Oct 3, 2001

Missing links steal the show

Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, but it is also a dubious honor. For some 15 years, until his death in 1610, Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio’s brooding and beautiful works scandalized Church and patrons alike, and left a generation of followers — ...

Feb 28, 2001

Take the path of the pilgrims to mortal happiness

Two types of pilgrim come to Matsuyama in Shikoku’s northeasterly Ehime Prefecture: Buddhists and bathers. The former will be more than halfway through the circuit of 88 temples devised by Kobo Daishi (774-835), founder of Japan’s esoteric Shingon Buddhist sect, for the remission of ...

Feb 14, 2001

Okinawa: A little bit of everything but still something else

NAHA, Okinawa Pref. — The beaches are Hawaiian, the suburbs look American, the marketplaces resemble Asian bazaars, and the omiyage-ya are definitely Japanese. But Okinawa, as any resident is keen to tell you, has a personality all its own. Before being conquered by Shimazu ...