Gaijin Obsession in Japan

Heartbroken?

For the past two days I've had a heartache. It took me a while to recognize why:  I'm about to leave Japan.

It's the same feeling I get when I must say good-bye to my family or to those I love.

I decided not to schlep a camera with me today and regretted it very quickly.  Within the confines of the art and design section of the Tokyo Matsuya Department store, was a small gallery of bonsai trees that were unlike any bonsai I have ever seen.  I know these trees had spirits. I literally gasped when I saw them, regal and splendid, ranging in age from 80 to 150 years old. They all were larger than I thought bonsai could be ; about 2.5'-3' tall. One pot (bon) contained a forest of bare and slender maple trees, another a black pine on a huge knarled trunk, then a perfectly proportioned bare beech tree, and a flamboyant orange tree bedecked with fruit as if they were lavish jewels that Elizabeth Taylor would have enjoyed flaunting. I have since learned that these larger bonsai are classified as dai bonsai (up to 40" in height).

 I have found other, smaller bonsai trees intriguing, but undeniably bordering on the weird.  I have felt  compassion for them, as if they’d been tortured and not allowed to manifest their true nature.  These trees elicited nothing but awe and reverence in me as any great art form.

Serendipity happens to me several times a day when I am in Japan.

 The visual impressions make deep inroads in my future aesthetic choices.  

The culinary experiences delight me at least three times a day, whether it be for a french pastry perfected by a Japanese baker, a bowl of hand-cut udon, or feather light tempura. No longer am I capable of just throwing any food on a plate.  It must be chosen according to season, color and even the dishes to be served on.

Nature, as seen through the eyes of a Japanese landscape designer, somehow transforms into More then Nature. This is true whether it is in a courtyard arrangement of stones and moss, a flower arrangement, or the design of a large temple garden. 

The Japanese people never fail to show me great kindness, warmth and generosity, at a time when I often become discouraged in the way Americans can treat each other. Their patience, politeness and thoughtfulness demonstrate a better way of being in relationship with others.

And so it is time to depart. I leave richer than when I entered. Fatter too. But the extraordinary thing is, when in Japan, I remain as a child, in a state of wonder.

Below, some of the photos, that bring inspiration.

FOOD

Fresh crab on New Year's Eve, followed by sushi.

A hollowed out orange filled with orange jelly/sorbet for New Year's dinner.

 

  making and roasting rice crackers with fresh peanuts.  eat immediately.

Japanese pizza

Nature Revered

Gion district in Kyoto

Kodaiji Temple in Kyoto, winter!

 the hollowed out trunk of an ancient tree

 The Quirky

The People

Iron Chef

btw, that's a container of sake, awaiting our consumption.

out to dinner with the irrepressible Matsuzaki-san!

and two of my dearest friends in the whole wide world...Harumi-san and Matsuzaki-san!

A PICTURE IS WORTH....

 Here is an assortment of images it would be unlikely to find in the U.S.A.

PROMOTING A NEW YEAR'S SALE

MICHAEL JACKSON....WHA??????

A NEW TWIST ON THE LAST SUPPER

DAN PRAYING AT A SHINTO SHRINE

!!!!!!!!!!????????!!!!!!!!

Looking for love, happiness, prosperity and luck!

When we finally managed to climb out from under the covers after a late, late night, we joined the throngs of Japanese welcoming the New Year with an outing to the Yasaka Shrine.  It was the mildest day yet of our trip, perfect for a stroll.  I'll let the photos speak for themselves, adding a little interpretation when needed.  Wish you were here.

These lovely curtains that delineate the outside/inside space are called noren.  They probably indicate a restaurant or inn.  

We were walking in the historically intact Gion Shimbashi district of Kyoto. 

New Year's decorations , or kadomatsu, grace the front doors.

As we neared the popular the Yasaka Shrine, the crowds intensified.  The first visit to a shrine in the New Year insures good luck.  Here is a fascinating website that will tell you everything you might want to know along with things you would never think to know about Shinto shrines!

People get their fortunes told on small strips of white paper called shide. If they do not like their fortune, they tie it to strings at the shrine, leaving it behind. These are ultimately burned. They keep those that predict good fortune!

 

...and for those seeking love, or the lovers in all of us, there are ema, wooden tablets on which to express your own wishes and thoughts.  Most are rectangular, these heart shaped ones are unusual.

