“While
peeling fresh bark from tree branches, uncle Yoichiro’s hands become stained
deep red in the bright July sun. As we strip bark from Techika (テチカ, sharinbai/車輪梅, Japanese Yeddo Hawthorne, phaphiolepsis indica var umbellate) branches
freshly cut from his yard, sepia brown bark releases tannins[6] that shift into deep shades of rust red in contact with air. While we
peel the bark shards together off the branches, we talk about layers of life.”