Tetsugaku-no-michi: called the path of philosophy for the 20th century philosopher Nishida Kitaro who is said to have wandered the path “lost in thought” (says Lonely Planet). The pedestrian path runs along the canal near the base of Higashiyama (mountain) and starts north of Eikan-do.
I walked the path and thought about what it means for me to be in Kyoto and in Japan. It means: being present, often feeling like I’m not quite doing it right (whatever ‘it’ is and whatever ‘right’ means), absorbing everything I can through all my senses, barely sleeping because of the excitement of everything I’ll see the next day, barely sleeping because of the exhaustion of travel and making decisions and trying out my very very beginner’s Japanese. It means: thinking about the future of my artwork, where I want to live, if it’s possible to move to Japan to continue my study of textile techniques.
Walking the philosopher’s path means:
wandering lost in thought.
