Visit Roses & Gardening Show 2013

Lovely exhibition of roses, at a grand location. Special treat this year will be roses from Turkey:

To mark the friendly relations Japan and Turkey have enjoyed over the years (despite the rivalry involved in both countries’ bids to host the 2020 Olympics), a new variety of rose called Ertugrul, named after a frigate of the Ottoman Navy that sank off the coast of Wakayama Prefecture in 1890, will be unveiled to the public for the first time. Some Turkish foods will also be available at the expo.

Other highlights at the six-day show include a fountain that uses pure rose water. A total of 200,000 Damask roses, a variety known for its strong fragrance, will be used to create the fountain water, which visitors are free to scoop up and apply to their skin.

The Japan Times: Outlook is rosy at 15th annual garden show


If you like new ideas for your garden, small or large, this is a great opportunity.

The International Roses & Gardening Show 2013 will held from May 11-16 at the Seibu Dome in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture. Admission 2,000.

For more information, visit www.bara21.jp (J).

Top image from last year's show, from the karie24 blog. I like how the 1970s anime Rose of Versailles is mentioned, with its romantic themes, that I think Japanese fans know better than most of us who grew up in Europe.

Swedish diplomat, Axel von Fersen, for example, is a major character in this Japanese work of fiction, which was first published in 1973.

Many Swedish people would have trouble explaining who he is! "The Rose of Versailles" was the first commercially translated manga to be available in North America, in 1983. From wikipedia:

The Rose of Versailles focuses on Oscar François de Jarjayes, a girl raised as a man to become her father's successor as leader of the Palace Guards. A brilliant combatant with a strong sense of justice, Oscar is proud of the life she leads, but becomes torn between class loyalty and her desire to help the impoverished as revolution brews among the oppressed lower class. Also important to the story are her conflicting desires to live life as both a militant and a regular woman as well as her relationships with Marie Antoinette, Count Axel von Fersen, and servant and best friend André Grandier.

And there is much more:

It's easy to toss out lines about how influential The Rose of Versailles is, but it's another matter to really sit down and grasp how much Ikeda helped change the manga scene with her work. Dr. Susan Napier, Professor of the Japanese Program at Tufts University and author of Anime from Akira to Howl's Moving Castle, was Viki's host, along with Christopher Macdonald, publisher of Anime News Network, at the North American premiere of Rose at New York Comic Con on October 13. Speaking about the title in an interview with ANN, she said that The Rose of Versailles is one of the most important manga series ever made. “It was one of the first major manga written by a woman,” she said. “Up till that point most manga had been written by men, but in the early 70's a group of women writers known as the group of 24 appeared, and Versailles's creator Riyoko Ikeda was one of them. All of them would go on to have a major impact on the shojo manga industry, helping to make shojo manga a serious and significant genre that was not only about romance but dealt with social issues as well.

“Ikeda's Rose of Versailles was particularly influential, for its fascinating and involving story and its exciting setting —the French Revolution, depicted with great historical accuracy,” she said.

Napier pointed to the main character Oscar as being a major asset to the series, saying, “The cross-dressing young woman would become the series' most important protagonist, eclipsing even Marie Antoinette. Although there had been cross dressing manga protagonists previously, (the most famous being the heroine of Tezuka Osamu's Princess Knight series), Oscar was a truly complex and three-dimensional figure who offered young Japanese women a different kind of role model from the traditional demure and subdued idea of Japanese womanhood. Oscar went on to spawn a long line of feisty cross dressing heroines, the most famous of whom is probably Utena of the popular Revolutionary Girl Utena series.”

Napier went on to explain in more detail the specifics of what The Rose of Versailles brought to shojo, including a change in art style. “Visually, Rose was one of the pioneers in developing the open frame, visually detailed style that became the hallmark of shojo manga in the 1970's,” she said. “Although Ikeda was not alone in doing this, (Hagio Moto, another member of the group of 24, was probably the first in doing this in Tomo no Shinzo), the lush and gorgeous setting of pre-Revolutionary France depicted in Versailles appealed enormously to readers and helped solidify the trend toward visual lavishness in subsequent shojo manga aesthetics.”

