A European's move towards Japan
Today is the autumn equinox, which is a national holiday in Japan. Because it’s Sunday today, the actual day off will be tomorrow, but you get the idea.
While the moon has always featured prominently in Japanese art, and not just the Harvest Moon in September, the equinox as such is a bit more difficult to depict. But, thankfully, science and technology as applied by NASA come to the rescue.
Even though full moon is today – and it’s even a supermoon, extra close to the Earth – Japan’s traditional moon viewing ceremonies were held yesterday. And once again, I went all the way over to Matsunoo Taisha for it.
Not much has changed compared to last year, the performers were largely the same. However, I thought that the selection of shakuhachi songs was more lively this year. And the koto-shinobue duo afterward performed a great version of Amazing Grace. Pity this was in Japan, I’m pretty sure that in America, people would’ve known the lyrics and would’ve sung along.
The taiko were great and uplifting as always, but I now find that something has to be added. It’s hard to explain, but I’ll try: taiko drums are essentially just rhythm, and while you do get excited, the adrenaline doesn’t last forever. With a melody overlaid, no matter how simple, the interest can be kept up throughout the piece. This time again, the second piece was the best, it added flutes and cymbals to the drums.
This time I went alone, but I was having a nice chat with the person in the seat next to me. He didn’t drink sake or cared for the sweets that were offered, so he gave me his ticket for a second helping to both. It was very good sake; after all, Matsunoo Taisha enshrines the god of all things alcohol. Another addition this year were the food stalls outside the shrine, but even though they had some karaage (fried chicken) left when the ceremony was over, I resisted the temptation. Maybe next year.
Already back in the beginning of July, the Japanese government has begun to issue new banknotes, the first one to feature English in their design (Bank of Japan). They took a while to trickle down to Kyoto, and even longer to make it into my own wallet, but here they are, courtesy of National Printing Bureau, Independent Administrative Institution (独立行政法人 国立印刷局):
The new 1000 yen bill features Kitasato Shibasaburo (1853 – 1931), a Japanese bacteriologist. While he was sent to Hong Kong during an outbreak of the bubonic plague in 1894, he isolated the bacterium that caused the plague, just days ahead of Alexandre Yersin who is generally (the only one) credited with the discovery.
He was also nominated for the very first Nobel Prize in Medicine, for the work he and Emil von Behring did on the diphtheria antitoxin serum. However, only von Behring received the Nobel Prize for this discovery, probably because Kitasato was only a student at the time.
He kept working on infectious diseases for his entire life, and founded the Kitasato Institute, now a private university for medicine, in Tokyo.
Like the last 5000 yen bill, this one also features a woman: Tsuda Umeko (1864 – 1929), who was educated in the US as a child and later even went to college there. Upon her return to Japan, she became an educator and founded Tsuda Women’s University in Tokyo.
Throughout her life, she was a strong advocator for women’s education and social reform. Interestingly, she was not an advocate of women’s suffrage or even a feminist movement.
Finally, the 10000 yen note shows, quite fittingly, Eiji Shibusawa (1840 – 1931), an industrialist of the Meiji period who introduced capitalism to the country and founded the first modern bank of Japan, which was even allowed to print its own banknotes.
Born into a farmer’s family, his aptitude for finances landed him in the household of the (future) shogun and, after the Meiji Restoration, in the new Ministry of Finance. He resigned in 1873 and, besides the First National Bank, founded more than 500 other corporations, among them the Tokyo Stock Exchange, the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Tokyo Gas, and the Imperial Hotel Tokyo, all without holding a controlling stake in them.
Furthermore, he was also involved in projects related to social welfare and education, like the Japan Red Cross, which he founded as well. He was granted the title of viscount and in 1929 was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. Today, he often features in Japanese manga and fiction.
Interesting people! Let’s hope many of them make it into my wallet in the future!
I already teased it last week: I was able to experience Japan’s emergency health services – all thanks to Pumpkin. And no, it wasn’t quite as many of you have thought, thanks for asking:
It was a Saturday when was brushing Pumpkin and he liked it – until he didn’t any more. And that’s when he bit me.
