Kurashi - News From Japan

Just published is the 83rd issue of KJ, as it is known among fans. I have some old print issues that I hope will become really valuable at some point (just kidding) from when I first lived in Japan 1988-1993. This time, KJ is all digital, the topic is food, and what could be more timely? Japan, Asia and the world face a number of huge challenges, including food safety, food security, seed/genetic/biodiversity concerns, not to speak of water and agro-chemical/fertilizer related concerns. Climate change is already causing havoc. Fuel? It will not stay cheap forever, and then how do we keep supermarkets and convenience stores up-to-the-last-minute with the latest "fresh" goods? Fertilizers? Not up for grabs forever, either. Add to that land ownership legal battles, and the fact that in many places, farmers are aging and not enough young people are prepared to take over. Plus trade related issues like WTO/TPP and a "spaghetti bowl" of bilateral trade agreements ...

The good people trying to stop the Maglev train line between Shinagawa and Nagoya are holding several large meetings this fall, starting on August 30 at Wako University in Tsurukawa (Odakyu Line). The theme is to learn from the network that protested against environmental destruction near Mt. Takao in Tokyo, and the experiences from the lawsuit against the Ken-O Highway construction. On September 13 a symposium will be held in Yamanashi, and on October 13 in Tokyo (with long-term Japan resident Arthur Binard, activist and poet from the US). The Linear Citizens NET is a group with branches in all the affected prefectures (J).They are concerned about the environmental destruction, the threat to water resources, and other pollution concerns (such as the huge amounts of trucks that will be needed to remove gravel during the tunnel construction). Also, there is much doubt that there will be any financial gains at all for the people affected. Construction is expected to continue we...

Just a personal note here from Koinzan Saihoji, the Moss Temple of western Kyoto, which I had reason to visit today. Didn't know it was the site of a villa (abode? hut? cottage? retreat?) of Prince Shotoku, then lots of water under the bridges, then more gardening mumbo-jumbo until Zen priest Muso took up residence and constructed this marvelous place. But I digress. But before I stop digressing, I should add that 120 kinds of moss thrives here, something for all of you fans of biological diversity. I have had reason to visit it frequently, as a matter of fact, and they recognize me there. Today, the kind fellow in a distinguished cloak greeting us at the gate to check if we have the proper post card which allows us to enter or not, later found me sitting in one of the garden's many resting places. He approached me and asked, again as a matter of fact, if I knew the Swedish lyrics of jazz standard Dear Old Stockholm . Well, there I am, enjoying the 120 different kinds of...

Enjoy your Culture Day evening, everyone. First, Miles Davis, from a performance in Tokyo 1987. Some 8 minutes of pure loveliness. (Thanks Per Bodner for the Miles Davies biography.) Then, if you think you like jazz, finding his performances in Tokyo and Kyoto back in 1964 is a real treat. From back before everything went electric. Herbie Hancock on piano, Ron Carter on bass, and Tony Williams on drums. Sam Rivers on altsax. Here are the tracks (click on the mp3 files for the sound): Tokyo, July 12, 1964: http://ia700305.us.archive.org/12/items/MilesDavis1964-07-12HibayaYagaiTokyoJapan/ Kyoto, July 15, 1964: http://ia700309.us.archive.org/3/items/MilesDavis1964-07-15MaruyamaKyotoJapan/ Found here . Isn't the Internet amazing?

The Japanese film "Ask This of Rikyu" received an award for Best Artistic Contribution on Monday, at the Montreal World Film Festival in Canada. Kabuki actor Ichikawa Ebizo plays the main character of tea master Sen no Rikyu. The story is set in the late 16th century and is based on the novel "Rikyu ni Tazuneyo", which won Japan's literary award Naoki Prize in 2009. Here is a trailer: A writer and poet, the tea master referred to the ware and its relationship with the tea ceremony, saying " Though you wipe your hands and brush off the dust and dirt from the vessels, what is the use of all this fuss if the heart is still impure? " Many of the prescribed behaviors used in contemporary Japanese tea ceremony were introduced by Rikyu. Some of his contributions include: A tea house that can accommodate five people, A separate small room where tea utensils are washed, and Two entrances, one for the host and one for the g...

I had the great pleasure of getting a personal tour of the restoration that is going on at a famous temple in Matsushima, Miyagi Prefecture, which was partially damaged by the earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011. In fact, the tsunami didn't reach all the way up to the temple buildings, but just meters from the main gate. Did the ancient founders of this holy place know something that we don't? I guess so. Zuiganji dates back to 828 when Ennin founded Enpukuji (Matsushimadera) in these parts. There are still huge living trees that are at least 800 years old on the premises. And there are religious art from as far back as the Heian period, i e before those trees were first grown. The main building of the Zuiganji temple is currently covered by a tent-like construction cover, so if you do visit Matsushima, you can see other interesting buildings like the kitchen and the museum, which are well worth your time. Imagine you are in the early 1600s and...