But it wasn't just art that was altered. It also gave rise to strong storylines, and, very importantly for female readers, to strong female leads. While it's easy to point to the gender-bending lead Sapphire of Princess Knight as predating Oscar in the female-disguised-as-male scenario, it's still worth noting that Sapphire typically shows strength in male form, and weakness in female form. This is not an empowering message to female readers. While The Rose of Versailles played around with gender-bending scenarios, it also gave more strength and equality to women.

“Deborah Shamoon in her excellent book Passionate Friendship: The Aesthetics of Girls' Culture in Japan believes that the romance between Oscar and the love of her life, Andre, served as a paradigm for a relationship between equals where the woman does not have to lose her identity,” said Napier. “In general, the uncompromising, somewhat tomboyish female lead character became a popular heroine in later manga and anime.”

As if this weren't already influential enough, Napier had more important details to discuss. “Another significant aspect of shojo manga culture that Rose helped to pioneer was the importance of fan/reader interaction with the manga's creator. Ikeda actually changed the plot to emphasize Oscar more vividly because of strong reader response to the character. The interaction between fans and creators, with fan reaction affecting the development of a series, remains an important element in shojo manga culture to this day.”


Making History: The Rose of Versailles

Back to roses. I like how the Seibu rose show this year is more about Turkey. Of course, we would have no variety of roses without the amazing variety from that part of the world. And, did you know that Japan has had relations with Turkey and the Ottoman Empire at least since 1889, when the ship Ertugrul arrived at Yokohama. It sank due to terrible weather on its return journey back to Constantinople, sadly, and has since become a symbol of friendship between Japan and Turkey.

At the site of the accident, around 533 sailors, of whom fifty were officers including the commander Admiral Ali Osman Pasha, lost their lives. Only six officers and sixty-three sailors survived. Six of the survivors were uninjured, nine severely wounded and the others sustained light injuries...  

All of the sixty-nine survivors were transported back to Constantinople aboard Japanese corvettes Kongō and Hiei, leaving Shinagawa, Tokyo in October 1890. The sultan accepted the officers of the Japanese battleships on 5 January 1891 and expressed his appreciation for the relief operation by decorating them with medals.

Imagine that, all of you who fly in and out of convenient airports to this country; we are all in debt to people like the sailors who came here not so long ago, on ships like the Ertugrul. Respect.

Seizo Suzuki, Rose Breeder in Japan

Seizo Suzuki was a rose breeder who, with his rare talent and incessant efforts, played a leading role in the rosedom of Japan. Due to his leadership that Japan's rosedom has come to enjoy the world-wide reputation it holds today. During his lifetime, he raised as many as 160 new rose varieties, and 30 of them were awarded the ARRS and other prizes at prestigious intenational competitions of new roses the world over, earning him the reputation as a great breeder globally.

Heritage roses in Japan

He was one of the breeders who recognised early on the importance of species roses and old garden roses as a gene pool for future breeding programmes. He collected about 2,000 such roses in his research institute of the Keisei Rose Nursery. This collection impressed Mr. Peter Harkness so strongly that he wrote in an article he contributed to the RNRS journal The Rose: "For quality of growth and richness of variety I have never seen its like. I could have stayed for days." (The Rose, Christmas 1993)

Seizo Suzuki was born in Tokyo in 1913. His love of plants started in his early childhood under the influence of his father, an enthusiastic amateur horticulturist. Among many plants, he was particularly fascinated by a beautiful red rose, Gruss an Teplitz, the queen of his father's garden. It was this rose, that made him decide to take up the study of roses as his lifelong occupation.

In 1938, at the age of twenty-four, he started his career as a professional rosarian, opening Todoroki Rose Garden in Tokyo. Two years later, in 1940, he married Haruyo, who was to become his most devoted colleague all through his life.

Roses in Japan have a long history.