Usually, when cats scratch or bite during play, the wound is superficial and heals without problems. This one, however, went deep and even drew some blood, but not enough to flush the wound clean.
Now, cats have the second dirtiest mouths among vertebrates (#1: humans, yay!), so I already knew that I had to keep an eye on my hand. Nothing much happened that day, but the next morning, the back of my hand had started to swell. It didn’t look very serious, so I thought: Nah, it’ll be fine, I can wait until tomorrow to see a doctor.
And that’s what I would’ve done, but a friend of mine reminded me that the Monday ahead was a holiday. And if that wasn’t bad enough, both of the doctors in my neighborhood had taken the entire coming week off thanks to the Obon holidays.
So, with my friend prodding, I decided to go to an emergency room rightaway. After some research, I chose the Kyoto Urban Care Center near Nijo Station. However, when I arrived there and tried to navigate the waiting room overfull with screaming toddlers and their parents, a nurse took a brief look at my swollen hand and declared “We don’t do that here.”
“As in ‘we don’t prescribe antibiotics’ or what?” I didn’t understand. Not that she cared much. “You’ll have to go somewhere else.” And off she went.
One day I’ll speak Japanese well enough to properly deal with somebody like that. And yes, I do understand that she’s just doing her job. But that foreigner bonus must be good for something, right? Anyway, I managed to leave without strangling anyone, I’m so proud.
Unfortunately, pretty much all of those “somewhere elses” charge you 7700 yen just for the privilege of still being able to walk into their ERs; it’s free if you come by ambulance (but there was no way I could justify that, plus who knows what the co-pay is on that.)
So, at the thankfully nearby Red Cross Hospital #2, I had to agree to this charge, grudgingly. Having done that, a significantly kinder nurse helped me fill in all kinds of forms, a recently graduated first year resident took body temperature and hand photos (I refused a blood test) and after maybe 90 minutes, I could return home with a week’s supply of two kinds of antibiotics – in exchange for a total of 9990 yen.
Although my hand kept swelling until the evening, by Monday morning, it was almost back to normal, and in the end, everything cleared up nicely.
So yes, Pumpkin was always fine – thanks for asking about him – and still to this day is completely unfazed by the fact that he owes me all that money. Unfortunately, he’s quite camera shy, so I won’t be able to recoup my losses by making him an insta model or youtube star. But I shall consider my options.
Haruki Murakami
This book delivers exactly what its author says in the foreword: “This is a book in which I have gathered my thoughts about what running has meant to me as a person.”
It was written between summer 2005 and autumn 2006 and comprises nine essays, written in different places and about different races – marathons and triathlons – and the training that went into them. Yet, the essays are not just about running, but are also a memoir about writing and how Murakami became a writer in the first place. His early life as the owner of a music bar was especially interesting; his love for music is undiminished as can be seen in his novels that all seem to have at least one character obsessed with music.
Overall, I’m not sure what to think of this book. I am not a runner and not much of a writer myself, which probably explains a certain detached interest. Murakami is also not very good when writing about himself. He seems to be more at ease in the role of a (self-) chronicler, preferring to keep his deeper thoughts to himself.
Certainly, the subject matter of long-distance running doesn’t lend itself easily to deep philosophical insights, but I also think that the vertical pronoun throws Murakami’s prose off somehow. At least all the “in my opinion’s” that were so obnoxious in his book on writing are less numerous here, which makes him sound much less pompous and more human.
I don’t regret having read this book, but had I not done so, I wouldn’t have missed much either. Try it out for yourself on amazon.
Summer is over – which in Japan means that the humidity dropped considerably and the temperatures are now in the mid-30s. September is also typhoon season, but the first one that got people worried even up here didn’t even reach Kyoto (it did cause a lot of damage in Kyushu, though.)
