Sunday, January 25, 2009

A couple of paintings

taniann

I used to do a lot of painting before I got into making masks, so I thought I'd post a couple.
This first one is titled Tanijyugo Anniversary, and I painted it to mark one year of living in Tanijyugo, so that must have been 5 years ago.

mononobe

This second one is titled Mononobe. The Mononobe were an old clan in ancient Yamato, but it is also a major shrine in Iwami. When I first visited it I was impressed with the chigi, the cross-pieces on the roof.

mon25

Another element in my paintings is the shimenawa, the rope that marks sacred space.

An evening on Tsunoshima 664

Both paintings are acrylic on paper, approx 38 cms. sq.
They are of course for sale :)

Saturday, January 24, 2009

Aakeido. Japanese shopping arcades.

An Afternoon in Kyoto4639
Kyoto City

Covered shopping arcades can be found in most Japanese towns. In the big cities, where most japanese now live, the arcades tend to be glitzy and are likely to have global brands such as McDonalds. In many ways they look like duty-free shopping areas in airports, and consumption as identity is prevalent.

fuk433
Hakata, Fukuokoa City

In the smaller towns, that continue to depopulate, the arcades can often be like a ghost town, with few people and many shops closed permanently. They tend to be funkier and have stores that sell local products and household goods etc.

kobe8133
Motomachi, Kobe


sh262
Kochi City


kok632
Kokura, Kitakyushu.


sh9905
Ohnomichi, Hiroshima Prefecture.

Friday, January 23, 2009

Iwaishima kagura



This short video is of a kagura performance on the small island of Iwaishima, or as some people say, Iwaijima, off the southern coast of Yamaguchi.

If you compare it to some of the other videos of Iwami Kagura, you will see some differences.

The music is different, and the costumes are much simpler.


iwa7638

This is the first dance of 33 that were performed over a 3 day period as part of Kannmai Matsuri held every 5 years.

The opening dance features Kojin, the local kami of the island, though the mask look a lot like a Tengu, or even Sarutahiko.

Kojin is equivalent to the kami Omoto in my area, and is known as an Aragami, "rough kami", though I prefer turbulent kami. In this dance the priest pacifies Kojin.

iwa7441

The kagura dances are performed in a temporary structure with grass roof and walls erected near the harbor

iwa7743

The priests come from northern Kyushu, which has its own kagura traditions, so I don't know whether these performances are from that tradition or the southern Yamaguchi kagura tradition.

The masks are wooden, and so are simpler than Iwami Kagura masks.

iwa7657

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Ashinazuchi kagura mask

w2415

These are 2 of my versions of the Ashinazuchi mask. Ashinazuchi, most commonly translated as "foot stroking elder", was the husband of Tenazuchi, hand stroking elder, and the father of Kushinadahime.

w2416

The only dance he appears in is Yamata No Orochi, most often the grand finale to an Iwami kagura performance.

bon7224

In the dance, Susano finds Ashinazuchi, Tenazuchi, and Kushinade, the last of their eight daughters, lamenting as they prepare to sacrifice her to the great 8-headed serpent Yamata no Orochi. In return for defeating the serpent, Susano gets Kushinada as his wife.

oku80

The Yamata no Orochi story is a myth, but probably based on a legend, and legends are based on historical events. I spent 3 days walking along the Hi River area up in Izumo visiting many of the sites and shrines connected to the legend. This village in the valley below was the home of Ashinazuchi and his family.

Kagura mask Index

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Japan in the 21st century

Japan in the 21st Century
Environment, Economy, Society

Pradyumna P. Karan

University Press of Kentucky

416pp

ISBN 978-0813191188



This is a geography textbook on Japan. Apparently there hasn't been a new one for a long time.

From beginning to end it is crammed with facts, figures, and statistics. Of course on their own statistics can be quite boring, but the author manages to point to meanings that are illuminating.

The book has hundreds of photos as well as charts, graphs, and maps. The maps in particular are clear and useful.

Being a geography book there are informative chapters on the physical nature of Japan, its landscape, geology, climate and weather etc, and a brief overview of the human history. Each of the regions of Japan are given their own section. The demographics and society chapter covers all of the pressing issues in Japan today,... the aging society, falling birthrate, immigration, etc. Politics, economy, industry and the post-industrial landscape..... it's hard to think of any aspect of Japan and it's society that isnt covered.

