Kissa by Kissa is not a page-turner. It elicits the same feeling I get when reading Craig Mod’s newsletter, which I have adopted in Lilim and Uman, primarily because of the use of photos as breaks to texts. There are no captions in these photos. They speak for themselves, although many of these photos have subjects that are talked about by the nearby text.
Kissa by Kissa has a larger narrative, which could be connected to another larger narrative once Craig finishes his series of books on walking Japan. One gets this narrative in the foreword: Craig’s history of being adopted, relocating to Japan, his intention for doing the walk, why kissas, and why pizza toast. With that out of the way, the book is all but a collection of vignettes, shorter than those in desert solitaire — abbey. Most of these vigettes are about the kissas that he discovered along his long walk. In these vignettes, the interplay between Thought and experience, between being and meaning-making, are once again highlighted. This long walk narrated in the book may have simply been scratching an itch to do something interesting, but it is his interpretation of the walk that shows his growth as a person.
What is perhaps most interesting for me is Craig’s clear articulation of his purpose for walking. It seems like his decision to learn more about kissas and pizza toast arose organically: adoption → relocation to Japan → finding safe have in kissas → pizza toast as comfort food. This makes me ask myself: Am I forcing walking too much? How can I make my motivation to walk similarly organic? Furthermore, is there a piece of material culture I could latch into and explore in my walks, my very own kissas and pizza toast? Right now, that only thing that feels organic is feeling good when near water or being in nature, walking in silence. In some way, my walks are still a way to get away from depression. My walks are connected to philosophy and deep thinking. They are more in the tradition of Thoreau and the philosophers who walked rather than anthropological research in the case of Craig.
One wild idea is to create a geography of silence, a map of places that remain free for anyone who deisire self-renewal.
References
Mod, C. (2021). Kissa by Kissa, or How to Walk Japan, Book One, or Old Folks, Farmers, Blisters, Sofa Chairs, “American” Coffee, and a Whole Lotta Pizza Toast (3rd ed.). Fujiwara Printing.