Heritage Roses:

The City of Sakura Rose Garden (Kusabue-no-Oka Rose Garden) is located in Sakura, a city in a quiet rural area, 15km west of Narita International Airport and 40km east of the central area of Tokyo. Though it is a small city, Sakura has an interesting history stretching back over a thousand years. During the Edo period, Japan closed its door to the outside world for over 250 years until it gave up the policy of diplomatic isolation in the middle of the 19th century. It was Masayoshi Hotta, the then feudal lord of Sakura and a chief minister of the Tokugawa government, who played a pivotal role in promoting Japan’s open door policy at that time. 

After the Meiji Restoration, he aggressively worked to introduce culture and advanced technology to Japan from other countries. In those days, Sakura led the nation in various fields: art, medicine, language study, finance, and horticulture. Hotta opened a trial farm in Sakura with the aim of promoting the study of modern horticulture. 

His son Masatomo served as the first president of the Japan Imperial Rose Society. It was considered that Sakura, with its tradition of horticulture and of roses, should be the place to preserve heritage roses, and the City of Sakura Rose Garden (Kusabue-no-Oka Rose Garden) was therefore opened. The Garden has been trying to collect historically important roses, on the basis of the late Mr. Seizo Suzuki’s rose collection, and with the help of many rose lovers in and out of the country. At present, the Garden has 850 varieties --- 120 species, 600 old garden roses, and 130 modern roses. In total, 1900 roses are taken care of by many volunteers in the 2.5 acre lot of this garden. 

Where do the roses come from?

Don't forget Takatori Rose Nursery, in Okayama, from 1935.

Fantasy Garden Roses
bred by Yoshiho Takatori and variety name is from Aynu language.
Fragrance of the Old Roses and dwarf type of English Roses.
In our climate Fantasy Garden Roses are best protected for summer.
All are good repeaters, except where noted.


http://www2e.biglobe.ne.jp/%257Eroselove/newroses.htm
Japan loves its roses. Suntory and others are also breeding these amazing plants.

We are very grateful to those rose authorities around the world who have kindly donated many varieties of rare roses to our garden.

• The late Mr. Seizo Suzuki, Japan : He donated part of his collection: 90 varieties of species roses and 200 varieties of old garden roses, enabling us to open Rose Garden Alba, the predecessor of Kusabue-no-Oka Rose Garden.
• Mrs. Odile Masquelier, Lyon, France : She is known as the owner of the beautiful garden featuring roses, La Bonne Maison. From her collection as many as 200 varieties of rare roses were donated to the garden.
• Mr. and Mrs. Viru Viraraghavan, Kodaikanal, India : They raise heat-resistant roses, and use species roses such as R. gigantea and R. clinophylla in their breeding programme. Their roses including HT ‘Blushing Yuki’ and some amazing Clinophylla hybrids are planted in the garden.
• Mrs. Helga Brichet, Santa Maria, Italy : She has greatly contributed to the preservation of heritage roses through her activities in the WFRS. From her own collection, many rare China roses and Gigantea hybrids were donated to us.
• Vintage Gardens in California, US : The gardens donated to us 50 very rare heritage roses from their collection.
• Huaian Rose Garden, Jiangsu Province, China : It sent us old China and Tea roses originating in China with Chinese names. It is said some of them were raised in the 12th century.
• Prof. Yoshihiro Ueda, Japan : From his precious collection of wild roses from Japan and China, many roses, including very attractive R. chinensis spontanea, were donated to us.
• Dr. Yuki Mikanagi, Japan : She is a specialist in wild roses in Japan and in rose pigments. She donated to us many of rare specimens, e.g. R. luciae ‘Anemone Form’ and R. sambucina.

Damask Rose in Japan

The Damask rose is one of the oldest rose strains in the world, its virtues lauded since antiquity.

Today it is mainly cultivated for its use in perfumes -- and in the Syrian village of Al Marah, the traditions for its cultivation have endured through the centuries.

AFP:



A total of 200,000 Damask roses, a variety known for its strong fragrance, will be used to create the fountain water, which visitors are free to scoop up and apply to their skin.

The International Roses & Gardening Show 2013 will held from May 11-16 at the Seibu Dome in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture. Admission 2,000.

