Review

Reviewed Work(s): Tsundu: Becoming a Lama by Raju Mani Gurung; Mystic Vision, Sacred
Art: Tibetan Thangka Painting in Kathmandu Valley by Raju Mani Gurung and Anne
Kauffman
Review by: Brian J. Given
Source: American Anthropologist, Vol. 101, No. 3 (Sep., 1999), pp. 635-639
Published by: Wiley on behalf of the American Anthropological Association
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/683861
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 VISUAL ANTHROPOLOGY 635

directly because the deity interacts with them through the capac-
ity of the performer. Along with the day's performance, a small
fair is improvised where those who have come for the ritual may
also buy the material for offerings, snacks, and trinkets to bring
back to those who stayed at home, or may simply try their luck
at gambling. Toward late afternoon, after a long day of petitions
from worshipers, Vishnumurthi performs his final and most for-
mal ritual enactments, receiving the community's collective of-
ferings and going in procession around the temple grounds.
Then, accompanied by his lower, "side-kick" deity, Gulikan,
Vishnumurthi goes to a field in which a future ceremony will be
held and visits the estate of the village landlord where he is
given food and hospitality. Finally, returning to his shrine, he re-
ceives additional offerings of food and blesses the community
before departing the village with promises of perpetual protec-
tion against evil and immorality.
Most of the ethnography of ritual performance in South Asia
focuses much of its attention on the dramatic performance and
the performers. This film does, too. Cinematographically the
film clearly sets the performance within a community, but per-
haps not explicitly enough for the inexperienced viewer to real-
ize what a rare opportunity they are getting. The narration only
describes in detail the roles of the low caste performers and the
high caste organizers and the ritually specific suspension of the
rules that normally prohibit their mutual touch. The viewer
should pay careful attention to the petitioners' faces, their acts
before the embodied deities, and their subtitled conversation
with god. Doing so yields insight into the ambient mood of the
worshipers, the organizers and ritual specialists, their larger rela-
tionships to one another, their attitude of worship, and their ex-
pectations of their god. The filmmaker does manage to visually
Figure 1. Lobsang Tsundu, the thirteen-year-old Tibetan novice
represent the community of worshipers, and the central acts of
monk at Kopan Monastery outside Kathmandu, Nepal. Credit: Raju
the ritual are conveyed in all of its range from the pragmatic to
the sanctimonious. Mani Gurung.

Despite the overall excellence in their coverage, there are

some aspects of teyyam the filmmaker leaves the viewer to
wonder at or to research on their own. In one scene, toward the
end of the performance, we see something of the marvelous
identity transformations that take place in teyyam as the vegetar-
ian man-lion (Vishnumurthi) becomes a wild boar to receive the
offering of chicken and a clay pot (kalasam) of distilled palm
wine, said to symbolize a womb. Then, still as a boar, he rides a
wooden tiger to demonstrate his control over dangerous forest
animals. Although a specific mythical charter is alluded to in
way of explanation, the viewer must resort to the ethnographic
literature to fully comprehend this series of transformations,
characteristic of other ritual drama performances of South India
as well. ,,
Tsundu: Becoming a Lama. 1997. 19 minutes, color. A video
by Raju Mani Gurung. Mystic Vision, Sacred Art: Tibetan
Thangka Painting in Kathmandu Valley. 1996. 28 minutes,
color. A video by Raju Mani Gurung and Anne Kaufman. For
more information, contact Documentary Educational Re-
sources, 101 Morse Street, Watertown, MA 02472.
BRIAN J. GIVEN
Carleton University
Tsundu: Becoming a Lama
Tsundu: Becoming a Lama is a short chronicle of the every-
day life of a young Tibetan monk at Kopan Monastery in Nepal.
During the first half of this short video we follow young Lob-
sang Tsundu from 5:30 am, when he awakes and makes his bed,
to an early morning Puja (prayer and meditation) followed by a
sequence of study, meals, and more study. The day ends with a
late evening Tibetan-style debate among the older students.
The video is visually rich in its portrayal of Tsundu's daily
routine, with engaging camera work, but lacks a great deal of the
information we need in order to understand this young monk's
experience. For example, we see the young monks shouting
loudly at a meal, but a less-informed viewer might not realize
that they are chanting a blessing. More important information is

