Day Eighteen - 070706 - Chatting at the Liquor Mart

Okay so today was kind of cool. The main thing that happened is that I bumped into another student on the way home and we started talking about sake and shochu and the like. It turns out that he is staying at the same mansion as me. There is a place that sells wine at the subway exit near the mansion that I've been wanting to check out, so we decided to stop in and look around. The shop owner was a nice guy and we started talking a bit while we decided to drink some sake. I invited the shopowner to kanpai with us and that probably helped to create a friendly atmosphere.

I think his name was Mr. Kano, and he was about eighty years old. He is pictured above. We started talking about a range of different things, from history to literature, etc. He was a very informed person, and the conversation went very well considering that our Japanese is still somewhat limited, and the topics tended to range into the specialized. After a few drinks, I think Mr. Kano forgot that our Japanese was somewhat limited, and would go on into some detail. Overall, it was fun though.

At one point, Mr. Kano said a saying to us that was something like this: "一年を十日で暮らすいい男," which I am hopefully translating correctly as "A good man lives a year in ten days." I'll have to check with my sensei about this, but it should hopefully be correct. I take the meaning to suggest that one should live one's life to the fullest extent. Not a bad saying if I do say so myself!

Day Seventeen - 070606 - North Korea and the Jellyfish

The picture to the left shows the building where the IUC is that I am taking classes at. It is the small building next to the half moon building with the many layers on the bottom left.

I think that I should comment a bit on the North Korea missile launch that has thrown everyone into a frenzy and has even impacted the markets. Here in Japan, the closeness of the tests is not a point whose impact should be taken lightly. My opinion on the matter does not differ much from other pundits in that it seems clear that China and Russia should play a more active diplomatic role in easing any tensions with North Korea. Ultimately, however, the timing of the missile launch with the launch of the Space Shuttle Discovery may not be a coincidental occurrence and may suggest that this message was aimed at the U.S. more than anybody. The U.S., in grouping Iraq, Iran, and North Korea into a new and much more ridiculous "axis of evil" formation shows a comic book like simplicity in foreign policy formulations. Such statements can only be considered to be provocative on the part of the U.S., and represent a heightening of rhetoric that does little to help ease tensions in the region. North Korea is not controlled by a person of party more insane than the person or party that controls the U.S. (Er, maybe that's not a good thing). But really, North Korea has its reasons for doing things also, and it doesn't take much to try to understand what that position is. Post-9-11, the U.S. has shown its unilateral colonial actions in the occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan. It has made threatening overtures regarding possible interventions in Iran. And for the North Koreans, everyone knows that the possibility that North Korea may possess nuclear weapons is the only thing keeping the U.S. from taking a stronger position of direct military intervention. North Korea has been in an embattled state for a long time, considering U.S. involvement in the Korean War that still has not legally ended, since no peace accord between the North and South has been formally signed. North Korea has been racked with famine for the last decade. They realize that the only way to stave off U.S. military intervention is to rattle their sabers once in a while, or else they will end up like Iraq, considering that U.S. policy does not respect national sovereignty one bit if the positions of the country in question do not agree with U.S. positions. If North Korea has closed itself off from the world, is it any wonder? Ultimately, threats from North Korea can be best met by reducing the idiocy of U.S. rhetoric, and working with Russia and China to develop diplomatic interventions. Economic embargos have been shown to be terribly ineffective as a means of applying pressure. As shown by both Vietnam and China, economic trade development has actually been the most effective tool for normalization of political relations. My two cents.

On a completely unrelated note, I was walking on the bridge near the bay and looked in the water and noticed that the water was teeming with a bloom of jellyfish. There were probably thousands of them in the water there, if not more. Throughout the water you could see hundreds of these light white ovals in the water at any particular moment. In the picture on the right the white oval-like spots are just a few that filled the water. It was quite a scary sight, and considering that jellyfish blooms are common near run-off, it may suggest that nutrients in agricultural and industrial runoff may be influencing this bloom. Very strange indeed.

Day Sixteen - 070506 - Kabuki and Japanese National Security

Today we took another field trip to Tokyo. We ended up going to to see a Kabuki play at the Kokuritsu Gekijyo, or the National Theater (http://www.ntj.jac.go.jp/kokuritsu/index.html), near Hanzaemon-eki.

On the way we took the JR Lines and then the subway. On the subway there are the signs pictured to the left which designate certain seats for the elderly, expectant mothers, etc. Our teacher joked that these seats are reserved for aliens, because of the strange looking motif that they use, which you can see if you tilt your head slightly to the left.

So the next picture is of me at the theater. The name of the play that we were watching was called "Hikosan Gongen Chikai No Sukedachi," which basically translates to "I don't quite understand what is going on, and the classical music is making my eyelids heavy." The pacing of this play (not the first I have ever seen) was a bit slow and the story line was perhaps not as compelling as I would have liked. Still it was a decent experience and good practice.

