Back in Cyberspace

Well, it has been a long time since my last post and for that I apologize. Before Christmas I was in England with Tony's mother and once I got back it was full steam ahead for the Christmas run. Hugo and Ryan arrived 5 days before Christmas and Henry and Cat piled in on Christmas Eve. They all took side trips to Kyoto and Hugo and Ryan had a couple of days in Osaka. In between times we took in some great days of sightseeing and shopping (mainly window shopping at the current prices and exchange rates) and had some terrific meals. One of the highlights was New Year's Eve. We had dinner at Gonpachi, a famous restaurant used as the backdrop for a well-known fight scene in the movie, Kill Bill. Then near midnight we went over to the Zojoji Temple, near the Tokyo Tower.

There was a huge crush of people and the sides were lined with stalls selling food and drink. At midnight everybody released clear helium balloons and the year was lit up on the tower. There was much good-natured cheering, singing and jostling. If you have to be in the middle of a huge crowd, this is the place to be! We attempted our own little 'gaijin' corner singing Auld Lang Syne, but were less than effective.We nearly lost Tony as the crowd heaved and he thought he might land in the middle of the stand where they were frying potatoes (the Japanese LOVE potatoes), but we managed to hold on to him. The crowds were enormously jolly and very well-behaved.  It was a truly memorable night....I am including a video of the temple, showing the balloons being launched and the tower in the background;

Asleep on the train

I will let this one speak for itself. Click on the video, taken with my iPhone as I sat across from this weary traveler on the subway!

A little language goes a long way

Just a brief comment. I am now taking Japanese language lessons. A teacher comes to the house twice a week and I thought that I was getting pretty darn good. So when we were out to lunch with a group of people the other day, I thought I would be brave and utter a few words of Japanese. I had hoped to say, "this is very tasty" of the meal. Unfortunately, what I actually said was, "I am very tasty".

Oh well, I will keep trying..............

Of greater interest is the piece (below) about the Samurai Horseback Archers.

Samurai Horseback Archers

In October, we went with a group of friends from the Tokyo American Club to Kamakura, where we enjoyed a wonderful display of Horseback Archery. This art is called Yabusame. The archers ride at full gallop and shoot at three targets as they ride. This skill dates back to the Kamakura period when the shogun of that period, Minamoto No Yoritomo, became so concerned about his samurai's archery skills that he organized the Yabusume as practice.

It was a glorious, early autumn day. We went on the train to Kamakura and had a delightful lunch in a Japanese restaurant. We then went to the shrine and witnessed a wonderful ceremony, where all the participants went to pray before the competition.

 

Immediately following this ceremony, we went to a narrow area, alongside the track where the archers would ride. We had seats and where able to watch a wonderful procession of all those involved in the competition. 

After the procession, the 'competition' began, although it appeared to be more of a display than an actual tournament. The archers started at one end of the track, their names were announced and then they came careening down the track, shooting at each of the three targets. We were alongside the middle target. The archers flew by, reloading with remarkable speed and agility, and with their robes flying behind them. As they shot at each target, many of them let out thrilling, blood-curdling yells. 

Yabusame

Yabusame was designed as a way to please and entertain the myriad of gods that watch over Japan, thus encouraging their blessings for the prosperity of the land, the people, and the harvest.
A yabusame archer gallops down a 255-meter-long track at high speed. The archer mainly controls his horse with his knees, as he needs both hands to draw and shoot his bow.As he approaches a target, he brings his bow up and draws the arrow past his ear before letting the arrow fly with a deep shout of In-Yo-In-Yo (darkness and light). The arrow is blunt and round-shaped in order to make a louder sound when it strikes the board.

Experienced archers are allowed to use arrows with a V-shaped prong. If the board is struck, it will splinter with a confetti-like material and fall to the ground. To hit all three targets is considered an admirable accomplishment. Yabusame targets and their placement are designed to ritually replicate the optimum target for a lethal blow on an opponent wearing full traditional samurai armor (O-Yoroi) which left the space just beneath the helmet visor bare.

Yabusame is characterized as a ritual rather than a sport because of its solemn style and religious aspects, and is often performed for special ceremonies or official events, such as entertaining foreign dignitaries and heads of state. To be selected as a yabusame archer is a great honor. In the past, they were chosen from only the best warriors. The archer who performs the best is awarded a white cloth, signifying divine favor.