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636 AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST * VOL. 101, No. 3 * SEPTEMBER 1999

missing too. During the second half of the video we see the the explanation seems trite and does little justice to him. He
young monk during a biweekly visit to his family and hear hiscould have offered a much more satisfying explanation with
and their comments on monastic life, mostly with regard to theonly a minute or two more screen time.
material benefits and strict discipline. We hear Tsundu's mother The video also leaves out context that would help us to under-
and uncle telling us repeatedly that, as a monk, he will receivestand Tsundu and his parents' attitudes toward monastic life.
basic necessities, including education and English training. Un-We are told nothing of the situation of Tibetan refugees in Ne-
fortunately, we hear nothing of Lobsang Tsundu's religious in-pal, for example. Such historical background (we don't know if
terests or experience, save that, as a little child, he had wanted toTsunpu' s parents are refugees or not, but they certainly live in a
be a monk. We are shown a life of discipline and hard work but Tibetan community made up of refugees) might explain the per-
little of the playful counterpoint to discipline that lies at the very sonal hardship to which they refer and which they hope Tsundu
heart of Buddhist monastic life. The video ends with the young can avoid by becoming a monk. In traditional Tibet, the family
monk telling us, "I have to live and study here in Kopan for thesupported their offspring through contributions to the monas-
rest of my life. The monastery is my true home." This will sad-tery. In the refugee context, the monastery may be supported by
den some viewers because the video has captured little of the donations from abroad and sometimes is the best or only source
richness of symbolism, community, and humor that characterizefor child support and free education.
the Tibetan Buddhist approach to the religious life. Certainly, it We are also given little historical or social context for the
is a challenge to convey the sense of communal spirituality andKopan monastic community, save that it is in Nepal. This is a
purpose engendered by many of the ritual and social aspects ofGelugpa monastery (one of the four sects of Tibetan Buddhism)
life in a Tibetan monastery, but little attempt is made here evenbuilt on Kopan Hill outside of Kathmandu, but we are never told
to show us the monastery as a community. Especially notewor-this. We are told that Sherpas from Solu Khumbu, monks from
thy is the lack of any reference to the "family dynamics" ofChom, Helambu, Manangis, some Tamangs and Tibetans popu-
monastery life where up to ten young monks are usually as-late Kopan. But, according to the monastery's Web site (http://
signed to a "shak," or house, under the tutelage of one or morewww.kopan-monastery.com), "Nearly half of the 260 monks
older monks with whom strong emotional attachments are often
now at Kopan, and most of the nuns at the associated nunnery,
formed. The bonds developed through these "second families"
are Tibetans, many of them recent refugees from Tibet." If
often last a lifetime and figure prominently in monks' stories
Tsundu's family are refugees from occupied Tibet, and Tsundu
about their lives.
is being trained in a monastery where most of the other Tibetans
In the absence of these themes, Tsundu's monastic life is ren-
are refugees, then more recent social and economic pressures
dered mundane. In the sequence where Tsundu visits his family,
may well affect their choices about the monastic life and their
both he and they talk about how his teacher doesn't let him go
construction of its meaning. Poverty and a desire to preserve Ti-
home often because he would become "crazy and spoiled."
betan institutions, for example, may be added to more traditional
Buddhist monasteries do have strict rules and young monks un-
Tibetan reasons for becoming a monk. This 1997 video should
dergo rigorous training, but many monks also enjoy living in the
have acknowledged these issues.
monastery, and this is not merely because they are fed and
These are not the only ethnographically relevant details the
clothed. Watching this film, one might wonder why they would.
video ignores. Kopan Monastery's Web site tells us, "From the
Despite the title, the video is not really about becoming a
"Lama." The title and subtitles, while accurate translations of beginning Kopan has managed to be many things to many peo-
ple, sometimes uncomfortably for the traditionalists." The mon-
Tsundu's mother and uncle (who speak Nepalese in the film, as
does Lobsang Tsundu), are misleading. While some ethnicastery is involved in a number of ethnographically fascinating
groups on the Tibetan/Nepalese border use the term more experiments. Yet we see no indication in the video about the un-
loosely, the word Lama translates literally as "superior one."usual involvement of 150 nuns from Khachoe Ghakyi Ling
The term's popular usage ranges from the equivalent of Rever-(Nunnery), nor are any women to be seen near the monastery in
end to the use of Lama as referring only to a "Tulku," or reincar-this film. This is the case, despite the unprecedented program at
nation of a former Lama. At age 13, Lobsang Tsundu would beKopan that is offering nuns Geshe training, which was pre-
a novice monk. He might become a Lama later in life, but mostviously unavailable to women. Nor do we see any Westerners,
monks do not. There is also little sense of process or transition inalthough, according to Kopan's Web site, they are host to "hun-
the film. Not only do we not see, or hear of, rites of passage, butdreds of visitors yearly from around the world." After the mon-
there is very little about the stages of education and initiationastery was founded, "Lama Zopa Rinpoche gave his first public
whereby one becomes a monk, takes Gelong vows at about 18,teachings at Kopan in 1971 to a group of twelve Westerners, an
and then, perhaps, does the three-year study and meditation re-intensive one-month introduction to Buddhism that became the
treat to become a Lama. Some of the explanations offered aremodel for the meditation courses now held throughout the year
rather simplistic too. We see the Abbot describing the texts thatat Kopan." There is also no mention of their role in sponsoring
must be mastered to become a Geshe, with no explanation thatmonastic activities and individual monks at Kopan. Acknowl-
the lowest of the three levels of Geshe training are tackled afteredging such realities may detract from the illusion of unchang-
first becoming a Lama, and that to get that education a monking monastic tradition, but they are part of the ethnographic real-
would have to go to one of the three great monasteries that offerity of Kopan and would have made for a more accurate and
the Geshe degrees (Drepung, Ganden, or Sera). In another se-more interesting video in which themes of cultural continuity
quence, the Abbot explains that the purpose of religious debateand change could have been addressed. It is ironic that the film's
is to clarify one's understanding in the interest of achieving producers appear to have excluded the very elements of life at
Buddhahood, but, in the style of an evening news sound-bite,Kopan that would have made this video unique.