My intention when I began this particular blog was to take you along on our afternoon journey.  But we stopped for tea and refreshment along the way. There were so many sights to see, I'm afraid my readers need a break too.  

Visual Feasts and Belated Visions of Sugarplums

The Year of the Dragon Approaches!

Leave your party hats and champagne buckets at home if you're heading for Japan on New Year's.  The New Year's traditions run deep here and in a decidedly more spiritual direction. The whole country is in a shopping- for -food and cleaning frenzy in preparation for one of their most important holidays.  The cleaning is taken in earnest.  We're talkin DEEP cleaning of homes, businesses, temples and shrines.  It's a kind of purification in preparation to receive the New Year free of last year's baggage and crap.  Time to make ammends as well.  In that way, it reminds me of Yom Kippur, but without fasting.  So much more appealing.

When all is cleaned up, it's time to put a New Year's decoration outside your door. That indicates you are prepared to welcome the New Year.  Traditionally the decorations consist of pine branches (everlasting), bamboo (flexibility...bending but not breaking), plum blossoms ( daring to bloom in the depth of winter) and rice straw ropes (rice being the most important of Japanese food).  The holiday is celebrated over a period of several days.  Today we saw many of the more traditional businesses closing their doors, not to reopen until January 6!  That presents a definite hardship for you-know-who.

Below are a few of the lovely decorations I spotted around town:

If you're curious about the orange, the word for it is dai-dai, which in Japanese indicated the ongoingness of life from generation to generation.  The two white ball-like objects are mochi-cakes, a traditional food eaten at New Years, made by vigorously pounding rice!

There's serious food shopping and prep going on in all households as well, because tradition gives the mothers of the family several days off from cooking, so that special New Year food is prepared in advance of New Year's Eve.  It's called osechi ryori. 

Not to be left out of the fun, we are doing as much eating as possible.  More on that part of the holiday soon!

 

C-C-C-cold in Kyoto!

All the layers of clothing were piled on yesterday as we ventured out with Harumi-san and Matsuzaki-san to the small village of Ohara, a longish busride to the mountains north of Kyoto.  When we stepped off the bus we were met with a wet mix of rain and snow which made walking in the mountains less than enticing. 

Last time I was in this area was May 2010 when the rice paddies were thriving with new life and wild irises blanketed the landscape.  December presented a very different picture.  The rice had all been harvested so that the terraces presented a brown stubble.The farms were still laden with cabbages, radishes, greens and leeks,that helped to feed the restaurants and pickle frenzy of Kyoto appetites.I spotted a few fading pink roses clinging irrationally to life but the tiled roofs of the farmhouses coated with snow told the story of winter's arrival.

My friend Harumi-san is a private tour guide and is prepared for all events. Within ten minutes were snugly inside a warm old farmhouse where a young couple operated a restaurant specializing in local mountain vegetables.  Two happy hours and many courses later, we emerged again in the cold, ditched the idea of walking any further and headed back to Kyoto.

I have such admiration for this young couple trying to make a living in the relatively remote but magical place.  

Below, our first course  : clockwise,  in white and blue bowl:  simmered white radish topped with red radish (not marsachino cherry), simmered leeks and tofu, bottom is spinach and tofu roll, sliced carrots of different colors.

I'm as excited as a kid as I've been preparing to fly to Kyoto on Christmas Day ( I am Jewish, after all), to spend the week with friends and to await New Year's in my adopted land. This time I"ll go on to Vietnam and Laos. I'll be blogging if you care to follow. Meantime, HH to one and all.

From Russia w/ Mixed Feelings

 
St. Petersburg is a mixed bag.  It's a beautiful old city whose glory days were in the 18th and 19th centuries, that is being restored rapidly.  The colors of the old palaces are like a yummy handful of jordan almonds. Its architectural treasures are many and its setting on the Neva River and canals is lovely.  The residents are just proud of their literary, cultural and architectural legacy.  

But I could not help feeling it is a city that is looking backwards rather than forwards for its future. There is a sadness and a sense of loss that hangs in the air. Decades of repression have taken a huge toll.

The fabulous Hermitage is hopelessly over run with large tour groups from the growing numbers of cruise ships that are now stopping here. The entrances are chaotic, stifling and decidedly unpleasant for everyone.  A mini version of hell.

The collections in the museums, all former palaces, are incredible.  The settings are grand.  With a good guide, it can be a wonderful experience.  At least parts of it.

