Adventures in Jamblini
On May 5, which is Children's Day in Japan, there will be a musical for children performed at Capio. The musical is called "Adventures in Jamblini" and the main characters are played by children.
The musical is in Japanese, but if you read the synopsis (see below), it should be fairly easy to understand what is going on. The performance involves acting, singing, and dancing, so it should be fun for both children and adults to watch.
(By the way, a certain regular contributor to TsukuBlog will be appearing the show as "Queen Shule". Look closely at the second page of the pamphlet and you may spot her!)
Event: Adventures in Jamblini
Date: May 5, 2009
Times: 2pm and 5:30pm (two shows)
Place: Tsukuba Capio (map)
Tickets: JHS students and younger: 1300 yen, HS students 1800 yen, Adults 2200 yen
Tickets are available online or by contacting me (Shaney).
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Adventures in Jamblini - Synopsis
The play opens up at a juku (cram school) where parents are being lectured on the importance of having their children enter a good school. At this particular juku, the head teacher has decided to offer "24-hour cram sessions" and the parents decide that they need to send their children to these sessions in order to secure their future.
The kids go to one of these cram sessions and are on their way home when they meet up with one of their friends, Cook. Cook doesn't attend juku, so she has missed her friends over the past 24 hours. She tries to get them to play with her, but everyone is too tired or too busy to comply. She finally convinces one of the kids to start playing janken (rock, paper, scissors) and that finally wakens the need in all the kids to start playing. Janken turns into tag, and soon all of the kids are remembering how much fun it is to play. Finally, the kids come upon an open manhole and decide to explore what is inside.
What the kids don't realize is that on the other side of the manhole is a whole other kingdom, Jamblini! When we first see Jamblini, we meet the Witch and her apprentices. The Witch is a proud, vengeful woman who has placed a spell on the peaceful inhabitants of Jamblini. Time has been stopped in the kingdom and all of its citizens are frozen in time.
However, all is not lost! When the kids come through the manhole, they sing a song that contains a magic word ("waku waku") that breaks the Witch's spell and frees the citizens of Jamblini and their queen, Shule. The Queen and her subjects are very grateful to the children. However, they have to deliver some bad news: the roads in Jamblini are all ONE WAY! So the kids have to travel all the way through the kingdom in order to get back to the manhole and escape.
The Witch is not going to be happy when she learns that the children have broken her spell. She is going to try to stop the kids with all of her powers. Queen Shule decides to help the kids by giving them some "Queen Dust" that will make a victim laugh for 10 minutes straight if exposed to it. She also tells them to call for her magic mice in a BIIIIIIIIIG voice if they need help. The mice are sure to come running!
Armed with the Queen Dust and Shule's advice, the kids go on their way. At first they are reluctant to go, but then they realize that they all have to work together to get back to the manhole. The Witch and her apprentices do indeed have their fun with the children -- trying to freeze them cold and blocking their way with fire -- but the kids do their best to work together to get past these obstacles and (spoiler alert) find their way back home.
The kids -- and their parents -- learn through these adventures that they should not spend all of their time studying. Play time is important too, and the kids can learn many important things through playing with their peers. One of the most important things that kids can learn is how to work together to accomplish their goals and get what they want out of life.
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For more information about the play and Gekidan Kurie Tsukuba, the drama club that is performing the show, please see the club's website (in Japanese) or contact me.
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Weeping Willows Exemplars Of Spring Greenery and Demarcators Of Boundaries Between Realms
Weeping Willow In Tsukuba
The avenues and waterbanks of Chang`an, the great capital of Tang China (618-907) were often lined with willows (yanagi 柳, in Japanese), as these trees were believed to represent rejuvinative life forces and have the ability to repel evil and bad fortune. One reason for this is that their slender and elegant branches MOVE WITH THE BREEZE more actively than the branches of most other trees,thus connecting them with the bright and positive Yang (as oppossed to the dark and negative Ying). This notion was reinforced by the light color of the willows wood , its bearing leaves earlier than other trees in the spring, and the fact that it was believed to be an antidote for scorpion stings. For New Year`s, the residents of The Tang capital would hang a willow branch above their homes` entranceways to keep bad energies out. The wispy, misty green which seemed to float above the streets of the old capital in late March and early April as the willow`s leaves sprouted forth also came to epitomize SPRING`S GREENERY, as exemplified by Su Tung-po`s poem-turned-adage - Naturally Willows Are Green (柳緑, in Chinese), and Flowers Are Red (花紅).
