Arts&Culture,Lifestyle,Travel&Community SPECIAL AJET IssueNo.Summer2022 116 SUMMER
CREDITS CONTENT HEADEDITOR RachelFagundes ASSITANTEDITOR MonicaHand SECTIONEDITORS SarahBaughn SierraNelson MarcoOliveros SamanthaStauch DahliaLemelin FergusGregg KimberlyMatsuno JessicaCraven CONTRIBUTORS RyonMorrin RachelFagundes “Lupin”VandeVoorde JessicaCraven DanielMulcahy FergusGregg JonSmoldson DianneYette DahliaLemelin MarcoOliveros AmberBunnell DavidCowland-Cooper SamanthaStauch IanJasonDizon HEADWEBEDITOR RhemaBaquero SOCIALMEDIA KatherineWang COVERPHOTO AndreasDress TABLEOFCONTENTSPHOTO MarkTegethoff ART&PHOTOGRAPHY AndreasDress MarkTegethoff KenshiKingami TimFoster EvgenyTchebotarev PorapakApichodilok NicY-C SoraSagano FinanAkbar AlessioRoversi ZhaoliJIN Sorasak EnginAkyurt PolinaKovaleva TheCreativeExchange JakobRosen Thismagazinecontainsoriginalphotosusedwithpermission,aswellasfree-useimages.Allincludedphotosareproperty oftheauthorunlessotherwisespecified.Ifyouaretheownerofanimagefeaturedinthispublicationbelievedtobeused withoutpermission,pleasecontacttheHeadofGraphicDesignandLayout,LloydCruickshank,at connect.ajet.visualmedia@gmail.com.Thisedition,andallpasteditionsofAJET CONNECT,canbefoundonlineat http://ajet.net/ajet-connect/magazine-issues/ oronour website.Read CONNECT onlineandfollowusonISSUU. KimberlyMatsuno KaylaBeyer KaityHamill TessaCalvin KatieHawkins MegLuedtke TitusJoel SierraNelson-Liner HEADOFDESIGN&LAYOUT LloydCruickshank ASSISTANTHEADDESIGNER EmilyGriffith ASSISTANTDESIGNERS PhoebeJin MuriahEllis KatherineWang COPYEDITORS NatalieAndrews DayBulger DianneYett JonSolmundson GENERALSECTIONEDITORS RyonMorrin SamiMarks SamanthaStauch Photo:MarkTegethoff|Unsplash.com
LetterfromtheHeadEditor LetterfromtheGeneralSectionEditor LetterfromtheArtEditor LetterfromtheEntertainmentEditor LetterfromtheCultureEditor LetterfromtheSportsEditor LetterfromtheWellnessEditor LetterfromtheTravelEditor LetterfromtheCommunityEditor 4 20 32 54 70 86 98 118 140
Workingon CONNECT forthelast threeyearshasbeenanabsolute privilege.WhenIfirststartedasthe EntertainmenteditorIhadnoideawhat incrediblepeopleIwouldmeet,whatstoriesI woulddiscover,andwhatunique opportunitieswouldbeaffordedtomeasa journalist.MytimeinJapanhasbeenmuch richerforit. OverthelastyearastheHeadEditor,I’ve beensogratefulformywholewonderful team.Theirtalentandhardworkmadeevery issueadelighttoworkon.Itwasdifficultto chooseonlytwoarticlestofeatureamongso manygems.Luckily,manyoftheothereditors chosetohighlightsomeofmyfavoritesin theirownsections,sohopeyouenjoythis issuecovertocover. Formyfirstarticletohighlightthisyear,I chosetheTravelsection’s InSearchofSpirits: ExploringHauntedNiigata.Inthisarticle,the authordescribeshisadventuresexploring threespookyandstrangeplacesinrural Japan,andoffersadviceonhowtogetinto urbanexplorationandghosthuntingyourself. ThisarticlereallyexemplifiessomethingI loveabout CONNECT’stravelsection:thatall ourarticlesarewrittenbypeoplewho live here,forpeoplewho live here.Theycantake youbeyondtheneonlightsofTokyoand gracefultemplesofKyoto,andinsteadset youontheroadtodiscoveringlocaldelights, hiddengems,andfrankly weird shit,offthe beatenpath. Inaka Japanhassomany interestingplacesandopportunitiesifyou justgolookingforthem,andthisarticlein particularwarmedmyhorror-lovingheart. SummeristhespookyseasoninJapanas