There are numerous shrines and temples in Japan. Some date back centuries and dynasties. In Kyoto, the Fushimi Inari Shrine is a must see! Hiking the mountainside trails behind the shrine feels like a pilgrimage. Thousands upon thousands of red-orange-vermilion torii gates (paid for by local businesses,) line the trail, and fill camera lens with angles, perspectives, and pictures of the contrasting natural and built environments. Japanese shrines and temples are architecturally unique, and play a major role culturally.
The following video shows only a few of the shrines and temples of Japan. To see them all would take a lot of time (if you are like me and stop every few feet to take pictures!) Perhaps I will make that a votive wish next time I visit. Enjoy!
NOTES ON THE SONG
This video’s song title is “Interrogation,” and it is the 18th song in the Boarding House Mysteries series. Lyrics are in the poetic form called Ae Freislighe, an Irish quatrain style poem. Rules of the form are:
1. This type of poem is based on the quatrain – four line – stanza(s).
2. There are seven syllables in each line.
3. The last words of lines one and three rhyme, and the rhyming words are three syllables.
4. The last words of lines two four rhyme as well, but the rhyming words are only two syllables.
5. The final word, line, or syllable should be the same as the first word, line, or syllable of the poem. This technique is called dunadh in Irish, and it reflects a poetic continuum (the beginning is the end, the ending is the beginning. [Refer to the song “Tomorrow Never Knows” by the Beatles.])
6. A poem in its entirety can be from one stanza to infinite stanzas. “Interrogation” has four stanzas – two verses and two choruses.
LYRICS TO “INTERROGATION”
Verse One:
The job of a detective
is to catch one by surprise.
The questions are selective
and shunning Truth is unwise.
Chorus:
I know how to scrutinize
and I know when to zig-zag.
The “perp” does not realize
it’s a trick from my handbag.
Verse Two:
They do not get physical
or, maybe only slightly.
What is truly criminal …
Hate rains hard on our country.
Chorus:
I know how to scrutinize;
I see the true perspective.
Now I’ve come to realize
The job of a detective.