Willows in China
Since the Japanese Imperial Family and the aristocrats of the Nara and early Heian Period courts were enamoured with just about everything Tang, it is not surprising that the streets and watersides of the then new capital of the Yamato Realm, Heian-Kyo (today`s Kyoto), which took Chang`an as its model, were also lined with imported willows. In Japan, too, the wood of the willow was used to dispel bad energies and ALSO as an antenna to attract the Gods. This is best exemplified by the special chopsticks used during the New Years Holiday(yanagibashi 柳箸), which are made of the willows lightly hued wood and are narrowed at both ends (so that the gods can enjoy New Year`s dishes with you!).The Japanese, like the Tang Chinese, also decorated their homes with a willow branch, to attract the Toshigami-Sama- The God of the New Year.
The delicate green of the willows fresh leaves, were also thought to be the perfect match for the pink cherry blossoms which adorned the old capital in April. In the kokinshu anthology of ancient poems there is the tanka by Sosei （素性） which goes- MIWATASEBA YANAGI SAKURA O KOKIMAZETE MIYAKO ZO HARU NO NISHIKI NARIKERU- Looking out over the capital, the willows leaves and cherry blossoms blend to make a veritable spring brocade. The pairing of the two trees was also logical from a Ying Yang point of view, as the Yin blossoms are balanced out by the Yang of the willows.
As willows spread throughout the Japanese Archipelago (there are about 300 varieties including 15 in Ibaraki),they were not only utilzed as roadside trees, separating the stable part of the city from the fluid lanes of traffic, but can to be used to demarcate boundaries. Not only were they planted at the entrance ways to towns and villages, at the waterline along rivers and ponds (separating the terrestrial from the aquatic), around palace and castle moats( separating the common from the great) and at the gates to the old pleasure quarters (yu-kaku), but it was also believed that willows marked the boundary between the mortal world and the realm of spirits. Japanese Ghosts are said to often appear under weeping willows (no doubt because of the way they rustle and move in the breeze which can be extremely creepy at night!).
A Willow In Bloom
For me, it was surprising when I first learned that weeping willows have flowers (or more precisely catkins) which bloom in late March and early April. Willows are either male or female and the catkins of each sex are slightly different. If you get up close to a willow, usually to be found by ponds or rivers these days, have a look .
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The Destruction of Rare Woods and Covering Up Of Ancient Ruins For Suburban Chicago-Style Development in Tsukuba`s Nakane Konda-Dai (中根金田台) Is Bizarrely Hailed As green development By Officially Sponsored Groups
Woods Marked For The Ax In Nakane Konda-Dai (Kamisakai)
I had always found it puzzling that almost every time I entered Tsukuba City`s office for community-based activities, The Shimin Katsudo Senta (市民活動センタ), I would overhear one of its more prominent figures enthusiastically promoting, to practically anyone who dropped by, a plan to put up an AMERICAN STYLE housing development in Tsukuba`s Kamisakai (上境) , where some of our city`s last remaining woods, and some of its most interesting archeological sites can be found.Oddly, this person would always emphasize that this was the idea of a Fukui University Professor, making it sound as if that academic position would impress the listener and convince him/her of the greatness of this real estate scheme.
Excavating in Nakane Konda-Dai
I found this to be particularly surprising because many local residents, and concerned citizens from outside Tsukuba, have been struggling to preserve as much as possible of this tiny, yet historically, environmentally, and aesthetically valuable area. It has been a difficult battle indeed, assisted at first, only by the fact that numerous artifacts from different periods of Japanese history have been unearthed at the edge of the Kamisakai Woods, forcing the landowner to put his plans on hold. And then later, when the green light seemed about to be given to the project, the area got another reprieve when a conscientious local resident reported the existence of goshawk nests in these woods.This same magnate , who had originally inherited huge (by Japanese standards) tracts of land, had earlier sold off part of his ancestral property(the part farthest from his own house), mostly forest dotted with rustic shrines, for the creation of what is now the concrete and neon mayhem of Sakura Techno-Park. For years now, he has been chomping at the bit, in anticipation of developing most of the rest of his property, after getting the go-ahead from the government.