Here is a surreptitiously taken photograph, since technically I don't think you are supposed to take pictures. I'm glad that you can disable the flash feature on this camera.

Maybe it's my youth (er, cough), but sometimes I have a hard time appreciating some of the more traditional aspects of Japanese culture. Maybe I lack the refinement to appreciate some of these things (ha ha). Don't get me wrong, I mean, I like and can appreciate certain things, but am not afraid to say that some aspects do not appeal to me. I think I'm more into things like pop culture, underground culture, movies, and other more plebian interests.

Anyways, I felt a bit tired at many points in the play. It was interesting overall though.

Afterwards there was another talk at the Doitsu Nihon Kenkyujyo (DIJ) that I decided to go to. It was raining as you can see from the picture on the right with the many umbrellas on the bridge. The reality was perhaps a bit more interesting to look at than my photo.

At the talk a researcher by the name of Susanne Klien, from Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, spoke on the topic "Japan's National Security Debate in the wake of 9/11: Same Old, Same New?" In the presentation she talked about her research wherein she looked at the shifts in the intellectual debate in the left, center, and right, through an analysis of post-9-11 debates on national security. In the discussion she argues that there were four political perspectives at play in the national security debate that she described as centrists, independentists, pragmatic multilateralists, and pacifists. These groups corresponded to different perspectives in her opinion on issues such as constitutional revision, the relation of Japan to the U.S., the relation of Japan to the international community, and positions on the role, development and deployment of Japanese Jieitai, or "Self-Defense Forces." The discussion raised a number of interesting questions related to different ways in which to consider Japanese foreign relations debates, and suggested that certain Japanese intellectual journals can have large effects on the determination of foreign policy decision-making.

Afterwards we went out to eat and drink at a nearby izakaya, which was quite fun. I was able to meet Dr. Gabriele Vogt, from the DIJ, whose work on Okinawa-related issues I was familiar with from my research. She was very nice and it was a good opportunity to talk about recent developments in Japan and Okinawa. She also described to me the way in which the DIJ is funded by the German national government and that they have a number of such research institutes in several different countries. It seemed to me an exciting way in which a national government could support important academic scholarship on international issues, which is almost completely lacking from the U.S. perspective. Overall a great time and the rest of the people from the talk who are part of this study group were very nice.

Day Fifteen - 070406 - Nakama Yukie Fan #1

On Tuesday I felt like seeing a movie so I did. They're kind of expensive here, about 1500 yen, but I really wanted to go. When I went there, they had a movie called "Trick 2" (http://www.trick2.jp/index.html) which is based on one of the TV drama-comedies that I often like to watch of the same name. It stars Nakama Yukie (http://ogipro.com/talent/nakama/) who I like a great deal. The movie was pretty funny though I still couldn't understand everything. But it was an enjoyable experience. By the way, people do not leave their trash on the floor like in American theaters. They take the trash out and give it to the workers on the way out, who duly separate it and recycle it.

On the walk back I passed by numerous shops and one was selling fish. I took a picture of some of them. Poor things. They'll be someone's dinner someday. Sucks to be a fish.

The night air was somewhat humid as usual but the streets where I was were somewhat empty.

At one point I passed along a bridge and took the picture to the left of the Yokohama skyline at night. It was very pretty. I started feeling a bit nostalgic for home though.

Anyways, afterwards when I went home I watched a movie that I had gotten earlier. It starred none other than, yep, you guessed it, Nakama Yukie. It's called "Shinobi" (http://www.shinobi-movie.com/index2.html), and was fairly entertaining, but mostly lush with imagery. By that I meant that the landscapes were pretty. Anyways, it was a Nakama Yukie fan day.

Day Fourteen - 070306 - Oki-Time

Okay, so during lunch I was talking to one of the other students named Jen and she had suggested that we go out to eat since several of us students are in the same building.

So that evening Jen and another student Brenda and I met in the lobby and went to find something to eat. I had wanted to try out the Okinawa food place down the street, so I suggested it and they were game to try it out.

So we went down the street and it was a very nice restaurant with a good atmosphere called Gachima-ie (http://www5f.biglobe.ne.jp/~gachimay/kannai.htm). As you can see from the picture above they had Goya Chanpuru, which I dutifully ordered. They also had this really nice Awamori, that was kind of sweet.

From the pictures you can see some of the food. Mostly the food consisted of vegetables and the like, since the Okinawan diet is very heavy with such things. Some suggest that the renowned Okinawan longevity is due in part from the diet. I'm a notorious salad dodger much to my fiance's chagrin, so I'm sure she'll be happy to know that I actually ate something that grows from the ground.

The conversation and food were very nice and I would have to say that I had a great time. We were all able to complain about schoolwork and commiserate which is always a necessary part of the learning process. And Jen and Brenda are very cool people.