A truly memorable experience. I hope to add some video footage soon (when I have figure out how!).

Sumo

On September 25th we attended the Sumo Tournament with a group of friends. On arriving at the stadium, as we were walking to the entrance, we heard cheering from a crowd who were lining the pavement. One of the wrestlers was arriving from his stable (where a group of wrestler's train) and was being given a royal welcome as he walked into the stadium. He was dressed in traditional clothes and with the very distinguished hairstyle that is so peculiar to this sport. The wrestlers all belong to a stable, where they train together. Fighters do not go up against another wrestler from the same stable.

The stadium is similar to any kind of sports arena, but the central ring is very small and made out of clay and is called a dohyo. Five judges sit around the outside of the ring. A referee (gyoji), dressed in an elaborate kimono stands at the edge of the ring and officiates each bout, at the end of which he points to the winner. The rules are simple, since a wrestler (rikishi) loses when any part of his body, other than the soles of his feet, touches any part of the ring, or if he is thrown out of the ring. Any technique or maneuver can be used, except for pulling his opponent's hair, hitting him with a closed fist, boxing his ears, choking him or grabbing his opponent's robes in an inappropriate place (my delicate version of the rules).

 

The wrestling bouts are between increasingly experienced and successful fighters and so the day progresses at a more and more exciting pace. There is a lot of posturing and slapping of bellies and thighs. They throw a handful of salt into the ring to chase away evil spirits and crouch down and stare at each other and then one gets up and wanders off as if he is not quite yet in the right mood....each time the excitement among the spectators increases and the stadium gets noisier and noisier. The actual bout can be as long as 4 minutes, but can also be over in seconds, so great concentration is needed.

The tournament lasts 15 days and we were fortunate to watch a terrific wrestler, Hakuho (photograph above), a 25 year old Mongolian, who was unbeaten this time around and is heading towards catching up with the all-time record. He was unbeaten in the entire 2-week tournament. By the end of this tournament, he was close enough to the record of 69 consecutive wins that was set in 1939, that it is believed he will surpass it in November. He is the fourth non-Japanese overall, to be promoted to the highest rank in sumo, yokozuna. Many of today's Sumo wrestlers are not Japanese, but are Hawaiian, Mongolian, Estonian and other nationalities. It is a terrifically exciting and absorbing sport

We are back!

It has been a long time since I last posted anything on this blog. Since I last wrote, we have been to a beautiful wedding in Prague, celebrated Tony's mother's 91st birthday in the UK and his own birthday at our log cabin in the US with Hugo, Henry and Henry's fiancee, Cat. We also had a small engagement party for them in Fairfax. I was away for 7 weeks and Tony bounced back and forth to Tokyo and was in the UK for both the birthday party and Farnborough Air Show. Within two days of our return to Tokyo, Tony's sister Sue arrived for a 12 day visit. Although we missed the rainy season, we returned to a blisteringly hot and humid August. Sightseeing became a trial of endurance and a time of at least 3 showers a day to cool off! We discovered that the Japanese all carry around small or neckscarf-sized towels in order to reduce the 'glow' brought on by the extreme heat. I am sure that they have a name, but will have to find that out for a future posting. We found them in a small store in the north part of Tokyo, when we were visiting a very old cemetery in 100+ degrees of heat.  Sue and I had two days in Kyoto, traveling on the Bullet Train (500 kilometers in 3 hours) and saw numerous temples (Buddhist), shrines (Shinto), palaces and pavilions. We saw Geishas and trainee Geishas, called Maiko, who have different hair and styles of dress and are all really beautiful (sorry about the random tourist in the photo-impossible to get a picture without somebody jumping in).

The Golden Pavilion was particularly striking, not only for the sight of the pavilion covered entirely in gold leaf, but for the beautiful gardens in which it is situated. Moss gardens and stone, zen gardens create a wonderfully peaceful environment. 