Nakane Konda-Dai (Kamisakai) Woods
Now I cant deny that this man has the right to do what he wants to with HIS LAND, if the city does not ask for it to be turned into a history or nature park and gives him the approval for construction. Sure he has a right to his (very large) piece of the pie. What is highly disconcerting, however, is that the landowner is trying to promote what he is doing, that is, cutting down some of Tsukuba`s last remaining woods and covering up its ruins, as ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY development ! And more to this he has sought and gotten the GREEN endorsement of various Tsukuba based NPO`s (and other types of groups)with very nature-friendly reputations. This not only builds up his image as a great environmentalist, but also drives up the prices in his real-estate deal !
The way he is going about doing this should be of great interest to foreign residents and observers of Japan, as it is a way that the powerful here often deal with oppostion- not by threats of legal action, or actual violence, as might me the case in some other countries, but by the subtle workings of SHIGARAMI- making your potential opponents feel indebted to you, and thus neutralizing any possible action they would take against you. In fact, with the strong sense of GIRI ( returning of favors) which has evolved in Japanese culture,the bestowing of some small favors early on, can actually get a natural enemy to work for your cause sometime later.
In the present case, the landlord had let various NPO`s ( and other groups), over many years, use a small part of his land for various activities, for FREE ( though they were in fact helping to care for the woods). It turned out, however, that in the end, as payback, he has asked for these same groups to support his project, snuff out any hint of opposition from other (unindebted) groups, and help promote it proudly as Green Development.
Tsukuba`s Last Woods Targeted For GREEN DEVELOPMENT
Of course he also uses more internationally standard methods of influence, such as the taking advantage of connections that a big developer might have . As an example of this, let me point out a recent item in The Yomiuri Shimbuns Ibaraki Edition which surprised quite a few Tsukubans. A small article reported that a few members of The Vienna Philharmonic were taken to the Nakane Konda-Dai site (still undeveloped of course), where they proclaimed that- It was Beautiful (It is !That is why we want to protect it)! and that they would like to live in a place like Nakane Kondadai (as it looks now. NOT after suburbia goes up).This article, written by an acquaintance of the landowner, was put into the newspaper as a promotion for the development project! I wonder what those musicians would say if they heard about this misuse of their reputations?
Another interesting ruse is the NAME of the development- Nakane Kondadai. The REAL address and place name is Kami Sakai. However, since an inquiry into the area with that name would lead to the discovery of volumes of information regarding the archeological excavations carried out there (and who wants to live on top of valuable ruins-even if its Chicago style?). Giving the development the name that it now has was an extremely clever form of diffusion. As you have guessed, in the promotional material for the houses, there is no mention of either the ruins- or the numerous graves which once stood on the site.
Some people have been working very hard to stop this develpment, and they believed that one of their few allies in the fight against the huge construction companies and big land-owners was the SHIMIN KATSUDO SENTA , which I mentioned above.
So please try to imagine how these people (and I) felt, when it was discovered , indirectly, that GOVERNMENT FUNDED groups working out of the Shimin Katsudo Senta, one of them headed by the very same person always talking up the Fukui University Professor`s development plan, were sponsoring a Roundtable Discussion grandiosely entitled- Mura no Kioku, Mori no Keisho, Ryokuin no Machizukuri- Ima, Atarashii Machi o Tsukurukoto no Imi Tsukuba Shi Nakane Konda Dai Tochi Kukaku Seiri Jigyo (村の記憶、森の継承、緑陰のまちづくり ー今、新しいいまちをつくることの意味ーつくば市 「中根・金田台土地区画整理事業」をめぐってー which can be translated as - Remembering the Traditional Hamlet, Perpetuating The Forest, Making a Community Within The Shade of Trees - What Is the Meaning Today Of City Planning- All About Tsukuba`s Nakane Kondadai Development Project.
