Kurashi - News From Japan

Quickly before it is too late... http://www.readthetpp.com/ ;)

Happy New Year, or as we say in Swedish, Glad fortsättning (Happy continuation..) just like in Japan, where there are 2 different greetings, one before, and one after the actual event.. But isn't it kind of curious that 正月 Shougatsu is celebrated religiously on December 31 each year at all shrines and temples, as a great tradition, even though the current calender was only introduced in the Meiji era? Trying out some new equipment tonight, so, here we go, Space Dandy, a crazy anime that went viral as long ago as  last year. Recommended by my pals Spencer and Sharadan (hat tip). Anime, definitely, humour, maybe? Lovely tune by Ravel. Song - Pavane Pour Une Infante Defunte

I think I have seen it all now. Someone next to me on the train played it, and I found out it's called Hatappi, a play on the word for farm field, "hatake" and "happy" (and maybe "app") by Tokyo-based LD Inc . It looks like a load of fun but come on, is this what the word has come to? We are now too rich and lazy to actually do farm work, and instead enjoy the simulation on an electronic device hooked up to satellites and electricity and batteries and... But ok, I get it. Not everyone has the opportunity to grow their own vegetables. It is a nice dream to have and I shouldn't rant about this. I really shouldn't. I mean, I want to, but... I like how they call it a Satoyama Kurashi experience, and it is tied up with real farmers that actually can provide the produce to gamers. Also, gamers can sign up for visits to participating farms, and there are all kinds of great ideas. Yet... I mean... You know what I mean... An app for farming......

Remember these guys that looked like they were trying to bolt from my refrigerator? I planted them and 4 months later, they have given a steady, daily harvest of tasty green peas! Thanks to some of you who have been sending links. The solar energy boom continues in Japan, according to Rudolf ten Hoedt in my new favourite city, Kagoshima. Well researched article published by Energy Post and others, pointing out that the boom is not without issues: For Japan, solar obviously has priority over wind power. 6.7 GW of solar capacity was approved in Japan for the feed-in-tariff (FIT) scheme in 2013. Almost half of this was utility-scale solar. This year, Japan is even expected to install over 10 GW of solar power, with more than half of this being utility-scale solar. The boom in utility scale solar got started by an FIT- program introduced in 2012 by the Japanese government. Under this program, regional utilities have to buy power from solar and other renewable energy producers...

(This one is for Ken and his amazing efforts up in rural Nagano) So this month we have Wood Job !, a Toei movie about forestry, a comedy actually, by the same team that gave us Swing Girls and I Forget What Other Fun Film About 18 Year Old Amateurs Getting It All Wrong At First... But this seems to be a rather genuine story about a guy who tries to escape the city life and do something worthwhile. Expect being shouted at, a lot. Filmed in Mie Prefecture, where there are no convenience stores and no mobile phone access. But there are also the fabulous festivals and the sweaty fundoshis (ahem) and the reluctant girl (what Japanese movie would be without one?) except she actually gets to bring said young man to some sort of character development. And I think I will stop trying to review this film right there and then, except to note that Swedish singer Maya Hirasawa is back with another great hit, Happiest Fool. Speaking of forests and Sweden, The Japan Times mentions (wit...

Roger Dahl in Seattle has some of the best cartoons about Japanese politics. Absurdities, indeed. If I have to spell it out, well, the current Abe government seems more interested in military might ("collective defense") and Constitutional reform and helping large corporations enter the arms export market, than in protecting farmers and the people who are already under pressure from cheap imports of food, and all of that, from TPP and other free trade agreements, that Abe seems to imagine will - do what to Japan? Thus the "plowshares" joke... But you long-suffering Kurashi readers all got that, right?

So I was just thinking, wouldn't it be great if Tokyo was more like Scotland, and wanted to be independent of the rest of Japan. And the UK wants to not be part of the EU? Much like Japan does not really want to be part of - Asia. I mean, you have all kinds of prefectures and lousy islands making trouble (much like Gibraltar or the Falklands) so Tokyo could just vote for "No" to all of the Senkakus and the Takeshima troubles, and whatever the Russians call the islands up north that Stalin grabbed back in August 1945... Tokyo could take a lesson. Scotland could be a model! Forget about Dai-Nippon and all that Imperial business ages ago. Go it on your own! Elect someone clever to start the process!? No problem. Tokyo and California, and what about Milan or Barcelona; who else? Quebec? Georgia? Palestine? Tibet? Could all become independent and get rid of all the baggage... Nathan Algren : Sergeant Gant, did you hear my order? Zebulon Gant : I did indeed, sir. Na...