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 VISUAL ANTHROPOLOGY 637

Technically, the quality of the video copy I reviewed is ac- Mystic Vision, Sacred Art is a very useful contribution to the
ceptable, but the subtitles are crude and may disappear beforestudy of religious art in general and the role it plays in Tibetan
the viewer has time to read them. Buddhist practice. The video is fast-paced, with excellent edit-
This video would be useful for its portrayal of ordinary Ti-ing, and provides a great deal of information, both verbal and
visual, in less than half an hour. It begins with a description of
betan monastic routine for young trainees, but this theme is al-
the role of visual imagery in Tibetan meditation practice. Anne
ready addressed in other films that convey richer information as
Kaufman's script is very good; it begins by telling us that "In Ti-
well. For instance, The Reincarnation of Khensur Rinpoche (65
min., Mystic Fire Video) documents the search for a reincar-betan Buddhism, the abstract tenets of Buddhist philosophy, im-
nated Lama and follows the four-year-old's initiation to the re-permanence, non-attachment and emptiness, have been trans-
ligious life. For a short depiction of the process of becoming an
formed into a rich and complex symbolic universe ... which
ordinary Tibetan monk, Tibetan Buddhism: Preserving The Mo-
finds expression in lavish and colorful ritual arts.... Painting is
nastic Tradition (29 min., University of Wisconsin, 1970) isperhaps the most vivid and accessible form of Tibetan sacred
art.... Religious paintings bring the visions seen by mystics
very good. It shows a young monk's initiation ceremony, de-
and saints within reach of all practitioners of Tibetan Bud-
scribes a monastic career, and richly portrays a monk's pattern
dhism."
of daily activities. For a brief introduction to Buddhist monastic
The video briefly describes the contexts in which Thangkas
training in Thailand, Buddhism: Making of a Monk (15 min.,
are used in monasteries ("sacred images bring the essence of the
Cambridge Educational, 1997) explores a youth's motivation
deities to these holy places") and in private meditation practice
for becoming a monk, explains the basic precepts of Buddhism
("Thangka paintings are both the expressions and tools of devo-
and key monastic symbols, and explains his initiation ritual with
tion"). A detailed discussion of Tibetan Arising Yoga practice
reference to those precepts. For an exploration of the relation-
would be impossible in so short a video, but we are told that "all
ship between lay and monastic Tibetan Buddhist communities, sacred images are supports for religious practice ... [the deities]
Tibetan Buddhism: Cycles Of Interdependence (60 min., Uni- reminding the practitioner of the qualities of mind that help
versity of Wisconsin, 1970), filmed in Ladakh, offers a goodovercome worldly attachment."
discussion. The camera work (not credited) and Raju Gurung and Biren-
dra Karki's editing combine to produce a visually exciting video
Mystic Vision, Sacred Art: Tibetan Thangka Painting in that engages the viewer's attention from start to finish. Color is a
Kathmandu Valley very important part of Tibetan Buddhist iconography, so it is
quite unfortunate that the color quality is variable throughout the
Thangkas are scrollable Tibetan religious paintings, usually
video.
on cotton with silk brocade framing. They are designed to be
Part of the video's strength is that it shows us a great many
used as aids to meditation as well as objects of veneration and
Thangkas of various kinds. By the end of the video the viewer
narrative. There are several traditional schools of Thangka
has a general sense of Tibetan iconography. The video does not
painting with subjects ranging from single deities to dozens of
tell us about the different Thangka traditions of Tibet, but this is
celestial beings in complex mandalas. Despite the centrality of
a weakness that can be forgiven in a short introductory video. I
Thangka imagery for Tibetans and Tibetan Buddhists, there are am less comfortable with the absence of a distinction between
few films dealing primarily with this subject.
traditional iconography and more contemporary trends. For ex-
ample, the last Thangka shown is of the deity "White Tara,"
who is described in Tibetan sadhanas (ritual-dramas for medita-
n;
tion practice) as having white skin, the color of snow-mountains
in sunlight. This particular Tara, on the other hand, has distinctly
;-? Caucasian skin.
There is a good brief discussion of some of the types of
,-,.
Thangkas and the principles of Tibetan iconography. The voice-
over tells us that "divine principles represented by each deity are
revealed by body color, sacred objects, clothing and jewelry,
posture, and hand position and facial expression." The video
,,,?~
shows us numerous examples of single-deity Thangkas and
mandala Thangkas (that situate the deity in a celestial universe),
as well as a narrative Thangka.
The video informs us that Thangkas may represent "compas-
: i
., ;-???

