Amabiki Kannon
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
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Annual Azabu Juban Open Air Ceramic Exhibition
This is one of the annual events in Tokyo to promote Kasama and Kasama Ware.
Annual Azabu Juban Open Air Ceramic Exhibition
Dates: March 18 (Wed) to 24 (Tue), weather permitting.
Time: 10:00am to 6:00pm
Venue: Patio Juban
“We would like to introduce to you the City of Kasama. It is one of the historical ceramics towns nearest from Tokyo, about 130km north. There are over 300 active artists from all over Japan and the world. With many annual events and sakes to satisfy ceramics enthusiasts, we are looking forward to your visit.”
The events to promote Kasama and Inada granite stone are also held in Yurakucho and two locations in Ginza.
Inada Stone Exhibitions
at Galerie nichido (Ginza 5chome)
March 19 (Thur) to 21 (Sat)
http://www.nichido-garo.co.jp/exhibition/2009/03/post_85.html
at Sukiyabashi Park (Ginza 4chome)
March 20(Fri)
and at Furusato Joho Plaza (Yurakucho 1chome)
March 16(Mon) to 19(Thur)
Kasama products fair also held at the same time.
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Anyone plays “Petanque” in Tsukuba?
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!
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Around Mitsukaido Station, Its Not Arigato- Its OBRIGADO !
Takara`s Brazilian Mall next to Mitsukaido Station
The Japanese word ARIGATO and the Portuguese word OBRIGADO, which both mean THANK YOU in their respective languages, can often sound uncannily alike. And since Portugal WAS the first European country to have made contact with Japan ( in 1543), and DID in fact leave several linguistic traces of its presence (not to mention the introduction of Christianity and firearms, among other things!) which continue to live on in Modern Japanese, including the words for bread- PAN, button- BOTAN, cape- KAPPA, alcohol- ARUKORU and even the word TEMPURA, it is not surprising that there are MANY who assume that ARIGATO is also a word of Portuguese origin.
And though I KNOW that the Japanese word for THANK YOU actually derives from the adjective ARIGATAI, which appears in texts as old as the 8th century MANYOSHU, and for this reason CANNOT be related to the Portuguese , whenever I hear a hearty OBRIGADO, I am taken aback by the similarity.
I have met only one or two Portuguese nationals in Japan in all my years of living here, but I have still been fortunate to have often heard the Portuguese language spoken in Japan- in its Brazilian form ( it is often said by language lovers that Brazilian Portuguese is the most beautiful of all tongues!). This is because, since the 1990`s , thousands of Brazilians, mostly with Japanese ancestry of some degree, have come to Japan to take advantage of its (once) booming economy.
They settled primarily in 3 areas. Aichi Prefecture, in the towns with Toyota related factories, in Ota City in Gunma, and- in our very own Ibaraki Prefecture, especially in Mitsukaido and Ishige (which have now merged into Joso City). While most of these immigrants were working at factories (such as Cannon) and had their own special visa status as NIKKEI-JIN, there were of course some entrepreneurs among them who went out and started up businesses of their own, many of these catering mostly to the Brazilian community.
That is why, when you drive to or get out at Mitsukaido Station (on the Joso line, which you can catch in Moriya), not only will you surely be able to catch the melifluous tones of Brazilian speech in your ears, but you will also be able to stock up on , lunch on, or just nosh on your favorite Brazilian foods and snacks. Close by the station`s exit, you will find the little mall called TAKARA, which has a supermarket, fresh bakery, and a kitchen where you can get all sorts of goodies that you cannot normally find in Japan ( or outside of Brazil for that matter).
Leila Kondo serving it up
Maybe its because I always need a little VARIETY, but sometimes I cant contol the urge to head on out to Mitsukaido (by train or car it takes less than an hour) for some Pastel or Conxinhas (these are fried pastries made from flour or casava) which might contain chicken, cheese , ham, or my favorite - palmitas (palm fruit). Leila Kondo, who is behind the counter can also whip up a tasty burger. Whatever she cooks up can be spiced up with the various sauces left out at the tables.At the supermarket, there are several things that are special- the famous Brazilian sausages (perfect for barbecues ) the cashew juice or acai juice, and the baked goods. The breads have a unique CHEWINESS which is brought about by the use of casava flour. I like the bite-sized cheese breads called pao de queijo (47 Yen), especially when eaten just out of the oven.
Cashew Juice
For those who want to try other Brazilian dishes ( including the famous feijao, a hearty and flavorfull bean and meat stew, or sit down for a bigger,more leisurely meal, a short walk around the corner will take you to the restaurant OPCAO. There you can expect your stomach to be more than comfortably weighed down, while your wallet is hardly lightened at all.
![090803_1209~01[1]](http://blog.alientimes.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/090803_12090111-166x300.jpg)
Immigration to Brazil from Japan began back in 1908 when close to 800 Japanese sailed to the port of Santos (half the expense having been paid by the State of Sao Paolo) to work on the coffee plantations. Over the next 70 years, about a quarter of a million Japanese settled in Brazil as contract labourers or more rarely, as independant farmers. The large majority settled in the State of Sao Paolo and the remainder in the States of Parana and Para. Naturally, there was a trend for later genrations to head to the cities and go into other trades and professions. In Japan`s booming late 80`s and through the 90`s , some of the descendants of these immigrants (and sometimes their spouses) came back to their ancestral homeland , though they have tended to stick together, forming an intersting subculture in Japan.
