Discovering Tsukuba’s Animal Welfare Activists ( at last! )
Tsukuba`s Animal Welfare Activists at Matsuri Tsukuba
For animal lovers, Japan can be a very stressful place. Even here in Tsukuba, where life in general is quite pleasant , one has to somehow accustom oneself to the daily sight of broken-spirited dogs kept their whole lives in cages or boxes hardly larger than themselves, or tethered to extremely short chains with no shelter from the sun or rain, surrounded by piles of their own waste. And who living here has not had their peace ( of mind) disturbed by stir-crazy dogs whose ONLY options for exersize or stress relief are barking , howling, or yelping.
Another surprisingly pitiful state of affairs is the lack of proper animal shelters, where stray cats and dogs, or kittens and puppies could be taken to when found. As a long time resident and one of the writers of this blog, one of the most frequently asked questions I get is-: Ive found a homeless kitten (or puppy). What should I do? Who should I call?
Im sorry to say that the only answer I can offer is- Hold onto it yourself until you can find someone to adopt it.
Animal Welfare Activists at Matsuri Tsukuba
The alternative to that would be to bring the animal to the city office, where it would be held for 3 days in a filthy, windowless, foul-aired holding shed (some kittens are actually killed by rats there! Even those that are retrieved by owners or adopted by someone often contract severe illnesses at these unsanitary pounds) before being taken to be killed in Kasama.
I guess you could say that this would be a better fate than being sold to a supplier who would sell them to be used in some ( possibly horriffic) experiment.
Being a great lover of nature and animals myself, I had often searched for like-minded people in an around Tsukuba to help fight for various humane and enviromental issues. And though I have found certain individuals willing to help out, I was not aware of any group or organization which existed around here, dedicated to helping animals.
That is why it came as a SHOCK (though a very pleasant one), to find, among all the food stalls and buskers of Matsuri Tsukuba, not one, but THREE booths set up by various animal welfare groups who are active in Tsukuba.
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The first of these was the SUTENEKOBOUSHI KAI ( 捨猫防止会), literally the Society to Prevent The Abandonment of Cats and Kittens, which according to its representative in Tsukuba , Makomi Tsuruta, tries to educate the public about humane treatment and cat care and also promotes neutering in order to keep the homeless cat population under control. Their homepage is:
http://miaomiaogatti.blogspot.com/
Then there was the DOBUTSU AIGO WO KANGAERU IBARAKI NETWORK ( 動物愛護を考える茨城県民ネットワーク), the THINKING ABOUT THE HUMANE TREATMENT OF ANIMALS IBARAKI NETWORK, which was represented by Horiyuki Sakamoto. This group tries to pressure the local govermant to legislate for a more humane society. They are now focusing on the building of a better holding center (dog pound) at the future Tsukuba City office. Mr Sakamoto can be contacted at 0298 51 5580.
Animal Support Kizuna ( あにまるさぽーと ・きずな): http://kizna.sakura.ne.jp/index.html
actually goes to the holding facilities (pounds) and checks on conditions. They also try to rescue as many animals as they can by finding them homes. They need both volunteers and funds!
In the same booth I was happy to find Hisako Horie, who lives in Ushiku and represents ALIVE, a nationwide organization which works to make it Japan a better country for ALL ANIMALS and also to protect Japans environment. Please check out their website:
It was enlightening to speak with Tomoko Watanabe (who spends large parts of her earnings, as most of these activists do) on helping care for homeless animals. She explained how difficult it was, in Ibaraki Prefecture and especially in Tsukuba, to help find homes for dogs and cats who need them. So far, permission has not been gotten to set up adoption displays near Tsukuba Center and activists around here who want to do this have to travel with the animals all the way to Saitama Prefecture (every Saturday at the Minami Koshigaya Station), where passersby can see them and possibly take them home.
I also learned that Ibaraki Prefecture also leads Japan in animal euthanization.
If you are interested, this Wednesday (September 2), these activists will be going to the Kukizaki City Office to submit a pettion for a more humane holding facility. Why dont you come along. We will meet at the Andersen Bakery at 9:30 am.
Lets make Tsukuba (and Japan) an EVEN BETTER PLACE than it already is!
