Iris – Page 126 – goinggaijin.com

Daruma doll

As several of my friends asked about the picture adorning the “About Me” page, I thought a short explanation is in order.

This is a daruma doll. It is used by the Japanese as a talisman for good luck and it is also seen as a symbol of perseverance. The idea behind this is the following: Daruma dolls are purchased without eyes. You make a wish – or set a goal – and while doing so you paint in one eye of the doll. When your wish is fulfilled – or your goal reached – you reward the daruma by painting in the second eye.

Daruma dolls are made out of paper mache or some similar light material, but with a very heavy base, which makes them impossible to topple over – hence the symbol of perseverance, an endless falling and getting up again. They are modeled after Bodhidharma, the founder of Zen Buddhism who lived in the 6th century. The story goes that he meditated for nine years without moving, so his legs atrophied – hence the round shape of the dolls. They come in many colors and sizes, but most of them are red – the color of a head priest’s robe – and fit comfortably in two hands. The eyebrows and the beard are modeled after animals that symbolise longevity – the eyebrows have the shape of a crane, and the beard on the cheeks the shape of a tortoise. However, the design here may vary according to where they have been made.

Nowadays, daruma are widely sold in souvenir shops, but traditionally they could be bought only at Buddhist temples. The idea was that a doll was “valid” for one year only, and at the end of the year you would return it back to the temple where you bought it, where a ceremony would be held to thank the Bodhidharma for the services rendered, and then the dolls would be ritually burned. I am not sure what to do if a wish is not fulfilled within the year you bought the doll though…

In any case, my daruma was bought in a simple souvenir shop in Miyajima last year, so I don’t have to return it anywhere. And I don’t have any intentions to burn it until my wish is granted, no matter how long that takes.

What my wish is? Oh, can’t you guess…?

Reminiscences

I have just returned from a meeting with people from my old life. I first saw a professor from Kyoto University, and then we went out to have dinner with a number of other people from my field, or should I say ex-field? It was a very nice dinner, perfect food and all-you-can-drink, and when I explained that I’m leaving and I’m up to start something new, everybody wished me luck and said that I should follow my passions. It was lovely, I didn’t expect that at all.

Afterwards – I skipped karaoke 😉 – I went home along the river Kamo. The night air was mild, the moon – almost full – together with the street lamps from the road next to the river walk lit the scene, it was great. I felt safe, sound and serene all the way back home.

I love this place.

Data entry

I spent all day writing new versions of my resume – both on- and offline. There is a specific job I’d like to apply for, and the company expects a CV – in Japanese.

Only a small reason to panic…

There is in fact a standard form for Japanese CV’s; it covers everything an employer needs to know for the first impression – on two pages only. It can be bought in stationary stores and some companies expect you to use their own, but online forms are also available, for example here. The start of the first page looks like this:

So, what do we have… Besides the usual name, date of birth and age, current address, questions about married status and dependents, as well as a photo on the right, there is also the question about commute time from the current residence to the company – these costs are usually reimbursed. What is absent is place of birth and nationality – Japanese law forbids discrimination based on this (together with discrimination based on gender, religion, or social status). The largest spot is reserved for education and work experience – you are expected to enter all you ever did, starting from elementary school in chronological order. There is also a field for licences and certificates (a driver’s licence get’s the number one spot!), and a rather small one for the triple “Why I want this job / What I can do (skills) / What I like to do (hobbies)”. There is even a field for “requests to the company” which includes salary, but I am not sure how far you can go here. Apparently it’s okay to ask to be placed in a specific branch office in the country.

A detailed “how to fill in a Japanese CV form” can be found on this page, by the way.

Generally these forms are A3 size, with the two pages next to each other. I said above that these forms are available in stationary stores – that is because it is customary to fill it in by hand. I have heard that companies in Japan have handwriting analysts to find out the character and whatnot of the employee-to-be. Well, as my handwritten Japanese resembles that of a five year old, I’ll better don’t try any experiments here – typed it is.

In any case, I’m exhausted now, but now I can start my job hunt in earnest… Wish me luck!

Disposal

Monday and Thursday morning is garbage collection. There are no garbage bins for individual houses (at least not in this area), so you have to bring your waste to designated spots close by your building. Every house has a special spot where to bring the garbage, and you have to put it there before 8 am – but not the night before!

You pay for garbage collection by buying designated plastic bags that come in various sizes; they are sold at convenience stores and cost 1 yen per litre capacity. There are many crows here, so this – and probably the wind – is the reason why you have to put your bags underneath a net and secure it with stones. The nets are usually tucked away in an extra bag on an electricity mast nearby for example.

garbage collection spot in Kyoto — garbage collection

So far, so easy. What I find rather irksome though is the fact that recycling – while it does exist – is made relatively complicated. The obvious recyclables – glass bottles, cans and PET bottles – are collected once a week. Other things – plastic containers and packaging in general, paper, metal… are collected only once a month, and while the spot for the rubbish is always the same, I could not find out when the collection takes place.

