ABSTRACT
In the Yanaka district of Tokyo, a moment’s walk from busy Shinobazu-Dori Avenue, I chance upon a diminutive Japanese garden. Amid the bustle, Sudo Park is a leafy haven of calm and quiet. Stepped pathways rise and fall among the tall trees and a shaded stream runs into a sunlit pool, home to carp and turtle. Arched footbridges cross to a small island where a torii gate stands before a small, red Shinto shrine. On this weekday morning, young business people in dark suits walk through the park on their way to nearby Sendagi subway station. When they reach the shrine, they stop, put down their briefcases, bow, say a few words in prayer and clap their hands twice, 1 then they continue on their way.