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Tsukuba`s Very Own (?) Nebuta Parade! (revisited)
One of Aomori`s famous Nebuta Floats at Matsuri Tsukuba 2009
Girls in Yukata at Matsuri Tsukuba
An uneasy silence filled the pre-fab shed set up in front of Capio Hall. The hapi-coat clad festival organizers shot nervous glances at each other. The man I was addressing stroked the back of his tilted head, as he slowly and audibly drew air though his slightly parted teeth. It was clear that my question had hit a raw nerve. In fact, after many can-we’s and should-we’s had bounced back and forth meekly between those present, I was told that I could not be told an exact figure from their mouths. All they could say was that it required a VERY LARGE SUM to hire, transport and maintain the Nebuta Floats for the Matsuri Tsukuba Festival ( I was later able to confirm that the amount was approximately 200,000 dollars ! ).
This weekend ( August 29th and 30, 2009 ) is the 12th time that these world famous NEBUTA floats (just a few of them) have been transported down to Tsukuba by truck from Aomori City. The Nebuta Festival held there is one of Japan’s most celebrated and exciting matsuris, and its long history attests to its deep connection to the Tohoku Region and its people. It is WELL worth a special trip to Aomori (even from abroad!) in the beginning of August to witness the passion of the procession and the eerie beauty of the giant illuminated floats which feature UKIYOE-like paintings of warriors, animals, sumo wrestlers, etc…. here is the ORIGINAL Nebuta`s home page:
What I would really like to know is why Tsukuba City would have to lay out so much dough to bring the Nebutas here for our festival. I could understand it if it were for one year, but EVERY YEAR? The Nebutas have no connection at all to Tsukuba, Ibaraki, or Kanto. Why should we have the LEFT-OVERS of someone else’s festival, no matter how famous? I think there are enough history, legends and traditions around these parts to provide material for creating a new and ORIGINAL Matsuri Tsukuba which native Ibarakians and new and foreign residents could all relate to. It WOULD take some IMAGINATION and DARING. That, however, might be a little difficult to find.
The origins of the Tsukuba Nebuta connection are also shrouded in mystery and perhaps intrigue. The group responsible for having started bringing down the floats eleven years ago is the Junior Chamber International Tsukuba Branch .When I asked them to tell me the story they claimed it would take 2 hours to do so and then quickly explained that some big-shot in their organization knew (was connected with) someone up in Aomori. Well, I think we would all agree that JCI is not representative of Tsukuba and shouldn’t be the ones to decide how the festival budget should be spent. I would also not be surprised if someone were making a bundle off our matsuri.
You CAN get a look at some of Tsukuba`s OWN traditional matsuris, if you get to the Tsuchiura Gakuen Road ( I recommend the corner on the western side of Jusco) well before the Nebuta procession ( around 5pm). The portable shrines ( O-Mikoshi), floats, dragons, etc. from Tsukuba`s old neighborhoods make a couple of loops up and down the road, while representatives of each of these hamlets strut their stuff. These are all quite interesting, and its too bad they have to play second fiddle!
Most of the people who come to enjoy Matsuri Tsukuba (and there are surprisingly many!) probably don’t even catch a glance of the famous floats (they are usually wrapped in plastic). That is because of the shape which the festival has taken. Yes, I’m talking about the actual shape of the festival if viewed on a map or from above. Just like Tsukuba University, the festival has grown very long and slender. At its most crowded it becomes like too much water being forced through a narrow gorge, and in total there are only 3 or 4 outlets where the water (the crowd) can run off into other directions. On humid days it is quite tiring to navigate the entire length of the festival and then back again. With all the different performance (mostly third rate) venues set up and ALL THE FOOD stalls up on the main pedestrian path, the layout of the festival is not conducive to viewing the Nebutas. I say scrap it and spend the money in better ways!
One tip for those who plan on visiting Matsuri Tsukuba next year is DON’T EAT BREAKFAST, or even dinner the night before, for that matter! From the DAYZ TOWN building all the way to the Expo Center it is wall-to-wall food (with some stalls for scooping up live fish thrown in here and there!)! Just how much can a person eat? And can someone give me a clue as to how to choose which yakisoba stand to buy from out of the dozens you find every few meters (and that goes for okonomiyaki, takoyaki, taiyaki, jagabata, etc., as well). Two foreign foods which have become almost as common are Indian curry and kebabs. Every once in a while you come across a rare find. For example, I was happy to find a stall serving Tunisian food. A special feature of the Tsukuba hawkers scene is the presence of many amateurs, especially foreigners who serve up their countries’ dishes.
