goinggaijin.com – Page 66 – A European's move towards Japan

Overzealous

Finally, it is getting summer! The weather has picked up, and if the forecast is correct, there will be up to 29 degrees on Sunday! I’m so thrilled – time to get out my T-shirts.

Because it is almost summer, the trees around my apartment are now showing their fresh leaves. In Japan, it is customary to cut back trees and shrubbery during winter, and interestingly, this is often done rather brutally – for my European eyes at least – and I always wonder how the plants manage to bounce back during the next growth season.

However, it is not looking good this year for some of the trees in my apartment complex. Apparently, somebody from the gardening company got carried away and produced this – I took the photo yesterday:

Those are very sad-looking trees, don’t you think? I doubt they will survive this onslaught – I mean, how could they without any leaves or smaller branches left? They were cut several months ago, but for some reason, this is the only row of trees that was treated thus, the other three rows were not even touched. I wonder whether somebody made a serious mistake and was told to leave (and not come back), or whether this was done to try out something or other. In any case, those trees will not give much shadow for at least this year.

Bad Day

Ever since I started my own company which essentially provides me with an excuse to do what I like, I have greatly enjoyed my working life. Of course, there are always things I don’t like doing as much as others, but in general, I am quite content with the way things are going. So, I think this is the first day in a very long time where I can say with utter conviction:

Today was not my day!

It started out in the morning when I had received an invitation to provide a voice sample for a deeply religious text. Not just spiritual, but religious in the sense of “look deep down into yourself to find out god’s plans for you”. I’m an atheist, always been. Besides, how deep down am I supposed to look – wouldn’t that require a microscope and a very sharp knife? I’m not sure if I should price myself out of this one. As you’ll see in a moment, I do need the money, and it would be quite a large project…

Things went downhill further when halfway to the bus stop I found out that I had forgotten my umbrella. The whole idea of taking the bus in the first place was because by the time I was to go home, it was supposed to rain; and I didn’t want to get soaking wet on the bike. Not taking the umbrella would have been counterproductive, so I had to return to fetch it… In the end, I was late for my Japanese class, but because I’m usually on time, my teacher takes the few days when I’m not in his stride.

The big blow came in my afternoon Kyotogram meeting. I had barely entered the office and sat down on the table when the big boss jumped up from his own desk to come over and talk to my colleague and me. He brought bad news: After the complete disaster with the kyozutsumi project (only 2 – in words: two – sets sold), the headquarters in Osaka (who were greatly responsible for the failure) decided to shut down Kyotogram completely. Right now, it is unclear when this will happen and what we’ll do until then, but the boss said that the earliest we can close up shop will be by the end of May. Which means that I will have to find a new, steady job, which is not easy, most freelancing jobs are one-time only or at least far and in between.

And to top things off, my Tuesday evening German student informed me today that he would like to suspend his German classes for the time being, meaning: for the next 6 months or so. He needs to take an English test in September or October this year, and since he is very busy with little free time, and he absolutely must pass that test, he would like to focus on his English until then. At least he has decided to employ me as his English teacher, which is nice (I’ve never taught anyone the TOEIC before), but at the same time it will decrease my income since I charge less for English than for German classes (because there are so much more people teaching English in Kyoto). He did offer to pay my German rates, but I didn’t think that was fair to him.

And finally, when I went home, it was raining just as predicted.

So, that was my day. Or rather: it wasn’t. The only part that was enjoyable was my Japanese class. The grammar basics of how to turn verbs and adjectives into nouns are relatively simple, so for once I didn’t make a complete fool out of myself. I think my Japanese teacher appreciated it.

And I will now turn my back on this day and appreciate a piece of chocolate. Thank goodness today’s over…

Saga Dainenbutsu Kyogen

Dainenbutsu Kyogen are short theatre performances that were originally meant to teach Buddhism to the general population of Japan. In Kyoto, there are three major such kyogen performances: Mibu Kyogen (in Mibudera Temple), Senbon Enmado Kyogen (in Injo-ji Temple) and Saga Dainenbutsu Kyogen.