sionate" or "wrathful" deities. Here I disagree with the script.

Tibetan Lamas usually describe these forms (often different
"manifestations" of the same deity) as "peaceful" vs. "wrath-
ful." In Tibetan iconography "wrathful" is not the opposite of
Figure 2. Tibetan religious painting, or Thangka, depicting "White "compassionate," but rather a more symbolically extreme ex-
Tara," a Buddhist deity described as having white skin, the color of pression of compassion. For example, Chenrasigs, the Bodhisat-
snow-mountains in sunlight, Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. Credit: Raju tva of Compassion, or Manjusri, the Bodhisattva of Wisdom,
Mani Gurung. are peaceful deities. Yet the wrathful "Horse-necked One,"

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638 AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST * VOL. 101, No. 3 * SEPTEMBER 1999

Hayagriva, is a fierce or strong manifestation of Chenrasigs, the organization has about 30 artists. They also have a sophisti-
while Manjusri manifests himself in "adamantine rage" or Va-cated Web site (http://www.bremen.de/info/nepal/) where one
jrabhairava form (also called Yamantaka, which means "de- can inquire about ordering Thangkas, Sherpa paintings, Calligra-
stroyer of Yama," the Lord of Death). Initiates to these practicesphy from canonical texts, and various Tibetan ritual objects. Un-
clearly understand these to be manifestations of compassionatefortunately the video ignores the range of possible differences
deities. between these two contexts in which Thangkas are produced.
The script also refers to the wrathful deities as "the protectorsNo mention is made of the various lineages of Thangka styles in
of the faith." While technically correct, I think more clarificationwhich the painters might have been trained, and there is no dis-
is in order. The Protectors are protectors of the Dharma, and "thecussion of ethnic (Tamang or Tibetan) differences in style, or
faith" is one of the more limited meanings of that term. They are whether the Thangka painters at Dharmapala have undergone
understood by Tibetan Buddhists to be powerful deities for apprenticeship and qualification similar to that of Tharkela and
overcoming mental obstacles to enlightenment. Nima Sherpa. There is no discussion of possible differences in
Some Tibetans or practitioners of Tibetan Buddhism may betheir relationships with clients, or of differences with regard to
disturbed by the wrathful-deity Thangkas shown in the video.the conditions under which these artists will agree to paint a
Traditionally, deity Thangkas, especially those associated withThangka. The video-makers could have used this comparison to
Tantric practices,1 are only used by practitioners who have re-illustrate the tension between a Thangka painter's roles as a re-
ceived the appropriate "Wang Kur," or initiation ritual for that ligious figure (revered like a Lama), artist, and businessperson.
particular sadhana. Many Tibetan Buddhists believe that it is in- Because the video shows such diverse Thangka painting con-
appropriate, and even harmful, for the uninitiated to meditatetexts, its subtitle in the video itself, "Tibetan Thangka Painting
upon Tantric deities when they are not authorized to practicein Kathmandu Valley," seems more appropriate than "The Tra-
their sadhanas. Several traditionally trained Thangka paintersdition of Thangka Painting," which appears on the video's cas-
have told me that they would not paint a wrathful deity Thangkasette label and under which it is marketed.
for a person who has not received the Wang Kur. Indeed, many A strength of this video is its depiction of process. The second
Thangka artists will not paint wrathful deities because they be-
part offers a detailed depiction of the various stages of Thangka
lieve that their own minds may become disturbed or that they
painting at the Dharmapala Thanka Artists' Union. We see a
may have "health problems" as a consequence. Tibetan deities,
junior artist tensioning the coarse cotton cloth in a wooden
the symbolic core of Arising Yoga practice, are maps for states
