Author: Iris

Reflections and Realizations

Sorry for not keeping up with the schedule I promised. Last week was a continuation of last year’s issues I mentioned in the Christmas Break post below. Essentially I spent last week watching that one video over and over again. (No, this does not appear to be pathological. According to somebody on the internet.)

It went so far that I actually asked somebody for help with my mental state, something I have done exactly once before in my life, despite having been depressed for roughly half of that time.

Anyway.

Then I thought that I can’t just meet somebody and say “well, I have no idea what the problem is, really, but fix it anyway.”

So, last Friday I tried to figure out what actually is wrong. And after walking up and down in my house talking to myself out loud (Yes. I’m so glad I live alone. Pumpkin doesn’t mind, he thinks it’s all about him.) it finally hit me:

I’m not depressed right now. I’m stuck.

So, last year was bad in its entirety: professionally, financially, mental health-wise… And in that time, I created too many loose ends. Loose ends that need to be picked up again and taken care of.

Unfortunately, when it comes to things like these, I’ve always been quite indecisive, prone to procrastination. It takes me ages to come to a conclusion and act upon it, and in this case I felt that pulling at the wrong thread (and there were many) might lead to everything blowing up in my face.

Yet again, the simple realization of what was actually wrong led to a feeling of intense clarity. The same kind of clarity I felt when I finally decided to move to Japan. It’s a wonderful feeling. “The unbearable lightness of clarity” I like to call it.

Mind you, that doesn’t mean that I know exactly what to do next. Just the general direction. And picking up the loose ends and dealing with them, one thread at a time, is what lies ahead. I have no idea what will happen when I do that, but I’ll find out soon enough. I’m expecting to create more loose ends, but I can deal with those too in due cause.

I’m feeling better already.

Starting 2024

I’m back from taking time off (line) and while I’d like to say “Happy New Year”, the year of the dragon didn’t start very auspiciously in Japan, as you surely know.

There was the Noto Earthquake on January 1 at 16:10. Yes, I’m okay; no, Kyoto is 400 km far away (roughly); and yes: we could feel the earthquake in Kyoto as well. The tremors arrived a few minutes after the original earthquake with a magnitude of 4 (7.6 at the epicenter). My old house shook quite a bit, and it didn’t stop as quickly as usual – even 10 seconds can feel longer than you think!

When I realized that this was a big earthquake – somewhere at least – I stood in a door frame as per the recommendation for older buildings. In newer ones you should protect your head by hiding under a table. Pumpkin came to me on my first call and there we stood, waiting…

After the shaking had ended, I went downstairs to watch the news, Pumpkin always on my lap. For the next six hours or, one message only was repeated over and over again: “A tsunami is imminent – evacuate immediately.” The announcer pleaded urgently and in a surprisingly fearful tone; and the first major tsunami warning predicting waves of over 5 meters was issued since Tohoku 2011.

In the end, it didn’t appear to get quite that bad, but the images from the affected region are heartbreaking, regardless. By now, there are reports of 206 fatalities, 665 injuries, and the damage goes into the billions of yen. Certainly this wasn’t the fresh start into the year the people from Ishikawa prefecture were hoping for.

January 2 ramped up the shock value with a plane crash at Haneda airport in the evening. Upon landing, a JAL airbus collided with a plane from the coastguard, which was deployed to bring relief to Ishikawa, no less, and both planes turned into a fireball. Five of the coast guard died, but all the airbus passengers and crew escaped the fire, which burned for six hours.

Finally, on January 3, a shopping mall in Kitakyushu burned to the ground, marking the end of the New Year holidays. I then, stopped watching the news. The last year was depressing enough, I don’t need to continue in that lane. Let’s focus on the positive for the remaining 356 days of 2024!

Christmas Break

A bit earlier than usual, but I’m going on my annual Christmas break. I’m not in a good mental shape right now for a number of reasons, so… I’ll be back early next year, hopefully.

One thing that keeps me up is, of course, BATI-HOLIC; this is their video to “Shake Hands”. This was a live performance without an audience in 2020 (thanks, Corona), but it’s just as enjoyable. Especially now that I know the first two lines are actually in English. 😉

Advent Calendar

It’s December – time for an advent calendar! This year, I have two of them. The one I bought last year got reused and refilled with sweets and little things to do like: “visit the Garden of Fine Arts” or “take a bubble bath”.

And a friend of mine gave me a tea advent calendar, which is just a box with 24 different teas for each day. December 1st it was “Good Mood” tea, and today it was “Baked Apple”. Overall, I prefer the fruity ones, but yesterday’s Assam tea was really nice as well.

