Iris – Page 88 – goinggaijin.com

Tax Return

My accountant was here today and we finished the year-end taxes for the company. With “we” I mean that he did all the work producing all the documents for the tax office, and I signed a final document approving of what he has done. And this is why you need to have a trustworthy accountant: I have no idea, really, what I signed… Anyway, I assume he did the right thing since I will not have to pay taxes this year.

Okay, that’s a bit simplified: There are three types of taxes the company has to pay: Local/city, prefectural, and national taxes. The first two are – in part at least – taxes that are based on where the business is located, and you have to pay them regardless of whether you made a profit or not. This year it’s some 65.000 YEN for the privilege of owning a company in Kyoto.

National taxes are different – you pay them from company profits only. Since I am quite a bit in the reds, I don’t have to pay anything. In fact, I even received a tax return! And this is how:

The company owns a bank account, on which interest is paid, albeit very little. From this interest, I have to pay capital gains tax, which is automatically deducted by the bank and sent to the tax office. Now, the amount of national tax you have to pay “manually”, so to speak, is reduced by this capital gains tax. But since I don’t have to pay national tax this year, I have overpaid, and will receive that money back. Got it?

Long story short: I will receive a tax refund. The amount is a breath-taking 49 YEN (about 0.30 EUR). Yes, I know: the banking fees alone must be a multiple of this. At that rate, I can buy myself a celebratory cup of hot chocolate in about 7 years. Not that immigration will allow that, since I must make a profit in the second business year at the latest, or else… But that’s another story.

Visa Renewal

Apparently, it has been a whole year already since I went through the last visa procedure. The other day I received a reminder from my lawyer that we’ll need to start with the application again…

Hence, I have started collecting paperwork of my own, taking another mug shot for the new ID, and my accountant will have to produce some company documents, including my profit/loss statement. I am pretty much in the reds this year, which is not good for visa renewal, but my lawyer says that my visa will probably be renewed – for another year – regardless. I am a bit anxious about this, obviously, but I trust her; so far she has been right about everything.

She also remarked that I will have to give her both my passport and foreign ID during the application procedure, and again, the same helpless feeling from last year is creeping up my spine: “But how do I prove that I am me??” It’s totally irrational, obviously, but I’ll have to live with it.

The Woodsman and the Rain

Kishi Katsuhiko is a 60 year old woodcutter in a quiet rural village. One day his work is interrupted by a member of a filmcrew, asking him to be quiet while they are shooting. Some days later they meet again, and Kishi helps them find a suitable location for the next scene, in which he ends up playing a minor role. Koichi Tanabe, the insecure young man Kishi finds so annoying at first, turns out to be the director, and slowly a friendship between the two starts, beneficial for the both of them – and the movie. With Kishi’s knowledge of the best places for shooting and his connections to the other villagers, Koichi’s first movie becomes successful beyond his wildest dreams. In the end, Koichi has become more secure in his demands as a director, and Kishi has more respect for the plights of his own son.

The Woodsman and the Rain (Kitsutsuki to Ame), 2011, 129 minutes
Director: Shuichi Okita
Cast: Koji Yakusho (Kishi Katsuhiko), Shun Ogura (Koichi Tanabe)
Winner of the 2011 Tokyo International Film Festival’s Special Jury Prize

I went to see the film with very little expectations, but I ended up greatly enjoying it. I think it depicts the dynamics of a friendship between old and young quite well, and how important outside input can be when it comes to our own family relationships. But this is not a big drama – some of the scenes are outright funny, and the awkward and shy Koichi and the down to earth Katsuhiko who acts like a supportive father figure make a good team. It’s not high art – especially given that the movie in the movie is about zombies – but nevertheless time pleasantly spent.

There is an English version of this film available at amazon.

Covered

Renovations on the building are progressing.For some reason they do the noisy bits on Saturdays, during the week there’s only painting. This week was especially productive in this respect. For a day or two my south balcony was covered in a thick water-repellent layer – in bright blue. I’m glad it has been painted over in a more standard tone of grey. In any case, it now seems that the south side of the building is almost finished.

This means that the plastic coverings have been removed from my windows and were promptly reapplied onto the staircase; the stairwell is now being painted in several layers of particularly stinky paint. Especially Tuesday was bad when the smell entered my apartment from both sides. Nothing else to do than to seek exile again.

Some time next week the entrance doors will be painted, and I could even ask for the painting being done on the inside as well. Still, it seems that most of the things that are being done are strictly cosmetic and not really improving the substance of the building. But, since this is not my home…

Kumamoto

The earth is still rumbling in Kumamoto, where last week, Saturday the 16th, a large earthquake with a magnitude of 7.1 has taken place. Already on Thursday, there was a foreshock of 6.4 magnitude, and until now, there were 15 earthquakes altogether with a magnitude of more than 5. These numbers are always a bit hard to grasp – what does “magnitude 6.4” mean in reality? Obviously, it is strong, but how strong?

In 1884, the Japanese Meteorological Agency has introduced the Shindo scale of earthquakes, which since 1908 includes descriptions of the effect an earthquake of a given magnitude has on people; and since the Kobe earthquake in 1995, there are 10 distinct levels on the Shindo scale.