The latter ones, shown in spring and autumn in Arashiyama’s Seiryo-ji Temple, originate in a ceremonial event called Dainenbutsu-e that was initiated by the monk Engaku in 1279. In modern times, their history was a bit rocky: In the 1960s, these plays went through a crisis when the number of actors declined and performances had to be cancelled. In 1975, volunteers founded the Saga Dainenbutsu Kyogen Hozonkai organisation to train new actors and keep the art alive through regular performances. In 1986, the Saga Dainenbutsu Kyogen were designated as a Japanese Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property, and today, the performances have become an integral part of Kyoto’s cultural calendar.

The Saga Dainenbutsu Kyogen are pantomimes, where a set of (male) actors dressed as certain stereotypes (like the young woman or man, the monk, the servant, etc.) breathe life into the story that is performed on a simple stage with barely any stage design and only a few necessary props. The actors – called kyogen kata – share the stage with musicians – hayashi kata – who play a special, 9-hole yokobue flute, kane bell, and small taiko drum. There are only two basic patterns of alternating the bell and drum, it is more of a rhythm than a melody, and is played throughout the performance. Also on stage is a supervisor – koken – who may help the actors with props etc.

This is necessary, because in the Saga Dainenbutsu Kyogen, all actors wear full face masks in the style of Noh masks, a tradition going back to the Muromachi era (14th – 16th century). These wooden masks have only very small eye holes through which the actors can see, which makes finding small props or immediately reacting to another actor quite challenging. Thus, the actors sometimes clap their hands or stomp their feet as a sign for the others who may wait at the edge of the stage for their next action that the play has progressed to a certain point. It is possible that two unrelated scenes that are taking place at the same time but in different places, are acted out simultaneously on stage.

The Saga Dainenbutsu Kyogen has a repertoire of about 20 plays. Not all kyogen are funny, or “soft” Yawarakamon plays, about half of them are more serious or “hard” Katamon that have their origin in Noh. Up to three plays may be grouped together and performed in one afternoon, usually the focus lies on the funny Yawakaramon though.

The atmosphere around these plays – whether soft or hard – is very relaxed, it is an outdoor performance in spring or autumn, when the temperatures are pleasant. Because the plays were developed to teach laypeople about Buddhism and they work without any speech, the stories are very easy to understand and transcend time and culture. Universally funny, they are definitely worth watching!

Visitor

Sorry for missing the last two posts, but I was very busy: I had my first visitor from Austria! Of course she came with a whole suitcase of Austrian goodies just for me which are now filling my fridge and freezer – THANK YOU SO MUCH!

In return, we went out together on two days, it was her third time in Kyoto already, but even after living here for 5 years, we could still find things neither of us had done before. On Sunday afternoon, after a late lunch at a running sushi, we went to an exhibition, and in the evening, we visited the lightup at Kodai-ji and Entoku-in temples, both founded by Nene, the wife of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and both considered national treasures for their gardens. The weather was a bit chilly after dark, so there were not many people, but from that one visit I prefer Entoku-in: more space to sit and contemplate.

On Monday I left my friend to explore the city, we just met up quickly for dinner when we had Okonomiyaki and made plans for Tuesday. We spent most of Tuesday walking a stretch along Lake Biwa: In the morning, we took a train to Omi Takashima, and from there walked to Shirahige Shrine, which has a nice torii located in the lake. It’s not as impressive as the one at Miyajima, but it’s still a nice place to visit. However, the enthusiasm is a bit dampened by the Nishi-Omi Highway that runs between the lake with the torii and the main shrine buildings and is a bit dangerous to cross.