Though Matsuri Tsukuba is NOT one of the best festivals in the Kanto Area, it is still fun to be out with the crowd, see all the colorful yukata, probably run into some old friends on the narrow path, and of course EAT. It is very surprising and interesting to note how many young girls dress up in traditional wear. Their presence provides a real lift to the festival’s atmosphere
And now...... having thought about it for a long time, I realize that many TRADITIONAL LOCAL FESTIVAL, for example the Gion Festivals so popular in this area for centuries, were only IMITATIONS of the original, first held in Kyoto.
So..... I guess we COULD say that- in Japan, borrowing another city`s festival IS traditional!
Enjoy!
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In Tsukuba, Fancier Than Usual Offerings to Roadside DOSOJIN ( 道祖神) Sacred Stones, Probably Mean Someone Is Having Bad Back Or Leg Pain
A selection of the best summer has to offer- at DOROKUJIN, in Onozaki Tsukuba
One of the outstanding TRADITIONAL features of Tsukuba`s older neighborhoods is the presence of a large number and wide variety of SEKIBUTSU ( 石仏, literally Stone Buddhas), sacred or devotional stones, which mainly (but among other things) represent particular Gods or Buddhas or commemorate certain rituals which have taken (or continue to take) place in the villages where they can be found. Some of these stones have actual figures carved onto them, and their posture and hand position etc. indicate what deity they represent. A large number of them, however, have no images carved on them at all, but are mere slabs or blocks of stone which can be identified only by the Japanese (and sometimes Sanskrit) characters engraved on them. In Tsukuba there are DOZENS of types of such SEKIBUTSU, each with its own function (in protecting the community) and depending on the hamlet, you will find devotion to different types of stones.
Conjointed eggplant- at DOSOJIN in Onogawa Tsukuba
Some of these stones are now SO WEATHER-WORN that it is impossible to read what is engraved on them, and thus identify their type. In order to do that, you would then have to ask one of the senior citizens living nearby. There is, however, one type of non-figurative SEKIBUTSU, that in Tsukuba, can usually be identified NO MATTER HOW WORN AWAY it is. Im talking about the DOSOJIN ( 道祖神 ), protectors of travellers and the entrances to villages, which can be recognized by two tell-tale signs (if you cant read the inscriptions)- first by location- at a crossroads or at the entrance to a village- and then, MUCH MORE IMPORTANTLY, by the the offerings made to it!
a most humanoid radish- at a DOSOJIN in Onogawa
Tsukuba`s Dosojin are different from those found in other parts of Japan (the most famous of which, in AZUMINO, Nagano, feature COUPLES , carved onto them) not only in how they look but how they are treated! I have written before of how local farmers place all their DOUBLE-LEGGED DAIKON RADISHES ( abberations caused by stones in the soil etc) in front of these stones. The reason they do this is that these strangely shaped veggies look like HUMAN LEGS and cannot be eaten or sold! They are presented to the DOSOJIN, because this deity is believed to be the protector of travellers, who in the old days always went about- on their LEGS ! It is also believed that making such offerings will protect devotees from LEG AND BACK PAIN.
Straw sandals (zori) at DOSOJIN in Kise, Tsukuba
Other oddly shaped leg-like vegetables are also offered to the DOSOJIN, among them eggplant and yams. Shoes or straw sandals are also often left in front of or nearby these stones as offerings, often as a supplication for relief of back or leg pain.
Besides making them so easilly recognizeable, these customs make the DOSOJIN highly PHOTOGENIC and something to look forward to. Over the years I have taken mental note of where many of these SEKIBUTSU are located, and as I make my way around Tsukuba, in a car, by bicycle or on foot, I make it a point to give a glance, check up on them and see if there are any new offerings.
New shelter for an old DOSOJIN- under construction in summer 2009 in Konda
Last week Mio was giving me a lift to Matsushiro ( a neighborhood in Tsukuba) and we took a short-cut through the old ONOZAKI neighborhood. I was conscious of the fact that we were about to pass a DOSOJIN, which I had photographed many times before. When we approached it we were in mid-conversation, but when I glanced down to my left as the car sped by , I saw something that surprised me so much that I shouted out- WAIT A MINUTE ! STOP ! Though she is used to odd requests- this sudden order seemed to have almost given her a heart attack. With an expression of annoyance and hand to pounding chest she pulled over into an empty lot, while I , without word jumped out to take some pictures of what were probably the BEST OFFERRNGS I had ever seen by a DOSOJIN- a selection of summer`s representative fruits and vegetables- watermelon, eggplant, cucumber, corn and tomato, plus the decorative plant HOZUKI- all typical symbols of the season!