For more information, visit www.bara21.jp (J).


Roses are tricky plants. Most of of just know the flowers, and we have no idea about how those gorgeous pink, red, or white blossoms appear. Behind the Scent has more.

Half the fun of introducing a new fragrance family into our home fragrance collections is doing the research on the basic elements we combine. In our newest fragrance family, Cedar Rose, which incorporates Atlas Cedarwood of which we have written previously, we also have combined the heady fragrance of the Damask Rose.

The Japan Times: Outlook is rosy at 15th annual garden show

Noun

1.

damask rose - large hardy very fragrant pink rose; cultivated in Asia Minor as source of attar of roses; parent of many hybrids

Teachings (New Orleans Zen Temple)

Maka Hannya Haramita Shingyo

The Great Sutra of Profound Essential Wisdom and Beyond The Bodhisattva of true compassion, Through deep practice in Great Wisdom, Understands that the body and the five skandas are only emptiness. And with this understanding, he helps all who suffer. Oh Sariputra, Phenomena is no different than ku, ku no different from phenomena. Phenomena becomes ku, ku becomes phenomena. The five skandas too are only phenomena. Oh Sariputra, All things are ku. There is no birth, no death, No purity, no impurity, No increase, no decrease. This is why in ku there is no form, no skandas, No eye, no ear, no nose, no tongue, no body, no mind. There is no color, no sound, no smell, no taste, no touch, no thought. There is no knowing, no ignorance, no illusion, no cessation of illusion. No withering, no death, no end to withering and death. There is no beginning to suffering, no end to suffering. There is no knowledge, no profit, no non-profit. Because of this wisdom which leads beyond, the Bodhisattva is fearless. All illusion and all attachment are dropped off, and he can grasp the final end to life, nirvana. All Buddhas of the past, of the present and of the future, Through this incomparable, unparalleled and authentic incantation, Can attain understanding of this supreme wisdom which frees us from suffering As it does away with all suffering, it allows us to find reality, true ku. Go, go, go together, beyond, fully beyond, to the shore of satori.

Maka Hannya Haramita Shingyo Kan ji zai bo za tsu Gyo jin han ya ha ra mi ta Ji sho ken go on kai ku Do i sai ku Yaku sha ri shi Shiki fu i ku Ku fu i shiki Shiki soku ze ku Ku soku ze shiki Ju so gyo shiki Yaku bu nyo ze Sha ri shi Ze sho ho ku so Fu sho fu metsu Fu ku fu jo Fu zo fu gen Ze ko ku chu Mu shiki mu ju so gyo shiki Mu gen ni bi ze shin i Mu shiki sho ko mi soku ho Mu gen kai nai shi mu i shiki kai Mu mu myo yaku mu mu myo jin Nai shi mu ro shi yaku mu ro shi jin Mu ku shu metsu do mu chi yaku mu toku i Mu sho toku ko bo dai sa ta e Han ya ha ra mi ta ko Shin mu ke ge mu ke ge ko Mu u ku fu on ri i sai ten do mu so ku gyo ne Han san ze sho butso e Han ya ha ra mi ta ko Toku a noku ta ra san myaku san bo dai Ko chi han ya ha ra mi ta Ze dai jin shu ze dai myo shu Ze mu jo shu ze mu to do shu No jo i sai ku shin jitsu fu ko Ko setsu han ya ha ra mi ta shu Soku setsu shu watsu Gya tei gya tei Ha ra gya tei Hara so gya tei Bo ji so wa ka Hannya Shingyo

Visit Tree of Life Herb Garden in Hanno

If you like herbs, and if you like gardens, do pay a visit to the Seikatsu no Ki Herb Garden in Hanno, Saitama... Nice shop, cafe, medial herbs, natural healing garden, special Sri Lanka treatments, aroma therapy, Ayusha, Ayurveda products, and a lot more.

The Hanno garden itself is a work of art, you walk up through roses and all kinds of flowers, a tiered theme park, with so much fragrance to enjoy... Each month has new surprises... A very special place.