We wanted to walk further south, but since the only way at this point is by walking along the highway, we went back to Omi Takashima and took a train two stations south to Omi Maiko. From there, there seems to be one beach resort after the other (with pine trees on the beach, very Japanese), so there are many little roads nearby the lake. Of course, it is way too cold for swimming still, so the beaches and restaurants and little pensions were all but deserted. However, in summer, it is clearly a hot spot teeming with families and youth.

Although we only walked a path the length of two train stations, this part of the trip took us almost two hours. Together with the two hours we walked to and from the shrine, this was the longest hiking trip I have done in a long time. When I finally came home, I was completely exhausted… I did enjoy the day though, and it may be worthwhile to take another trip along the lake on the bicycle one day.

My friend has since left me to my own devices again, and is now taking a serious hiking trip from Osaka all the way to Ise Shrine. I had a great time, it’s always nice to be pushed out of my comfort zone, and who knows, next time my friend comes to visit, I’m just as big a fan of hiking as my friend. 😉

Square One

In the last few days, I’ve suffered a couple of setbacks, unfortunately. One private, one business; they are not seriously serious, but still things I’ll need to take care of and find a workaround for.

Personal first: As you know, most of the people who rent an apartment (or even a company office) need a guarantor to do so. The guarantor is required to pay for costs the tenant may not be able (or willing) to pay. This can be missed rents, damages to the property on moving out, etc. When I moved in here, a friend of mine was so kind to be the guarantor for my apartment. He made clear that this is the only one apartment he would ever be guaranteeing for, but since I wasn’t planning on moving anywhere else for the time being, I thought I was settled.

Well, about a month ago, I received an email from him where he told me that he had suffered some hardships, and that he cannot be a guarantor for anybody at this point. So, he asked me to release him from the contract. Obviously, I’m not happy about that, but then again, he’s a friend doing me a favour, so I agreed. I did ask him to talk to my landlord though, and I was hoping the landlord would agree not to have a guarantor for the rest of my lease.

Unfortunately, that didn’t happen: I received an email today that he insists on my getting a new guarantor. Dang it. So, I’m back to square one: how to find a guarantor. Of course, after some three years more in Japan, I have a number of friends I might be able to ask for this favour. Still, a good guarantor is a person of “good standing” to which the landlord must agree, and somebody like this may be a bit more difficult to find. There are also companies who act as guarantors (chiefly for foreigners), but of course, they come with a fee attached. I have not yet spoken to anyone, but it’s something I need to start doing relatively quickly.

And then there is a business issue: I have tried to get a Japanese credit card associated with my business account. Usually, I don’t shop online, but there are always things you cannot pay for otherwise, for example web hosting for my What’s Up in Kyoto homepage. My accountant helped me filling out the application form, and last Friday I spent an hour at my bank to get the final kinks sorted out and my hanko at all the right places. I was promised a decision within a month.

They were much, much faster than that: Already yesterday I received a phone call (two, actually, the second girl did speak English) telling me that there’s no way I’m getting a credit card from them. Why? Because Japanese credit cards are reserved for Japanese and foreigners with permanent residency in Japan. Well, I’m not going to magically turn into the former, and the latter will take at least another 6 years, so it seems I’m out of luck for this one as well.

Not even the mention that the card was meant for the company and not for me did help because “the company is you, really”, which is true in a sense, but also bullshit in another sense. The infuriating part of the call was her tone of voice when she said “I’m so sorry” – if you are indeed that sorry, sweetheart, then try to find a way to make it happen after all. But it seems that the girl was too low in the hierarchy to make decisions like that, and unfortunately, my go-to guy in the bank who seemed to be a bit more flexible, must have a new job in another branch.

As you can see, I’m back to the starting point with two things. As I said above, neither of them is extremely bad (what would my landlord do if I cannot find a new guarantor – kick me out?) but both of them require efforts and possibly money that I wouldn’t have needed to spend. I hope life in general will go more smoothly again soon

Acquaintance

Last week, I was very busy. I always am towards the end of a month, but there were a few extra things that needed attention last week. For example, out of the blue, I received a ticket for a kyogen performance in Otsu, and I had to go the very next day, despite my already busy schedule.

