Fall is Here; the air cools and truths reveal.

Well, it's officially mid-October. Time flies. Finally some relief from that awful humid weather. This is my favorite season in Japan. I like the smell of the air; a light crispness that seems to to drift and get cooler as the days get shorter. I don't know why I like it; I guess because it's comfortable.

During this time,  I fall in love with Japan again. Lately I've been reminiscing on my travels in this country: the beautiful temples and nature, the tori gates, the colors, the beautiful traditions, the people. It's easy to become complacent and take it all for granted. But in the fall, I always remember.

I stumbled onto a youtube video yesterday that really hit home. But let me give you a little background first. When I was about 17 or 18 years old, a senior in high school I think it was, I used to be really into trance and house music. Don't ask me why I was so into it, not that I can't appreciate a good trance song now from time to time (and from lounge to club), but back then I WAS trance and house. Anyway, I remember getting hold of an album, I think it was a hardhouse series or something by DJ Quicksilver (I recently rediscovered the name), and it had this one particular song that had an "asian" instrument sound to it. At the time, I thought nothing of it other than that I really liked the song. The years passed-- college, work, and moving to Japan. The mp3 was forever lost as was the old scratched CD I had burned it onto. I never heard it again.

It wasn't until last year that I was reintroduced to that melody I heard so many years ago. Apparently, the melody was composed by a very famous Japanese musician named Sakamoto Ryuichi. The melody, which is from a song called "Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence" was in a very famous WWII movie about Japan. The melody, which is not only catchy but quite heartfelt has been sampled numerous times over the years in various electronic remixes (it lends itself quite well to it actually).

Ironically enough when I did re-encounter that song about a year ago, I was only able to recognize it, as I heard it only in passing either on television, radio or something or other, and I was able to get a hold of neither the artist name nor song title. I remember feeling frustrated as I googled a number of random entries in hopes of finding it, but unfortunately at no avail.

And then finally, yesterday, I found it. I was so ecstatic, I created a playlist on youtube with about 6 or 7 different remixed versions of that same song, and I listened to it continuously for about 3 hours. You might think I'm psychotic, but to be honest, it felt like a sort of reunion with my past. Except that, now,  I had much more feeling, meaning and emotion attached to it. Now knowing its origins and being that I have lived here in Japan for some time now, I understand the song in a much more profound way. The notes, the pattern, the simple and delicate beginning, and its more powerful yet reserved build-up and conclusion speaks "Japan" to me. I listen to it and I think of all the beautiful things and people I have met. The way of life. Even its overwhelmingly manic preoccupation with purpose, function, and detail--all of it, intricately conveyed in this song.

For those of you finally curious to listen to it, here it is. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.