japan dealing with the exploits of warrior heroes, in which the singer accompanied himself (or herself) on the biwa, a form of lute. When the shamisen (banjo-like instrument) made its appearance in the late 16th century, the flexibility and range of dramatic expression possible with the instrument were quick to be exploited as accompaniment to many types of song and narrative...

Working in Taishu Engeji is not an easy life - sometimes the pancake make-up hides lines that have no business on actors so young. But if their eyes show a maturity that comes from being on the road from a very young age, they also sparkle with the glow of a satisfied soul. I was lucky enough to stay with one of the Taishu Engeki troupes, and I found them to be the warmest people I had ever met in Japan. They are known as the Wakaba Gekidan, and are one of the most popular troupes in Japan. The leading reason audiences (and TV documentary crews) can’t seem to get enough of them is the group’s three child actors. All brothers, the boys have earned the title “the Young Tamasaburos” after the kabuki actor who became so famous for his onnagata, or acting in female roles. The brothers - Murasaki, Ichinojo, and Ryuya - respectively aged, 11, 9 and 4 years old, are also known for their onnagata roles, and, like so many famed kabuki actors, are descendants of descent ends of actors. They are fourth-generation actors, in fact; it is their grandfather, Shigeru Wakaba, who founded and continues to work with the Wakaba group…

After a long absence, returning to London was inevitable a nostalgic, as well as an exciting experience. My favorite teahouse is easily accessible from almost any part of the city. It is like a small oasis in the center of London’s urban madness. From its wide, and when the weather permits, open windows facing the park, one can watch the trees in which birds whisper melodies older than the beverage itself. Gradually, as if by magic, one enters the peaceful world, which in every culture is associated with the act of drinking tea. It is a magic that turns tea from a simple daily beverage to quench one’s thirst into a healing beverage to soothe the soul. Indeed tea itself has a strong therapeutic power, but for tea to work as a healing beverage, it must be sipped during calm moments and in a perfect environment...

Long ago, a wise Indian emperor with a passion for power came up with a way to help his generals improve their skills in the art of war. He invented a strategy game they could play to explore and develop tactics. This board game, called chaturanga, used the four divisions of Indian warfare: elephants, chariots, cavalry, and infantry. From an estimated birth sometime around 500 A.D., chaturanga evolved as it spread from its native land along with trade and conquest. To the west, chaturanga went from India to Persia and from there to Europe. Along the way it adapted to the various fighting systems of the lands where it was played. In Europe it grew into the game we now know as chess. Chaturanga went east, too, following the path of Buddhism to the southeast via Myanmar and to the northeast via Tibet, China and Korea. The version of chaturanga that ended up in Japan was, as in other countries, modified to fit the local martial preferences. The Japanese version become known as shogi. Shogi first developed in Japan in the Nara period (710-794), but continually evolved. Dur- ing the Edo period (1600- 1868), a long span of peace, many arts reached their maturity, including flower arrangement, the tea ceremony, and others. Shogi can be included in this list. Shogi became a state-sponsored game with official regulations falling into the hands of sev- eral elite families...