The medical garden tour in Hanno is just 1050 yen plus your lunch...

The Tree of Life company stretches around the globe, talking to the staff, I got some sense of how they got so big! I like how they do both seminars in the city and guided trips in the forest. Founded in the early 1960s, some 50 years ago, this is a company that has grown to have 100 shops all over Japan.

Never heard of Tree of Life? You are missing out. Do visit Hanno and the unique herb garden, really, it is a small park, and you will not be disappointed.

Additional images from the Takuetsu blog...

Visit Koma in Saitama, Japan

Koma, a small town in rural Saitama, Japan has an amazing story to tell, and if you visit the small Koma Shinto shrine, you will be told that this tiny hamlet was the place where a bunch of survivors from a war on what is now the Korean peninsula - I have no idea what it may have been known as back then - some 1300 years ago.

People escaped from all the way across the ocean, and ended up safely, here?

In fact, even today, people are confused about what to call that Korean region. Even more seriously, Communist China appears to try to claim large parts of the region (which is now to the north of North Korea, if I understand things correctly).

Here is what Koma, Saitama looks like today, while the wikipedia entry for "Koma" redirects to Goryeo, the ancient Korean kingdom from 918–1392.


Ken has this to add:

This shrine is also very old and was founded about one thousand and two hundreds years ago. It is said that the prince, Jakkou, of the ancient Korean dynasty had visited and stayed in Japan with his people in 7th century AD as mentioned in the previous chapter. Because his country was conquered by Tang dynasty in China during his staying, unfortunately, he was made resign to go home and decided continuing to stay in Japan. He and his people taught various things to people here and gave great influences on them in many fields such as the silk production, agriculture etc. Then the Japanese government established Koma County and nominated him as a mayor of the County in 716 AD, recognizing his greatness. This shrine was, thereafter, founded and dedicated to him.

It is heartwarming and refreshing to wander on the country road from the foot of Hiwada-san through Koma-jinja Shrine via Shou-den-in Temple in early spring.(Same as Course A specified in Chapter 9) You would surely feel a start of natural lives of the year, pale green buds on the branches of trees, sound of birds, agile movements of small animals and so on.
In recent years many people come to this shrine to pray, especially for a new year. Autumn festival called Rei-tai-sai is also held in October every year when selected people dance in special costumes as shown in the photograph below.

(Photo, Right ; Entrance gate called "Torii" to Koma-jinja Shrine)







(Photo, Left ; Dancing in the autumn festival, Right; Festival ornament in front of the shrine)












There is a historical old house preserved in the backyard of Koma-jinja shrine. This used to have been inhabited by the Koma family and now, it is open to public for education. There are many kinds of Japanese apricot trees in the backyard and they are in full bloom in February and so beautiful. In addition, chrysanthemum flower contest takes place here in November.
(Photo, Left; a Historical Old House of the Koma Family)














Meanwhile, an American blogger living in South Korea has this to add to the mystery, with comments from others.

He quotes Donga Ilbo: China distorts ancient history at Goguryeo museumhttp://english.donga.com/srv/service.php3?biid=2013042660578

So tiny Koma here on the Seibu Line in my neighborhood is somehow linked to a strange conspiracy where Communist China is trying to usurp a large part of Korean territory?

I rather doubt that the locals would want to have anything at all to do with that!

APRIL 26, 2013 06:54

As China is set to open an exhibition center specializing in displaying relics of Korea’s ancient kingdom Goguryeo in Jian, Jilin Province on May 1, it has begun in earnest to publicize key parts of its Northeast Asia Project that claims Goguryeo as its local state.
Dong-A Ilbo reporters and Goguryeo historians have visited the museum, which preliminarily opened to the public early this month, to conduct an in-depth analysis of China’s distortion of Goguryeo history. The museum opened after 10 years of preparations.