Later I returned to the same spot to confirm the identity of the stone. I went up to a neighboring house and asked a Mr Sakurai- a cheerful and youthful looking man in his eighties, about it. He told me that the SEKIBUTSU was in fact a DOSOJIN, but that the locals called it by a variant name- DOROKUJIN ( 道六神). He remembers that even in HIS childhood the stone had already been rendered illegible by the elements. When I mentioned the unusual fruits and vegetables placed by the stone on that day, he said that one of the neighborhood grannies must have been having trouble with her legs or back if there were such fine offerings at the stone.
Mr Sakurai invited me into his home and offered me a can of cold tea and we chatted about the old days and about the changes that this area has undergone. Besides all the development which has altered the scenery around his beautiful traditional hamlet, Mr Sakurai complained about how the influx of outsiders (not foreigners, out of towners), has let to the degradation of human relations in Tsukuba. Even when foreigners pass me on the street they nod or wave hello- but these city folk (Tokyoites etc) who move out here dont just ignore you! what happening! Greetings are the foundation of all human relations!
Remember to keep your eyes open for the curious roadside offerings. And if your back pain just wont go away, you might want to try the time worn local remedy- placing some footwear, or even better-the best fruit of the season in front of the DOSOJIN.
For more DOSOJIN PICS see my posting at:
http://tengooz.blogspot.com/2008/01/two-legged-daikon-radish-and-dosojin.html
and for more of what Ive written on other types of SEKIBUTSU in Tsukuba:
http://www.alientimes.org/Main/TsukubasVenerableHimachiStones
http://www.alientimes.org/Main/LadiesNightOutTheOldTimeWay and
Also, you might want to know more about the HOZUKI, or ground cherries (one of the offerings left at the DOSOJIN). Ive written about them at:
http://blog.alientimes.org/2008/07/46000-visits-at-one-shotasakusa-kannons-hozuki-ichi/
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TSUNABI (綱火), Ina-Machi`s Fire and Smoke Spewing Puppets On a String
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Though the greatest fireworks event around here (and one of the best in all of Japan), the Tsuchiura Hanabi Taikai, takes place in autumn, for most Japanese, fireworks mean summer and summer means fireworks. It seems that on almost any July or August night , the crackle of HANABI can be heard somewhere off in the distance.
Fire shoots out of a small, puppet-bearing boat during Tsunabi
And though now fireworks displays are mostly considered a summer`s ENTERTAINMENT, the use of fire (and gunpowder) has long had a RELIGIOUS function in Japan, as in Shinto, fire is believed not only to purify but also to attract the KAMI (god/ gods). Fire plays an important role in Buddhist ceremonies, too (and even the relatively new Tsuchiura Fireworks Competition, first held in 1925, was created ostensibly to console the spirits of fallen pilots).
Tsunabi Puppets above the sparks and smoke
In Ibaraki Prefecture it is still possible to observe (and take part in) a few traditional fire festivals, involving rituals in which fire or fireworks play the main ceremonial role. I have already written about the mid-winter FIRE-WALKING CEREMONY (HI WATARI, 火渡り） held at the Mount Kaba Shrine in Makabe near Tsukuba. But now, in late summer, deep in the fireworks season, I`d like to tell you about this area`s most characteristic ( and oldest) ceremonies which involve fireworks- Ina Machi`s tsunabi events, in which a combination of puppet theater and fireworks are used to pray for fire prevention, good harvests and originally- VICTORY IN BATTLE.
Dolls suspended in air!
Each year for the past 400 years ( with some exceptions, including the war and immediate post-war period), Tsunabi ceremonies have been held in Ina Machi, now part of Tsukuba Mirai City. In recent years , the dates have been set as August 23rd and 24th (yes, today and tomorrow!). There are two surviving schools, with quite different styles, the Takaoka-Ryu, which does its thing on the 23rd ( I just came back from it), and the much older Obari-Matsushita-Ryu, which takes the stage on the 24th (tomorrow). Though these events take place at different (though very near to each other) locations, both venues are ATAGO SHRINES (愛宕神社), which is indeed appropriate since these are dedicated to the God of Fire.
