緑の日

today is "green day" （緑の日）. Apparently originated from the Showa emperor's birthday (april 29), but when the new emperor took over, it was switched to 5/4 to make sure that Golden week wasn't broken up (affecting the "livelihood of the citizens").
We should appreciate the blessings of nature, and cultivate a full spirit
(lousy translation, I know)

唐音- the general name for the chinese character pronunciations which came to Japan during the 宋・元・明・清　dynasties.

宋音 - pronunciations coming from the end of the 唐 to the start of the 元.
行　＝　アン

漢音　－　sounds used in 西安, brought over by students and dispatched officials during the nara and heian periods. 行　=　カウ、　日　＝　ジツ

呉音 - pronunciations originating from southern china. Still continues to be used in buddhist ceremonies. 行　＝　ギャウ

Really enjoyed my "adventure ride" today. I ran yesterday for the first time in a while, so I was quite sore this morning. I thought, fine, I'll just do a light bike ride.
For a change of pace, I decided to go north. At first my legs were terribly tired, and wouldn't cooperate. However, since I had no destination in mind (other than "north") and since I had never ridden the area before, my mind really woke up to the amazing surroundings. I found myself feeling a lot of 懐かしい type feelings (reminisce-y feelings), and was especially perceptive of light and "feel" (of locations, etc). It was really exciting. I haven't felt that alive on the bike in a while, possibly since my long ride to go see the "new green". I think I'll have to do those types of "exploratory runs" every once in a while to keep my mind fresh.
Each time I came to a turn, I'd make a spot decision and just take off. There's not much that's comparable to that feeling of freedom. Strangely, it also gave me a feeling of positivity and optimism (about the coming summer, which I normally dread) - quite a precious feeling indeed.
Anyways, insanely tired. Sleep, wake up, work...