Also it seems that separating waste is not mandatory, my landlady even said I can put anything into the “burnable” waste category, from paper to kitchen waste, plastic and ceramics, even batteries… And let’s not forget that Japanese houses are tiny and there’s not much space for storing anything – so it’s much easier just to throw stuff out immediately and be done with it. To be honest, after my time in Germany where everybody must recycle (at least theoretically) this is almost painful, especially in a highly industrialized country as Japan.

I do know though, that in other Japanese towns things are different. I recall from a visit in Saku (which is a small town in the countryside in Nagano prefecture), that the household there had eight or so different bins… Probably a bit overkill, and most likely not mandatory either, but it made me feel a bit better there.

Fun fact: Here in Kyoto, there are collection points for old tempura oil – and used lighters…

Aoi Matsuri

Last Wednesday, I visited the Aoi matsuri. It takes place every year on May 15th, and is thus the first of the three main matsuri (festivals) in Kyoto (the others are the Gion festival in July and the Jidai festival in October).

Aoi matsuri dates back to the 6th century, when the emperor sent an emissary to the shrines to perform rituals to end a famine caused by ceaseless rains. The name derives from the hollyhock (aoi) leaves all participants wear on their garments, but officially it is named Kamo matsuri, because it involves rituals at two shrines in Kyoto.

Rider with attendant — A rider with his attendant

Essentially, Aoi matsuri is a procession of more than 500 people – all dressed in elaborate Heian-era costumes – 35 horses and two large ox carts, which starts at the imperial palace, stops at Shimagamo shrine for the first set of rituals (that take about two hours), and then moves on to Kamigamo shrine for the final rituals.

Among the 500 people participating in the procession, there are two main figures: Firstly, the imperial messenger, who leads the procession on horseback and is responsible for presenting the emperor’s offerings at the shrines. Secondly, the Saio-dai, a young unmarried woman from Kyoto (in former days a close relative of the reigning emperor) who dedicates herself to Shimogamo shrine. She has to undergo a purification ritual before the festival, and she is the eye catcher of the procession, as she wears the most elaborate of all garments (a so called 12-layer-robe junihitoe, which essentially consists of 12 kimonos word on top of each other) and is carried along in a palanquin. The procession starts at 10:30 at the Imperial Palace and arrives at Kamigamo shrine at around 15:30, so the festival takes all day.

The Saio Dai in her palanquin — The Saio-Dai

I went to the palace about an hour before the start of the procession, and I was lucky to secure a spot in the second row of spectators. It was a perfect day for the spectacle, with bright blue sky, but not too hot weather. Once the procession started, it moved relatively fast, the whole thing had passed me within one hour. It was fascinating to watch…

As I said, there were about 500 participants; men either on foot or on horseback, dressed as warriors, courtiers, priests, acting as attendants or carrying various types of offerings to the shrines or simply responsibility; women, all dressed in multiple layered kimono, some underneath large umbrellas, others on horseback, some on foot, as attendants to the Saio-Dai; and a number of young girls, also representing attendants of the Saio-Dai. Then there were two large ox carts, with man-high, creaking, gold-leafed wooden wheels, pulled by an ox and pushed by maybe 10 men. The whole procession was an explosion of colour, everything was heavily decorated, there were flowers and the hollyhock leaves… it was beautiful.

Courtladies — Ladies of the court - notice the hollyhock leaves

After the procession had passed, the crowd dispersed surprisingly quickly. Although I had not intended it, I went along to Shimogamo shrine after all. Unfortunately I came to late, so I did not see any of the offerings done at the shrine itself. I was, however, lucky enough not to miss the big thing: the horse race. At Shimogamo shrine, there is a short racetrack, where five horses competed in three races. They rode consecutively and were timed individually – unfortunately I had no way of finding out the winner. Again, both riders and horses wore Heian-style attire, and it did not seem easy to stay in the saddle at full speed… Once again I was lucky to get a good spot there as well to take some pictures of the action.

Horse in the race — Horse racing at Shimogamo shrine

However, after the race I decided not to go further to Kamigamo shrine, as it is quite far outside, and also as I would again not have been able to arrive on time to secure a good spot from which to see the offerings. Now I know that there is apparently some archery – from horseback – involved in those rituals… Oh well, next year.

In any case, it was an exciting and beautiful day (I have the sunburn to prove it) and I’m already looking forward to the next matsuri.

Community

Today, after finishing my book on Katakana, I went to the Kyoto International Community House which is just a few blocks away from Ebisu’s.

They offer a treasure trove of useful things for the foreigner and/or foreign resident in Kyoto, many of them in Japanese and English, but there is also assistance in German, French, Korean, and Chinese. They offer:

all sorts of direct advice, from immediate help with problems in the community to legal advice in case of visa problems
translation services, by phone if necessary
maps, brochures, pamphlets of all kinds, for example the “Easy Living in Kyoto” booklet for people who come to live in Kyoto
a library with international newspapers and books in Japanese, English and many other foreign languages
computer facilities
snack bar and cafe
rooms and meeting halls for rent
an exhibition hall (this week there is an exhibition about Kyoto’s sister city Cologne)
classes in Japanese and Korean (haven’t seen any English classes though)
classes in Japanese traditional arts and crafts (making paper, calligraphy, kimonos, sumi-e, abacus…)
an offline message board with advertisements and language tandem requests
….