Freshly baked Brazilian breads
If you need a little variety , why not take half a day to spice up your life with a little Brazilian food around Mitsukaido Station.
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Around Yasukuni Shrine, New Regulations and Police Tactics Keep Noise and Violence Down During August 15th Demonstrations
Entering the precincts of the Yasukuni Shrine on August 15 2010 at 1PM
For important background material on this article, read my earlier Tsukublog post on visiting Yasukuni Jinja:
http://blog.alientimes.org/2008/08/a-day-at-yasukuni-shrine/
August 15th, 1945 has been called Japan`s Longest Day. It was on that very date that the Emperor Hirohito (now known as The Showa Emperor) told his subjects, in a voice heard for the first time ever over the radio, that they would have to ACCEPT THE UNACCEPTABLE and surrender unconditionally to the allied forces. This announcement, coming after years of hardship and determined struggle, was met with tears, stunned confusion, and surely, by many millions of Japanese, with a great sense of relief.
Outside the shrine, barriers ( more effective than the traffic cones and plastic poles used in previous years) were set up early
Over the years since the years since the war, August 15th has also come to be what is most certainly the LONGEST DAY OF THE YEAR for Tokyo`s police department- especially its riot squad. This is because in recent years it has been their duty, on that day, to protect the procession of anti-emperor system-, and other left-wing-cause activists who ( bravely? INSANELY???) march towards the entrance of the controversial Yasukuni Shrine, which on the SHU-SEN KINENBI (終戦記念日- the End of the War Day ), has become a mecca for the Japanese extreme right and ultra-nationalists ( besides being the place where hundreds of thousands of average citizens quietly and reverently pay their respects to those soldiers who have died in Japan`s wars).
A better look at this year`s barriers- Much more effective than the usual traffic cones and plastic poles!
Together with the thousands of run-of-the-mill nationalists , who gather, flags in hand, to protect the honor of the shrine (in their mind) by uniting to form a wall, and shouting the left-wing demonstration down, there are numerous bands of fringe paramilitary groups and gangters (yakuza), whose khaki-clad members wait in ambush and try to lunge into the procession and take as many swings at the demonstrators as they can get in ( though as I have written before they usually target able-bodied young men and not the elderly or women who are marching).
The Anti-Yasukuni demonstration procession surrounded by a phalanx of riot police. The demonstrators were not happy about being totally obscured from view
Protecting the small band of demonstrators from violence as they march the few blocks towards and then away from the entrance of the shrine, is NO EASY TASK- especially considering that it requires wearing FULL RIOT GEAR during the hottest season of the year ( and it really IS extremely hot and humid!!), and involves plenty of running and often physical grappling.
This year the police surrounded most of the right-wing extremists` vehicles early in the day and effectively kept them out of action
To make matters even worse for the police, they have to endure a continual stream of verbal abuse from the nationalists ( and occassionally from the demonstrators they are protecting! ), who while the anti-Emperor-anti-Yasukuni procession is not within hearing distance ( which is most of the time) vent their passions on the police ( taunting them, quite illogically, for wasting the tax-payers money by protecting so-called traitors. But what are the police supposed to do, let the demonstrators get attacked? It is in fact Governor Ishihara, the Favorite of the right-wing, who should be blamed for allowing the demonstrations. The police are in fact just doing their job!).
All nationalist groups who wanted to join the counter-demontration had to approach their designated spaces in extremely organized fashion. They too were accompanied by a high ratio of riot police once they reached the main road
This constant and outrageous taunting of the police is not only accomplished through the unaided voice. The leaders of the extremist groups, who sit in their specially decorated ( and air-conditioned!) buses, trucks and jeeps, blare their invectives through huge loudspeakers. When all of these get going at once, as they have in past years, the noise level is louder than several rock concerts combined!
After the procession passed all streets were sealed off so that nationalists could not moved on for an attack after the demonstration had finished
What had always outraged my sense of logic about all the noise these trucks would make, is that although these activists claimed that they were defending the honor of Yasukuni Shrine and The Emperor, more than anyone, they were disturbing the worshipers, many of whom lost relatives in the war, as they had come to pay their respects the shrine. It is even possible that the Emperor and his family have been disturbed by the racket they make!
The point where the demonstrators are nearest to the shrine. This year the riot squads buses formed a wall between the demonstrators and the nationalists. It also effectively prevented the demonstrators from ever being in view of the shrine
Still, despite the heat, tension and danger, all the officers have to constantly be on their best behaviour, as there are plenty of video and still cameras as well as eye-witnesses and anything even resembling police brutality or other form of mal-practice would be something which the right-wing groups would have to hold over them ( the mainstream media would NOT get involved, however, as they amazingly do not report what happens at these impassioned and violent demonstrations right in the heart of Tokyo!).
