Category Archives: Japan

The Secret of Butterflies

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The Secret of Butterflies book cover

A daughter’s obsession with swallowtail butterflies merges with a family’s secret of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki at the end of World War II. This personal journey is a meditation on peace and a story of hope.

Hakusan Creation is excited to release our next book by Naomi Otsubo. This autobiographical work chronicles Naomi’s struggles to understand the cruelty of the world from her experience of raising swallowtail butterflies in her garden balcony. This experience leads her to unravel a family secret of her then 14-year-old father’s history of the bombing of Nagasaki. This short story of butterflies, survival, dreams, and gods is woven into a beautiful message of hope.

The print edition of the book has text in Japanese and English. You can order a copy at our store:

The Secret of Butterflies at Hakusan Creation Shop

Sacred Spaces, Part 2

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The entrance to Atago Jinja, founded in 1603, marked by the shinto Tori gate or Torii. Built on one of the highest points in Edo overlooking the bay (26 m, 85 ft.), the shrine was famous for its views. Today, that view is obscured by buildings. The fire god Homusubi-no-mikoto is the main deity, reflecting how deadly and feared fires were to the Edo population. From the book Earth, Water, Fire, Wind, Emptiness: Tokyo Landscapes. Click on the image for a larger view.

Sacred Spaces, Part 1

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Shusse Inari Jinja, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo. The shrine was founded in 1620 by Lady Kasuga, a powerful woman in the Tokugawa Shogunate. The sound that periodically sweeps through the shrine is a cross between wind and thunder—the noise of the Thunder Dolphin roller coaster, the structure in the background, as the cars pass the gap between the buildings. From the book Earth, Water, Fire, Wind, Emptiness: Tokyo Landscapes. Click on the image for a larger view.