It was even more disconcerting to see the list of invited panelists- all closely associated with and INDEBTED TO the owner of the land. For me the biggest surprise was learning that THE PROFESSOR, whom I always heard mentioned at the Shimin Katsudo Center was ACTUALLY the LANDOWNER! Reading the leaflets promoting the event, I shuddered when I realized that GOVERNMENT FUNDS were being used to promote this development and give it an ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY image.
I realized that I would have to attend this staged discussion, which to make the story sound even more absurd, was to be held at IIAS HALL in Tsukuba`s huge new shopping mall (a strange place to discuss green development).
I arrived early, and found most of the staff of The Shimin Katsudo Senta already there. They were taking an entrance fee which they claimed was for the materials they were distributing. These materials, however, included old newspaper articles which hailed the (then much younger) landowner as a great friend of the environment.
The panelists talked about their various activities in the woods and made no claim against the development plans. One bright spot in the afternoon was when Professor Ando of Tsukuba University discussed and showed pictures of his excellent work restoring and converting old buildings in Tsukuba`s Hojo District.
It was then the landowners turn. He asserted, in a barely audible monotone, that by choosing to build an American suburb type development, the area would remain green! He then proceeded to promote his real estate .
As part of the discussion held after the panelist`s presentations, a woman who I had seen arriving with the landowner earlier, and then sitting with him until the meeting began, told the story of how she had taken the European musicians to Kamisakai, and how they said that they wanted to live there (she was the writer of the newspaper article).
Promoting Real Estate
My face must have been a deep red as I listened to these proceedings. Of all the important things that we could have used government funds to discuss, why would we have this event, for justifying and increasing the land value of a real estate project which has already been decided on. By that I mean that there was no chance for anyone who might be against this project to stop it. Its a done deal. Its not the Shimin Katsudo Senta`s job to promote these houses- no matter what the relationship of some of their staff members to the landowner.
A few days later, I heard the person who organized the round-table talks had sent out emails saying that the event was a success- it had properly promoted the creation of THE SUBURBS OF CHICAGO in the heart of Tsukuba.
See their plan at:
中根・金田台地区：つくばエクスプレス沿線のまちづくり
and the important story of how the goshawks (オオタカ）have played a role in this story at:
http://blog.alientimes.org/2008/06/fighting-to-protect-tsukubas-remaining-wilds/
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Everything Is Peachy Keen At Koga`s Momo Matsuri
Peach Trees In Bloom In Koga
In ancient China, peach trees, with their boldly colored blossoms and their numerous brightly colored fruits, came to be associated with the positive forces of the Yang (as opposed to the dark and negative Yin), and were believed to be useful for battling and dispelling evil . That is why on the 3rd day of the 3rd month of the Chinese calendar (usually late march or early April),around the time when the peach trees usually burst into bloom, annual rites of purification and exorcism were held, on what was known, among other names ,as The Peach Festival. When this custom was introduced to Japan, at peach blossom time, the aristocrats of the Heian Court would purify themselves by rubbing doll-like figurines against their bodies and then cast these dolls, along with all the evil they had absorbed, into a stream, river, or the sea. As the centuries passed, these primitive figurines (hitogata), evolved into what are today`s extravagant Hina Dolls, which instead of being disposed of in the water, are symbolically boxed up and put away on the day after the festival. Peach trees remain, of course a part of the full Hina Doll sets, as reminders of the original meaning of the Hina Matsuri (aka The Peach Festival).
Peach Blossom Party In Koga
Unfortunately for the peach, its ancient significance, and its relation to the Girl`s Day Doll Festival have been all but forgotten, despite Japan`s most famous legendary demon fighter being The Peach Boy (Momo Taro), and the Hina Doll Festival being alternately called The Peach Festival.
Peach blossoms In Koga
The reason for this state of affairs is not only the passage of time and cultural amnesia, but most importantly, the fact that the Japanese changed their calendar, from the Chinese based lunar-solar calendar to the Western Gregorian calendar. With that change, the 3rd day of the 3rd month of the new calendar (March 3rd), the Doll Festival and the ancient Peach Festival, came to be celebrated about a month before the peach trees actually bloom! Thus the association has been lost! And more to this, for some reason, decorative peach trees in general, are not very commonly found in Japan these days (though of course you can find them here and there).