Ultra-rightists in uniform hurl insults at the demonstrators whose banner reads: We Dont Need Yasukuni !
And though I had always been impressed by the way the police had been able to handle everything that went on in the area in front of the Yasukuni Shrine on August 15th ( surprising for many foreigners is there are never any problems WITHIN the precincts of the shrine, though there are dozens of conspicuous plain-clothes officers from special branches of the police who can be seen photographing and taking notes on the members of right-wing groups and organized crime), there have always remained major blemishes on the why past demonstrations have turned out.
Activists handing out literature and gathering signatures between the station and the shrine ( Aug. 15th 2010). This year the group that had intimidated me was not allowed to be present
First, there were the special interest groups standing between the subway station and the shrine that occassionally would intimidate people ( especially foreigners) by encircling them and shouting slogans very loudly.
The Anti-Yasukuni demonstrators completely surrounded and in fact concealed by the riot police
Well, the group that did that to ME last year, was not allowed back! Plain-clothes police who had been closely monitoring that area and who skillfully extracted me unharmed ( physically) from the clutches of the mob had obviously made notes on what this group had been doing, and they were not allowed back. This year, all these activists groups gathered signatures for their petitions and gave out their leaflets in peace.
( for the complete story of my experience last year read:
Another problem from previous year was the large vehicles with the powerful loudspeakers mounted on them which used to rush around the neighborhood trying to find points of access to approach the anti-Yasukuni demonstrators. This year, the police got to these early, surrounding them for hours, until everything was all finished, never letting them move.
In addition, by some means, either a new law or just by pleading the common sense argument (which I myself had used with the right-wingers) that the noise and bad language blared from the loudspeakers were themselves an insult to the shrine, the police were able to keep most of these vehicles from making too much noise.
In past years, one of the biggest reasons for injuries to the demonstrators was that after the procession had passed its nearest point to the shrine, and excitement was highest, everyone would race through the narrow alleys and tried to pursue the leftists. Things got especially dangerous as the procession came to an end an the police would just say- OK, now go home fast! Suddenly, the demonstrators ( clearly identifiable by their wear) would be completely unprotected and the inflamed ( I would even say RABID) nationalist would ambush them.
This year, what the police did, was march all the officially registered nationalist groups into fenced off areas from which they could shout and wave flags. When the leftists passed, the nationalist were not permitted to moved. As you can imagine this resulted in a lot of abuse hurled on the police, and in fact, I and another foreigner with a camera, suddenly became the altenate target of everyones frustrations. Thankfully, the police let us ( and us alone) through.
A right-wing extremist tries to make an attack on the anti-Yasukuni procession (2010)
What this meant is that during yesterday`s procession only a few attempts could be made on the procession by paramilitary thugs or yakuza ( and the occassional enraged salaryman). These attacks were all EASILLY contained.
Something else the police did this year that was interesting was that at the point where the procession came closest to the shrine, riot buses were actually lined up as a protective wall shielding the shrine from the view of the demonstrators ( who Im sure were not very happy about that, since they were complaining that the police had been surrounding them so completely during the whole procession that they could hardly be seen by anyone). This not only kept things a little cooler by keeping both extreme groups out of each others sight at what is usually the most climctic poit of the day, but also soothed the feelings of the nationalists by blocking the shrine from the eyes of the demonstrators.
When the day was over, I was relieved at how little violence there had been compared with years past, and by how the police were able to make positive adjustments.
Completely drained and exhausted, I started back to Tsukuba.
For everyone who was there , especially the police, August 15th proved once again to be Japan`s LONGEST DAY!
Here is a tour of Yasukuni Shrine on August 15th 2010 through my cell phone pictures:
The gigantic steel torii, at the entrance to the shrines precincts. The original steel gate was melted down during the war to make armaments. About 200,000 people passed under it on the 15th of August 2010
Few people stop to appreciate this statue of Omura Masajiro ( 1824-1862)- the father of the modern Japan army, and first Minister of War. It was the first bronze statue ever put on display in Japan (1888). Omura left his home in Choshu to study Dutch Studies which enabled him to gain an understanding of European military tactics
By the chozuya ( the water basin for purifying hands and mouth) some older gentlemen do a little cos-play ( these same guys come back every year in the same costumes)
Across the path near the snack bars there are always harmonica players to accompany anyone who would like to sing some old patriotic songs
The last gate before the worship hall ( haiden) is the beautiful Divine Gate of Twelve Pillars
Passing through the Divine Gate
The White Dove House- the birds are the messengers communicating between this world and the spirits of those enshrined. To find it, turn right at the Divine Gate
Finally, at the Worship Hall ( haiden)
Go to the right and there are statues dedicated to the three animals which helped out the military in various war: dogs. horses and pigeons. Offering are left for their spirits
A commemorative group photo being taken of what is probably a Yakuza FAMILY. Conspicuous plain-clothes agents were closely watching them, photographing each individual (as they walked into the shrines grounds), videoing them throught their stay and took extensive notes. When I asked a scary looking member of this group who they were, he looked at me, or should i say LOOKED THROUGH ME, and then just turned away without acknowledging my existence.
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