Author: Iris

Learning Curve

I’ve told you often enough that I don’t like winter here because it is so cold in the house. Another reason I don’t like winter much is that I can’t sleep properly. That has nothing to do with the cold bedroom, though. The problem is Pumpkin and the fact that my little furball is cold too.

As I mentioned before, I have a heavy woollen duvet in my bed plus a fleece blanket on top. Together they keep me wonderfully warm even when the room temperature drops down to 5 degrees or below. On such cold nights, Pumpkin insists on sleeping with me underneath the duvet, and because it’s so heavy, he needs me to lift it up for him a little so he can get inside. Our bedtime routine is such that he’s waiting until I turn off the light before gently scratching the pillow next to my head so I can let him in.

So far, so good. The problem is that while I need eight hours of beauty sleep, Pumpkin certainly doesn’t. He slips out of the bed several times at night to eat and drink, to go potty… And then he wants to get back underneath the covers. When I’m asleep, I don’t react to gentle scratches – so he meows instead. Straight into my ear. Loudly. In other words, he wakes me up several times a night because he’s cold. So far, so bad.

I’ve tried this year to teach him to sleep between the duvet and the fleece blanket. The latter is much lighter, so he can get underneath it without my help. He was not very happy about this for a while – it is not quite as warm as curling up next to my body. But finally, I can report that yes, he got it.

The last few mornings I found him curled up underneath the fleece blanket only, and blissful nights of uninterrupted sleep these were! He now even wants me to tuck him in when he takes his afternoon nap in my bed. It’s those little wins. I just hope he remembers this until next winter…

Hina Matsuri

Tomorrow is hina matsuri, the doll or girl festival. Traditionally, it was meant as a purification rite / blessing for girls, and to this day, there are religious ceremonies in many shrines in the country.

During the Edo period, the custom of setting up so-called hinadan with dolls in homes with girls started – ideally, one for each girl. The most elaborate hinadan have seven tiers, starting at the top with a pair of dairi-bina, which are accompanied on lower tiers by ladies-in-waiting, musicians, guards, and gardeners. Other tiers showcase miniature household goods that a young lady of means could not do without.

Growing up in a small house with lots of stuff that I wasn’t allowed to touch, I don’t usually put up seasonal decorations. However, there is something about hina matsuri that makes me give in, and I bought a very modern dairi-bina pair a few years ago. And then, last year, a friend of mine gave me a super cute pair of dairi-bina in the shapes of my zodiac animal, so…

The Price of Rice

Things have got really expensive here during the last year. Obviously, a large part of this is because the yen is so weak, so all the prices for imports have skyrocketed (except tourists, they come for free it seems…) But also local products have increased in price, in particular: rice.

Compared to normal Japanese people, I eat comparatively little rice, a large bag lasts me several months. Therefore, I tended to watch the sales and usually bought my rice at around 1,980 yen for five kilos of Akitakomachi rice from Akita prefecture. This very same rice at the very same supermarket now goes for 4,090 yen (without sales) for five kilos. I’m quite shocked.

The reason is inflation and high prices all around, but also because there was a quite bad harvest last year because of dry weather; typhoon-related floods also diminished the harvest in other areas of Japan. On top of all that, there was an “advisory” by the JMA (Japan Meteorological Agency) last August about the increased risk of a megaquake along the Nankai Trough, that stretches from central to southwestern Japan in the Pacific Ocean. Note that they also mentioned something about “in the next 100 years”, which didn’t prevent people from stockpiling rice immediately.

In response to the price hike, the Japanese Government has decided to sell about 10% of their rice reserve of 1,000,000 tons to keep prices stable. So far, I haven’t seen much movement in prices; the cheapest 5 kilos at the cheapest supermarket are 3,180 yen right now. I’m wondering if any of that cheap rice will make it to Kyoto or even any of the rural areas at all. I’ll keep you posted.

The Meiji Guillotine Murders

Futaro Yamada

Tokyo, 1869. Two years after the Meiji Emperor took the throne, the country still reels from the aftermath of the Boshin Civil War. Yet, the government, now relocated to Tokyo (formerly known as Edo) tries to regain control and establishes an executive and judicial system after Western examples. The newly established Imperial Prosecuting Office is tasked with tackling the rampant corruption within the government itself.

Chief inspectors Kawaji and Kazuki are two brilliant detectives who are just the right people for this task. Together, and with the help of a shrine maiden who can summon the dead, they solve five impossible seeming murders of minor officials. However, are these murders as unconnected as they seem – or is there somebody pulling the strings from behind?

