TsukuBlog

For many Japanese, it goes without saying that worshipping at a Buddhist temple on any given day brings one merit. Some days, however, are special. In fact, according to tradition, tomorrow, July 10, is VERY SPECIAL INDEED, as dropping in at the Asakusa Kannon will be equivalent to 46,000 regular day visits! This sounds-too-good-to-be-true offer gets even better. From early in the morning to about midnight, hundreds of small stalls will be set up selling hozuki and wind chimes, two classic symbols of July in Japan. Hozuki are delicate, almost translucent, orange pods, which are reminiscent of half-deflated origami balloons. They have traditionally been used as decorations, toys and laxatives! The hozuki market is held in Asakusa because sometime in the 18th century a certain samurai’s attendant is said to have dreamed of the plant’s curative powers which were later confirmed by the amazed local residents. The market has been held ever since, for more than 200 years.

Many older women I have spoken to in Tsukuba can remember painstakingly removing the seeds from the delicate pods as children to make toy noise makers which were blown into — something kids today probably don’t have the patience or desire to do!

The beautiful hozuki plants, the excitement in the air, and the cool tingling of countless wind-chimes makes for a perfect summer excursion — and you can get yourself PLENTY of merit to boot!

Alas, tomorrow is a weekday. But for those who can’t make it to Asakusa’s Sensoji, a final look can be had at the beautiful hozuki arrangement in the lobby of the Okura Hotel at Tsukuba Center. The lobby flowers are changed every Thursday at the Okura, so you had better get there early. I’ve been going EVERY DAY!

In contrast to the always tasteful floral inventions which can be encountered at the hotel, the managers of the Tsukuba Center Complex have put up a tacky display of poster-sized photos, cheaply framed, of VIPs who have visited the center over the past 20 years. You might imagine that these would be shots of great scientists or scholars, as many have been through Tsukuba over the years. The organizers of this particular display, however, have selected only pictures of royalty: the Showa Emperor, the current Emperor and his wife as Crown Prince and Princess, the Kings of Belgium and Sweden, the Princess of Thailand, Margaret Thatcher, etc.

Seems a bit out of touch with what Tsukuba is supposed to be about, but these unartfully hung posters can’t help help but make one stop a moment, have a look at each one and wonder where all the time goes.

At noon on August 15th, 1945, the Japanese people, for the first time, heard the unexpectedly high-pitched voice of the Showa Emperor (Hirohito) crackling over the radio. The God-Emperor (as he was considered at that time) announced in an archaic form of speech which few could actually understand (and which amused quite a few children back then), that the unimaginable had to be accepted, and that the struggle against the enemy (the United States and its allies) had to be abandoned with surrender. This marked the end of a long period of Empire, expansionism, militarism, and extreme nationalism which in a way can be said to have been initiated as an over-enthusiastic imitation of the great Western colonial powers which had forced Japan to open up to the world almost 100 years earlier, and which because of poor judgment and over-optimism ended in the total devastation of the country and millions dead (not to mention the suffering and humiliation brought to other Asian and Pacific peoples). As the meaning of the Emperor’s message was slowly comprehended, millions were dumbstruck or overcome by a cathartic weeping.

This day in mid-August has come to be accepted as the day of remembrance for those who perished in that war, which actually began with Japan’s incursion into Manchuria in 1931 and its brutal ten-year struggle to gain the upper-hand in China before fatefully deciding to attack the United States. August 15 has also become a day of controversy, especially because of visits to Tokyo’s Yasukuni Shrine (靖国神社, Yasukuni Jinja).

Yasukuni Shrine is where the souls of all soldiers who have died fighting for the Imperial Cause (since the struggle for the Meiji Restoration began in 1853) are enshrined as Kami (Gods). Japanese soldiers were indoctrinated to believe that if they died in battle they would live on forever at Yasukuni. Many of the last letters of soldiers and especially Kamikaze pilots to their parents end with a “Lets meet at Yasukuni!”

You might ask what the problem would be for people to visit such a shrine, as most countries have similar ceremonies commemorating their war dead. Well, the problem (especially for Japan’s Asian neighbors) is that among the millions enshrined are numerous convicted war criminals. Thus visits to the shrine by Japanese politicians arouse great anger in China and Korea (and among many Japanese). This foreign criticism then arouses the anger of Japan’s Right-Wingers (u-yoku, 右翼), who feel that Japan has bowed to hypocritical foreign pressure and has had to conceal its true self. This cycle of accusations has made Yasukuni Shrine the center point of the struggle over how the history of WWII should be perceived. It has subsequently become a symbol and rallying point for Japan’s numerous and very vocal right-wing groups.

These days there is little talk of The War in Japan, and in fact most foreign residents are surprised and disappointed to find that there is almost no political discussion of ANY SORT in this country. Topics which lead to an expression of one’s true feelings or opinions (except for which foods you like or dislike) or any controversial subjects are usually avoided. For that reason many foreigners living in Japan LONG FOR the excitement of a good debate, and of hearing some heartfelt political opinions, even those that might be SERIOUSLY DISAGREED WITH.

Spending an August 15th at Yasukuni Shrine (as I usually do) provides a sufficient dose of opinions and political stimulation to last for a long, long while. Also, for those interested in Ibaraki, there is also strong relevance, as the xenophobic Emperor worship which had Japan in its grip for decades, and now lives on in numerous fringe groups, was originally promoted by the Mito Clan (Mito is now Ibaraki’s capital) whose sponsorship of Mito Studies (Mito-Gaku,水戸学) provided the intellectual framework which eventually led to the Meiji Restoration and a whole slew of extreme slogans (the most famous being SONNO JO-I (尊王攘夷, Revere the Emperor, Expel the Barbarians!)).

Let me tell you what my day was like.

I took TX to Kita-Senju, changed to the Hibiya Line and then changed again at Kayabacho to the Tozai Line and got out at Kudanshita, which is the nearest station to the shrine. Heading to exit no. 1, I first came face to face with the reality of the day and the occasion. A group of young riot police (kidotai) in full battle-gear. I headed up the escalator and onto street level which was very hot, both temperature-wise and emotionally. The street up Kudanzaka, towards the shrine was crowded and excited. There were many activists who had set up booths on the side walk. They were handing out leaflets and asking for signatures for various petitions. It was like being at the Student Union Building of an American or European university, except for where at those institutions students tend to push liberal or left-wing causes, these activists were all decidedly leaning to the right or far right.

