Osaka JaLS last week

 Amazing how fast the time has flown. This was the last week at the school. At the end of the week on Saturday was the train back to Tokyo.

Tuesday afternoon was free so I went Fujita Museum, which was recommended bybone of the teachers. It was about a 30 minute walk along the river from the apartment, and the weather was cloudy but not raining and not too hot. The museum is small containing artifacts that were collected by a Meiji era businessman named Fujita. There were bowls, incense containers imported from China in the 1300s, and vases and small cabinets imported from Holland in the 1700s. There was also a beautiful scroll from the 1200s describing interaction between Buddhism and Taosim in early China.

Before the entrance to the exhibition there was a nice Japanese style room where you could order tea.

There was also a large garden but it closed before the museum and I got there too late to see it.

On Thursday afternoon there was a school trip to Nakanoshima Art Museum. I'd been there before but we were going to the other exhibition. This exhibition was contemporary, featuring three artists: Yanobe Kenji, Morimura Yasumasa, and Yanagi Miwa. There was a room devoted to each one.

Yanobe Kenji did the sculptures of the Ships Cat, and several other sculptures that seemed to evoke a kind of post-apocalyptic feeling.

Morimura Yasumasa did large paintings in  the style of mid-1900s posters and were a kind of political commentary. Yanagi Miwa did paintings and sculptures that seemed to come from Japanese mythology.

After the museum we all went to a cafe.

Friday was 'graduation'. Every week some students finish their time at the school, and this week there were 14 of us. Here is a picture of Yushan and Jack from my class, with a couple of the teachers.

There were lots of good-byes. Some people went out for a bit. I had my last private lesson in the afternoon.

When it was all done I went for something to eat near the apartment, and the took the subway downtown to the craft beer place for a last visit.

During the last couple of days of the week  a couple of typhoons hit Japan and headed toward Osaka and Tokyo. For a while there was the possibility that my train to Tokyo on Saturday would be disrupted. Fortunately by Saturday the weather had calmed and I caught the train with no problem.