In Japanese, "Kuro Ageha" means "black swallowtail". Back in 2003 I took a trip to Japan and stayed with my father's friend in a little town about 2 hours north of Kyoto called Miyazu. As is with most of the Japanese countryside, it was very beautiful, but completely lacking of anything. The father of the house's idea of fun was taking me to the local bar and listening to me sing karaoke...(laughs)
But on the last day we took a trip to a shinto complex at the top of the tallest moutain in the region. The view from the top of the mountaintop was amazing, with bluish mountains fading into the sky and forests and waterways stretching out as far as the eye could see. And when I looked over the end into the trees below I saw them, dozens of large, black butterflies floating back and forth among the foliage, flickering in and out amongst the sunlight. As I was watching them the wind picked up.

Now I'm not given to religion (religion is the reputational kiss of death for anthropologists), but at that moment I think I felt something much greater than myself.
It was like meeting with a god.

Incidentially, my dad's friend was rose-mania, and so her entire house smelled like roses (laughs) There were rose drape...cushions...flowerpots...teapots... wallpaper...but she kept poking me.