Mostly, this was not expressed in a personal way, and I, a foreigner, was given pamphlets (even one demanding that political rights not be granted to foreign residents in Japan!), asked for my signature (which I politely refused) and was patiently and passionately told about each particular cause (after I showed interest). One Watanabe-san provided me with painstaking details about what he was gathering signatures for. He told me how, at the end of the Battle of Okinawa, hundreds of villagers on a small island had committed suicide. After the war, survivors claimed that they were ordered to do so by the Japanese military commanders on the island, and they demanded compensation. The court ruled in favor of the islanders. Mr. Watanabe, 63 years later, was standing in the hellish heat all day long trying to get signatures to CLEAR THE NAMES OF THE OFFICERS IN CHARGE! Other groups were calling for the independence from China of various regions including Taiwan and Tibet.

Of course the police presence was enormous and you could not help but feel sorry for the young guys who were all padded and helmeted in the heat. The road which goes up the slope parallel to the shrine was lined with the loud-speaker trucks (gaisensha) of the various right-wing groups who had gathered for the occasion. As I entered the main worshipper’s path to the shrine I also started to see the Yasukuni COS-PLAY people, those who don Imperial Army costumes and paraphernalia. They sit in the shade on the side of the path, sometimes singing old war songs (gunka) to the accompaniment of a harmonica. Also, uniformed u-yoku sit in groups drinking, singing, posing and posturing, before or after having prayed before the shrine.

It is important to remember, however, that among all the tens of thousands who came to the shrine on that day, 99% were typical looking Japanese people, of all ages, who came to quietly, and as quickly as possible, pay their respects to the fallen dead. There are many elderly people who probably lost dear ones in the war. These people even come in groups, by the busload. The extremists and other fringe-elements who end up being featured in the media are a tiny but VERY NOTICEABLE minority.

As I passed through the main gate of the shrine, the line to reach the Main Hall began and those who came to worship had to stand in line for a LONG TIME, fully exposed to the sun. Nobody was complaining, but I couldn’t help but wonder why they couldn’t put up some sort of canopy for some shade.

Though tourists and journalists like to photograph the costumed, posturing right-wing cranks who line-up in front of the shrine (with the general public), the real powerful and shadowy u-yoku groups, in their very expensive suits and haircuts (or shaved heads) can be seen through the wooden grill to the right of the main hall. Within the confines of the shrine itself they are given food and are taken into the inner sanctuaries for purification and blessing before they join in singing KIMIGAYO, Japan’s national anthem. These characters seemed much more ominous to me than the riff-raff u-yoku hanging out in the front.

This inner-hall ceremony is open to anyone, including foreigners, who want to pay the fee. The most celebrated visitor this year was Tokyo’s outspoken governor Shintaro Ishihara who was greeted with cheers and flag waving. I asked bystanders by if Prime Minister Fukuda would be coming to the shrine and they disgustedly told me that he wouldn’t be coming.

As usual, I stopped to look at the monuments to the various animals who died in Japan’s various war efforts. The dog, the horse, and the pigeon. There were offerings for the animals — dog food, carrots, water, rice balls — but much fewer than previous years.

Also drawing the attention of many Japanese visitors was the monument to Radhabinod Pal, the only dissenting judge at the Tokyo War Crimes Trial.

At 2:30, about a kilometer from the shrine’s Main Hall, a demonstration by groups who oppose the Emperor system and militarism was scheduled to be held. The right-wingers who just earlier had been hanging out in the shade, were now ready to rumble. When the police blocked off the road so that their loud-speaker trucks could not pass, pandemonium broke loose. I had imagined that nearby the shrine the u-yoku would not use the blaring speakers and especially not use foul language while so many worshippers were nearby. But logical thinking is a not a strong-point of these guys. All the loudspeakers went at it at once. I HAVE NEVER HEARD SUCH A DIN (it was like 50 rock concerts at once!). Though I have always felt there was some cooperation between the police and u-yoku, I was surprised by the barrage of insults hurled at the police and riot squad, for all of Tokyo to hear. I was even more surprised to hear how many bystanders, mostly suit-wearing salary-men shouted support to the right-wingers.

As I walked over toward the demonstration there were many more Caucasian foreigners who had come to gawk and take pictures. The right-wing groups were blocked off by phalanxes of riot police, but that did not stop them from using their loudspeakers. Any overexcited u-yoku who wanted to show his dedication to the Emperor by beating up an anti-war activist was held back or tackled by the police.

The real trouble happened after the demonstration, as the left-wingers (sa-yoku) started to leave. As they got further away from the allotted demonstration site, there was less protection and some thugs were waiting to beat them up. Interestingly, none of the elderly or female protesters were attacked. The u-yoku would pick out the able-bodied men and proceed to gang up on them.

The leftists were no softies, and actually held their ground. The police of course intervened, and finally showed their bias shouting at the protesters to just go the hell home.

After spending so many hours in the heat without sitting down, I was physically exhausted and the real battling I had seen had me shaken. On the train back home I certainly had a lot to think about and had some thoughts about what I had experienced. This entry is getting much longer than I planned it to be however, so I will leave them for another time. What do you think? Please let me know.

Japan’s month long rainy season (tsuyu, 梅雨) usually ends in mid-July, and that means there are  precious few days left to savor its SPECIAL BEAUTY. Many Japanese consider Ajisai (紫陽花, or hydrangea) to be the quintessential flower of this season, as they look just right when wet, and enshrouded in mist. And though these flowers can be found almost anywhere you turn your head in Tsukuba, thousands of Tsukubans make long trips (or should I say pilgrimages?) to famous ajisai temples, especially in Kamakura. Nearer to home there are 2 other nationally renowned hydrangea-viewing meccas, the Amabiki Kannon near Makabe, and the Taiho Hachiman Shrine in Shimotsuma. Both highly recommended at ANYTIME. All the more so in this season.

The flower has a long history in these islands and  many scholars actually assert that it is indigenous to Japan and in fact introduced to China from here. After centuries of breeding, numerous varieties have been developed and new colors, pinks and whites, brought out. By taking a look at the etymology of the Japanese name AJISAI, we can see that in earlier times the flowers were mainly blue, as the sounds used to make up the name originally meant a GATHERING OF BLUES (aji-from atsu (集まる) or gather , and ai (藍), indigo blue.