In my summer off (from here), I did some serious BATI-HOLIC fangirling (the next two months will be busy in this regard…), got caught up on my reading, and finished a few other projects that have been lingering. They run the gamut from personal to house-related and business; I’ve even made progress on a certain long-term pet project of mine.
Speaking of pet: my beloved Pumpkin has made me explore Japan’s health care services in more depth than ever before, and he now owes me money. I’ll give you the details in due course.
Anyway, I’m back for now and will do my best to keep you in the loop two times a week as usual.
We’re still in a heat wave here in Kyoto. Even though there was a thunderstorm in the late afternoon that cooled things down considerably, the effect is not going to last.
https://k-kirie.com/At this time of the year, people send so-called shochuumimai summer greeting cards. They are meant to inquire about somebody’s health during the hot season. The winter equivalent are kanchuumimai, usually sent out in January or February. I think the summer ones are more cheerful, and knowing that the Japanese suffer more in summer, this might be the reason.
Although I do like the heat, I’m suffering enough for my brain to turn to mush… So I’ll take a bit of a break now, at least until Obon. Hopefully, it will cool down again afterwards.
Happy summer – stay cool!
It’s the time between Gion Ato Matsuri (July 24) and Obon (August 16) and, like every year around this time: We’re in the middle of a heatwave.
So yes, I’m hot and Pumpkin is suffering too. I am taking it very easy at the moment – it’s summer, after all – but I still have to do some work.
Thankfully, it doesn’t feel that hot in my office, at least I have the impression, I’m not sweating too much. Also, there is a light breeze every afternoon, and with all my windows open, this indeed makes a difference.
One of the things I have only discovered upon moving to Japan (and which I now believe is sorely missing from European summers) is shaved ice. Extremely refreshing and practically calorie-free, this light dessert is a beloved summer staple for kids and adults alike.
Apparently, the Japanese version of shaved iced, called kakigori, is especially fluffy, and indeed, the consistency reminds me of freshly fallen snow. (Yes, I do know how snow tastes, the best efforts of my grandparents to prevent that notwithstanding…)
Eating shaved ice dates back to the Heian period, when it was an expensive delicacy for aristocrats. It became widely popular (and available) in the 19th century, and today, July 25 is even considered Kakigori Day in Japan.
Traditionally, kakigori was produced by shaving a block of ice using a hand-cranked machine, and some food stalls at local festivals still have one of these (on display, if not in use).
The freshly shaved ice is put in a bowl or cup and sweet syrup is added for flavour. Lemon, strawberry, melon, ramune (a popular old-fashioned type of soda) and many other flavours are available.
A special green tea version with azuki beans and mochi, called ujikintoki, is said to have been invented in Uji city. There is also yakigori where liquor is poured over the ice and then set aflame, but somehow I feel that this goes against the purpose.
As I said, kakigori is ubiquitous in Japanese summer; it is sold everywhere the little flag with the kanji for ice is displayed, from restaurants and cafes to convenience stores all the way to yatai food stalls at festivals.
A personal favourite and the absolute winner when it comes to taste is the kakigori with condensed milk and strawberry jam served in the Saruya tea house at Shimogamo Shrine. And this year, coincidentally, I had one bowl of it right on Kakigori Day!
Today was doyou ushi no hi, which is considered the hottest day in midsummer. The doyou are 18 consecutive days that occur before the change of the season, and traditionally, the summer doyou are associated with the element of fire (for obvious reasons).
The doyou ushi no hi is the day of the ox during this period (sometimes there are two in the same year). It is considered healthy to eat foods with an u in it, for example udon noodles or ume plums are popular.
The #1 food for doyou ushi no hi goes back to the Edo period, however: It’s unagi – eel- sliced down the middle, broiled on a grill and served on a bed of rice. It is one of my favourite dishes regardless of the season. However, since the Japanese eel has become an endangered species, this dish is very expensive and more often than not, the eel is a China import.
In any case, today didn’t quite live up to expectations. It was rainy and rather cool, so no complaints from me. I bet August will be hot and unbearable again…