A really great archery event held each year in Kyoto at the Sanjusangendo Temple. Girls dressed up in their very best kimonos. Imagine the training behind all of this. 1500 young women participated this year. Photo from Sankei

Since main stream media will not do the math, I thought I would give it a try. There used to be 54. But, four at Fukushima Dai-ichi are gone due the the earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011. Major meltdowns. Do we have 2, or 10, or 20, or more nuclear reactors that could actually do the job, in Japan? What is their status? Let's start with a map, found on wikipedia. Then, let's go from north to south. Tomari Three reactors, the only plant in Hokkaido. "...the Tomari power facility in Hokkaido, said that it could not rule out the possibility that the plant was vulnerable." Source NHK World 20120229 and JAIF (pdf). So, 50-3=47 Higashidori So,  only one reactor, but more planned. Now, this is where things tend to get interesting: Although the plant was in maintenance shutdown during the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami , the April 7th aftershock caused the loss of all external power and the plant had to switch to backup power to supply cooling...

I'm going to keep this short as more details will no doubt be forthcoming after LDP and New Komeito form a government, having won the majority in Sunday's election. What can be noted right off the bat is that no party managed to ride any kind of anti-nuclear power wave to victory. Even the real-deal renewable energy activists like Iida Tetsunari could not get enough votes to get a seat in Parliament. That's pretty lousy, he could have done a lot of good. Anti-nuclear power parties missed this opportunity to explain to voters how Japan can manage short-term and long-term without the now unused power plants, that have been stopped one by one during 2012 for scheduled inspections, and not been restarted, except for two (at Ohi near Kyoto) out of some 50 or so (not counting the four at Fukushima Dai-ichi, three of which exploded after the massive earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011). Meanwhile, experts have been able to look closer at possible seismic faults under ...

As most of my long-suffering Kurashi readers know, I'm from Malmö, a harbour city in the south of Sweden, that used to be a part of Denmark way back some 400 years ago before we all decided enough is enough, let us all get along... Well, we dealt with that. In Malmö, we are closer to Copenhagen than to Stockholm in some ways. There may be a lesson here for prefectures in Japan that are further west, near Korea and China... Funny how a single Swedish football player, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who went to the same elementary school, Rosengårdsskolan as my younger brother Johan and I, now define Sweden. Here is what happened in the last couple of days. Zlatan, who has scored for and won all kinds of honours in Europe for all kinds of great clubs, including Paris, Inter, Milan, you name it... He started out in a small local Rosengård team called Assyriska, where not a single player had Swedish nationality, and was later playing for MFF, the main club in Malmö. Fast forward, and this incr...

Sometimes in life, you get lucky, and you get to visit great places. You feel at peace with all things in the universe. Then, you get to meet unusual people, like in the classic film by Peter Brook from 1979. Meetings With Remarkable Men (Part 1 of 11) Meetings With Remarkable Men (Part 2 of 11) Then you get to just by chance meet someone who has designed the very building you are in, a museum in Shiga prefecture, the Miho Museum . I go there from time to time, I like the place a lot, it has a special concept of "beauty" and the viewpoint is "from East Asia" which makes it distinct from a lot of other ordinary museums. Art history, viewed from Japan, and also with a very feminine touch. We tend to ignore that perspective, but a woman with an artistic sense, like at Miho, can change everything around. The female touch has been a very important part of art in Asia, since ancient times. The English website does not quite explore this connection to Grandmother, ...

Freak storm today, just as I was going to enjoy Kyoto... Yesterday was nice though, with early spring weather, 16 C, false hopes as it were. Massive delays with canceled flights and delayed Shinkansen trains. Speaking of Kyoto, did you know that the High School here, the Kyoto Tachibana is among the world's best? They got standing ovations at the Rose Parade in California in December last year, with a terrific performance. Other bands from Sweden, Canada... Here is a preview: Enjoy the longer show:

This is a country where people take their trains seriously. Special events are held for the many Steam Locomotive (SL) trains that still run, and when a Shinkansen model, the 300 Series, is about to be retired, fans go out of their way to celebrate. The 300 Series was introduced in 1990 and has over 20 years of distinguished service which is worth commemorating - with a lunch box! The bento box costs 1100 Yen (10 Euro or 14 USD or whatever the lousy exchange rate is these days, as the Yen is stronger than ever, does anyone understand why?). Tickets on the Shinkansen however are not cheap and they ought to introduce reduced fares, for example for people who book well in advance. It also makes no sense that only foreign tourists can use the JR Rail Pass to ride these clever trains. What about all the foreigners that live here permanently? A one-way trip from Tokyo to Kyoto is around 13,000 Yen (126 Euro or 170 USD). My first trip to Kyoto was in the winter of 1989, when my brother came t...