Located in an area bordering North Korea, Jian was the capital of Goguryeo from 3 to 427 A.D. and has approximately 12,000 Goguryeo tombs. The Monument of King Gwanggaeto the Great is also in Jian.
The museum is not so large in size, as it has six exhibition rooms on two floors. One doesn`t need to be an expert in Korean history to notice that the museum did not provide any explanation about Goguryeo’s link to the Korean Peninsula. Goguryeo’s relocation of its capital to Pyongyang, a large-scale war between Goguryeo and China’s Sui Dynasty and the fact that heaps of Goguryeo relics have been excavated in the Korean Peninsula are little mentioned.

By contrast, the museum emphasized that Goguryeo was under absolute influence of and fused politically, economically, socially and culturally with Chinese dynasties in the Central Plain. This thoroughly reflects the core parts of studies conducted under the Northeast Asia Project, although the museum does not directly mention that Goguryeo was a local state of China. A historian who accompanied Dong-A reporters said, “Though it is not explicitly stated, the museum claims that Goguryeo history is a part of Chinese history.”

The Research Center for Chinese Borderland History and Geography of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, a government think tank, carried out from 2002 to 2007 the Northeast Asia Project, including the history of ancient Korean kingdoms such as Goguryeo, Balhae and Gojoseon into Chinese history. Faced with South Korea’s protest at the time, the Chinese government claimed that Seoul was reacting “too sensitively” to some scholars’ academic discussions, denying that it was a state project.

“Just as South Korean scholars have been concerned, the Chinese government is applying Northeast Asian Project research results to the field to solidify the project, starting with the opening of the Goguryeo museum,” said Cho Beop-jong, a professor of history at Woosuk University. “South Korea should respond proactively.”

Proactively, right. You can't win, these ancient battles are part and parcel of living in Asia, as long as there are communists and nationalists and whatnot. Without much further foreign involvement, things would probably stay the same, for a very long time. Meanwhile, isn't it wonderful to ponder the fact that that simple shrine here in Koma, Saitama, is a shinto shrine. The native goods of Japan do not seem to mind.

As for Wikipedia, I find it very useful, but I also hesitate to rely on any site that has more than 500 revisions. The Northeast Project of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences is one such wikipedia site. For more about Goguryeo (ancient northern Korean) do check this wikipedia page or History of Korea.

Buddhism was introduced here [in Korea] as early as in 372, but was more popular in other parts of the ancient Korean kingdoms...

When I read the news each day I think these peoples of various faiths and economy systems and interpretations of history have yet to find a way to recognize the wonders and miracles of each other, as each and everyone is so great. Love your neighbor. North East Asia will continue to surprise, while inspire an ignite profound trends, for a very long time.

When visiting Nara, for example, you are not just visiting "Japan" but really a puzzle or matrix of influences that include people who came all the way to this city from India, China and Korea.

Hamaoka Nuclear Reactors In The News

The Hamaoka Nuclear Plant near Tokyo is in the news again, with The Mainichi reporting that anti-reactor restart mayors have been victorious in nearby towns. Glad to hear that. Best of luck to the campaigners in Shizuoka prefecture who have fought so hard for so long against this particular nuclear folly. Check Hamaoka here on Kurashi and it is probably the one nuclear plant I have blogged about most often over the years...