Garden of Fine Arts

Today, I took advantage of the free admission to finally visit the “Garden of Fine Arts Kyoto”. It lies next to the Botanical Gardens on Kitayama Dori, which is probably the reason why there isn’t a single plant in sight…

Instead, it is an outdoors gallery on three underground levels, created with massive concrete slabs and pillars by architect Tadao Ando. It is home to eight large-scale ceramic reproductions of famous pieces, among them Michelangelo’s Last Judgement and Leonardo’s Last Supper. Because of the way the gallery has been set up, the art can be viewed from several levels and perspectives, giving new insights along the way (literally).

Throughout the place you can hear the gushing of water as it flows along walls into pools at the very bottom. You make your way down on gentle slopes and there are benches to sit and view the art pieces.

I’m not a fan of this kind of architecture, to be honest, and the Western art at least didn’t touch me either. I’m not sure why, maybe because the surroundings were so much different that what I’m used to. Also, there is the age of the reproductions to take into account, even though ceramic should be able to withstand quite some abuse. I couldn’t find anything definite, but apparently the gallery opened in the 1990s.

I did like the Choju Jinbutsu Giga, a long scroll from the 12th/13th century depicting frolicking animals; it is often called the first Japanese manga. Because these tiles lie under the walkways, they seem to be in better condition and that you can get really close is definitely a plus.

Overall, I’m not sure if I can recommend the Garden of Fine Arts. If you like Tadao Ando’s work, do check it out, it’s currently only 100 yen to view it. If you’re not into grey concrete slabs, you won’t miss much if you pass.

Weekend Project # 3

I’m not sure if I mentioned it… but Japanese homes, equipped with no central heating, can get really cold in winter. A partial solution is the following: Keep the lower body as warm as possible, then the upper body will follow suit. I’m doing this by “wearing” an old sleeping bag that reaches just up to my chest. Obviously, I have to take it off when I have to walk around, but since I’m pretty sedentary in front of my laptop all day, this is a good option.

Of course, the Japanese have figured that solution out ages ago and have invented the kotatsu. This low table is equipped with a heating element, and when you put a heavy blanket over it and put your legs underneath, your lower body gets nice and toasty. On top you wear one of the down jackets that are popular in Japan, come in different thicknesses and are available everywhere.

But I digress. Point is that whatever you do, be it kotatsu or sleeping bag, the hands remain cold, even more so when typing or writing. Gloves are the obvious solution – or are they, because you can’t type properly with them. Modifications are needed, like these:

These are just an old pair of gloves that aren’t warm enough now that I go downhill so quickly on my bicycle. So, I decided to cut off the fingertips and make some typing gloves out of them. What do you think?

Never mind, I know what you’re thinking, and you’re wrong: I spent a whole year in high school learning to touch type, so, yes, I do use all 10 fingers on my keyboard. Unfortunately, these gloves are made from relatively thin yarn, and it was really hard to finish the tips properly. So much so that I was ready to give up after the index finger (I’m glad I didn’t cut off all of them in the beginning), but I persevered for one more to create writing gloves instead.

Since I do a lot of handwriting, this is a partial solution to my cold hand syndrome. However, I have seen some very pretty mittens without top that I think are perfect for typing and are super warm too. Maybe I’ll just go and buy a pair of these.

Shunga – Erotic Art in Japan

Rosina Buckland

Shunga, “spring pictures”, are erotic images from Japan – mainly woodblock prints, but also paintings – that had their heyday during the Edo period (1603 – 1868). They depict all forms of love-making among the ordinary people from Japan’s urban centers who were also the main audience for these images. Shunga live not only by their stylized depictions of sex – greatly enlarged genitals, clothing or hairstyles that indicate the status of the portrayed persons – but also by their lively commentary that is included in the picture and lets the viewer listen to the conversation of the couple.

This large-scale book presents a history of shunga in the Edo period while explaining the meaning behind the illustrations that are given. It also lists a number of famous ukiyo-e artists who have produced shunga at some point (or throughout) their career, like Harunobu, Hokusai, Utamaro, and others. It provides a deeper insight into shunga that goes beyond the erotic aspect. The accompanying 140 illustrations are beautifully reproduced pieces taken mostly from the British Museum’s collection. The famous Hokusai print with the woman and the octopus is included, of course.

I enjoyed learning about shunga. It is interesting that the vast majority of these images deal with consensual sex, and when prostitutes are depicted, they are always involved in a clandestine meeting with their secret lover instead of a client. In general, satisfying the woman seems to have been very important in real life too, and female sensual bliss is indicated by her curled toes in the images.

Rosina Buckland is currently the curator of the Japanese collections of the British Museum.

Whether you’re interested in the images or the historical background of shunga, this book is worth it either way. Get it from amazon.