The final note of interest is that I picked up a great deal of advertising for Okinawa related events in the area (http://www.piratsuka.com/). I think I'll have to check some of these events out when I get a chance.

Day Thirteen - 070206 - West Coast Nights

Okay, so On Sunday I was all set to go to the Cultural Typhoon conference, but I just ended up being way too tired to go out. It didn't help that I was a bit tired from last week and hungover from the night before. The old body just can't drink very much any more.

So I ended up studying a lot that day and getting caught up with things. When I finally did get out, I decided to go to West Coast Nights (http://www.westcoastnight.net/) which is an annual event that is put on by alumni of the "Pac 4" meaning Stanford; UC, Berkeley; UCLA; and USC, for folks in Japan. I was recommended to attend this event last year but never made it out. So this year I decided to go even though the price was a little steep.

Anyways, I made it out to the Yurakucho-eki exit and went to the event. There was quite a line already that stretched down the street. Some of the crowd can be seen in the picture. Inside there were a ton of people, mostly speaking Japanese, but with some speaking English. I just sort of mixed in the crowd, not being particularly sociable since I didn't really know anyone. I did, however, avail myself of the drinks included in the ticket price to get my money's worth. There were some very light food appetizers made available, but those things went very quickly. I should have eaten before I went.

I decided that I wouldn't stay very long and just leave after a short while. The only people that I did meet turned out to be very cool. The first guy I met turned out to work for Recruit Company (http://www.recruit-ex.co.jp/), which is, as you would guess, a company that recruits talent for corporations. Through him I met a number of other Japanese people and we were able to talk for a while. It was quite fun and eventually however, I was feeling a bit tired and left. So that was my fun for the evening.

Day Twelve - 070106 - I'm All Shook Up

Okay so this morning I woke to the grinding sounds of a jackhammer, and groggily looked across the street to find that they were doing some construction work near my building. Just my luck. In Chicago we have the same problem since they are doing a great deal of development close to where we live. It's almost like the noise is following me wherever I go. What a pain.

Anyways, I got out the door kind of late in the day, and was jonesing for some ramen, and went out hunting along the nearby shotengai, or shopping district, and eventually found a good place. The second picture is of the chashu ramen that I ate, though the pic does not include the gyoza that I ate too. Great food.

On the way back I stopped into a used book store and saw a really nice art piece that I really wanted to get. It was an ukiyo-e type print but done in a modern style by a haiyu (actor) named Yonekura Masakane (http://www.masakane.jp/index.html). You may have known him from such films as Zatoichi vs. Yojimbo, and one of the "Otoko Wa Tsuroi Yo" movies by Yamada Yoji. He is an actor who has dabbled in art as well, though from his website I'm not too impressed by his other pieces. But for some reason I liked this particular piece. The shop owner sadly wouldn't let me take a picture of the piece. It was a tad bit pricey but I still think about getting it.

On the way back I saw a store advertising crab. It was the building with the huge crab on it in the third picture. The arms and legs of the thing moved. Wild.

Also, I stopped into the neighborhood jinja and it was nice because they had a small pond with fish in it and turtles. In the fourth picture you can barely see the head of the turtle peeking up through the water. Pretty funny.

In the fifth picture, you can see the neighborhood laundrymat which is actually split into two areas, one for men, and the other, as seen in this picture, for jyosei (women) only. Considering that many women might be uncomfortable unloading their laundry in front of other men, or might be hesitant to go to the laundrymat due to the possibility of being harassed, this seems like a very sensible way to do business.

Finally, on the way home, I bumped into another Okinawa food place that I should check out. This is just around the corner from where I live. It looks like a bar, but I plan to check this place out sometime soon. These kinds of places are all over the place, I think partly because of the popularity of the Okinawan diet craze among other things.

Later that night a bunch of fellow students from the program decided to go out to a nearby izakaya. It was alright and we ate and drank quite a bit. They had some awamori on the menu so I soon switched to the hard stuff. We ate and talked, etc.

Afterwards we went to a local arcade to waste some time. They had this game that some of the students wanted to play where you hit these buttons on a console as fast as possible. Dennis and I played a shooter game, House of the Dead, which we wasted a great deal of money on to clear. All in all a decently fun night.

Finally I think I should comment on Prime Minister Koizumi's recent trip to the U.S. In this picture you can see Koizumi doing Elvis' pelvis thrust next to Priscilla and Lisa Marie Presley, with not-my-president Bush looking on. The media had made quite a hype over this trip as the "Cowboy and the Samurai" meeting to hash things out. My only comment is that when you have a head of state like Koizumi acting like this, it is pretty odd if you ask me. But I guess he is a big fan and all. On a side note, a small group of anti-whaling protesters dressed up like Elvis impersonators and protested outside of Graceland, singing "Don't Be Cruel," referring to Japanese whaling practices. What a circus.