I had to laugh when I found these genki beans in the back of my fridge. Captions, please! I had forgotten about them, sorry to say, but they had other plans. Like, "escape" or at least do the best beans can do. "Hey guys, let's get out of this old pod!" "OK, make a break for it, all together now!" "Isn't it getting stinky in here, wouldn't mind a bit of a breather myself...?" "OH! Girls, I saw the light?!" "OH! I do belieeeve..." "Me toooo!" Or something like that. Or, more likely, "Ahem, it is late January, genetically speaking we should all be starting to think about sprouting about, ahem, grin and bear it, around NOW..." I did have mercy on most of them, and planted them in real soil. If there is a follow up, I'll let you all know. Thanks for reading Kurashi. And isn't the photo just hilarious: "Kick!"

Time to lighten up a little. It is cold and tomorrow, it may rain. Hope you are all enjoying the last days of winter, hopefully with some nice food. I thought I'd share a couple of fun food labels (vocational habit) that I collected. Here is my list of top five hilarious misleading Japanese foods (drum roll): No. 5 Butter Pea Peanuts from rural China, add some salt and - hydrogenated oils. That could be anything, but not butter. My guess is cotton seed oil, mixed with genetically modified corn oil, maybe some soybean oil. But the point is, when they make hydrogenated food oils , that is a factory you don't want to go near. All kinds of chemicals and heavy metals are used to process those molecules. No butter. Zilch. PS, Seven-Eleven should not use the term "kodawari" for such a bland product. こだわり is not something I associate with cheap peanuts. "Seeking perfection" or obsession... No. 4 Beer Taste So clever, yet so wrong. Plus it tastes s...

With a lot of humour, and a great sense of compassion, we get these old manga stories from Japan's Old Tales. Manga Nihon Mukashii Banashi     まんが日本昔ばなし　「大年の客」  An old lady is trying to do good, bringing some rice from her small field to a local lord. Seems like we are talking about paying local taxes, right? Her humble offering is rejected. It says something about the way we feel, as we pay taxes. Those who rule, don't they tend to enjoy their wealth, at our expense? The old lady is really sad, as she returns to her house. Meanwhile, the seven gods from the local lord, are disgusted by his ignorance. He rejected her humble seeds, and threw them to the chicken... The seven gods decide to depart, and make an effort to move to the house of the old lady, in the cold winter...  She invites them to her simple abode. There is a certain glow... And the poor seven members that used to occupy her altar, will move, as they are no longer wanted. W...

This time of year, a lot of people have a brief opportunity to go abroad, and this year, the holiday is a little longer than usual. Exodus , indeed. This year, many people are taking advantage of an extended nine-day break. The last day of business for most companies is Friday. Next week, Jan 1-3 are national holidays and many companies have given employees Friday Jan 4 off as well, adding up to a nine-day holiday. I just talked to my uncle Sven, 82 years old, who is healthier than most, he is on a LCHF diet to avoid trouble. Did I mention, avoid meat? Which reminded me of this classic movie clip, the Marx Brothers from Monkey Business. Do keep your passports with you, at all times. Glad to know that my family is healthy. And, always that sense of humour. Here is a clip that Panadabonium sent, boy, I am so lucky to have friends that care. Do watch at least twice, and why not send it along to someone you care about.

Using free internet translation services may be alright for private matters, but if you are promoting your business, and planning to make a sign, think twice. It just may be the case, that your real intention can be misunderstood...

I went to see Stuttgart Ballet perform the unusual work, The Taming of the Shrew, in Ueno at Tokyo Bunka Kaikan. It is a beautiful piece based on Shakespeare's play, with lots of laughs. The music was written by Kurt-Heinz Stolze in the classical style of Domenico Scarlatti but with some modern inspiration as well - it premiered in 1969. Choreography by John Cranko. The Stuttgart ballet is a terrific troupe and I highly recommend anyone who like classical music to take the opportunity to go and see their Swan Lake on Tuesday or Wednesday June 5-6. Here is the Pas de Deux 1:

Japan is going through changes that are hard to keep up with. I like it! I started blogging in May, wow it was 7 years ago, and it is still fun. Hope you all enjoy it too. Mostly of course I stick to food topics but energy topics are so interesting. So, how are you saving electricity this summer...? Image from The Adventures of a Foreign Salaryman , a great blog if you like a bit of Swedish humour. Jiji/The Japan Times just had this today that is full of great ideas about saving electricity : Wednesday, May 30, 2012 Kepco plans to buy back saved power OSAKA — Kansai Electric Power Co. will introduce a megawatt trading scheme under which the utility will buy saved electricity from large-lot corporate customers through auctions. Kepco is boasting it will be the first Japanese power-supply firm to use such a mechanism. Under the scheme, the utility will put out to tender a specific amount of electricity that it wants customers to save on a certain...