The local people are struggling to make sense of the rapid changes.  The pensioners have been cut off from their pensions and are living their lives out in poverty.  The young people are working several jobs. There are opportunities for the ambitious. But many young people lack ambition and direction.  In the poorer neighborhoods crime is rampant. Cynicism is the attitude of the majority.

Life expectancy is only 59 for men living in St, Petersburg.  Alcoholism takes a serious toll. We were told that the quality of education is declining rapidly. Public health care is a mess.   Many people got extremely wealthy when things were privatized here, but most did not. It seems a country searching for itself after a very complicated and difficult past. The 900 day siege of Leningrad during WW II was not that long ago.

We saw few Russian products.  We were told that the agricultural abilities of the nation have been destroyed.  Oil keeps the country afloat now.  

There is wide discontent over the enormous costs of owning an apartment.  All aspire, few achieve. The people were very open with us, but expressed little interest in politics because of their inability to make change.

I am glad to have seen it and to have gained a deeper understanding of contemporary Russia, although it was just a brief and narrow glimpse.  I leave with a renewed appreciation for what I have been given.

Betsy just forwarded this photo directed specifically to me. She took it at a temple in Kyoto, which shall remain nameless because the taking of pictures was forbidden. But she couldn't resist. For those of you who read the Shoe Caper, you'll enjoy this post script.

Regaining Consciousness

I am back in SB. I have been pretty much down for the count. Today is the first day I haven't slurred my words.  It's also the first day I haven't taken a 3 hour nap at 10:30 in the morning. I'm back to standing upright, and can pick up my feet when I walk, rather than dragging them along the ground.  I've also managed to leave the house.

When I did surface, it was to look in wonder at my 1095 photos  and try to make some sense of them. I have come to terms with the fact that there's no possible way I can relate, even in an abbreviated version, the highlights of my entire experience.  I have also come to terms with the fact, that there is no way any of my readers want to hear about it all.  So time to move forward, even though there's a reluctance to let go.  The turkey is waiting in the wings.

I think these photos speak for themselves.  Seasons changing, life in tune with nature, order, graciousness,  and always a sense of the absurd.

 

 Thanks to everyone who followed along. Wishing everyone a bountiful Thanksgiving and wishing also, that I'll have another opportunity to return to Japan.

 

p.s.  The beans are real, the head of the boddhisatva was severed centuries ago during a civil war, the japanese maple leaves were picked in the forest to decorate the dishes served for dinner, I don't know the name of the dog and Mr. Toothey was in a dentist's window. 

 

Omori-cho Inspiration

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 It's not often in my life that I've met a person as talented, as visionary, as determined and as lovely as the woman responsible for the restoration of the entire town of Omori-cho.

Several decades ago, Matsuba Tomi-san was disturbed by the fact that Japan was quickly losing its beautiful and centuries old traditions in exchange for cheap imports and rampant commercialism.  

Returning to her husband's ancient, but decrepit home town, she raised funds and provided the vision to revitalize the community by restoring buildings according to ancient aesthetics yet 21st century standards.  She also established a base for her clothing and merchandise company, gungendo. 

Tomi-san was a constant but subtle behind the scenes presence during our stay at Abeke House.  

One cold early morning, before dawn, I crossed her path as she was leaving the bath house after insuring the heat and lights were on for her early rising guests.   She also was in the kitchen during meals, to lend a hand wherever it was needed.

Tomi-san launched a progressive clothing and merchandise enterprise in Omori-cho about 10 years ago.  Everything they make and sell is made in Japan. Orders placed by gungendo have helped Japanese fabric manufacturers stay in business. The beautiful flagship store is is in a converted samurai house on the main street of town, and the business is is run from a nearby converted warehouse.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If I lived in Japan, I would be more than happy to shop exclusively at Gungendo. "Gungendo and the Matsubas are to clothes and home accessories what Chez Panisse and the Slow Food Movement’s Alice Waters are to food," announced our leader, Steve Beimel. For me, it is the difference between eating  a delicious home made meal versus one served impersonally by a chain restaurant.

Speaking of meals, our meals at Abeke House were extraordinary, lovingly made with local ingredients. Using traditional Japanese recipes,  breakfasts and dinners were served on exquisite ceramic dishes, all collected by Tomi-san and served under the deft supervision of a 26 year old chef.

First photo by Steve Beimel

lunch served in pita pockets made with Japanese wheat

grilled Japanese gluten.  don't ask, it's delicious.

 

Japanese dumplings

 And here, last but not least, is the room where all the magic takes place!