Hydrangea have another Japanese name, however, nanahenge (七変化), or seven transformations, which derives from the flower’s unique characteristic. The colors of the petals change according to the chemical make-up of the soil! This feature has given the flower rich symbolic meaning in Japanese art and poetry — especially to represent a fickle and changing heart. It is because of this characteristic too, that hydrangea were shunned by the warrior class in the feudal period, because for them, changing colors, or by extension loyalties, was anathema .

For Westerners, however, hydrangea can be seen as a symbol of silent devotion, as its scientific name, otaksa, appears to refer to Otaki-San, a woman from Nagasaki’s pleasure quarter, who was the  mistress of the German naturalist P.F. von Siebold, who went on to introduce ajisai to Europe .

One more point. These flowers are to be looked at and NOT EATEN. Recently, there was a nationally reported case of food poisoning which occurred down the road from my house in Tsukuba at the curious and pricey Italian restaurant Toeimon Sakae. The chef, in keeping with the season-conscious aesthetics of Japanese cooking(despite this being an Italian eatery), garnished a dish with the very IN SEASON leaves of hydrangea. These were subsequently consumed by the unsuspecting  diners.

This resulted in what must have been an unforgettable scene, right out of Monty Python. You see, the leaves of ajisai have always been used to induce vomiting, especially when poisons were consumed. Imagine then, the eight customers wretching uncontrollably, spewing out their expensive dinners onto the antique furniture and tatami mats (this restaurant is in a magnificent thatched roof farm house!).Surprisingly,the penalty for this chef`s oversight was a mere one-day suspension of business. 

 while you’re out there enjoying the last few AJISAI DAYS remember: LOOK BUT DON’T TASTE.

All the way gloomy days during the 4th till the 6th of July were all worth it by threading the way to and around Tohoku, Japan. Tōhoku (東北), which literally means “East-North” is the northeastern region of Japan’s Honshu (mainland) island. Tohoku is a host to many museums and temples and it has over a dozen of listed tourist attractions, ranging from parks to rivers and mountains.

The trip was organized by the International Students Center of the University of Tsukuba. It was a 3-days hop to the three (3) prefectures of Tohoku namely, Iwate, Miyagi and Yamagata.

The first prefecture we went to was Iwate. Take a peek at the photos I took. (1. Inside a restaurant 2. One of the temples in Chusonji compund 3. Miyazawa Kenji Museum)

Next destination was Matsushima, Miyagi prefecture. (1. Akiu Ootaki 2. Inside a museum 3. During the bay cruise)

And the last one was Yamagata prefecture. (1. Inside a museum 2. Yamagata ken souvenir shop 3. Cherry fuits)

Although the trip was a little bit tiresome by just sitting inside the bus, the tour guide’s efforts were worth mentioning, trying to be awake and genki (energetic and lively) all the time while all of us are dead tired slumbering in our seats.

The full of memorable stories museums in Iwate, the wonderful splashing waters of the Ootaki in Miyagi, and the tasteful cherries in Yamagata, all made the 3 days trip worth treasuring.

For the rest of the photos in bigger resolution, you may view them in my Zooomr album.

I recently had the pleasure of taking a trip to Amabiki Kannon, a temple complex about 45 minutes north of Tsukuba. Click on the image below to see some of the photos that I took.

See: Article on Amabiki Kannon in Alien Times

Do you play petanque?

Well, to be honest, I had no idea what “petanque” was until I read about an upcoming international competition in Suwa City, Nagano this weekend!:
11th Petanque Junior World Championship in Suwa (French/Japanese)

If you are interested in forming a team and compete in petanque and other boule games, all you need to do is get 5 or more people together and apply for JPBU license. The details are on JPBU’s “JPBU License” page.

日本ペタンク・ブール連合 - JPBU
Japan Petanque Boules Union (Japanese/English/French)
F.I.P.J.P. - Fédération Internationale de Pétanque et Jeu Provençal (French/English)

Petanque Clubs in Japan (for the complete list, please visit JPBU site)
Tokyo Area
Himalaya Sugi no shita Petanque Club (English)
Aoyama Petanque (English)
Nagano
Federation Nagano de Petanque (Japanese)

I would love to hear from someone who actually plays this sport!

I found this information in the “Plaza” magazine that gets delivered to homes in Tsukuba for free. I thought this might help people make plans for Golden Week.

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Kanto Tetsudo Bus and JR Bus Kanto (I am not sure if they intentionally made these names to confuse people) operate a joint bus route between Tsukuba and Tokyo. The tickets are usually 1150 yen, but from April 26, 2007 to March 31, 2008 you can buy 3 tickets to Tokyo for 1900 yen, which comes out to 633 yen per ticket. However, please note that these tickets can only be used for the trip to Tokyo and cannot be used on the way back from Tokyo to Tsukuba.

This tickets are on sale at the Tsukuba bus terminal, but they can also be purchased on board the bus. You cannot buy them at Tokyo Station.

The schedule is available here:
http://www.kantetsu.co.jp/bus/highway/center/center_jikoku.pdf

The first schedule is for the trip from Tsukuba to Tokyo (上り=nobori=going up).

Stops:
University of Tsukuba (筑波大学=tsukuba daigaku)
University of Tsukuba Hall (大学会館=daigaku kaikan)
University of Tsukuba Hospital (筑波大学病院=tsukuba daigaku byoin)
Tsukuba Center (つくばセンター)
Takezono 2-chome (竹園二丁目=takezono nichome)
Sengen 1-chome (千現一丁目=sengen itchome)
Namiki 1-chome (並木一丁目=namiki itchome)
Namiki 2-chome (並木二丁目=namiki nichome)
Namiki Ohashi (並木大橋=namiki ohashi)
Shimo Hirooka (下広岡)
(The above stops are all in Tsukuba)
Ueno Station (上野駅=ueno eki)
Tokyo Station (東京駅=tokyo eki)

On holidays, the bus does not stop at Ueno, so the last column in the first schedule shows what time you can expect to arrive at Tsukuba Station on holidays.

The second schedule is for the trip from Tokyo to Tsukuba (下り=kudari=going down). The bus leaves from Tokyo Station, then goes to Shimo Hirooka (which is in Tsukuba), Namiki Ohashi, Namiki 2-chome, Namiki 1-chome, Sengen 1-chome, Takezono 2-chome, Tsukuba Center, University of Tsukuba Hospital, University of Tsukuba Hall, and the final stop, University of Tsukuba. (This bus never stops at Ueno Station.)

