How do you live in a room like this?
In Oguni, I stayed in a bed-and-breakfast, or [i]minshuku[/i] with Yosiaki and Yuko Kawazu. This was my room during the daytime. Sure, the Japanese don't live a monk-like existence with no posessions and homes with empty rooms; they have bookshelves, TVs and computers just like us, but in traditional homes the rooms are multifunctional and everything is in the cupboards around the outside. So this is it during the daytime. I just got my speakers, mp3 player, some books and a cushion to kneel on. Comfy.
In 1603, a Tokugawa shogunate (military dictatorship) ushered in a long period of isolation from foreign influence in order to secure its power. For 250 years this policy enabled Japan to enjoy stability and a flowering of its indigenous culture. Fol... ... read more 
