Kurashi - News From Japan

When I arrived to these shores, I had almost no idea about anime or manga.  This is where I learn my pottery, in Hibita, east of Tokorozawa. And, when was Totoro set? 1958? It is a major push for environmental education. Where? Tokorozawa. This is one forest you can visit from Tokyo. In April of 1990, with the objective of preserving the lush nature of Sayama Hills to future generations, the National Trust of Totoro no Furusato was born.  Due to the efforts of 5 initial contributors, including film director Hayao Miyazaki, a large amount of donations were received from all across Japan. Sayama Hills is known as the inspiration of Mr.Hayao Miyazaki’s animation masterpiece, “Tonari no Totoro (My Neighbor Totoro, 1988)”.  The Trust Fund was named in its honor. Totoro Fund Website We are a legally incorporated foundation with the purpose of preserving the beautiful natural habitat and cultural assets of Sayama Hills and its surround...

Japan has an ancient tradition of making pottery, that goes way back into the mists of millennia.... OK, I'll stop there. Over the past couple of years I have had the pleasure of learning traditional pottery, tougei (陶芸, lit. pottery art, ceramic art). My teacher is in Tokorozawa and has a couple of kilns, including a nobori-gama that I hope we will use one day - it's wooden fire gives the most interesting hues without using glazes. I also make my own stuff here at home in Hanno, which I fire at a friend's place in Ogama, Chichibu, western Saitama. We are thinking of building a nobori-gama there, too, in the forest. Mingei (民芸, lit. folk art) is a popular movement with museums all over Japan, many that display pottery items and local ceramics, especially those made by unknown potters, masters in their own right, but guys and gals who didn't have the kind of luck to make pieces for rich people, but for the benefit of us ordinary folks. I'm a bit unsure where I woul...

Hanno chum Spencer is going to Edinburgh for a theatre job for the festival, but before that, he decided to take his orange Suzuki scooter for a ride north. Amazing images. He set his camera to take one image every ten seconds, thus the madness, but he is getting better at stopping at cool places. My music. Using GarageBand, and other tricks of the trade. All rights reserved, 2015. Love how that works with his videos. And if you post the videos on your blog can you put a link to http://spencersheridan.is ?

I have been wanting to post about this for a while, there is this great movement to do group calligraphy, set to music, and it's like a mad dance really. Groups of students clad in traditional hakama from different high schools even compete, in the annual Shodo Performance Koshien ... This is hard work and takes serious practice. It all seems to have started at a high school in Ehime, Shikoku, in Shikokuchuo, a town that specializes in making calligraphy paper. The movie, Shodo Girls even made it to Cannes in 2010. Saitama students from Matsuyama (first video below) are known to spend hours perfecting their cool routine. Monday is Coming-of-age holiday, so here is a big cheers to all the youngsters in Japan! Enjoy the videos.

Trail running in Japan is about all kinds of fun. While I prefer walking, I love the idea that people go out and about. Where I live, way west of Tokyo, so many opportunities to enjoy trails, ancient hot springs and temples and shrines. GAMBARE! Run! Lunge up endless steps, gongs beating in your ears and stagger a last few paces as if through treacle. Book-keepers wait in judgement, a banner swims overhead- why can’t you read it? Higher still looms a huge silver warrior on horseback, sword poised to lop off the heads of those below. You want to shout, to warn them, but they can’t understand and you laugh manically as you sink to the ground. No, it’s not just another running anxiety dream and you aren’t loosing it. It is a Japanese mountain race … and that’s only the finish…. Tokyo may excite the techno-urbanite, but it’s flat, it’s enormous and it’s very, very ugly. (Even I think that and I come from Rochdale.) Sanity demands that the fell runner gets the hell out. Fortuna...

If you like traditional Japanese food, you will love this film. How did the current amazing food culture here evolve? Well, we'll never know exactly, but Japan created a food culture that recently got UNESCO status. I agree with that, but I would also like to know more about what people ate back in the old days. Much of it came from the Buddhist temples, but here we have a fresh take on what made it all available to a lot of people. Bushi no Kondate (Recipes of the Samurai) was released here on December 14, 2013 and I love all of it. The Japanese website has all kinds of bells and whistles, do explore bushikon . The film illustrates dishes for all sorts of occasions—tai no karamushi (steamed sea bream stuffed with a mixture of okara bean-curd lees, pine nuts, ginkgo nuts, lotus root and others) for a wedding banquet; jibuni, which is a local stew containing duck meat or chicken, vegetables and sudare-fu (a type of wheat gluten) with soy sauce, sugar and other seasonings; a...

I just have to blog about this, it is so great. Joan over at Japan Farmers Markets keeps telling everyone about these places where you can get fresh produce directly from farmers, from all over. Her blog is terrific. And she is doing it too, do read up if you want tips about organic farming, she's an expert. And she does all of this in the western area of Tokyo, an hour or so from your regular Yamanote line hangouts. At Nippori you can join the obon dancing on Saturday night, until 8pm. East side of the station. Good chance btw to learn more about the hard lessons of farmers in Tohoku since March 11, 2011. Friday, August 16, 2013 Tokyo Farmers Markets: Saturday, August 17th and Sunday, August 18th Earth Day Market in June. Welcome to the most farmers-market-y weekend in Tokyo! Markets abound making choices of which one to attend a bit tricky. I'm a fan of the Nippori Market for its petite size, excellent food options (tr...