“Nobori” and “kudari” are used to describe the direction that trains are travelling relative to Tokyo. Trains that are heading towards Tokyo are 上り and trains that are heading away from Tokyo are 下り. There are some exceptions, and there are other ways of labelling train lines (e.g. 北行=kita yuki=northbound, 南行=minami yuki=southbound), but often trains that travel on routes that end up outside of Tokyo are labelled like this.

Happy travels!

中国障害者芸術団 or China Disabled People’s Performing Art Troupe’s performance, “千手観音(senju kan-non or one thousand-armed deity of mercy) My 夢 Dream” has been sweeping the world, and it’s coming to Ibaraki!

千手観音 My 夢 Dream - Official website in Japanese
My Dream - Official website in Chinese and in English
From My Dream website:

China Disabled People’s Performing Art Troupe
was founded in 1987. With the support and cares of the whole society, the Performing Troupe bears the dreams of people with disabilities and creates a special art which delights audiences, purifies the soul with Truth, Honesty and Virtue, encourage people by strong will, and delivers friendship with sincerity. Having sought and studied for 20 years, the Performing Troupe has begun to bringing forth new ideas independently, produced classics of special art, travelled to more than 40 countries in Asia, Europe, America , Africa and Oceania . It flies its own unique banner in a colourful world and they are referred to as “ Messenger of Beauty and Humanity” by the international community and as “A Special Art Star of Mankind and Image Ambassadors for 600 Million People with Disabilities in the World” by the Disabled People’s International 6 th World Assembly.

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China Disabled People’s Performing Art Troupe
JAPAN First tour 2007
千手観音 My 夢 Dream

Venue:
茨城県立県民文化センター(Ibaraki Prefectural Cultural Center)
in Mito City (MAP)
Time and Date:
3:00pm (doors open at 2pm), November 3, Saturday
Tickets:
SS tickets 8,500yen – sold out their share of SS tickets
S tickets 7,500yen – very few left
A tickets 5,500yen
Box offices:
Ibaraki Prefectural Cultural Center – 029-241-1166
Ticket Pia and Lawson Ticket (ask about them at local “combinis”)
WAT Co., Ltd – sold out their share of tickets
Chiba TV Media Net 043-207-3101
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Women usually love what they buy, yet hate two-thirds of what is in their closets.

It’s time for a change! Clean out your closets, under your bed, in the spare room, dump out the handbags and start spring afresh with a new look.

Who: You, your friends, and a gaggle of fun girls whom you haven’t met yet

What: A swap! Bring your clothes (maternity wear, handbags, ballgowns, fur coats - it’s all welcome) You can gently place it on the piles and then tear into the fashion, taking as much as you like.

When: Sunday, April 27th from 2-5 PM

Where: Pink Cow, Shibuya (it’s in the basement)

How much: 2500 yen, including one drink ticket

Why: The surplus money raised from the event goes to Habitat for Humanity. The remaining clothing is donated to the Salvation Army. To date, the swaps have generated over 400 bags of clothing in the 4 years that they have been running. You get to meet fun women, new clothes, cocktails, gossip and more!

A few points to remember: Please, no footwear - it has proved to be too difficult to swap. However, if you have a magazine addiction like myself, I am welcoming all magazines for swapping! No books, thank you, but any glossy mag is bound to find a new home.

Above all, remember: Never wear anything that panics the cat.

I’m sorry for short notice, but Contemporary Dance Performances by the members of Contemporary Dance Association of Japan will be held in Tokyo tonight and tomorrow night. One of the performers, Yuriko Arima teaches dance in Tsukuba. She offers lessons in English for those who don’t speak Japanese. It doesn’t look like it’s been updated for a while, but here’s her dance studio website: R Dance Club

2007 時代を創る　現代舞踊公演
(Direct translation would be something like “Contemporary Dance Performances that shape the time 2007” )
September 4, Tuesday and 5, Wednesday
Doors open at 6:30pm, and performances begin at 7:00pm
Venue:Tokyo Metropolitan Art Space Medium Hall (English)
Tickets: 3500yen

As a rule, whenever I find myself in Tokyo on a clear day, I check to see what’s going on at the Mori Art Museum. There, high above Japanese Gotham, in the upper-echalons of the Roppongi Hills Building, I can enjoy not only the first-rate exhibitions put together by the trusty and innovative curators, but also my continuing birds-eye explorations of the ever-so-hard-to-get-a-grasp-of capital. When I found out that a show called “Roppongi Crossings 2007: Future Beats In Japanese Contemporary Art” was on, I had a hunch that if I went I would be in for an especially rewarding visit. I’ve always had a soft-spot for contemporary art, which if not always beautiful in a traditional sense, could at its best be eye-opening, exciting, disturbing and extremely funny. It can also get you to look at life and the world around you in a new way. Such an exhibition would be a perfect accompaniment to the views of Tokyo, that sprawling cubist-study-of-gray-on-gray, and most contemporary of first-world cities (if Jackson Pollack were an urban planner, might not he have conceived its crazed concrete mayhem with his random drippings?) which can be had from the observation deck just a floor below (by escalator) the museum. I enthusiastically suggested to the friends I was with that we make our way toward the elevator (we were conveniently lunching at Roppongi Hills) and head up to the 52nd floor. We were not to be disappointed.

We purchased our combination ticket for 1500 yen (didn’t it used to be more expensive?) giving us access to the museum as well as to the observation deck. Our ears popped as we were whisked with surprising speed up to our high altitude destination. When the doors opened we walked out into a dazzlingly clear view of the megalopolis, which turned into a full panoramic view as we slowly made our way around the glass-lined periphery of the building. From up here, we can try to put the puzzle of the city together. As we are accustomed to shuttling underground between our favorite districts, emerging out of subway stations or walking down from trestles makes it nearly impossible to form a mental picture of the city. My geographical understanding improves with each trip up to this floor and I would recommend it as a perfect starting point for a first trip to Tokyo (just as I would suggest starting a Kyoto tour off at Enryaku-ji Temple on top of Mt. Hiei). For Tsukuba-ites it is especially interesting (and moving) to gaze out in a straight line beyond the green oasis of the Imperial Palace, at the irregular M-shape of Mt. Tsukuba. It can be seen how the Chuzen-Ji Temple, now Mt Tsukuba Shrine, was the protector of the unlucky North-Eastern Direction of Edo Castle, mirroring the way Enraku-Ji protects the Kyoto Imperial Palace’s unlucky direction. You can come back to this floor again and again to try and pick your favorite haunts out of the confusion. In the distance are Mt. Fuji, Tokyo Bay, Boso Peninsula, and Haneda airport. Trying to find Meiji Shrine, Tokyo Dome, Budokan, etc. can be much more difficult than finding Wally.

