Matsue, International City of Culture

So here I am after 3 weeks of confusion, boredom and waiting, finally in the city which will be my home for the next 3.5 years (assuming I can past a certain examination which occurs in 6 months' time).

I moved here on the 20th, in a remarkably easy process that I can't be bothered describing (but suffice it to say that $1/kg post and same-day delivery was something of a shock after the vagaries of the Australian postal "service"). Since then I have been exploring with the Delightful Miss E, who rushed to Matsue to witness my triumphal entry to the city. The good folk of Matsue were going to have a ticker-tape parade in my honour, but they forgot. Still, nature rolled out the red carpet (as frequently happens in this country).

During our explorations we visited the castle (of 16th Century vintage, a rarity in a heavily bombed, earthquake prone country); visited Lafcadio Hearne's home (a rare gem of which Matsue is justifiably proud); did the obligatory shrine visits; went to the Louis C Tiffany memorial museum and rode along many river banks. Matsue has many cultural attractions, including some I haven't been to see yet, and is on balance a considerably better place to live than Tottori. It also has a very beautiful lake.

I'm a little shocked that until I visited the Tiffany museum I didn't even know who this man was. A stunning proponent of Japonisme, Tiffany was capable of working in almost any medium, but was particularly accomplished in glass. His lampshades, stained glass windows and glasswares are incredible, and well worthy of being given a special museum of their own. How unsurprising that such a museum can be found in a small country town in Japan (rather than, say, Australia's largest city ...) I thoroughly recommend a visit to anyone who plans on coming out here.

Also the Lafcadio Hearne house is fascinating. Lafcadio Hearne moved to Japan in 1890 and wrote some of the first books about the country by a westerner. His books are famous in Japan, still in print, and quite beautifully written. It was from Lafcadio Hearne that I learnt about insect markets and suzumushi. Japanese people are fascinated by foreigners' views of their own country, and have turned everything to do with Mr. Hearne's life into a shrine to the foreigner in Japan. Matsue seems to have the best remnants of his life, along with an intact Old City and Castle, so is the perfect setting for his a memorial to his gentle, wistful writings, his careful and loving interpretation of Japanese culture, and his reminiscences on a way of life which he thought was sure to disappear but which, strangely, seems to have survived at least partially intact.

The illustrations to the chronicle now have a section on Views of Matsue. I recommend you have a look -it is quite a splendid place.