Tomorrow nights event will be at the Atago Shrine in Ina Machi`s Obari neighborhood, which was founded at the end of the Muromachi Period ( in the 16th century). The Tsunabi ritual is performed as an offering for fire-prevention and abundant crops and has been designated an Important Intangable Cultural property (as has been tonight`s ceremony in the Takaoka neighborhood).When it was first conceived, 400 years ago by a local samurai ruler, it was intended as a ceremony to help ensure victory in battle. The secret of mixing an preparing the gun-powder was tranferred to the Ohashi Family, who are farmers, who have passed down it down over the generations ( in the case of the Obari-Ryu). Until the Second World War, there as actually a Tsunabi rice Field, the annual proceeds of which went to pay for each years Tsunabi.
The highlight of these ceremonies, which also involve processions of portable shrines, floats and other typical MATSURI (festival) activities held earlier in the day, is a puppet show, involving large mechanical dolls, which travel down a length of rope, all the while spewing out fire and smoke, as the music blares and the narrator tells the story. And though it can be quite crowded, the performance short, and your view most likely obscured by smoke, getting there early and reserving a good spot for the show, can prove to be well worth it. I find it to be magical.
There also seems to be a tsunabi event in Aichi Prefecture in Central Japan, but that`s about it. So these events in Ina Machi are just another of those things which make Ibaraki Prefecture special.
A home-made lantern
The Atago Shrine is about a 20 minute walk from the Mirai-Daira Station on the TX line. The Tsunabi is scheduled to start at 7pm but I would get there earlier. Another interesting feature of this event is that most of the houses in the Obari and Takaoka neighborhoods make home-made lanterns which they display at their entranceways.
See more pictures here:
http://www.city.tsukubamirai.lg.jp/bunka/10.htm
and my posts about the fire-walking
http://blog.alientimes.org/2008/12/a-fine-day-for-fire-walking/
the Tsuchiura fireworks:
http://blog.alientimes.org/2008/10/baihos-idea-a-big-hit-in-tsuchiura/
and a Buddhist fire ritual-
http://blog.alientimes.org/2007/12/tantric-fire-ritual-on-new-years-eve/
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Striking up a Debate with The Right-Wing Activists Outside The Yasukuni Shrine on August 15th Might Not Be a Very Good Idea After All
Restraining UYOKU (right wing extremists) outside the Yasukuni Shrine
You could say that I was ASKING FOR IT, or even that I was an IDIOT. You would probably be right. I will certainly admit that I had been pushing my luck.You see, for the past several years I have been visiting the controversial Yasukuni Shrine (Yasukuni Jinja, 靖国神社), on August 15, the anniversary of the end of The Second World War. Each time, I have also engaged the various Right-Wing activists standing outside the shrine`s precincts in interesting (and always civil) discussion, and have also always followed the impassioned and often violent encounters between the Right and The Left which rage in the neighboring streets and alleys.
A few hours before the demonstrations
And though Japanese friends who know about my Aug. 15th Yasukuni habit have always worried about my safety, I had never felt personally threatened in any way. It had always been an incredible and fascinating JAPANESE experience for me, with a combination of solemnity, intensity, passion and CAMP, all in and around the beautiful setting of the shrine. All personal encounters had also been amiable over the years. UNTIL THIS YEAR, THAT IS! This past Saturday, not only was I boxed in by a group of raging Rightists shouting provocatively into my face, but I was also physically attacked on two seperate occassions (during the demonstrations), and had my camera grabbed from me.
Posing for the cameras with wartime slogan embroidery
Please do not be alarmed. I was not injured at all by my physical assailants ( I believe they did not intend to injure me), and I even got my camera back. And though I was quite surprised by how the starting up of a simple conversation led to my being mobbed, intimidated and then verbally abused as the police helped me get away ( and even when I thought I was well away from the mob ,one gentle-looking old man came up to me and said GET THE HELL OUT OF JAPAN - Nihon kara dette ike), I never really felt frightened or insulted.
In fact, the experience helped me to see how, in contemporary Japan, REAL VIOLENCE IS AVOIDED between groups with passionately held and diametrically oppossed views by the setting aside of a special TIME (Aug 15th) and PLACE (in and around Yasukuni Shrine) for dressing up, posturing, and cathartically LETTING IT ALL OUT- mostly through intensive vocalization, but also with MOCK ACTS OF VIOLENCE. Surely in most other countries such a gathering of ENEMY PARTIES would result in more than a few serious casualties. At these Yasukuni events I have yet to see an ambulance called in.