Just as the view calls for repeated visits, I find myself usually coming back again and again to each of the exhibits I’ve seen at the Mori, which occupies the interior of what I guess is the 53rd floor (access is one floor up from the observatory by escalator). The Crossroads exhibition will have me back again as well. The curators have selected works in various media by 36 artists/collectives to represent the Japanese art scene of the past few decades. Before showing your ticket and taking the escalator, you might not be able to pass up giving Kohei Nawa’s musical fountain a turn. What can be more irresistible than making music and water flow at the same time?

At the top of the escalator you can check your bags and coats and maybe pick up one of the free audio tour contraptions, which provide explantions and interviews with some of the artists. Then you head into the thick of it. For the next 2 hours I found myself surprised, puzzled, amazed, and even tearing uncontrollably with laughter. Let me walk you through the exhibit for a brief tour of my favorite works.

You are greeted first by Tatsumi Yoshino’s bronze dog-head, followed as you turn the corner by his larger, Christ-like, twisted and emaciated hounds. No-one can be sure what these can represent (even the artist), but for me they were moving tributes (bronzes are usually reserved for people who have made significant contributions to society) to dogs and other animals who have suffered and died for the sake of mankind in medical and other scientific experiments.

In the same room are Tiger Takeshi’s surreal trips to Mt Fuji and his spacey comic strips. Opposite this is a very large and sharp photo of a garbage dump in what appears to be a Middle Eastern country. Many visitors stood around it,scouring it for details.

Entering the next room, the lights comes slowly up and down on Chu Enoki’s terrifying and beautiful city, or planet, of scrap metal. It can be viewed from within or from a separate viewing platform. From either, it is unforgetable.

Another room has Shinichi Hana’s bizarre white marble sculptures which contain enough details to elicit lengthy (and puzzled) viewings. They certainly get you racking your brains for possible meaning ( I must admit that I came up with nothing).

You then enter a room with what is possibly my favorite work, Takahiro Iwasaki’s Out Of Disorder installation, which at first appeared to be a large room strewn with several pieces of dirty laundry. On closer inspection, however, and then by actually getting down on hands and knees, you can find tiny sculptures made out of pencil lead, mounted strategically on the socks, T-shirts, and underwear. Just as the stones in a zen garden can represent islands, mountains, or countries, you can see whole worlds in the laundry lying on your floor!

I had always associated the modern art movement in the West with Japan and Zen. Of course, the impressionists are well known to have been interested in and impacted by Japan, especially by Japanese woodblock prints. The later modernists’ use of the aesthetic principles of simplicity, sudden inspiration, and stream of consciousness seemed to me to also have been a result of Western contact with Zen. The Roppongi Crossings exhibition, however, shows many works which depend NOT on simplicity, but on great detail, and what must have been a tremendous amount of tedious labor. This reminded me more of Chinese works such as those miniature masterpieces found at the National Palace Museum in Taipei, which inspire oohs and aahs from viewers who wonder how many decades it would take to create such a work

I had such a feeling when I came to Yoshino Yoshimura’s corner. The wall seemed to be adorned with sheets of newspaper. A closer examination seemed to confirm this. Checking the explanation plate however, I realized the impossible (and possibly ridiculous) fact that these were hand penciled, exact copies of newspapers! I had the same feeling again with Yoshio Sagishi’s tiny ceramic constructions which were painstakingly made, drop by drop. Koichiro Tsukikawa’s video works also shows fabulous intricacy and detail.

I will mention one more work which left an impression on me, and this installation surely pushes the definition of what art is to the limit. With their Arithmetik Garden, Sato Masahiko and Kiriyama Takashi have created a mathematical puzzle which the visitor tries to solve by passing through various gates. I was completely stumped, and had to let my friend’s young daughter finish things off.

When I soon found myself at the exit of the exhibition, I was overcome with disappointment. I didn’t want it to be over. But it will be on until January 14, 2008, so I’ll be going back. Especially on clear days, when I can enjoy the exhibit, and the view.

Glass Studio Silica seems like a nice place to go on a day trip from Tsukuba.

1. People of junior high school age and older can try glass blowing for 2580 yen. It will take 30 minutes and the final product will be sent by post (cash on delivery). Reservations are necessary.

2. People of elementary school age (with guardian) and older can do a children’s version of glass blowing for 1550 yen. This also takes 30 minutes and the final product will be sent by post (cash on delivery). Reservations are necessary.

3. People of all ages can try sandblasting. The price depends on the kind of sandblasting that you do, but starts at 950 yen. It will take about 1.5 hours. Groups need to make reservations, but individuals can try it at anytime.

4. People of elementary school Grade 5 age and older can do “burner work” from Monday to Saturday (9am to 12 and 1pm to 3pm) for 1050 yen (or 950 yen for students). It will take about 1 hour (for 1 to 10 people). You can take the final product home after about a 30 minute wait. Reservations are necessary.

Glass Studio Silica is located in Kita Ibaraki, which is in the northern part of Tsukuba. It is open from 9am to 4:30pm (enter before 4pm) and it is closed on the first and third Wednesday of the month. (When a national holiday falls on the first or third Wednesday of the month, the studio will be open.)

Though in Tokyo there are no museums with permanent collections ranking with those at the likes of The Louvre, The Prado, The Met, The British Museum or Taipei’s Palace Museum, it is still one of the best, or maybe even THE best place in the world for special museum shows and exhibitions. During any given week, a glance at the museum listings will reveal several must-see exhibits at dozens of interesting venues, catering to almost any taste or inclination. 

The recent inauguration of the new National Art Center near Roppongi, has made things EVEN MORE interesting for art lovers, and being that it is located near a Hibiya Line station it is easily accessible to Tsukubans (even for those with only a few hours to spare).

I wanted to arrive at the museum early today, to have as much time as possible taking in the works of Australian Aboriginal Artist Emily Kame Kngwarreyey, who had been a ritual body painter and sand artist until she finally put brush to canvas in her late seventies. Living in the Red Center of Australia, a couple of hundred kilometers from Alice Springs in a community ironically called Utopia, Emily must have spent nearly all the time in the remaining decade of life painting, as she created THOUSANDS of canvasses, many of them HUGE. She usually did this by spreading a canvas out on the sand, exposed to the elements, and in some of her works careful examination reveals bits of sand, vegetation and even an occasional DOG PAW PRINT!

