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In a most poetic metaphor, the hands of the clock hanging above the old clock shop no longer move. But as I walk, all I am concerned with is today. Funny, considering that most of what we think of as being 'traditionally Japanese' was created at that time. (Equally important, many of the samurai films of the early 1960's told stories of lone swordsmen fighting a corrupt Shogunate, in an off-hand criticism of the military government during the war, and even the modern Japanese government of the time.) Meiji values, though they too had rebuilt the country, did so in a way that led to an ultimate apotheosis in the war itself, and therefore, could no longer be trusted.

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After the Second World War, the Edo Period became fashionable, as if the bushido samurai code of ethics was necessary to rebuild the country, which the west picked up in the 1980's when all of Wall Street seemed to be reading the samurai classic The Book of Five Rings. Do we value older history more than new? Or perhaps it is political rather than cultural. I begin to think how ironic it is that places with an Edo Period look have been better preserved (a grand generalization in a country like Japan), whereas those from the transitional Meiji have been allowed to fade. Feudal period courtesans once paraded the streets. Like Kinoe, this town too had a pleasure quarter, but of a higher grade. I run into one woman twice, and another one, three times. All the rest is vibrant and alive, the residents actually moving about. There is the usual decay, but here it has a certain beauty, especially the old school, and the crumbling temple nearby. I crisscross the town a couple of times, following the lanes laid-out like the ribs of an open fan. Throughout these wanderings I keep wondering what he saw in his day, and for the first time I find us sharing the same view. I too am lucky to find things unchanged, not only from the Edo Period, but from Richie's visit as well. I approach with some trepidation, worried it had lost the charm that he found here. I would gush about it, but Donald Richie already has, and he dedicates a good number of pages in his book The Inland Sea to the town. Further bridges connect Teshima and Osaki-shimojima. Shimo-kamagari is connected by bridge to Honshu and the two islands are also linked by bridge to each other. Shimo-kamagari and Kami-kamagari are two islands off the Hiroshima coast that are administratively part of Kure. The pilot harnesses the power of the wind with a portable, inflatable sail called a 'wing' to be propelled through the water on a surfboard mounted on a hydrofoil.Knowing Tranquility Part XIII: Shimo-kamagari 下蒲刈 & Kami-kamagari 上蒲刈 Wing Foiling consists of handling a wing unattached to the board and carried with two hands while standing on a hydrofoil mounted on a surf or stand up paddle board. When sailing without a hydrofoil it is also called 'wing surfing'. Wing Foiling is a water sport that combines foil surfing with a sail. This technology also convinces surf icon Robby Naish and other well-known manufacturers who are also developing inflatable wings for summer 2019. It was only with the introduction of foil surfing that wingsurfing experienced a renaissance, fueled by kite brand Slingshot's idea to transfer the manufacturing technology of kitesurfing to wingsurfing: creating a wind sail that is inflatable, compact, lightweight and economical at the same time offers sufficient propulsion, especially in combination with aluminum decks.

Because wings large enough to propel a slow, heavy surfboard, including the surfer, must be very large, bulky, and heavy. The reason for the moderate success of all these developments is of a physical nature: friction. Most of these variants have in common the use of a rigid frame to stretch the wing, which doubles as handlebars or handles.

The names 'Skate Sails', 'Wind Skates' or 'Kitewings' are milestones in further development. The use of wings is not limited to water sports, they are also used for snow, beach or land sports. In the following years the technology is adapted and comes back on the market again and again in different versions and with new names. The history of wingsurfing dates back to 1986 when Tom Magruder presented his 'Weapon of the Wind', a free-spinning sail that is firmly mounted on the surfboard.