Nanohana and Peach Blossoms In Koga
One place where decorative peach trees (by that I mean those which are not cultivated for their fruit) are still the center of attention when they bloom , is Koga City, an old castle and post-town on the Western edge of Ibaraki, about a 90 minute drive from central Tsukuba. There, every year in late March and Early April, the city`s peach festival is held at The Koga Sogo Koen Park. I visited the park today and was lucky to find its couple of thousand peach trees near full-bloom (they should be at their best this year just around March 29th which is the day of the Hina Matsuri Girls Day Festival according to the old calendar). Peach blossoms (momo no hana) are much more deeply hued than cherry or plum blossoms , and beautiful color combinations emerged as I walked around the park among the yellow nanohana (rape blossoms) and the soft green of the fresh leaves of the weeping willow trees (yanagi).
Yanagi and Momo in Koga
The connection between Koga and Peach trees goes back to the Edo Period(1600-1868) when Koga, then a vital link along the land and river transportation routes from northern Kanto to the capital, was given over to be ruled by the trusted Doi Toshikatsu(1573-1644), who had long served as an advisor to the Shogun. Seeing that his new domain lacked fire-wood, it is said that the lord suggested that the children of the Clan`s retainers residing in Edo (the capital) pick up any discarded peach seeds that they might find on the streets of the great city, and bring them back to Koga. This was a good idea, because peach trees are fast growing, bear pretty flowers and delicious fruit, and need to be pruned. The branches cut away could be used as fire-wood. This is how Koga became the city of peaches(though the old trees are now all gone and the park a much later creation).
Koga Umbrella`s
For the occassion of Koga`s Peach Festival, local businessmen and women offer a whole slew of peach related goods, with peach beer and sake being my favorites. The city other famous products are also on sale at booths at the park. Though once Koga produced most of Ibaraki`s silk, after WWII the industry has almost completely disapperared. Now, Koga`s is most famous for making umbrellas- no, not the tradtional type-just plain ol` umbrellas.
Koga city has a few other noteworthy sites for the visitor interested in Japanese history, but I will discuss them perhaps on another day, because at this time of year, koga only means one thing- Peach Blossoms. Go see them.
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Japanese Fencing (Kendo) and Archery (Kyudo) Lessons
I found a flyer advertising Kendo and Kyudo lessons as a part of the Open University courses offered by the University of Tsukuba, so I thought I would share the information.
平成21年度筑波大学公開講座
2009 University of Tsukuba Open University
Japanese Fencing (Kendo) and Archery (Kyudo) Lessons
Kendo Lessons: Spring 2009
Dates: April 25 to June 27 (Every Saturday, except for May 2 and May 16)
Time: 9:30am to 12:30pm
Duration: 8 days in total, 24 hours
Participants: Anyone above Elementary School 3rd Grade, limited to 50 people
Location: University of Tsukuba Kendo-jo
Fee: 9300 yen
Insurance: 600 yen for Junior High Students or younger, 1600 yen for
High School Students and older -- valid for all University of Tsukuba
Open University Courses during the 2009 school year
Kyudo Lessons: Spring 2009
Dates: May 9 to May 31 (Saturdays and Sundays)
Time: 1:30pm to 4:30pm
Duration: 8 days in total, 24 hours
Participants: Anyone above High School, limited to 40 people
Location: University of Tsukuba Kyudo-jo
Fee: 9300 yen
Insurance: 600 yen for Junior High Students or younger, 1600 yen for High School Students and older -- valid for all University of Tsukuba Open University Courses during the 2009 school year
You do not need to have any special equipment to participate in these classes. Just show up in clothing that is easy to move in.
For more information about these courses and to apply, please see the University of Tsukuba Open University page (in Japanese).
Deadline to apply: Friday April 3, 2009.
If you are looking for something fun to do this Spring, please think about joining one of these classes. (And if you want to do something a little less aggressive, try square dancing!)
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