So, for the Kumamoto foreshock we have Shindo scale 7, meaning for example:

Effects on people: Thrown by the shaking and impossible to move at will.
Effects on buildings: Most or all buildings (even earthquake-resistant ones) suffer severe damage.
Ground and slopes: The ground is considerably distorted by large cracks and fissures, and slope failures and landslides take place, which can change topographic features; ground acceleration of more than 4 m/s².

The main shock, Shindo scale 6+, had only marginally less severe consequences; theoretically, that is, remember that there was not much left after the first earthquake.

In the first two earthquakes, 44 people lost their lives, so far 8 are missing, and more than 3000 injured. If you live in Japan, the thought that this can happen to you, that you might be killed in the next earthquake which might just happen at your place, is always present in the back of your head. And still, it’s something you just deal with. Just like stepping on a plane and knowing that it may crash, you rely on the fact that airplane travel is the safest means of transport. Just like Japan, where centuries of dealing with 400 earthquakes a day have made it probably the safest place to be when you’re caught in the middle.

Ichigo Daifuku

I love sweets. However, my idea of sweets is synonymous with “chocolate”, and this is not optimal in Japan, especially in summer when it melts faster than you can eat it. And traditional Japanese sweets and desserts are… well, let’s say many of them are an acquired taste. Somewhere on a level with licorice…

But there is one type of Japanese sweets I absolutely love: Ichigo Daifuku. It’s nothing but a soft mochi rice cake filled with very smooth and heavily sugared anko red bean paste. This mochi is then cut open, and a fresh strawberry is put on top. This is one in all its finger food glory:Even though I don’t like anko at all, there is something about those ichigo daifuku that makes them incredibly delicious; the taste of the mochi, the strawberry, and the anko blends together perfectly – probably because of all the sugar. They are often sold at matsuri food stalls during spring when the strawberries are in season. If you come across them anywhere – do give them a try!

Apology

There are elections again in Austria. This time it’s the presidential elections and they will take place on April 24th. There are six candidates for the post and I am eager to cast my vote. Hence, I have applied for an absentee ballot, which I have received today.

Of course, just like last time, the documents came too late to send them to the embassy which would take care of them, so I had to send them back to Austria myself per express mail service – and pay myself for the privilege. At least, if there is a second round of voting, I already received the documents for that one, so my vote will definitely be on time then.

Anyway, that’s not what I wanted to talk about. The documents I received were in a rather sorry state. Obviously, somewhere on the journey from Austria, the letter became wet and although dry by the time it ended up in my mailbox, it looked the part inside and out…

What I found very nice was the extra sticker the post office at Haneda airport put on the envelope, apologising for the state of the letter. Essentially it says:

This item was already received wet at East Kawasaki Post Office. We do not know how this happened. We did dry the item but we deeply (!) apologize that we have to send you your valuable letter in such a state.

At least I know now why the documents came that late. In any case, they are already back on their way to Austria. Let’s hope for the best for the elections…

Sealed

Renovations on my apartment complex are progressing. Right now, the walls and balconies on the south side are being painted. This has two major drawbacks: One, that I cannot open any windows since the paint has a very unpleasant smell. And two, that my view has deteriorated even further: My windows and doors are covered with plastic, partially to prevent them from getting (too) dirty, and partially to prevent me from venturing out onto the balcony. The painting is scheduled for all week, so with a bit of luck everything should be over by Saturday.

Hideyoshi’s Hanami

It is cherry blossom season – hanami – and there are plenty of occasions to go out and watch Japanese look at the Japanese sakura cherry trees, most likely through a camera lens.

One of the oldest versions of hanami is recreated each year at Daigo-ji temple. In 1598, the de-facto-ruler of Japan, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, had 700 sakura trees planted all over the temple precincts, and then hosted a party underneath the trees with more than 1300 invited guests. The procession starts out from Sanbo-in, an exquisite garden also designed by Hideyoshi. The gate already is interesting: The chrysanthemums on the outside represent the Imperial house, while the Paulownia in the centre are the family crest of the Toyotomi.

First in line are samurai with a fierce look on their faces, and they are followed by court musicians, other nobles, and priests of the temple.

Only then comes Hideyoshi, the only one not on foot, and he graciously waves to his subjects. At the time of the famous hanami, Hideyoshi was 62 years old, so the age and the appearance of the man on the dais is accurate.

Behind him, at the end of the procession, follow Hideyoshi’s wife and his consorts. This was quite normal at the time, especially since marriages were more of a political than a love affair. He is said to have been extremely fond of his consort Yodo, the mother of his heir Hideyori, who was five years old at the time of the hanami. He did not follow the modern procession though.

The procession took the short path of the lower part of Daigo-ji, and then entered the middle part of the temple through the niomon gate.

Beyond this, there are a number of temple buildings and a beautiful pagoda; but for the hanami, an extra stage is built for music and dance performances. Unfortunately, I did not see them because you need an extra ticket, but the music could be heard throughout the temple complex, so I think there was quite some party going on…

Oita Prefecture

I found this video the other day – on an Austrian page nonetheless – and I just have to share it with you even though it’s half a year old or so and you may have already seen this. It is a very well done advertisement for the hot sprints in Oita prefecture, Kyushu, and I find it very funny.

Note however, the final remark in the video: “Staged for filming purposes. Filmed with special permission. Visitors to hot springs are not permitted to wear bathing suits in the baths or to swim in the baths.”