The second morning in Kyoto felt a little different from the first. The sunlight still entered the room slowly, as though it was asking permission before crossing the threshold, but there was a faint heaviness in the air that I could not explain. I sat on the floor cushion by the low table, sipping the green tea the hotel staff had left outside my door. The street below was quiet except for the occasional sound of a bicycle passing and the soft hum of a shop owner rolling open the shutters.

I ...