Page 2 of 10
However, I was feeling rather optimistic and, relying on my intuition, I immediately asked Yuko if she would be willing to meet with me the next day so that she and I could become better acquainted. My question caused an immediate reaction from her manager and a spirited argument erupted between her manager and Tamura-san. During this argument, which lasted several minutes, Yuko and I sat quietly and just looked at each other. Then a remarkable thing happened. Yuko abruptly interrupted their argument. She spoke firmly with her now silent manager. During this short conversation, her eyes never left mine.
Finally, Tamura-san told me that Yuko had decided to meet with me the next day. Unfortunately, she was leaving for her home town of Tsuyama which was about one hundred miles from Osaka. If I wanted to meet with her I would have to travel to Tsuyama. Without hesitation I agreed to go there the next day. Although, I had no idea how I was going to get there. Luckily, the next day was Saturday and Tamura-san offered to drive me to Tsuyama. Yuko explained to Tamura-san where we were to meet and without further discussion, Yuko handed me a photograph of herself in her Maiko costume and returned backstage.
|
|
Later, back in my hotel room, I spent a nearly sleepless night thinking about Yuko and wondering what in the world I had been thinking about and what kind of a crazy adventure I had so impulsively embarked upon.
Tamura-san arrived at my hotel before dawn and we headed out of Osaka toward Tsuyama. Osaka is a large city and the sun was rising directly behind us by the time we reached Japan's beautiful and picturesque countryside. As we drove, Tamura-san explained that we were to meet Yuko at the ruins of an ancient Japanese castle that had been abandoned several centuries ago and was now a park renowned for its cherry blossom trees — which just happened to be in full-bloom. Tamura-san also told me that Yuko was bringing her younger sister, Natika, to keep him company while Yuko and I talked. We were to meet at a teahouse located somewhere in the park. As we drove toward Tsuyama, the stunning beauty of the lush green rolling hills and the occasional blue-tiled roof, nestled in this ageless forest, did little to relieve my apprehension about the upcoming meeting with Yuko.
I took this photograph of Yuko on that first Saturday morning when she and I met at the teahouse in the castle at Tsyama. Yuko's sister, Natika, is standing behind her-further down the path. We had just begun to explore the ancient castle and the park.
When we finally arrived in Tsuyama, I immediately felt uplifted by its old-world charm. It was like being transported back in time. Tamura-san drove directly to the parking lot at the ancient castle. Asking questions from other visitors, and after much gesturing and pointing, he quickly headed down a pathway bordered with fragrant cherry blossoms and I had to hurry to keep up with him. We arrived at the teahouse at exactly 9:00 a.m. The teahouse was an old stone structure that was once part of the ancient castle. And, I was learning that the Japanese are obsessive about being precisely on-time . . .
Copyright © 2000 Accent Touch
All Rights Reserved
|
|
|