Good news on the gourmet front: Michelin, the French guide book publisher, will award 29 restaurants in Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka and Nara with 3 stars, its highest rating. This confirms what many of us know already - Japan has the world's best food! The Telegraph mentions that France now only has 25 3-star restaurants: Japan's status as a clear culinary leader over France will be officially confirmed with publication of the new 2012 publication on Friday, which bestowed a total of 296 stars upon establishments – including an additional three three-starred restaurants – across the Western Japan region. In the new guide to Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe and Nara, which will be published in English and Japanese on Friday, there are 15 restaurants with three stars, an accolade which refers to the distinction of "exceptional cuisine worth a special journey". The high quality of food in the region was reflected by the fact that the total three-star tally for the region outshone the capital ...

Will Kan Have Hap I asked last year when he was suddenly made Prime Minister as the hapless Hatoyama resigned. Now Mr. Kan has also been replaced, perhaps because he was too outspoken against nuclear power . I have no idea what Hatoyama does these days, but Kan has been seen in Shikoku on the ancient Buddhist pilgrimage route of 88 temples, which he is quoted as saying is preferable to the "slander" that goes on in the political realm. A good choice for a man who had the right stuff but not the right connections. More Buddhism and pilgrimage routes on Kurashi: Praying, Sutras, Meditating For Japan On The Pilgrimage Trail in Chichibu Incense From Mt Koya, Kyoto The Heart Sutra

Kami-sama no Iu Tōri by Junji Ishiwatari & Yoshinori Sunahara + Etsuko Yakushimaru The Tatami Galaxy is a pretty good title for the Japanese title, Yojou-han Shinwa Taikai. The 4 1/2 tatami mats of course is your regular small room, with the rice straw mats that are so good to sleep on. Yet, 4 1/2 is as small as the rooms tend to get. Been there? OK, so that is where your "galaxy" revolves around. The Tatami Galaxy (四畳半神話大系, Yojōhan Shinwa Taikei: "Four-and-a-half Tatami Mythological Chronicles") is a Japanese novel by Tomihiko Morimi, originally published in December 2004 by Ohta Publishing. It was adapted into an anime television series by Madhouse and began airing on Fuji TV's Noitamina programming block on April 22, 2010. If you have been to Kyoto University, it must seem very familiar. And there is more. Much more: Kyoto student is recollecting his past two years of college life. His wants to meet the girl of his dreams, which is why he joins a new soci...

Incense is a fragrant stick or powder, lit and let burn or rather glow to give your room a special atmosphere. It is often used at temples, and has since ancient times played an important role in Buddhism, for example at Mt Koya in Japan, in the Kii Mountain Range in Wakayama prefecture south of Osaka and Kyoto. Here I found a most wonderful shop, called Koyasan Daisido , selling many kinds of incense for different types of ceremonies. They also display fragrant wood from various countries in Asia, including Vietnam, which are increasingly rare and difficult to find. I was surprised to discover actual twigs or cuts from branches of 伽羅　 kyara or agarwood : The odour of agarwood is complex and pleasing, with few or no similar natural analogues. As a result, agarwood and its essential oil gained great cultural and religious significance in ancient civilizations around the world, being mentioned throughout one of the world's oldest oral texts - the Sanskrit Vedas from India. You can ...

If you live in Japan, and have family here, or other deep connections, you must have heard the Heart Sutra. It is chanted at all Buddhist temples from Hokkaido in the north to Okinawa in the south. The chanting is done in a flat voice, very rythmical, often with a drum or a bell marking the beat. There are a lot of good versions on Youtube . Some also add karaoke-style videos ! Pop-versions from Singapore, by Imee Ooi 黃慧音, who is a Malaysian singer and music producer, according to Wikipedia : Prajna-paramita Hrdaya Sutram (The Heart Sutra) 般若心経 Here is a good Alphabet version too . Try to read it along with the video. I don't mind, but the real chanting is not about adding things, it is about keeping it real simple. Here is a version that stays very true to the way you will hear it at some local temple, anywhere in Japan. 般若心経 （はんにゃしんぎょう) Hannya Shingyou is a profound prayer not well known in the Western world, why is that? 般若心経　The Heart Sutra In fact, this is a spiritual pra...