Japan: a pleasant cultural discovery at the ROM
I attended a lovely evening this week at the Royal Ontario Museum celebrating Japanese culture. Hosted by the Japan National Tourism Organization, it was a private event for ROM members, and it highlighted Japanese traditions and culture, from food to music.
The evening spotlighted Grammy-nominated Canadian flutist, Ron Korb, who lived and studied in Japan. Korb not only performed his lovely music for the audience, he also spoke about the essence of Japanese music.
I also learned a new word: Wabi-sabi:
Wabi-sabi is a world view centered on the acceptance of transience and imperfection. The aesthetic is sometimes described as one of beauty that is “imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete.” (Wikipedia)
Wabi-sabi, Korb explained, is like the cracks in Japanese pottery, or that wobble in the music of the flute.
There was a screening of a new short animated film (The Wind that Blows) by Toronto filmmaker, Patrick Jenkins, which featured Korb’s flute music.
After Korb’s concert, we had a tasting of Japanese sushi, desert, tea and rice wine (sake).
Sushi looked great, even as a vegetarian 🙂
Japanese desert – soft chocolate fudge/brownie with banana chips
Prepping the sushi
Sparking sake…yes, there is such a thing
Air Canada gave away a trip to Tokyo and a two-night stay at the Hotel New Otani Tokyo, but sadly, I was not the winner. *Sigh*
ROM’s Prince Takamado Gallery of Japan
If you are a museum lover, be sure to check out the ROM’s Prince Takamado Gallery of Japan.
I look forward to discovering more about Japan.
What do you love about Japanese culture? Tweet to me at @Shannon_Skinner.
Shannon Skinner is an award-winning broadcaster, international speaker, author and travel journalist. Watch her interviews with extraordinary women at www.ExtraordinaryWomenTV.com.