Why did I HAVE to go? Well, nobody forced me, of course, but for some strange reason I like Noh, and kyogen are short and funny plays that are usually staged between the more serious and much longer Noh performances. And since I had never before seen a kyogen, I simply had to go and give it a try.

And this was a special kyogen to boot, because it was not a traditional Japanese one, but it had been written by W. B. Yeats in 1924, who was inspired by Noh and kyogen to write his own version of it. Kyogen are less stylised than Noh plays, and even though I only understood bits and pieces of the Japanese words, I could get the gist of the overall intentions of the play “The Cat and the Moon”. It is about an interesting symbiosis of a blind and a lame man, which is destroyed the moment the blind man is miraculously healed… Anyway, it was fun to watch, I am glad I took the time to go, and this has strengthened my resolve to learn a bit more about Noh and kyogen.

Fun fact on the side: It was my first time to go to the Biwako Hall, and I had to take trains I had never taken before, so I was a bit insecure. However, there was a nice elderly man in the train with me who happened to also go to the kyogen and so I trailed alongside him to the theatre. After the performance, when the audience was leaving, I saw him again, and he asked me if I wanted to meet the actors (who were lining up in the corridors outside the hall). I was a bit reluctant but he said “Don’t worry, they are my friends!” It turned out that this unassuming man in the train was a Noh actor himself, one who plays waki (supporting) roles. I was so thrilled! I do have his email address, so… who knows where this is going!

South of the Border, West of the Sun

South of the Border, West of the Sun
Haruki Murakami

12-year-old Hajime lives in the typical middle class suburbs of a typical post-war Japanese town, in a typical family among other, typical Japanese families. However, in a world where everybody seems to have brothers and sisters, he is an only child. In elementary school, the only friend he has is Shimamoto, new in town, whose father’s job requires her family to move frequently. Soon, the two develop a special bond, based on the fact that both are only children; but despite their attachment they lose touch when Hajime’s family moves.

25 years later, Hajime is a successful businessman in Tokyo, who loves his wife and adores his two daughters. But then, on a rainy night, Shimamoto appears in his Jazz bar, strikingly beautiful, rich, and surrounded by a mysterious air. The two rekindle their friendship, almost as had there been no interruption, and finally, Shimamoto tells him “You take either all of me or nothing”, and Hajime has to choose between his soul mate and the life he got so used to.

The story follows Hajime – whose name means “beginning” – through many of the beginnings in his life, but his love for Shimamoto is ever-present. In the preface of the book, it was mentioned that Haruki Murakami owned a Jazz bar in Tokyo at some time before he became a famous writer, and I cannot help wondering how much of his own life we can read in this book.

Haruki Murakami is probably the best known contemporary Japanese author. His first novel appeared in 1979, and “Norwegian Wood”, published in 1987, lead to international recognition and fame. He has also written several non-fiction books, for example “Underground” on the Tokyo gas attacks or “What I talk about when I talk about running” about his experiences as a marathon runner.

A book about love and middle age, and the choices we need to make. Available from amazon.

Hanami 2018!

The cherries have arrived this year! All Kyoto is now full with cherry blossoms and people are all distracted and taking photos of each and every little blossom…

Of course, I have to go with the general flow as well. Yesterday, on my way home I got a takeout falafel and chai and had it down at the river. And today, I went there again for a proper hanami with two friends. Many people had the same idea, so most of the best spots for picnics were already taken. The weather was lovely, kids were playing in the river (which is particularly shallow up here) and of course, you could hear lots and lots of cameras clicking… Here are a few of my photos:

Exciting!

In the beginning of this month, I have asked a friend of mine – a shin hanga woodblock printer – to help me design a new banner and logo for the What’s Up In Kyoto website. We spent about an hour chatting about my ideas, what ideas he has, what would look good and what wouldn’t, how many and what colors I’d like…

And just the other day I received a first draft, and: I love it! It’s quite different from what we thought we would try, but hey, he’s the artist here! There is one cute little detail which I didn’t even notice in the beginning, but it fits perfectly, and once you see it, it’s quite obvious why it is there.