Mainly, however, it’s a meeting place for both foreigners and locals. When I was there, I saw more Japanese people – older ones, though – than foreigners. There is the possibility to train the Japanese language with volunteer native speakers – they are not trained teachers, but they will help you with your problems and questions – for a token fee of 50 Yen only.

I think this is certainly something I will do – it’s always good to train the language as often as possible, especially speaking and listening comprehension. We’ll see how far I can get with this method…

The Kyoto International Community House
http://www.kcif.or.jp/archive/en/kaikan/
2-1 Torii-cho, Awataguchi, Sakyu-ku, Kyoto 606 8536
075 – 752 3010
office@kcif.or.jp

Open Tuesday through Sunday from 9:00 to 21:00

Matsuri!

A matsuri is a festival or holiday in Japan.

Usually they are connected to some shrine, but there are secular ones also. The experience varies, as they always have a local flavour: there can be solemn processions, food stalls lining the streets, music and dance performances…

Today is one of the three big matsuri in Kyoto, a long procession through the northern part of the city. And I’m planning to watch – I have to be off soon…

Time Difference

The time difference between Japan and Germany is +8 hours in winter and +7 hours in summer (as Japan does not follow daylight savings time), so Japan is ahead of German time. Interestingly this didn’t bother me when I arrived – I was exhausted from the trip and the moving as a whole, so I didn’t have much jet lag. By now I am back to a rather normal sleeping pattern of around 8 hours during the night, as opposed to the 5 or so hours I had the week before the move.

What does bother me tremendously is this: It’s getting dark so early here…

Kyoto lies on approximately the same latitude as Nicosia (Greece) or Albuquerque (New Mexico), and currently sunrise is around 5 am and sunset around 7 pm here – which means there are about 14 hours of daylight. In Germany, I lived 17 degrees further north, where the sunrise currently is around 5:30 am and sunset around 9 pm – meaning one and a half hour of sun more. Also I noticed that here, once the sun has set, it’s getting dark very quickly, whereas in Germany you could sit outside and read until past 10 pm.

I’m a night owl, so I enjoy having light until late, and I got used to going to bed about an hour or two after sunset. Of course, with that routine in place I get sleepy like that here as well – and it’s only 9 pm or so. I’ll get used to it in no time, I’m sure, but right now it does feel funny…

Sunset in Kyoto — sunset in Kyoto, courtesy of Tim Vickerman

36 Views of Mount Fuji

36 Views of Mount Fuji – On Finding Myself in Japan
Cathy N. Davidson

Cathy and her husband Ted visit Japan for the first time in 1980 to teach English at Kyoto University. Expecting the typical Japan shown to the tourists, inhabited by flower-arranging geisha living in tiny wooden houses, they are shocked by the industrialized nation they encounter. However, they soon discover a Japan where tradition and modern life are not mutually exclusive. Although not everything can be changed (e.g., having open conversations even with friends remains difficult) and some plans fail outright (like permanently moving to Japan), it becomes clear that the couple have lost their heart somewhere in Japan. This book contains 16 encounters with Japanese culture – profane, funny, and embarrassing ones, but always personal – and describes also their aftermath.

On my way towards Japan, I try to gather as much info about the country and its people as possible. This means that I currently read anything I can find about Japan: history books, literature, travelogues, … This book is extraordinary. Cathy Davidson describes her experiences with Japan and its culture, both the good and the bad ones, with unromanticised candor. And still, in every word her love for the country is palpable, just as is her pain at the realisation she will not be able to live there permanently. Highly recommended!

Check out the book on amaz on.

Pathfinding

The other day I went grocery shopping to a nearby supermarket. I had a description of where to go from my housemate: “Two roads further from the convenience store, turn right; it’s between the first and second road then.” Sounds easy enough?

It took me two and a half hours…

Apparently I didn’t walk far enough the first time, and I have learnt now: A “road” only counts as such if it has a name and admits two way traffic. The roads – at least around here it appears – are on a rectangular grid. In between, what is probably the equivalent of an American city block, there are narrow alleys, without names, where at most a single car can pass, and often not even that.

This probably explains the difficulties even Japanese have in finding an address. An address here rarely has a street name, they zoom into the city block of the building, and the number of the house is arbitrary – by building sequence rather than by proximity. When invited somewhere, you usually get the name of a street corner, and a small map (often on the back of the name card) which, using carefully selected landmarks like convenience stores, show the location of the house.

In theory, I knew all that before… But being faced with the practice of it is very much different.

In any case, on my wanderings I have found a German bakery. I cannot say whether they are owned by a German, as the staff are Japanese, but the taste of their bread is authentic, just as it should be. A dangerous shop! Unfortunately it is very expensive, so I should go there only on special occasions. Oh well, I have survived without before…