Welcome to Hyotan, my modest online museum, shop, and blog dedicated to historically important Japanese antiques & collectibles and the culture that produced them. This is the place I come to surround myself with a kind of beauty that reflects uniquely Japanese aesthetic principles–all in a virtual reality that transcends time and space. Here are photos of my koi pond with spider lillies and pink lotuses, flowers from the garden, blue herons and yellow lotus that live in Paynes Prairie just below the bluff where sits my home (known as Wuthering Bluff), spectacular sunsets, and of course anything related to the practice of zen arts (i.e. archer, swordsmanship, tea ceremony, ikebana, painting and calligraphy). Here I wax philosophically on whether the buddha nature resides in autistic individuals. You will see early iron sword guards (Tsuba Gallery on page 2) from my own collection. These were originally mounted on marvelous samurai swords (katana). All images you see on this site are part of my personal collection and photographed by me unless otherwise specified. So, let us pretend that we are in Owari Province (modern day Aichi Prefecture, Japan) 500 years ago during the Momoyama Period (1573-1615). Our adventure begins!
Spider lillies in koi pondPink lotus in koi pondPink hybiscusGreat heron in Paynes PrairieYellow lotuses in Paynes PrairieZen Garden, The John and Mable Ringling Museum, Sarasota, Florida (My 2024)
“Wabi (侘) describes a positivity of heart that comes by accepting transience and imperfection”
Soshin Kimura, Tea Master
Enso, Kaizan Sokaku (1769-1846) Personal collection
Hyotan (gourds): long used in Japan as containers for sake, water, and flowers; regarded as lucky charms; gourd shapes appear as architectural motifs, cartouches for woodblock prints, and…
I have known for most of adulthood that my cognitive default mode is a modest degree of attention deficit. Although in my case this tendency likely does not…
The aesthetic principles that guide my carefully curated collection of beautiful objects from ancient Japan reflect my longstanding practice of the zen arts especially kyudo (Zen Archery) and…