Emily had no formal artistic training and virtually no knowledge of Western or Eastern artistic traditions. And though eventually prices for her canvases soared way over the million dollar mark, she certainly was not painting for the money. This makes her works, for me at least, an exciting example of pure artistic expression which provide an accessible channel for gaining insights into her peoples’ 40,000 year old culture.

The National Art Center’s building itself is quite interesting ,though I only looked at its facade briefly and then hurried into the exhibition gallery. If the floors were not wooden I would think that I had entered an airport terminal with a spacious lobby repleat with restaurants and cafes set at regular intervals . The galleries are entered through what look not unlike airport gates, and you actually have to pay for each exhibition separately at these gates(at least this was true today). All the restaurants were crowded, making it seem that the outer hall was the CENTERPIECE of the museum as opposed to the inconspicuous galleries. I was surprised to see that there was even food being offered to match one of the exhibitions. For the European Still-Life Painting show from the Kunsthistoriches Museum in Vienna, one of the restaurants had an Austrian chef serving special Viennese lunches!

The  design of the building should not come as a surprise when one learns that it was the creation of architect Kisho Kurokawa who also designed (among many other notable commissions) the Kuala Lumpur Airport Terminal! Of course when that was built it was the largest terminal in the world. And what a lonely place, too, never having been able to compete with Singapore Airport as a regional hub and seeming almost empty in its hugeness,a veritible ghost terminal with staff shuttling to and fro by bicycle through its long and lonely corridors.

Paying my 1,300 yen entrance fee, I took a deep breath and entered another dimension: DREAMTIME. Emily’s works are abstract, appear simple and can be divided into several distinct phases. Nearly all the works on display, however, were alike in that they were absolutely mesmerizing. I felt like I was at a Thai Restaurant. Thai food is delicious and it also physically affects your mouth, giving it a unique sensation. For the first time in my long museum-going life I felt the same sensation — IN MY EYES. More than any Da Vincis, Rembrandts, or Picassos my eyes FELT Emily’s canvases.

Of course we can try to interpret these works. Maybe they are maps containing wisdom related to gathering traditional foods and medicines. Maybe they are reflections of subtle observations of the desert landscape. Maybe they are inner-visions which all humans can relate to as a reflection of a collective consciousness. I could go on and on, but as my friend Rick said about this show, maybe it should just be FELT and not THOUGHT ABOUT. 

Several times I reached the exit of the gallery, but each time I headed back to the start, staggering about, intoxicated, trying to absorb as much of Emily’s energy as I could.

This incredible exhibition closes Monday evening. If possible, SEE IT.

Saturday May 17, 10.30-17.30,
Sunday May 18, 10.00-16.00

Venue: Kanagawa “Earth Plaza”
(closest station: JR Negishi Line, Hongodai Station,
Earth Plaza is located to the left of the station exit).
Cost: Free

Earth Festa Kanagawa:
http://www.k-i-a.or.jp/earthfesta/
http://www.k-i-a.or.jp/earthfesta/english/

“Earth Festa celebrates international cultures with music and dance performances, delicious food, interesting discussion topics and exciting intercultural exchange. Come share culture, conversation, and cuisine with people from around the world.”

View pictures from last year here:
http://www.k-i-a.or.jp/earthfesta/pictures2007/catalog.html

It’s been 6 years since Burger King pulled out of Japan, but the “whopper” will back again… tomorrow!

Burger King Japan will open its first Burger King shop in Shinjuku tomorrow at 7am. It’ll be on the first floor of a building called “Tokyo Island It’s“. You may not recognize the name of the building, but some of you may recognize the artwork: a big sculpture of “LOVE” by a very famous American artist, Robert Indiana. Tokyo Island It’s is directly linked to Nishi-Shinjuku Station on the Tokyo Metro Marunouchi Line.

The second Burger King restaurant will open on Friday, June 22 in Ikebukuro. It’ll be in the “Alpa Building” of Sunshine City. It’s across the street from Tokyu Hands and is less than a 10-minute walk from Ikebukuro Station.

According to the Burger King’s website, both of those restaurants will be open from 7am to 10pm. However, it also says “予定” (yotei/plan) after its hours, so I guess their store hours are tentative.

Will the new Burger King shops bring in the chaos like the new Krispy Kreme doughnut shop did in Shinjuku? (There are still long lines there, by the way.) I hope not, but I also hope that my son, who somehow thinks it’s fun to stand in a loooong line to get “good food,” won’t find out about this!

Blizzardboy has written another good post about a place that Tsukubans should visit: Asahi Breweries in Moriya. If you like beer — and if my time at university taught me anything, “free beer” is the best kind of beer — you might want to take a trip to the breweries. Just remember to bring a designated driver, or use public transportation as the laws against drunk driving have recently been stiffened.

You might have heard of free guided tour of Akihabara in English and other foreign languages, but did you know that the free guided tour is now being offered every Saturday now? This weekly free guided tour will go on until next January, so why not take the advantage of this opportunity… even if you are a longtimer!

“New Discovery of Akihabara” - main page and English page

Free tour ”New Discovery of Akihabara” on every Saturday, will take you the places where is the most excited in Akihabara such as, pop culture ( Kotobukiya ,Tokyo Anime Center ) , electric town and duty free shop.

Period : Every Saturday
July 7, 2007~January 19, 2008
Tour guide language : English

Meeting place : 1st floor of Radio Kaikan
(30 seconds from the Akihabara Electric Town Exit )
Meeting time : 0:50PM
Departure time: 1:00 PM

Tour course
(please visit the New Discovery of Akihabara website for details):
*1 Radio Kaikan
*2 Electric Town / Shopping District
*3 Tsukumo Robot Kingdom
*4 Overseas model products
*5 Knowledge Field at UDX building
*6 Radio Kaikan (disband)
Fill out a questionnaire and disbands at Radio Kaikan.
( Gift will be given at the end of the tour.)

The tour takes approximately 2 hours.

* The tour course may change due to weather.
*Let us remind you that you may be interviewed by Japanese TV or newspapers due to strong popularity of the tour.

Gerd Knapper, a German ceramic artist and a sculptor who lives in the Town of Daigo (Daigo Machi, 大子町)* in nothern Ibaraki, has opened his gallery in his studio/home in Daigo.

According to the Asahi Newspaper, the opening ceremory for his gallery was held on May19. Among the many visitors who came to congratulate him on the opening of the gallery was the governer of Ibaraki Prefecture. Those who want to visit this gallery must call him and make the arrangements ahead of time. The number is 0295-72-2011.