This historical crime novel is a fairly slow book. The first 100 pages or so only set the scene and introduce us to minor and major characters. The five cases are independent of each other and are solved as such. The puzzles are interesting and fun to solve, but there is no indication that there may be a mastermind behind all the murders; when his identity is revealed, it comes as a shock.

The introduction of the miko-medium to solve the murders seemed strange to me (Shinto doesn’t really deal with death), but since Yamada makes her a foreigner (who may have her own powers), I’ll forgive him for this.

Futaro Yamada was born 1922 in Hyogo Prefecture and studied medicine at Tokyo University. His first short story “The Incident at the Dharma Pass” was published in 1947, and he went on to write more than 100 novels and short stories in his lifetime. In Japan, his best-loved works are historical crime and ninja novels, and many of his books have been adapted for film or manga and anime. He died in 2001.

If you’re ready for something different with a long lead-in to set the scene, give this a try. You can get the book on amazon.

Miyako Odori Press Conference

When I woke up this morning at eight, it only had 2 degrees in my bedroom. On such days, I tend to stay in bed until Pumpkin demands his breakfast. But today I had an early meeting: the press conference for this year’s Miyako Odori.

It was similar to last year’s press conference, just a bit smaller because it’s not a milestone anniversary.

After the talks and Q&A by the officials involved in the dance production (just like last year, the dance master and a university professor), the painter of the official portrait that is used for the flyer was introduced. I haven’t looked at my photos from last year, but I’m pretty sure it’s the same woman.

In contrast, the young lady to the left is brand new. Her name is Katsuwaka, she is from Niigata and merely 17 years old. Last year she had her “misedashi” – introduction as a maiko – and this year, she will make her stage debut at the Miyako Odori. She was even interviewed, it must be a big thing for her (and the kagai as a whole).

This year’s theme is “Colorful Seasons of Kyoto” and some of the eight scenes are set in famous places like Kiyomizudera, Heian Jingu, Umenomiya Taisha and Gion of course. While last year was all about the Tale of Genji, this year’s program will stray a little from the formality of the Heian court. At least, that’s what I’m led to believe from looking at some of the costumes. I’m really looking forward to seeing the performance this year!

Again, the look behind the scenes was quite illuminating. It’s fascinating how much work goes into all this; only arranging the promotional photo in front of the large silver doors took about half an hour, not to mention dozens of people behind the camera.

First Snow!

It snowed this afternoon, for the first – no, second – time this winter. I was super happy and went for a short walk that ended at my second-most favourite cafe with chai and brownies.

So far, and I’m writing this at 10 in the evening, it’s not enough snow to cover the ground, but some forecasts promise more in the weekend. We’ll see. Right now, the internet says it’s -1 degrees outside, but thanks to windchill it feels like -8. Looks like I’ll be going to bed soon, Pumpkin snuggles up to me already.

Last week was pretty busy. On top of work, I went to three exhibitions, one shrine, one sake brewery tour (with tasting afterwards), and finally on Sunday: a BATI-HOLIC concert. I was pretty exhausted by then, but it was good.

This week, since I don’t have any appointments, I’m trying to catch up on a few things website and writing-related. And there’s another exhibition I want to see. So much to do in Kyoto!

Busy!

I’ve been very busy since last week, so much to do…

I went to two exhibitions, one with nihonga, Japanese-style paintings, and one with contemporary art. The nihonga exhibition is a biennial exhibition that was established in 1898, and I’ve been there before. This time, there were only two or three paintings that touched me, a pity.

The contemporary art was by Mika Ninagawa (and team) and it was 10 rooms of art installations. Some of them were with projections and films, others with tangible art. My favourite room or “picture” as she called it was 1500 strings with crystals hanging from the ceiling, meant to represent the sparkle of life. I thought it was especially uplifting and cheerful, standing out from the rest of the exhibition, which was very colorful as a whole. As I mentioned on my x account, I got the only black and white postcard…

Besides that, my friend from Tokyo visited me, and we went on a tour through a sake brewery not far from Demachiyanagi. The tour was quite short because the brewery is one of the smallest in Kyoto, but it came with sake tasting afterwards. Sadly, they are not open in the evenings, and I’m not into day drinking at this time, but I’ll keep them in mind if and when I need gifts for friends in the future.

Last weekend I went to one flea market and one handicraft market and I had a blast chatting with the vendors. They would’ve appreciated me buying stuff, but there’s only so much money I have right now.

Next Sunday is Setsubun and while I would love to go to a lucky bean scattering at a shrine, there is also the next BATI-HOLIC concert in the evening… I’ll have to do some careful planning for this one.