Let me quickly tell you the whole story from the beginning to end. If you`d like a little background information please read:
http://blog.alientimes.org/2008/08/a-day-at-yasukuni-shrine/
Here we go-
After passing through the ticket gate of the KUDANSHITA STATION at about 10 am, I headed for the exit which would take me closest to The Yasukuni Shrine. Underground it was pretty much like any other day in the Tokyo subway system except for the band of riot police which had taken position by the exit which I was approaching.
Coming out of the station
When I emerged at the top of the stairs, it was a whole new world, abuzz with political excitement (and the humming of cicadas). The short walk between the station and the entrance to the shrine was lined with activists for various Right-Wing Causes. First there were THE USUALS- the group fighting to keep foreigners from obtaining political rights, the groups who promote independance for certain regions of the People`s Republic of China, the groups that want to revise the school text-books ( to give them a more nationalistic, pro-Yasukuni tone), AND a group that I had never seen at that particular spot before, displaying a portrait of wartime Prime Minister Hideki Tojo, who were asserting that his having been declared a war criminal was unfair.
Cos-play at Yasukuni
Immediately approached by the first group of activists (those fighting against foreigners rights),I learned something very interesting ( and important).When I told them that I lived in Tsukuba, which has a foreigner as a city council member, they quickly corrected me by saying that NO- the city councilman in Tsukuba has become a naturalized Japanese and IS THUS JAPANESE. They had NO PROBLEM WITH THAT. In other words, this group does not use race as a standard for judging who is Japanese-they use CITIZENSHIP. They are worried about non-citizen foreign residents getting to have a say in Japanese politics. In other words, they are saying to us- NATURALIZE! (and this was surprising for me).
Standing at attention as the Showa Emperors broadcast is replayed
Passing under the main torii gate and entering the shrine along its main approach I saw the familiar August 15th scene. Thousands and thousands of USUAL EVERYDAY people, conservatively dressed, standing patiently in the sweltering heat, waiting for their turn to pay their respects to Japan`s war-dead. Then, there were the FEW who get all the attention- the extreme right wing paramilitary style groups dressed in clearly and instantly recognizeable costumes.
There were also the cos-players, who dress up as soldiers, sailors, nurses, kamikaze pilots etc, and around them the photographers and gawkers (most of them foreigners,- basically the same faces every year) who give these people the attention they crave. Of course , there were also the police, in GREAT NUMBERS, with plainclothesmen dilligently photographing and taking notes on each member of each of the extremest groups as they queued up for the shrine.
- Rightists in uniform
Suddenly, something happened that I had not experienced before at Yasukuni. There was an announcement calling everyone to attention. The Gyokuon Hoso, the August 15th 1945 radio broadcast in which the Showa Emperor (as he is referred to now) announced the end of the Japanese war effort, would be played over the PA system. I found this moment to be truly moving at first, but the atmosphere was unfortunately shattered as the police began to repeatedly page someone over their own PA system and virtually drowned out most of the latter half of the Emperor`s historic speech.As you can imagine, people were not very pleased by this.
See an English translation of the Gyokuon Hoso`s text here: http://www.japanorama.com/surrendr.html
I spent the next couple of hours within the shrines precincts, revisiting the museum, the various monuments etc., all of which I have described before in previous articles. As usual , I and the other foreigners there, were treated with politeness, and often with great friendliness, even by uniformed members of extremist groups.
It was when I left the confines of the shrine that the FIRST trouble occured. Passing under the great torii gate once again, this time headed back towards the station , I stopped by to listen in on a conversation between a passerby and the group which was demanding the rehabillitation of Tojo Hideki (who was convicted as a war criminal at the Tokyo Tribunals after the war). I was surprised and deeply interested to hear the calm tone of the debate, in which a young Japanese man was insisiting to this group that the Japanese military had been brainwashing the populace during the war, and that Tojo was no different from Asahara Shoko, the leader of the murderous Aum Shinrikyo Cult. Bold statements indeed, I thought, to be making at this particular venue, on this particular day.
Since in Japan it is rare to encounter such a debate, let alone participate in one, I thought I would join in, if not for anything else, than just to hear what this group`s positions were. When I started out saying that I couldnt understand why they would be so concerned about what was aid of the former Prime Minister, who had led Japan down the road to TOTAL DESTRUCTION and also put the life of the Emperor in great danger (and into the hands of the enemy). Suddenly, a great transformation in mood took place. A signal must have been given, because I was very quicky completely surrounded, ringed in by men of various ages who proceeded to shout at me, so loudly that their arteries seemed about to burst- WE WONT FORGIVE YOU FOR HIROSHIMA ( Hiroshima yurusanai !!).