Here’s the Home pge of Gerd Knapper in English.

In his Japanese website, GERD KNÄPPER, you can enjoy his artworks here, including the one in Tsukuba. You can also see what his studio/gallery looks like here. (Please note that the e-mail address that you see at the bottom of his Japanese website is NOT his personal e-mail address. It’s the e-mail address for the stone shop in Tochigi Prefecture.)

When you make plans for visiting this new gallery in Daigo, please read more about the Town of Daigo in Alien Times!

From October 2006 issue:
Fukuroda No Taki
From June 1995 issue:
Northern Ibaraki: Interesting Day Trips From Tsukuba

Cirque du Soleil (which means “circus of the sun” in French) is an acrobatic performance team like no other. They have a number of shows with different themes (Delerium, Love, Dralion, La Nouba, etc.), so even if you have seen them perform before, you will probably enjoy seeing them again. The original team was from Quebec, Canada, but now they have several teams performing all over the world.

The Tokyo team performs at “Shin Big Top” in Harajuku. Their latest show is called “Dralion” and it runs from February 7, 2007 to May 6, 2007. The ticket site is all in Japanese, so you may need help to make the reservations if you can’t read kanji.

I highly recommend going to a Cirque du Soleil performance at least once in your life. The tickets are quite expensive, but they are definitely worth it.

This site has some information in English about the Dralion theme and there is an article on the Alien Times website that gives the ticket prices.

松竹大歌舞伎
Shochiku Kabuki Summer Tour (East Tour)

July 29 (Tue)
Time: From 6PM
Venue: Tsuchiura Shimin Kaikan (土浦市民会館 or Tsuchiura Civic Hall), 029‐822‐8891

Tickets will go on sale on Thursday, April 24, and will be available at Tsuchiura Civic Hall, Sun Apio Shopping Center information desk, SunPal Shopping Center (the one by the JR Arakawaoki Station) information desk, Chuo Gakki store, Ryuugasaki Civic Hall, and Kijo Plaza.

July 30 (Wed)
Time: Two performances: 1PM (doors open at 12:30pm) and 5PM (4:30pm)
Venue: Kenmin Bunka Center (茨城県立県民文化センター or Ibaraki Prefectural Cultural Center) in Mito, 029‐241‐1166

Visitors are kindly requested to place their preschool-aged children in the babysitting service while they watch the performance. Babysitting service is available to those who apply at least 5 days in advance. Please call the Kenmin Bunka Center for details.

Tickets will go on sale this Friday, April 25, but they’ve started accepting reservation by phone at 8:30am yesterday, April 21.

Tickets:
“S” tickets: 7,000yen
“A” tickets: 6,000yen
“B” tickets: 4,000yen
Students: 1,000yen*
*It looks like that the student tickets are only available at Mito.

August16, Thursday
灯篭流し(tourou nagashi)* from 6PM
*ref: Tōrō nagashi (wikipedia)
Location: side of Pole Pole (pronounced “poe-lay poe-lay”), the Kasama Shopping Center

August 18, Saturday
光のオブジェパレード(Nebuta and Mikoshi Parade) from 6PM
Location: around Kasama Inari Shrine

August 19, Sunday
みたままつり(Mitama Festival)* from 6PM
*This is a shrine ritual, but go for their lantern display!
Location: 常陸国　出雲大社　拝殿(Hitachinokuni Izumotaisha Hall of Worship)

August 12(Sun.) to 20(Mon.)
Glass Fair
Location: Izumo Hall (glass atelier) of Hitachinokuni Izumotaisha
I have one of their glassware, and love it! I recommend stopping by their glass atelier if you have a time. Also, you’ll get the 10% off your meal during glass fair if you tell them that you saw their website.

August 26, Sunday
岩間夏祭り(Iwama Summer Festival) from 3:30PM to 8:20PM
Location: the street in front of JR Iwama Station

It’s a bit early to announce this, but I’m doing it anyway since I’ve come across a timely article on Mainichi Daily News.

From April 15 article:

Pottery-clad audio products hit the right notes

KASAMA, Ibaraki — An electronics manufacturer in Ibaraki Prefecture has begun receiving orders for audio products set in local Kasama-style pottery.

The speakers are shaped like a pot and their sound is clearer than that of normal wood speakers.

The amplifier is priced at more than 800,000 yen and each speaker at more than 30,000 yen.

An official from the manufacturer in Omitama said that the firm planned to market cheaper and smaller pottery-covered audio products. (Mainichi)

If this article got you interested in the Kasama Yaki(pottery), then 陶炎祭(ひまつり or Himatsuri), the largest pottery fair in the entire Kanto Region, will be waiting for you!

From Himatsuri Website:

‘Himatsuri’ in Kasama is the biggest event during the Golden Week with 219 potters and ceramic artists participating. Himatsuri can offer much more than other ‘Pottery Fairs’.
Potters have their individual stalls fashioned with their unique works and wares, and visitors can enjoy shopping for special finds. Visitors may also enjoy hands-on experience while interacting with artists.

In addition to Show-and-Sale of Kasama ware, there will be an auction of clay masks by ceramic artists and an exhibit of clay masks made by over 1000 local school children. There will also be brass band performances by elementary and middle school children.

On May 3rd visitors may enjoy ‘Evening Market’ until 7 p.m. and the main attraction of Himatsuri, ‘Evening Fest Live’ with their favorite potters while enjoying delicious food.

Please also visit the Himatsuri Blog if you want to view the flyers. You can view a larger image of “green” flyer just by clicking on that thumbnail, but for the ones in the middle and right, you’ll need to click “ココ” located in the upper left.

Various events will go on during Himatsuri, like hands-on activities for kids and adults, pottery auctions, and live music performances by local brass bands and a professional band. So there are excuses to drag your friends or family members who aren’t into pottery with you…!

I have to warn you though. Since this pottery fair is extremely popular and famous, be prepared for traffic congestion (the parking lots can turn into battle grounds)! Kasama City’s been trying to come up with ways to ease the traffic/parking issues, but it hasn’t found a best solution yet. It’s urging people to use public transportations. There are free buses leaving from JR Tomobe and JR Kasama Stations, but only once an hour at the most.