Death March on Mt. Hakkoda

Jiro Nitta

In 1902, war with Russia seemed imminent in Japan. In order to prepare and gain necessary data for a winter campaign in Siberia, the Japanese military in Aomori Prefecture conducted a training mission in late January: 210 Japanese soldiers were sent across snowbound Mt. Hakkoda. En route of what was planned to be a short excursion of no more than three days, insufficient preparations and an unclear chain of command met with the worst blizzard of the century, leading to the death of 199 of the men involved.

This “documentary novel” presents a fictionalized account of this tragic incident, which, once word gout out, caused a public outcry that was nonetheless forgotten once the war with Russia started two years later. Equally forgotten was the fact that a much smaller group of soldiers crossed the mountain from the other direction at the same time; however, their planning proved sufficient, so they did not incur any losses.

This book describes both campaigns in great detail, from the planning stages to the soldier’s provisions and outfits, and the aftermath. It also uses survivor’s accounts and military documents (as far as they were available in 1971) that add veracity to the fiction. Yet, the author takes some liberties also. The biggest is certainly the rivalry between the two groups, ostensibly set up by their commanders, but entirely fictional. However, even for the surviving group, the march was harrowing, and Nitta does a great job documenting this.

Jiro Nitta is the pen name of Hiroto Fujiwara, a popular writer of historical novels. Born 1912 in Nagano Prefecture, he became a meteorologist and worked at the Japan Meteorological Agency. After retiring from the JMA, he began writing, many of his books are connected to mountains or mountaineering themes. He received the 1955 Naoki Prize and died in 1980 in Tokyo.

For a touching account of one of Japan’s greatest military losses in peace time, the book is available at amazon.

Cat Apparition

In Japanese folklore, cats occupy a special place. While often depicted as beloved pets and protector of “their” humans, they are also thought to have an affinity for ghosts and the other side. And I’ve just had an eerie encounter of the feline persuasion myself.

Since it’s quite cold in the house at night, Pumpkin sleeps in my bedroom. The other day I had been in bed reading when I needed to go to the toilet. I didn’t want Pumpkin to follow me – it takes him ages to settle down again – so when I closed the fusuma, I made sure the gap was small enough so he couldn’t slip through.

However, just a couple of minutes later, I found him behind me in the bathroom after all, and when I asked “Hey, how did you get out,” he disappeared in the direction of the entrance. So far, so good.

Imagine my surprise when I got back upstairs and Pumpkin sat in the bedroom peering through the narrow gap of the fusuma with a peeved look on his face because I left him behind. But I had seen him downstairs just a minute earlier.

What happened? I have no idea.

Maybe he did get out after all, but as I said, he disappeared in the direction of the genkan and certainly didn’t pass me on the stairs. Maybe it had got too late and my tired mind played tricks on me.

Or maybe, just maybe, my dear Pumpkin knows how to create astral projections. That could come handy, actually. Sadly, I doubt h would tell or even teach me how to do it.

“Little New Year”

Today, January 15, is koshogatsu, the “Little New Year”. Traditionally, koshogatsu coincided with the first full moon of the year, and while this is not the case any more since switching to the solar calendar, there happened to be a full moon yesterday. And I managed to get a semi-decent photo of it, sadly it doesn’t show the lovely pale orange color it had among the clouds.

Anyway, koshogatsu still marks the end of Japan’s New Year period, so people are supposed to remove their New Year decorations. Some people bring them to their shrine in the neighborhood where they are ritually burned in a ceremony.

I’ve never decorated my entrance for the New Year – other than putting up the current zodiac animal – but I had an old ofuda charm from last year. So, I dutifully returned it to the shrine, but there was no ceremony to get rid of such items.

Instead, I walked in on a private ceremony. A couple was sitting in the closed-off part of the main shrine building, where usually only priests may enter, and they received a blessing. Afterwards, they were putting a green branch of a special bush in front of the deities. I am not sure what kind of ceremony it was; both of them were dressed in black, so it might have been related to a funeral, perhaps? Since I didn’t want to intrude, I left after having watched so far.

I always thought that all funeral ceremonies were Buddhist in nature, but I recently learned that this is not the case. Apparently, there are families who practice Buddhism according to one of the many sects, and there are a minority of others who practice Shinto. Obviously, serious believers would not change to the other religion for any occasion, and the ceremonies and rituals for childbirth, coming of age, marriage, death etc. are very different. I have not delved too deeply into this – talking about religion is difficult even in English – but it’s certainly a topic I’d like to learn more about.