I don’t want to reveal too much at this point, especially since it is not finished yet, but the above is a little snippet from the new logo. I’ll let you know once it is done and ready for the world at large.

Exasperation

As you know, I’m a staff writer over at Kyotogram,a facebook page showcasing the best of Kyoto. I enjoy the job, mostly because I do learn a lot about doing business in Japan, but it seems that there’s something driving me nuts every six months or so. No, it’s not the main job this time, nor is it the people. Work runs smoothly and rather predictably, I am happy with the atmosphere and the money is good still. But then there is the kyozutsumi… In the following “we” mostly refers to the main Kyotogram staff, I’m not involved in all the decisions.

It’s a new project that we’re trying to start, and the way it is run is just totally beyond me and drives me up the walls in the office (and at home too).Essentially it’s about selling things to the Kyotogram fans on facebook. So, we came up with the idea of the “kyozutsumi”, meaning a little package from Kyoto. It contains items that were made in or associated with Kyoto, and you buy the whole set that is only available (as this particular set) through us. So far the basic idea.

We started looking for a partner back in January, when the goodies for the first kyozutsumi were chosen: A set of three items made with the old Yuzen dyeing method by a small company hand-crafting them in Kyoto. They even agreed to do all the packing and shipping for us, which makes things much easier on our side.That was the easy part, things went downhill from there.

Fast forward to March, when we put out the first advertising on Facebook plus an article on the Kyotogram website (on a Friday). There was no easing into the idea: “That’s our kyozutsumi and here you can preorder”, that was all. If I see that on a site that has never done this before I go HUH? and move on. Of course, people were not eager to do anything, the post did not get much reach (meaning: views) either, and the preorders were in single digits.

On Tuesday the bombshell was dropped onto us writers: Somebody higher up we had never met before had finalised the contract with the craftsmen – and promised them 50 preorders until the end of March. Please believe me when I say: We started screaming! 50 preorders in such a short time are pretty much impossible and since then, all of us are in panic mode, trying to get more people to preorder. It’s not looking good – the main staff is trying to advertise to more people on facebook, going so far as to promise gifts for sharing our posts, trying to change the article on the Kyotogram website to make it more appealing…

Of course, with that bomb exploding just two weeks ago, the planned marketing campaign (whatever little plan there was) is now dead. First the slogan was “Show Your Love for Kyoto Culture”, and “Brand New Tradition”. Now it is “Preserve Yuzen Dyeing”. And of course, the copy that I’m writing for the article on the homepage is constantly being changed without my knowledge. I have lost count on how often I have already commented on it, and it still reads horribly. That’s the main thing that drives me nuts. A good marketing campaign doesn’t chase customers – the customers are made to chase you! Unfortunately, nobody in the group really knows how to write good copy and advertisements…

And then, I am also looking at this from a slightly detached position on the outside. There are so many things I don’t get: What’s with the preorder? Why not set up a shopping page immediately? It’s the internet, I want to shop now, not whenever the seller gets their ducks in a row, that’s not my problem. And what’s with the 50? It seems that the craftsman has only 50 in stock before he needs to start making new ones or something, but again: not our problem.

The worst part: It is very likely that, if this project is not taking off, this will be the end of Kyotogram, which means that I’ll need a new job. Which would be a pity, because I really enjoy what I’m doing.

So,if you’d like to keep me busy for the time being, have a look at the kyozutsumi page. The items are really nice – I held them in my hand – and especially the little wallet or pouch is of great quality. My favourite is the blue one with the rabbit. You may want to consider helping out with a preorder – all you need is your email address. And it’s okay if you don’t buy in the end, as far as I understand the system. I already preordered. Several times. Just sayin’… 😉