The first Krispy Kreme Doughnuts shop opens (actually just about now) in Shinjuku today! It’s located in Shinjuku Southern Terrace, which is just outside of the Shinjuku Station’s south exit. I think this will be a nice to place to stop by before or after you go to Kinokuniya Bookstores :-)

Man, I hope Krispy Kreme Doughnuts will come to Tsukuba in the near future!

There is a billboard-sized, black and white photo, hanging, sorely out of place, above the fashion conscious streets of Harajuku. From it, a bare-chested, middle-aged man, in socks and thongs, with a towel wrapped around his waist, looking like a yakuza taking a cigarette break at some remote hot spring, stares out at the passersby. This is no gangster, however. It is the brilliant and eccentric Minakata Kumagusu, pioneer environmental activist, biologist, ethnologist, philosopher, polyglot world-traveler, compulsive scribbler and indefatigable collector of slime-molds, fungi and lichen. When this photo was taken, in 1904, Kumagusu was taking a firm stand against the destruction of the forests brought about by the reforms the Meiji government. He will be glaring down at hyper-consumerist Tokyoites until Feb.3, when the exhibition of his specimen collection, notebooks, photos and other memorabilia at the Watarium Museum ends.

This means that there are only DAYS left (the show opened on Oct. 7) to enter Kumagusu’s Forest and examine first hand the fruits of this amazing man’s seven decade-long obsession with just about everything in the world around him. Many imagine Japan to be a land of group-oriented conformists, obsessed with company or university affiliation (as I guess it is, along with the rest of the industrialized world). Kumagusu, however, in no way fits this mold, as he didn’t seem to ever fit in anywhere.

Never happy at school, despite being more intelligent and capable than his classmates, he just couldn’t finish up anywhere or get a degree of any sort. On his own, though, he could study, amazing the residents of his hometown with his astounding memory and perseverance in copying encyclopedias and other classical texts.

Thinking that the higher general levels of culture and education in the capital would settled him down, his parents sent him off to the preparatory school of Tokyo University, where he proceeded again to drop out.

At the age of 20, the restless young man set off for the U.S. This was back in 1887! He spent a couple of years at a college in Michigan, but just couldn’t stick to the course. He decided to hit the road and head down to Florida in search of as yet undiscovered species of his childhood loves, slime-mold and lichens, which he heard were to be found there. This quest took him to various Caribbean Islands, where he worked with a travelling circus to support his specimen collecting habit.

He vowed to amass the greatest collection in the world.

In 1892 he landed in London where he would spend eight years. Much of this time he was in the British Museum where he wrote and published numerous articles for the journal Nature and helped the curators catalogue the Far-East Collection.

Back in Japan at age 33, he continued his research in biology and ethnography, writing articles and translating. It was in 1907, at the age of 40, that he began his fight against the government’s plan to eliminate all community shrines in Japan along with their sacred groves. Kumagusu, who believed in the connectedness of all things, understood the devastating effect this would have on the wildlife, plants, landscape, and peoples’ spirit in Japan. He tirelessly wrote articles and tried to organize. In the end, he could do little to stop the juggernaut of the development-crazed Meiji government.

All his life, Kumagusu wrote and drew in notebooks, which are fascinating to look at (though mostly indecipherable). His botanical drawings are beautiful and accurate. There are mushrooms, lichens, and slime-molds as well as other plants.

Kumagusu wrote about insects, animals, disease, dreams, the human body, anthropology, sexuality, and of his philosophy of the connectedness of all things.

He became so respected for his talents that he, a man with no degree and not an aristocrat, was asked to lecture the Showa Emperor (who was at that time considered a living god). There was no greater honor at that time, and the Emperor actually wrote a poem about Kumagusu, which you can see inscribed in stone, overlooking a forest that Kumagusu saved (on Kashima Island, Wakayama Prefecture).

The exhibition is worth checking out if you happen to be in the area. I certainly would, however, using online and other resources to learn more about this inspirational character.

www.watarium.co.jp
tel 03 3402 3001
1000 yen
Closed Mondays

Japan has traditionally had two major HOLIDAY SEASONS, the winter O-Shogatsu (New Year’s) and the summer O-Bon Festival for welcoming the spirits of deceased relatives. Of course, now there is also the spring-time string of national holidays which has come to be known as Golden Week, but this is a very recent addition to the Japanese annual cycle of life.

During O-Shogatsu and O-Bon it HAS been and STILL IS customary to return to ones native town, meet relatives, visit the family graves, eat special foods, and perform certain rituals.

In contemporary Japan, the O-Shogatsu Holiday now coincides with the Western New Year, with the first day of the year being January first.

This has only been true, though, since 1873 when Japan as a nation converted to the use of the Western (Gregorian) calendar. Before that time, a traditional calendar was used which is now referred to as the kyureki (旧暦), which was a lunar-based calendar with additional sun-based features which helped to keep it in line with the actual seasons. Until the new calendar was adopted, O-Shogatsu was celebrated sometime between January 21 and February 19th on the Gregorian calendar.

Now it is very rare indeed to find any Japanese who celebrate New Year’s on Kyu-Shogatsu, though there are a few events and ceremonies that can be found at a few villages around Japan (especially in Okinawa) which remind us that there once was another time to celebrate New Year’s.

Of course, THE place for Kyu-Shogatsu revelry is Yokohama’s Chinatown.

The case with the O-Bon Festival is quite the opposite. This major annual event was always held in the 7th month of the kyureki which was almost always August on the Gregorian calendar. However when the calendar changed, most Japanese continued to celebrate O-Bon in August! The O-Bon holidays are also fixed in mid-August. In Ibaraki, Tsukuba’s prefecture, it is natural for everyone to celebrate O-Bon in August.

However, since the fervor for the changes of the Meiji Reformation, including the new calendar, all emanated out of Tokyo, many residents of that great megalopolis, as well as those in the neighboring prefectures such as Kanagawa or Chiba celebrate O-Bon in July! That is because now July is the 7th month!

So don’t be surprised when you ask a friend what they did last week and they tell you that they went back to their hometown (for example Kawasaki) for O-bon. They are just adherents of the New Bon, or Shin-Bon. They might also tell you how convenient it is because they do their O-Bon rituals in July and are free to enjoy themselves during the summer vacation!

You may also have noticed the abundance of fully garbed Buddhist priests on the trains in Tokyo last week on their way to perform sutra readings for O-Bon.

You might also find that some people are starting to put up Tanabata decorations this week. These people are observers of the Kyu-Tanabata.

If this sounds difficult, it is. Getting to understand Japan does not come easy and this confusion over the calendar does not help!

Happy studies!