Diversions:

Busy people have real hobbies.  Ambitious, yes, but worth aspiring to.  Thus the little spare time I have is spent on:

♦ Flamenco

When I confessed my passion for flamenco to Manuel Castells, my intellectual mentor and a native of Spain, he simply and matter-of-factly stated, "that is so typically Japanese of you."  Sadly he is right -- Flamenco is far more popular in Japan than in the U.S.  I first learned Sevillanas in Atlanta in 1997, and in 2002 began learning flamenco with Lina and Takako in Kyoto's Fortuna studio, followed by Miho Tanaka in Tokyo.  Subsequently I have taken classes and workshops in the US and Spain from bailaores (David Coria, Rocio Molina, Juana Amaya, Manuel Liñan, Pilar Ogalla, Manuel Betanzos, La China, Alicia Marquez, Soledad Barrio, Nino, Issac and Ramon de los Reyes, Antonio Arrebola, Omayra Amaya, La Meira, La Conja, Marisol Encinas, Laura Manzella, Inés Arrubla, Clara Ramona, Sabrina Aviles, Mariliana Arvelo, and Lauren O'Donnell), from cantaores (José Anillo, Veneno, Vicente Griego, and Marija Temo) and from a cajónist (Sergio Martinez).  I am a fan of Rocio Molina, Juana Amaya, Rafaela Carrasco and Farru.  My current favorite performer to watch is David Coria, and I would like to see live performances of Alfonso Losa and Pedro Córdoba.

♦ Jazz piano

After learning classical for 10 years as a child (my favorites were Bach, waltzes by Chopin and Brahms, Poulenc's Nocturne), I have recently made a turn to jazz piano.  At the moment,  my sense of accomplishment comes from simply owning a transcription of Keith Jarrett's "Köln Concert", but one day  I would like to mater Keith Jarrett's arrangement of "Over the Rainbow" and Bill Evans' "Waltz for Debby".  K52 helps.