Tuesday, April 23, 2013

A Life of Love and Laughter

Today was a humbling object lesson in the adage "No matter how bad you think you've got it, somebody, somewhere has it worse":

I was at my favorite hole-in-the wall eatery in Ikebukuro, Tokyo's busiest northwestern hub, enjoying jumbo gyoza - pan-fried dumplings. I struck up a conversation with the bustling mid-40s waiter, who was pretty effortlessly covering the entire floor by himself.

"Hitori de hataraitte imasu ka?" I asked.
(一人で働いていますか are you working alone then?)

"Hai, so desu,"
(はい、そです Yes, I am) he replied with a friendly smile - from the corners of which leaked a nearly overwhelming pain. A lifetime of hard work has made him sinewy and tough-looking, giving his skin the look of tanned leather.

"Ikebukeru de sunde imasu ka?"
(池袋ですんでいますか Do you live in Ikebukuro?) I asked, to fill the space, as his station was right in front of my table.

"Iie - Saitama de," he replies.
(いいえ、埼玉で。 No; I live in Saitama) This is the suburb, about a 45-minute commute from the sprawling metropolis.

"Ah," I answer, "chotto shizuka desu ne. Sore no ho ga ii desu yo ne."
(ああ、一寸静かですよね。それの方がいいですよね。Oh, it's a little quieter, isn't it. That's better, wouldn't you agree?)

"Ee,: he replied, "demo..."
(ええ、でも。。。。 Yes, but...)
and he swallowed, his eyes growing moist.

"Juu go nenn mae, watashi no ie ha kaji de moechatta...."
(十五年前, 私の家は、火事で燃えちゃった 15 years ago, my house burned down in a fire....)

"Kazuko wa, minna, nakunarimashita."
(家族は、皆、亡くなりました My entire family perished.)

"Mainichi, seikatsu ha, hataraitte irun dake ni narimashita"
(毎日、生活は、働いているんだけになりました My life has turned into nothing but work, day in and day out).

The Japanese have an ancient proverb, which reads 愛と笑いの生活 - (Ai to warai no seikatsu - "Live with love and laughter"). Choose to be happy with the time one is given, because one never knows what fate has in store.

Monday, April 22, 2013

Going to Print!

Our first travel book on Tokyo - The Seven Gods of Fortune - is finished and will now go to the publisher, Mr. Hisashi Arai, a senior editor of the Nikkei Times. We are printing 2000 in the first run. If anyone would like to order signed first editions, please send us a message.

Sunday, April 21, 2013

Risking Death for Fashion: How Edo-Era Peasants Slipped One Past the Shogun



Sampo Nikki 1 is now being prepared for publication as a bilingual paperback by Nikkei editor Hisashi Arai at Sporiq Publishing: http://www.soriq.jp/

Each right-hand page features a very special Edo-era design, with the most fascinating of stories behind it. From the afterward:

A note on the backgrounds:

The backgrounds you see on the right-hand pages are authentic Edo kimono designs, reprinted with permission from Edo no Dento Monyo (江戸の伝統文様 - traditional Edo patterns), MdN Books.


The diversity of beautiful designs are a traditional Edo-era style called Edo-Komon (江戸小紋). The patterns carry a repeating motif of important plants, birds, animals, and other natural scenes. Each carries an auspicious meaning. including bamboo, pines and japanese plums, flowers such as plum and cherry blossoms, birds such as sparrows, herons and cranes, insects such as grasshoppers, dragonflies and butterflies.


Each item carries a special significance, a kind of "code" known among art aficionados, signifying, for example, longevity or prosperity. Samurai in particular loved the mark of the dragonfly, as it personified dauntless forward progress. 

Because the Edo era was relatively peaceful and stable, culture flourished across the country. 


These patterns were produced by the period's most skillful artisans. From a distance, Edo-komon designs are cleverly disguised as the plainest textiles. This has a connection to the Shogun - Edo-komon was initially derived from the formal dress of the samurai. The formal dress of the bushido was an indication of wealth and status, and the Shogun formally strictly regulated clothing. Luxuries such as colored textiles were forbidden among commoners, who were only permitted to wear browns, greys and blacks.

Since the motifs in the textiles were so tiny, from a distance they appeared quite 地味 (jimi - plain), but up close, they were quite elaborately-crafted and beautiful. It was forbidden for those of the peasant class to approach those of higher rank, so the apparent plainness of design cleverly concealed the beauty of the designs. Eventually, the use of these patterns spread everywhere among the working class. This was the reason craftspeople of the time used 48 different browns and 100 different grays.

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Hanami!


Cherry blossoms, cherry blossoms, and more cherry blossoms; it's a sea of cherry blossoms everywhere you look in japan this season. Sakura (桜 - cherry blossoms) have already bloomed in Tokyo, opening 12 days earlier than average. Now the trend is heading north.

Cherry blossoms bloom in a progression up the islands of Japan from south to north. We call it the cherry blossom front, or sakura zensen (前線), and it's a big event, reported as part of the special weather forecast. The forecasts inform Japanese citizens of the where and the when of the blooming, with regular updates about the percentage of blossoms opening.

Hordes of Japanese make travel plans to drink in the magnificent splendor at temples, mountains, public parks and castles. The progress of the zensen from south to north takes a month, so it's even possible to take a road trip to follow the blooms if time allows.

For those unable to make a major journey however, there are neighborhood parks for enjoying hanami (花見) - flower viewing - among friends and family. Many corporations make the occasion a company event, and it is the most junior employee's task to arrive as much as six hours in advance and stake out a bit of territory on the grass with a sheet of blue plastic tarpaulin. There's a real competition to get the "best spot" under the trees, where the drinking and feasting can commence!

Preparations include special obento and sake. Obento (お弁当) are handmade boxed lunches. Mimi's favorite is Makunouchi bento, which contains rice, fish or kara age (空揚げ - fried chicken), tamago yaki (卵焼き - rolled sweetened egg) and cooked vegetables like kinpira gobo (きんぴらごぼう - vinegar-soaked burdock root, which araiguma loves). Obento is such an interesting subject, it deserves a posting of its own!

Araiguma tells of when he first arrived in Japan, and spoke not a word of the language. Still, he was befriended by his neighbor Mr. Kawada, and invited to a hanami party where nobody spoke a word of English. A pretty Japanese housewife smiled and took him by the arm, then seated him among her family, where he was treated to a wonderful feast, including fuguzake (河豚酒- sake infused with the fins of the fugu blowfish). He says it is very bitter. By the end of the afternoon, he was humming along arm in arm with very drunken family members, as they sang songs in Japanese, of which he understood not a word!

Typically, many cherry trees line the city canals and riversides, lit by paper lanterns. Food stalls are erected offering the most delicious snack foods, such as takoyaki (蛸焼 - fried octopus), yakisoba (焼きそば - fried sweet noodles), okonomiyaki (お好み焼き - omelettes) and the like. Those who haven't prepared obento can enjoy these wonderful Japanese festival dishes.

Mimi says she loves to see the beautiful sakura, but the noisy drunken people sometimes block the path and disturb the beauty. Her favorite way to enjoy the sakura is by walking or jogging along the trees in the morning or in the night illumination. Since the blossoms have such short lifespans, we should enjoy every moment of them.

Sakura trees go to sleep in the fall, and the cold keeps them dormant until the warmth of spring awakes them into blooming. Since this February was terribly cold in Japan, the change in temperature was dramatic and led to an early bloom.

Please enjoy our sakura!