Video – Tokyo Sakura
We compiled this video from footage taken in various parts of Tokyo during the hanami season, early April 2014. It was rainy, beautiful, and as always, short-lived. Areas of interest include Shinjuku Gyoen, Yoyogi Koen, and Aoyama Bochi (cemetary).
This project is dedicated to my Great Aunt Vera, a Benedictine nun, a foundress of the Abbey of Regina Laudis, and an inspiration to many. She was always a great supporter of my music, arranging concerts during my annual visits, and listening intently at our family dinners. Through our many meetings, we exchanged few words, but we connected through music. Shortly before her passing, she took me aside in a rare private meeting, to dissuade me from pursuing a career in finance. Not knowing how to respond, I shifted uncomfortably and managed some half-hearted excuses – and thus concluded the meeting. That was a missed opportunity – all I had to say is, “What should I do?” Nearly a decade later, I believe I have arrived at something close to what her answer would have been.
Aunt Vera loved flowers, spending what time she could in her garden until her very last days. I feel she would find the imagery and the music in this video beautiful. With this, I hope to say to her, belatedly: “Thank you, for planting the seed in that meeting for the new life I am embarking upon. Thank you for guiding me to the right path.”