frame, then applying size and gesso to whiten and waterproof
of mind, and Tibetan Lamas are careful about the maps they
the surface, which is then dried in the sun. The voice-over com-
authorize their students to follow. The video alludes to this tran-
ments on the composition of Traditional Tibetan Thangka paint
scendent aspect of Thangka use but fails to address what, for
(carbon black, cinnabar red, etc.), and the video shows paint
practitioners, is a very important question regarding their appro-
powder being mixed with size to liquefy and bind it. The video
priate production, sale, and use.
may convey the impression that traditional Tibetan paint recipes
The second part of the video introduces Tharkela, a tradition-are used but does not make it clear that this is indeed the case.3
ally trained Thangka painter who was born into a family of
Some of the Thangkas we see in the video appear to have been
Thangka painters in "a remote province of Tibet," becoming a
colored with less traditional compounds, although the variabil-
master after eight years of apprenticeship to his father. We learn
ity of color in the video makes it difficult to tell. The video
that, after 17 years of working with him, Tharkela's former stu-
shows us the processes whereby the Thangka is sketched by
dent Nima Sherpa is now considered to be a master in his own
senior artist Karma Mokten with colors applied by other artists,
right. The process of apprenticeship is described with reference
beginning with the periphery and ending with the "opening" of
to a 13-year-old Tamang boy who has spent two years copying
Tharkela's sketches and is now beginning to apply colors to the central deity's eyes by a senior artist. Finally, we see a group
them. When he becomes proficient in the application of color heof monks perform a Puja (ceremony) of consecration through
will begin to work on Thangkas for patrons and will then begin which the essence of the deity is believed to enter the Thangka.
to be paid for his work. Tharkela, Nima, and several apprentices Mystic Vision, Sacred Art: The Tradition of Thangka Paint-
live and work at Tharkela's home near the Bodinath Stupaing is an enjoyable video that will be of use to instructors for an-
(Bodinath, Kathmandu, Nepal). We learn that a traditional Ti-thropology courses on religion, art, and symbolism. The work
betan Thangka painter like Tharkela "as a creator of religious artcan stand alone and may be the best short video available on the
... occupies a special place in the community and is revered byprocess of Thangka painting. Visions of Enlightenment: Tibetan
patrons in much the same way as a Lama." Tharkela is a refu-Buddhist Art, part of Barry Bryant and Valrae Reynolds's tril-
gee, but the only reference to the refugee context is the state- ogy Tibet: The Living Tradition (60 min., Snow Lion), is very
ment that he fled Tibet in 1959.2 This is important informationgood on the range of Tibetan religious art. For a discussion of
because refugee status affects traditional relationships in Ti- Tibetan iconography in the context of mandala sand painting,
betan communities, and most Tibetans in Nepal are refugees. Lobsang Samten's narration in Sheri Brenner's Sand Painting:
The second group of Thangka painters represented in thisSacred Art of Tibetan Buddhism (30 min., Snow Lion, 1991) is
video operate in the quite different social context of the "Dhar- excellent. Dan Cozort and Lonna Malmsheimer's Mandala:
mapala Thanka Artists Union (est. 1990)," now called the Dhar-The Sacred Circle of Vajrabhairava (55 min., Snow Lion) of-
mapala Centre. The video tells us that this is "one of the city'sfers a good discussion of Tibetan mandala symbolism. Anne
largest Thangka painting concerns," run by Tamangs (a Bud-Henderson's superb A Song For Tibet (56 min., National Film
dhist ethnic group), and that it is headquartered in an old RanaBoard of Canada, 1991) describes the invasion of Tibet and th
palace in Kathmandu. Although the video does not tell us this,refugee situation for Tibetans in exile. ,

