Concrete Grace

Man, I wish I didn't have that rule about having to use my cell phone for these pix! Oh well. This is a water basin in Korakuen Garden, officially known as "one of the three most beautiful gardens in Japan." I don't know who comes up with these official designations, but there are three most beautiful gardens in Japan -- everyone knows that! And Korakuen is one of them. I'm lucky because this famous garden is located right in downtown Okayama, the prefecture I live in. In fact, without Korakuen, I doubt if Okayama would be more than a stop on the shinkansen line for people going from Osaka to Hiroshima. But I digress . . . On our visit to this garden, we saw quaint water basins like this everywhere. This one was about the size of a doggie bathtub with the esthetic bamboo laid "casually" across the top and the curving water cup placed at an angle on top of it. The cup is made of bamboo and this picture really doesn't do it justice. The handle arcs back like a ballerina's arm -- delicate grace combined with sturdy rock. It's such a quintessential Japanese picture, I just had to snap it with my cell phone and share it with you.