Good essay over at Hartley Botanic (since 1938!) by John Walker, imagining a Modified New World in 2020. By then, the genetically modified seed companies have won the battle, and if you dare to plant anything that is not approved by the GM thought police, you are toast, or relegated to the ...nether regions of allotment fields, with the prime plots being given to those ordering PerfectPlot Seeds. It was never voiced, but the deal was either relocate or get out. We saw that coming, too; one of the most pernicious ‘big society’ outcomes was that multinational seed companies, dressed up as our familiar favourites, offered to fund the upkeep of allotment sites. When a few of us bothered to check the small print and found that their support was dependent on plotholders buying only genetically modified, glyphosate-resistant PerfectPlot Seeds, we knew there was trouble ahead. For those of us who think doing a little bit of farming on the side is a fun way to pass the time, here is a warning:...

I had to laugh at this cartoon over at Mike's blog Marketing Japan . He has a lot to say about bailouts and government spending. The image is from the U.S. but applies to Japan too, in one way or the other. For example, when we hear that the Fukushima disaster will take 40 years to clear up , it seems to me that we are asking future generations to fix the fine mess we have created, because the current generation does not know how to deal with it. That is an expensive and irresponsible legacy.

Speaking of recent films, I had the pleasure to watch Dancing Chaplin here in Hanno, where some good people are trying to set up an independent movie theatre. Directed by Suo Masayuki, the film has two parts: a documentary approach and the real deal, filmed at the Toyo Studios in Tokyo. A ballet based on the films by Charlie Chaplin. I enjoyed every minute. Starring dancers Tamiyo Kusakari, Luigi Bonino, Lienz Chang. Quote from Toronto J-Film Pow-Wow : Now director Masayuki Suo will be returning to the the big screen with another dance-themed film. The 54-year-old filmmaker is set to direct "Dancing Chaplin", a loose adaptation of French choreographer Roland Petit's ballet "Chaplin". This return to dance for Masayuki Suo is a labour of love in more ways than one. The star of "Dancing Chaplin" will be Suo's wife, ballet dancer Tamiyo Kusakari. Although Kusakari will be starring opposite dancer Luigi Bonino she will be apparently taking on six diffe...

I just can't resist... The 1930s is a very long time ago, but still, there are people with chips on their shoulders. One case is the current trial in Belgium against the album Tintin In The Congo. And here is my take on this sorry affair (hrm): I totally agree that Tintin in Congo should be banned and erased from the history books. Why? Obvious! It portrays a young white man as an agent of colonialism in Africa: we just cannot allow that story to be told in 2011! Why should a picture book about a white man and his noble efforts back then still be read today, when we are so much more enlightened and know that all men are created equal, and that white men are (and thus were!) no better or worse than anyone else! Let's stop this implied racism against young white men, once and for all. In fact, prohibit all of the Tintin books, while we are at it, since young white men are bound to find his actions so outlandishly lacking in values that we regard as common sense today, 80 years la...

Food and energy, energy and food. And some humour. Then we're happy, basically. Here is an episode from the UK comedy show The Good Life, in which Tom and Barbara deal with self sufficiency by turning pig manure into methane gas, that can be used to produce elctricity. From their basement. Using a very dodgy machine. But it works. Happy 1970s when this kind of show could be made for the masses. If we don't get food and energy (and humour)? Well, people tend to protest, complain, suffer. We really are rather spoiled. I think I prefer trying to do something about my situation, rather than blaming others. Not easy, but infinitely more fun.

I went up to bring aid to people in Miyagi prefecture again with a team from my town, but I'm afraid we weren't the main attraction by far on Saturday, as girl band and phenomenon AKB48 decided to do a surprise live at an event the local High School that survived the earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011. They also visited a local home for elderly people and were amazed that one of the ladies was 84 years old. Isn't that like the total age of all of the AKB48 members, added up together? You can actually see me very briefly trying to run away from the press and all the screaming fans. Anyway, for the first time on this humble blog, I give you AKB48: And of course I promise to resume regular blogging once I recover from heat stroke and girl band dancing... Image from Asahi Shimbun , video posted by one of the millions of fans who follow every move they make. Glad to see that this event caught the eye of the media, Minami Sanriku town will need all the help they can get to ...