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 VISUAL ANTHROPOLOGY 639

Notes

1. Tantra has come to mean the practice of esoteric techniques for

rapid enlightenment.
2. China began its incursions into Tibet in 1949 and was in control
by 1959 when the March 10 Tibetan Uprising attempted to reclaim the
country and oust China. The violent Chinese response forced the Dalai
Lama to flee to India, where he heads the Tibetan Government in Exile .. . ::5 ". .

in Dharmsala.
3. Dharmapala's Web site editor informs me that they use both tra-
ditional and modern paints. They also paint in Japanese style and will
do copies of antique Thangkas. i: /
~~~.b r rq i s.l. S.. .

Makiko's New World. 1999. 57 minutes, color. A film by the

Media Production Group of the Asian Educational Media Serv-
ice, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Distributed by
Documentary Educational Resources, 101 Morse Street, Water-
town, MA 02472.

RICHARD CHALFEN
Temple University, Japan

David Plath and the Media Production Group at the Univer-

sity of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign have done us a great service
with the emergence of this film. Makiko's New World presents
viewers with an audio-visual version of an extraordinary view
of everyday life in Kyoto, Japan, 1910, as understood and selec-
tively recorded by the 20-year-old wife in a 200-year-old mer-
chant household. The original text, its translation, and new film
are all remarkable documents for several significant reasons.
We are presented with a refreshingly clever relationship of
published written material and the subsequent audio-visual ver-
sion of that material. The original subject matter for this film is a
diary written by Makiko Nakano in 1910; the first published
pieces of the diary, edited by her son, Takashi (a noted Professor
of Sociology, now retired), appeared in 1965. A book-length
Japanese edition of the diary appeared in 1981, three years after
Makiko died at the auspicious age of 88. Cornell University's
Kazuko Smith then translated the diary and published Makiko's
Diary: A Merchant's Wife in 1910 with Stanford University
Press in 1995, and now this film appears in 1999.
The skeleton of the film's storyline is sequenced and sutured
in a pattern of several layers. This structural strategy includes a
rough chronology, regular periodic readings from Makiko's di-
ary, a series of ten topics akin to chapter headings sometimes fo-
cused on specific subjects, other times, events, or topics, e.g.,
"Rescued Memories," "Diaries and Women's Lives," "Her
Birth Family," "Western Food," etc. The structure is enhanced
by periodic exposition by social scientists Plath and Nakano as
well as historians Yoko Nishikawa, Yasuhiro Tanaka, and Anne
Walthall. We also hear and see Makiko's niece, Kikuko Matsui,
as she speaks of her wise and modern Auntie while looking over
Figure 1. On the set of Makiko's New World. The video
dramatized re-enactments-the Japanese woman shown h
the part of Makiko, a young bride and newest member of a
household, which runs a drugstore and pharmacy in the o
city of Kyoto. Photo credit: Jacquetta Hill.
the pages of a family photo album. All provide very ri
of contextual commentary.
The written diary is referenced many times throug
film, as we see many reconstructed scenes of kimo
Makiko using brush and ink to write her diary with v
statements of her own words. The 1910 diary itself pr
with many details of everyday life as seen and recorde
middle-class wife of the head of a Kyoto pharmacy
This pictorial version brings the material so much to
tributing new life to an old life in memorable ways.
Minimally we are offered time and opportunity to r
the diary as both a symbolic form and a mediated for
munication--certainly not everything is written about
attention to historical and cultural variations of inclusi
clusion. Then we are asked to speculate on what chan
be introduced when cameras, as increasingly popular
able consumer technology, are added to brush and ink
of depicting and indeed remembering details of everyd
Historical lessons are offered as viewers see and he
people commenting on the diary tradition in Japan,
availability of diary types, ways to interpret such period

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