Soon, it may be that we have those US Marines flying Osprey helicopters not only on Okinawa but also from Yokota, right next to Tokyo. Or so we are told. Of course they are just "studying" this at the moment. I wonder where they would fly. East and over the capital of Japan? Or north, over Saitama? And then? What would they be doing here, if not to cause a lot of anguish and trouble. Or, perhaps, just straight up, and then down again... Elevator flights bringing young recruits up and down again and again over that old US base, LOL. NHK World : US Air Force studying Osprey deployment in Yokota The US Air Force is studying the deployment of the Osprey transport aircraft at Yokota Air Base in Tokyo, in addition to a US base in Okinawa. Commander of the US Pacific Air Forces, General Herbert Carlisle, revealed this in Washington on Monday. The US Air Force is considering the CV-22 Osprey as a successor to its special operations helicopter now based at...

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 frag...

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 disappoi...

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 dynast...

As the year of Heisei 24 is about to end, another Prime Minister goes to Fukushima to watch the damage, meet the people, and try to get to grips with something like an energy policy that will work for Japan. We are all of course watching, not sure what we would do were we in his plastic-bag-covered shoes!? The clean-up at Fukushima after its tsunami-sparked nuclear meltdowns is unlike anything humanity has ever tried, Japan’s prime minister said Saturday during a tour of the plant. “The massive work toward decommissioning is an unprecedented challenge in human history,” the newly-elected Shinzo Abe said. “Success in the decommissioning will lead to the reconstruction of Fukushima and Japan.” Dressed in a protective suit and wearing a face mask, Abe was taken by bus to see two of the damaged reactors. Thanking workers for their efforts at this time of year, when many people are celebrating New Year at home with their families, he said: “Decommissioning work is hard...

...and the good news is that my leek onions had no detectable levels of radiation. I was quite happy to hear that of course. I hadn't expected any high levels as my field is far from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant. But, it is nice to have done the testing. I also brought a sample of my soil and it had 140 Bq/kg which is very low. What does all this mean? In a new article published over at Japan Focus, I try to make sense of the large amount of data we now have, one year after the earthquake and tsunami wrecked havoc on March 11, 2011. The Japanese government publishes the results of the testing of food samples, and so far over 120,000 samples have been analyzed. For Fukushima prefecture, over 20,000 food samples have been tested and the results published. So, we have a pretty good picture of the situation. Japan Focus: Food Safety in Japan: One Year after the Nuclear Disaster For example, for the 120,000 food products have been tested, the total number of cases that exceeded t...

Early this morning, I awoke, noticing that it had snowed during the night. It was already the time of the day when the sun was getting serious about its business. I knew that if I got up and brought my camera, I might be able to catch a few images. Snow is that rare around these parts, these days. Around here, there are a lot of old temples, and graveyards. Early in the morning, the temples ring their bells. Other places seem almost abandoned. Just some stone images remain, collecting dust, or snow. Looking very solemn, beautiful, in the early light.

On Friday, we had the pleasure here in Hanno to welcome the Ukraine State Symphony Orchestra, and piano soloist Miyuji Kaneko, for an all Tchaikovsky program. Kaneko's father is Hungarian, his mother is from Japan, so I thought this video is appropriate, as he performs Franz Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody. Miyuji Kaneko did really well with a certain elegance, performing the 1st piano symphony in B-flat minor, and as an encore he played Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata. It looked like he wanted to play more, as he almost sat down for another... I'm sure the audience would have loved it. On March 18, you can hear him play Liszt, Bach and Bartok at the Saitama Arts Theatre in Yono, Saitama, where he will start with the Ungarische Rhapsodie. The symphony orchestra from Odessa had a wonderful sound, that made Tchaikovsky's 5th symphony seem fresh, especially the strings, with such warm approach to the famous melodies. I think a wonderful time was had by all on a cold winter...

I took a couple of photos tonight as it started snowing heavily. Click to enlarge. The first one is from Hanno Station where the workers were busy shoveling. I like how the second image came out, that's a view of the plum trees in front of my house. The third one is lit nicely by a car that came by, passing the gate to a small shinto shrine I was trying to photograph.

Tokyo's International Film Festival is one of many events in this city, if you search for TIFF you'll get all kinds of answers. 2011 is the 24th event. Action for Earth! was the theme. Good. They held a special event in Sendai to support the survivors of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, with a special screening for children: Hal’s Flute is an animated film based on a story by Takashi Yanase, a Japanese creator of popular anime Anpanman. Following the screening at a theater full of children, voice over actresses Keiko Toda and Masako Nozawa came out on stage. Nozawa praised the film saying, “All creatures share the same emotion. This story lets you go back to the basics you tend to forget about.” Toda delivered a message from Takashi Yanase. “I would like the adults to watch this film, too. It’s very touching and has warmth and may do wonders to your mind.” A photo session with the two voice-over actresses and the children followed and the whole theater was filled with a wa...

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