Good Bye 2015 - Xmas Medley (J-Pop)

Thanks to everyone who stayed interested in Kurashi, the blog that started ten years ago, what a journey we have had. UN meetings and local events, updates from my back garden, images of a Japan that I think still is being under-reported. Peace activism and anger at politics that is not inclusive - why I can't vote locally even though I have the permanent visa? The magic of ordinary people making a difference. I might change the setting of this blog to something more private, what do you think...? My pottery also increasingly popular and a fun way to approach Japan in a different way. So, don't be surprised if this blog changes.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Hi Martin,

May the light of the Sun shine on your family this Yule season. And merry Christmas !

Although I've only commented sporadically here at Kurashi, I think I've been a reader since almost the beginning. Thanks again for all the insights !

"Private" sounds cool. Have you back-filled any fruit/nut trees in the garden there? Always wondered about that.

ken
2:37 pm, December 29, 2015
Martin J Frid said…
Hi Ken, and Happy Holidays - if you get the time of the year off? Your blog a huge inspiration for me, thanks for this comment and many before. I have a few fruit tress but no nuts, although I'm looking for them. But I don't want too much shade, it's a question of balance isn't it. There's a large sakura tree though that needs to go... I also have blackberries, and adding on new blueberry bushes each year.

I collected some hazelnuts this fall, maybe that will be a next. Any thoughts?
7:44 pm, December 29, 2015
Anonymous said…
Hi again Martin,

Thoughts:

Re: Sakura. Before you "get rid of it" (although I don't think you will), check this out
[vid].

Or you could do try hugelkultur [vid] with it.

Hazelnut sounds like a good choice if you don't want too much shade. Grow it on the edge somewhere and keep it bushy, or make a hedgerow with it ! Something I once read about [hazelnut as a hedge]: "The natural growing habit features “suckering,” or the tendency for the plant to throw up many extra shoots around the main trunk. That’s perfect for a hedge configuration; space the plants just four feet apart and let the suckers fill in the spaces. For more intense nut production as well as for ornamental treatment, situate the plants about fifteen feet apart and keep suckers off. Hazelnut trees may need to be netted once nut production begins; squirrels love them.."

Here, it's dappled shade all over the place, except for a couple spots on the edge for annuals. According to the Four Stages of the Milpa Cycle, which is a system of age-old cyclical forest gardening, my place here is in Stage 3 (From the Orchard to the Forest Garden - Among the fruit tree orchard, hardwoods, such as oak, walnut and acacia, are grown to mature over the next decades.).

I'm thinking of incorporating Hazelnut as well. :)

Today (Jan. 1), I back-filled Fig, Neem, Bamboo, and Japanese angelica trees. Excited about all of them. Also inoculated a few logs with shiitake spore.

Happy New Year,

ken
1:16 pm, January 01, 2016
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Global Article 9 Conference to Abolish War

Image
A unique three-day international conference is being held at Makuhari near Tokyo, a day after the 61st anniversary of the enforcement of Japan's Constitution. It is organized by nongovernmental groups, including Japan-based Peace Boat . Organizers said the meeting will provide an opportunity to discuss the significance of the constitutional article that endorses demilitarization and what people can do to promote its spirit, notes The Japan Times . While the constitution stipulates that Japan renounces war as a sovereign right and that it will not maintain land, sea and air forces, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party has been keen to make amendments. "The war in Iraq has shown that even the strongest, biggest army in the world can not keep peace in a single city. It proves that aggression never instates peace," Tatsuya Yoshioka, director of Peace Boat and a representative of the event's organizing committee, said during the opening remarks. "Article 9 is a treasu...
Read more

マーティンの鵜の目鷹の目 -世界の消費者運動の旅から

Image
  My new book has been published! マーティン・フリッド (著)   世界中の消費者が同じ課題を抱え、悩み、たたかっている。スウェーデンに生まれ、ヨーロッパ、そして日本の消費者運動の現場を歩いてきた著者が、人びとの日常によりそいながら軽妙なユーモアを交えて食、環境、エネルギー、社会のあり方、政治、経済を考えます。   https://nishoren.net/new-information/14177 Consumers all over the world are facing similar problems, worries, and struggles. In this book, the author, who was born in Sweden and has walked the frontlines of consumer movements in Europe ...
Read more

Salvador Dali, Hiroshima and Okinawa

Image
Spanish artist Salvador Dali was deeply terrified by the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki , and his exact, detailed style was very much suited to show the horror of the A-bomb, which America tried to keep a secret by classifying photos and descriptions until the end of the occupation of Japan in 1952. The Bureau of Atomic Tourism has more details if you want to know more about the legacy of nuclear weapons in the U.S. Even today, do people understand the real horror of atomic bombs? If not, then, why not ? Dali's paintings are on display in Fukushima prefecture, where you can view Melancholy Atomic and Uranium Idyll and The Three Sphinxes of Bikini at the Morohashi Museum of Modern Art . Long YouTube video from the Nihon University (Nichidai) channel with an interview featuring Morohashi Eiji, the son of the founder of the unique museum, and scenes from the Morohashi Museum (29:20): #271美術館への誘い ダリの世界 Is there a hidden message in Dali's Bikini hydrogen bomb painting...
Read more