Municipal elections delivered wins on April 21 for two incumbent mayors against the restart of the nearby Hamaoka Nuclear Power Station, joining two other cities in the region against reactivating the plant's reactors.
Mayoral elections were held in the cities of Iwata, Kakegawa and Fukuroi, and anti-restart incumbents in the latter two were returned to office. The mayors of nearby cities Kikugawa and Yaizu have also declared they "will not recognize" any move by plant operator Chubu Electric Power Co. to restart the Hamaoka reactors.
All five cities fall in whole or in part under the Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA)-designated 30-kilometer radius "urgent protective action planning zone" (UPZ) around the plant, where preparations must be made to shelter the local population in case of a nuclear accident.
The Hamaoka area is one projected epicenter for the next major earthquake in the Tokai region.
The NRA expanded the UPZ across the country from 8-10 kilometers to 30 kilometers in October last year. In the case of the Hamaoka nuclear plant, the new UPZ embraced parts of 11 cities and towns. Two of those cities also fall within the plant's five-kilometer "precautionary action zone" (PAZ), where urgent emergency measures must be prepared.
Municipal government approval is not strictly required to restart a nuclear reactor. Gaining local cooperation is considered essential, however, due to the burden placed on the municipalities by a nearby nuclear station, including preparing sufficient stores of iodine tablets and drawing up evacuation plans.
In the Kakegawa election battle between current and previous mayors, 66-year-old incumbent Saburo Matsui hammered home the message that "it's very hard to say that this is really the place for a nuclear plant," and, "I will not recognize a restart until the safety of the plant has been confirmed." His 73-year-old opponent and former mayor Shinya Totsuka, meanwhile, said he "would not entirely repudiate the nuclear plant" and said he would approve a restart if certain conditions were met.
In the Fukuroi poll, both incumbent Hideyuki Harada and his opponent came out against restarting Hamaoka's reactors.
"Even when the new safety measures (at the plant) are completed, I still will not approve reactor restarts," the winning Harada said.
Hamaoka reactor restarts were not an issue in the Iwata mayoral election.
Part of Kakegawa is within 10 kilometers of the Hamaoka plant, and had signed an agreement with Chubu Electric on safety measures even before the UPZ expansion. Fukuroi is not within 10 kilometers of the power station, but the city is demanding Chubu Electric sign an equivalent accord.
A Chubu Electric executive told the Mainichi that the firm would "refrain from commenting on the election results, but is developing thorough safety measures that we hope will lead to local public approval for reactor restarts."
The power company is set to finish construction on anti-tsunami projects within the year, and will install the newly-required filtered vents at the Hamaoka plant's No. 3 and 4 reactors by March 2015. Chubu Electric is aiming to restart the reactors soon after.

April 22, 2013

Joe Hisaishi - Kiki's Delivery Service (1989)

I don't fly much these days, I feel I have more or less used up my miles when I was younger, and thinking about the planet, we all ought to travel more climate-friendly (and travel less). Be that as it may, there is also something subconscious about flying - I dream about hovering, levitating, using nothing at all to be air-borne. Might have something to do with watching Michael J. Fox in Back to the Future, 25 years ago? Remember all those hover skateboards escapes and cool cars that didn't need any roads?

Or how about Kiki's Delivery Service, a wonderful Ghibli feature from 1989, set mostly in the imaginary skies over Visby, Gotland, a small island in Sweden. Kiki battles her reluctant broom as she saves the day. I like how they used that airplane in the beginning, a  Handley Page, only a handful were built in the UK.

G-AAUD, production number 42/3, was named after the Carthaginian explorer Hanno the Navigator, who explored the Atlantic coast of Africa in approx. 570 BC. Hanno first flew on 19 July 1931 and was later converted to a H.P.42(W) (Hannibal class).

Back to the film - almost impossible to find on Youtube, so do rent it, or buy it, it is a classic. Apparently, the idea was to show a Europe that had not gone through two world wars... Well, Sweden fits the bill, but we have precious few flying mago.

This clip is from a special concert in the Budokan in Tokyo, with composer Joe Hisaishi conducting the NHK Philharmonic. Enjoy!

Earthday Tokyo Japan

I was lucky enough to walk through the Earthday market in Tokyo today, a regular Sunday. If you haven't tried it, you haven't experienced the more aware youth in Japan, all the NGOs, the amazing farmers markets, the hemp clothes, the organic tea, the hippie vibe. This is a city that cares about the environment, the state of the planet, the wholeness. We are all connected.

More Tokyo farmers markets here.

TPP Links About Food And Farming

I'm more and more impressed by the amount of debate about the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations in Japan. Here are a few links.

The Mainichi: Japanese participation in TPP talks bad news for everyone involved

Michio Ushioda, Expert Senior Writer notes: The TPP has such great value precisely because it is aimed at complete tariff elimination and trade liberalization, without exception. Demands for special consideration risk watering down this basic principle and producing a weak agreement. In other words, it may be better for the rest of the world if Japan were to turn down TPP participation.