We ate in small, local restaurants where we sat on the floor or at a counter and made ourselves understood like a couple of well-rehearsed mimes. In Tokyo we explored more temples and shrines and walked around the Imperial Palace (as close as one can get other than on the Emperor's birthday or on New Year's Day). We visited craft stores to see how to make various items using gloriously colored 'washi' paper and also went to Kappenbashi, the kitchen district, where one can purchase every kind of plate, knife and fork, chopsticks by the dozen and the plastic food that I wrote about in an earlier blog.


On the 52nd floor of Roppongi Hills Mori building we could view the entire city in all its hazy, hot glory and even pinpointed Sakura House, where we currently live. While there, we visited a fascinating contemporary art show. Here you see Sue enjoying one of the intriguing exhibits, with a small companion, who popped up in front of her, just as I was clicking the shutter!

We have learned how to pray at a Shinto shrine. We were told to bow twice, clap twice, introduce yourself, silently ("I am Julie Ennis from Tokyo"), say your prayer then bow one more time. There is a grill for coins to be thrown into and the small 50 yen (about 5 cents) is the luckiest one to throw. I now always make sure that I have one in my purse. What we also discovered is that at the more important shrines one should only pray for important things ie World Peace. At the smaller shrines it is acceptable to pray for more personal concerns or issues, which I undertook to do each time. Also to be found at many shrines are metal canisters with metal strips inside that you can extract by shaking the canister. The strips have the numbers 1-5 on them. If you draw a 5 then you are very lucky, less so for each number towards 1. If you draw a 1 it indicates death. For each number you receive a paper strip. If you have a lucky number, you keep it with you, but if you have the unlucky number 1, you can tie it to a tree in the hopes that the gods will mitigate the circumstances and hopefully remove the chances of a worst case scenario. Since I am of a cautious nature, I decided not to risk taking a number!

The temples and shrines are full of a variety of gods and/or symbols, which I plan to describe in more detail on a later blog, when I have studied it more closely. It is all quite complex and  fascinating. When trying to understand the difference between the Buddhist and Shinto beliefs, one guide we asked put it relatively succinctly. He said that the Japanese regarded Shinto as taking care of them during their lives (births, weddings, day to day prayer) and Buddhism as taking care of them in their afterlife or next lives (death, funerals and beyond). The Buddhist belief is that one's behavior in this life and adherence to the laws of the land affects how one returns in one's next life. This may explain to a great extent the low rate of crime and the feeling of safety in this country.

To me, it is simple and clear and makes particularly good sense.

Always have a camera with you

I realised that I should always carry a camera while here in Japan. The other day I was wondering around the local mall, called Roppongi Hills (similar to Tyson's Corner) on a rainy day. Outside the shopping area is an open forum where special events and concerts are frequently held. Well, imagine my surprise when I wandered over to see an Octoberfest/Tyrolean style 'oompapa band', in full lederhosen, valiently playing away in the pouring rain. They were all Japanese. It isn't even October! I was so frustrated to have left my camera behind, as this was a rare and special opportunity.

I lost my front door key this weekend, it must have fallen out of my basket when Tony and I took a lovely outing on our bikes to celebrate Father's Day and lunched at a little restaurant by the river a few miles from here. We were so hot and tired and thirsty by the time we had cycled uphill on the way home and were more than frustrated at struggling to find someone, who understood our English and who had a spare house key on a Sunday. Luckily, the owner was not so far away and we finally managed to track him down and he soon came to let us in. The estimate for the cost of changing the lock was monumentally high, but when four men turned up today to change it, I could understand the cost, except that only one man actually changed the lock. The rest of the suited men (including the senior architect of the management company) all watched and commented. It took all of 10 minutes. They were concerned that I was unable to return all the old keys, despite me using my wonderful mime skills to demonstrate that I had lost one of the keys and that was the reason for the new lock. Then they all stood in line on the front door step, bowed to me and departed. This is, apparently, how Japan manages to ensure a low unemployment rate. Layer upon layer of bureaucracy, several people to do the job of one man or woman. I dare not ask how many Japanese it takes to change a lightbulb... Whenever we have had to deal with government agencies (driving license office, alien registration department in the local ward office, to name but two examples), we have to wade our way through innumerable levels of seniority and many layers of workers to achieve our aim. It must be immensely costly, but it ensures a high employment rate and a very low number of homeless people, so perhaps not entirely without good results.