A nice feature is sections called "field reports" where a particular aspect is studied in depth.

If you only have time to read one book on Japan, then this would be it.

Monday, January 19, 2009

Mendicant monk

dt5670

I saw this mendicant monk in front of a shopping mall in Hiroshima.

dt5669

I believe he is of the Nichiren sect of Japanese Buddhism.

dt5667

I was intrigued by the interaction, and non-reaction, between him and the passers-by.

dt5666

Older peopled tended to bow as they passed him. Older people tend to bow when they pass a Jizo statue or a shrine entrance.

dt5665

The Japanese, more perhaps than any other people, have developed the art of not seeing what makes them uncomfortable to a high art.

Homeless people, concrete mountains and foreigners are among the things often invisible.

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Typical Japanese Landscape 14

ww4

I had a request from Al over at TravelJapanlblog for more winter pics, so.....

The first one is from my favorite viewpoint over the Gonokawa about 1k upstream from my place. I've posted more pics from the same place.

ww3

All the rest are taken in the area immediately around my house, and they show a most common feature.... mist.....

ww2

I'm not a meteorologist, so I'm not sure exactly what the difference is between cloud, fog, and mist.

ww1

They do say that the tea grown here has a particularly fine taste due to the bushes being kissed by the river mist.

Friday, January 16, 2009

Hotel Eden

yuda122

This abandoned " Rabu Hoteru", love hotel, is on Route 9 just outside Yamaguchi City. For anyone who doesn't know about love hotels I recommend a brand new book by Ed Jacob, Love Hotels: An inside look at Japan's sexual playground. At $10 to download a pdf it's certainly affordable.

yuda126

Obviously, for someone at least, "Eden" is located in the Mediterranean (or a Mexican shanty town).

In my area all the love hotels are located outside of the towns, and while a few are painted a bright color to make them visible, many are simple, innocuous, drab places composed of individual "cabins" more akin to motels. There are none of the outrageous architectural palaces that one sees in the cities.

yuda125

Like most Japanese construction, they are cheaply built, and combined with japan's humidty and precipitation it doesn't take long for buildings to become derelict and decompose.

yuda127

The sign tells that the room is temporarily unavailable due to it being cleaned and prepared for the next customers.

Thursday, January 15, 2009

A walk to the Post Office

It's been snowing pretty much non-stop for a week now, and I am more than happy to stay indoors close to the woodstove and hang out, but I ventured out yesterday to take something to the post office. The PO is in Tanijyugo, the village in the next valley upstream, and to walk around the mountain there is about one kilometer. These are snapshots I took along the way.

po2243

My neighbors Camelia (Tsubaki) bush.

po2247

Another neighbor has a Hassaku tree. The hassaku is a hybrid of mikan (satsuma or mandarin). They will be ripe in a couple of months.

po2250

The local Hachiman shrine. The tori is still decorated for the new year.

po2255

The temple in Tanijyugo is Chogen-ji, belonging to the True Pure Land sect, the biggest sect in Japan. The temple is fairly new and made of concrete, but the gate and bell tower are wooden and much older. I have become interested in the different designs of temple lanterns.

po2264

Then back home to Shimonohara.

po2265

Next winters heat. I've been heating my house by wood for the past 5 winters. My total heating bill each year comes to about $20, which is spent on fuel for my van to haul the firewood. This pile for next year is fir, trimmed from an 80 year old tree in the Tanijyugo community center grounds. People are only too happy to have me come and take away wood.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

One night in Bangkok Airport

One night in Bangkok Airport 2419

This post has nothing to do with Japan.

Except perhaps that Bangkoks Suvarnabhumi Airport is a hub for cheap flights from Japan to Europe.

One night in Bangkok Airport 2420

Cheap flights often involve long layovers, and I was lucky enough to get 12 hours in this architectural marvel.

One night in Bangkok Airport 2425

The airport was designed by the Murphy/Jahn architectural company, and was a wonderful place to wander with a camera for a night.

One night in Bangkok Airport 2430

You can see the whole sequence of photos here

One night in Bangkok Airport 2459


One night in Bangkok Airport 2480


One night in Bangkok Airport 2486