Soichi Yamashita is a Hokkaido farmer who knows of what he speaks. Do read his heartfelt appeal:

The Mainichi: Farmer to urban dweller over TPP: 'You would starve if Japan's agriculture collapsed'

"There's no problem as long as you can buy food. However, if Japan's economy went bankrupt, you would starve without the domestic agricultural industry. I'd be all right because I'm a farmer. I wouldn't mind if Japan's agriculture declined or died down because I can produce what I eat," replied the farmer, 76-year-old Soichi Yamashita. "It's you -- not me -- who would starve."

(...)

"Urging farmers to send high-quality Japanese agricultural products to wealthy citizens in Hong Kong is tantamount to demanding low-income earners in Japan eat cheap Chinese farm products," he says. "If Japan were to sign the accord, opponents of Japan's participation in the TPP couldn't eat safe, high-quality agricultural products. Only those who are promoting the TPP could eat such farm products. How disgusting."
Yamashita believes that if Japan were to be a party to the TPP, it could lead to the disbanding of agricultural cooperatives, the elimination of the Agricultural Land Act and the liberalization of private companies' entry into farming. In other words, companies would replace agricultural cooperatives. Such development would certainly please advocates of structural reform. However, Yamashita points out that regional agricultural cooperatives are far more humane than private companies that purely pursue profits. He is worried that those in favor of structural reform could force farming households to recklessly seek profits by citing the examples of a few companies' success in farming, thereby destroying the regional communities of rural areas.
Yamashita expresses grave concern about the future of Japan's farming in "No wa Kagayakeru" ("Agriculture could glitter"), a book that records his discussions with 77-year-old farmer-poet Kanji Hoshi, who grows rice and apples in Takahata, Yamagata Prefecture.
A series of books authored by Yamashita are records of his struggle with Japan's trends of making light of and looking down on farming. His novel, "Gentan Jinja" ("Idle farmland shrine"), which depicts a farmer stretching a sacred rope around his idled rice paddy to prevent other people from dumping garbage there, was nominated for the Naoki Literary Prize in 1981.
Public broadcaster NHK made Yamashita's novel, "Hikobae no Uta" ("The song of the tiller") -- based on his experience of inheriting assets including farmland from his father who suddenly died -- into a drama in 1982.
Yamashita has inspected agricultural industries overseas on about 50 occasions, based on which he has written many essays.
It is widely believed that Japan had no choice but to participate in the TPP talks as part of efforts to strengthen the Japan-U.S. security arrangement. Despite the decision, the prime minister has emphasized that he will "protect Japan's rural scenery."
However, Yamashita is skeptical of the prime minister's words. "When farmers' incomes were half of what they are today, rural areas were bustling because farmers lived in their own villages. But these villages are almost empty now although farmers' incomes have doubled. Why?"
Japan's farming industry could not survive if the government continued to pursue economic growth and make up for all problems deriving from such growth with money. Yamashita is certain that the current situation of Japan's agriculture is the consequence of this policy.
Close attention should be focused on whether Japan can convince other countries participating in the TPP talks to create a system to ensure Japanese people do not starve even if the world is thrown into chaos and imports of foodstuffs to Japan are suspended. (By Takao Yamada, Expert Senior Writer)

I really wish Japan Agricultural News, a daily newspaper with a heavy-duty website, would pay someone to provide English translations to its excellent coverage of current issues including food safety, WTO, TPP, you name it.

Meanwhile, the current LDP minister of agriculture, Yoshimasa Hayashi, seems hardly the best candidate to fight for farmers' rights. Is there anything in his CV to assure us that he cares about rural Japan? Nobody has even bothered to update his English wikipedia page. Please tell me I am wrong.

Maruyama Naotaro - Natsu no Owari

A peace song by singer song-writer Maruyama Naotaro, born in Tokyo in 1976. "End of Summer" - Nice short speech there about getting kids, who do not know about war, to understand the importance of peace... Lovely Okinawa vibe. Hope the North Koreans (and South Koreans, and American GIs who are based in these parts of the wood) are listening tonight...