I stayed as STILL as possible, making sure that I didnt touch any of them (that might have really set them off), and tried to ZEN OUT, but they just went on and on and in fact their numbers grew. Then, lieka DEUS EX MACHINA ,a man in a black suit, in a manner not unlike that of a concierge at a fine hotel, suddenly broke into the circle, and whisked me away with a big smile saying- lets get away from here. He was a plainclothes policeman and he proceeded to apologize for what had happened and said that it looked like I had become THE SYMBOL OF AMERICA for those people (the activists). It was at this moment, that the old man that I mentioned before snuck up and snapped at me, telling me to get out of the country.
I cannot say that I had been frightened, but I certainly was surprised and overwhelmed by what had happened. As you can imagine, my confidence was also shaken a bit.I was in no mood for any more debating, thats for sure ! And as I had planned to stay in the area for a few more hours, and I didnt want to meet that particular bunch again, I did my best to avoid them and did not walk past their spot again. The only problem was that- I DID RUN INTO THEM , later- at what was probably the WORST POSSIBBLE MOMENT !
The Procession of anti-Yasukuni Shrine, anti- Emperor System ( among other things) demonstrators was scheduled to begin at 4pm. The riot police had already taken up positions along the designated route. At the point where the demonstrators would be closest to the shrine, nationalists, determined to defend the honor of the shrine, had also gathered in force, literally kicking away traffic cones that the police were setting up to control pedestrian traffic( the police eventually gave up doing this, letting the rightists have their way).
As the demontrators marched (protected by a phalanx of riot police on both sides), chanting ABOLISH YASUKUNI, ABOLISH WAR, and carrying such provocative banners as those which read ABOLISH THE EMPEROR SYSTEM etc , they were continuously harrassesd by counter demonstrators who shouted things such as GO BACK HOME TO NORTH KOREA, etc. This would have made for a dizzying racket in itself , but in fact , all human voice chanting was drowned out by the tirades blasting from the huge loud-speakers mounted on the trucks and buses of the ultra-nationalists. The noise was numbing, and the chanting helped work people up into a frenzy. Occassionally rightists would make a show of trying to break through the police lines and get at the demonstrators.When the police stopped them they would shout, struggle and rage, but they were not arrested. It is important to note , however, that no one threw any bricks or bottles, or other objects, which would have been a more effective way of GETTING AT the demonstrators. The scene seemed to me more like a mosh pit than a riot.
After turning the corner which brought the demonstrators to the closest point they would get to the shrine , things started to get out of hand and more and more counter-demonstators rushed at the marchers. When the procession turned right and crossed a narrow bridge TOTAL CHAOS ensued- rightists , leftists, police , tourists all merged- and some people were knocked down, or had their noses bloodied, though no one seemed to have gotten seriously injured. I climbed up on a railing for a better view and tried to take some pictures. It was so crowded that it was nearly impossible to move, but when I took my eye off the camera viewfinder I recognized one of my tormentors from early in the day glaring at me. When our eyes met, he rushed me, growling with fury and pulled me down from off the rail. We grappled for a second before he grabbed my camera and started to make off with it. I called out to him (I cant recall exactly what I said), and he dropped my camera to the ground. He turned around and stopped ,shook my hand as I approached him, and indicated where he had dropped it.
With hardly any time to have thought about what had happened, another man grabbed me, though he was quickly restained by the police, who then, much to my chagrin, released him right in front of me as they ran off to deal with other problems. This man ,too, came up to me and shook my hand, saying- This is amazing isnt it? Where else but here could you see energy like this?
I thought about it for a second, looked around, and said- at just about ANY TRADITIONAL MATSURI (Japanese Festival). My assailant and some other people standing nearby who had been listening in, laughed and said.... hey, you are right!
The more I think about it, the more that thought rang true. The surge of primieval energy, the cathartic release of a years worth of tension, the bloody noses, and noise and exhaustion......it was just another Japanese Matsuri. And all those of us who experienced it were completely SPENT......until NEXT YEAR !
And though I WILL be back again to take everything in, I will surely think twice before opening my mouth!
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