a Postcard from the other side of Mt Fuji
Hi friend,
I hope you’re staying cool in the summer heat.
I’m at the AQ house at the foothills of the Yatsugatake Mountains, which has become quite house-like with the addition of a kitchen, Internet and hot water. Yay!
I wanted to tell you about my visit to a nearby shrine for a night of Noh, one of Japan’s traditional forms of theater.
Their open-air stage is built above a koi fish pond, a classic building technique to amplify light and sound. Ceremonial torches are lit as dusk starts to fall, and we are carried from the comedic parts of the performance into the somber and fantastical. The occasional splash of a fish tail adds to the experience.
This once-a-year performance is an offering to the gods. Front row center seating is reserved for them. We humans sit behind in rows of plastic chairs, tuning into the actors’ exchange of measured whooping and wailing. It is unintelligible to the modern Japanese ear.
There is no clapping in noh.
Noh is meant to transport us into a different world. I suppose it breaks the fourth wall if actors come out to bow and wave. There are no encores, no curtain calls, and no hope for an autograph at the back door.
On that night, quiet announcements were made to ensure an orderly exit and 1,000 people, many of them in kimonos, disappeared into the night.
It was sublime.
News
I have two slots for 1-1 coaching opening up from September. These are 50min session in a 3mo arc, on topics of your choosing. If you’re wanting to make changes but finding it hard to hear yourself think, this support structure could be the unlock you need. Shoot over a few lines about what’s on your mind, to see what we might work out!
Andrea and Stefan were interviewed about our work on a/sync on the Collaboration Superpowers podcast by Lisette Sutherland. If you want to hear sound advice for remote team practices, give it a listen.
Cool projects by friends
Pauline Thomas is organizing EuroIA. It’ll be in Marseille, France, between Sept 30 - Oct 1.
Jan Chipchase has a new lineup of masterclasses, including first editions of Frontline Ethics and Framework Darwinism.
Do let me know how you're enjoying your holidays :)
Tomomi
We first visited the shrine in January, to pay our respects and let the local gods know that we were moving in.