well,sothisseemedlikeagoodtimetobring thepiecebackintothespotlight. ThesecondarticleI’dliketofeatureisthe Culturesection’s InterviewWithaJapanese PuppetMaster.Myownfascinationwith Japanesetraditionaltheaterstartedduring myfirstyearon CONNECT whenI interviewedkabukiactorsandkagura performersfortheEntertainmentsection.I’m veryexcitedtobringattentiontoanotherof Japan’sincredibleanduniqueformsof theater. Ningyo-joruri (alsosometimescalled bunraku)istraditionalJapanesepuppetry. Thisinterviewwithamasterpuppeteertakes youbehindthescenesofthisintricateart form,andcoverseverythingfromhowthe puppetsaremadetotheyearsofdedication ittakesforthreepuppeteerstomaster movinginunison.Ihopeyouallenjoythis articleandthatitinspiresyoutogetouttothe theateryourself! Thankyouallfortakingthetimetocheckout CONNECT’sBestofTheYearIssue!Wehope thatyouenjoyreadingthesearticlesasmuch aswehaveenjoyedworkingonthem,and thatourarticlesoverthelastyearhavemade yourtimeinJapanalittlebetter. Cheers, RachelSpainFagundes HeadEditor Photo:KenshiKingami|Unsplash.com LETTER FROM EDITOR THEHead
INSEARCHOf SPIRITS
Now, I bet you’re wondering how I got here. Halloweenhasalwaysbeenmyfavorite timeofyear.Buildinguptoit,Iaskedmy studentsforadviceabout yabai spots,or haunts,thatIcouldexploreinmyarea.
Wanderingthroughanovergrowngarden path,Isuddenlyheardaloudthudof somethingheavy,likeabody,impacting theground.MybodyfrozeupasIwaited, holdingmybreathforthenextsound. Then—approachingfootsteps.Iwasnot alone.Iran—acrosstheentireexpanseof theabandonedthemepark.Scrambling overlooserocks,Imadeittothetreeline andfumbledformyflashlightasthe canopyblockedthelastlightof thesetting sun.Icouldhearonlythepoundingofmy feetagainsttheground,thedryheavingof mybreathagainstmyrib-cage,thestrong poundingofmyheartbeat.
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Forhomework,Isplitthemintogroups andaskedthemtotellmeaboutscary localplaces.Ithoughtitwouldbeareally funwaytoengagewiththemand motivate themtospeaktome.Also,Iwantedthe rushofexploringsomethingabittaboo. AsIlistenedtotheirpresentations,one locationinparticularstoodouttome:the “whitehouse.”Thestudentstoldtalesofa ghosthauntinganoldhouse,anddifferent versionsofthestorybegantoemerge:in someversions,agirlsetfiretothehouse herparentsimprisonedherinandran away.Inanotherversion,thehousekeeper died.Inothers,thereismoredeath,by moreviolentmeans.Althoughthestories weredifferent,the hushedtoneof fearand excitementinmystudents’voiceswasthe same.Whateverthereason,thiswasa blightedplace.I knewIhad tocheckit out. ExploringHauntedNiigata
TheWhiteHouse Soon,Iwasdrivingalonganabandoned beachfrontarea,pastboarded-upshops, inns,restaurants,andvacationhomes—the lastderelictremainsofalittlecommunity. Thedirtroadtookmeoverahill,pasta crumblingwallcoveredincolorfulgraffiti, toanarrowtunnel,notpassablebycar. Igotoutandwalkedin.Theplacewas eerilyquietandconsiderablyovergrown. Strangely,therewererecenttiremarks whichseemedtoleadtothetunnel... thatacarshouldn’thavebeenabletofit through.Awoodensignpostnearthetree showedthefamilyname.Andtotheright, theroped-off homewaited. Ipeeredin thewindows.Shoeswerestill laidoutas ifthefamilyeitherneverleft, orhadleft inahurry.Theinsidewas condemned, coveredindust,andgenerally justhada creepyfeeling toit, especially since Iknew thestoriesbehindtheplace. thehill wasa loomingstructure
Furtherup
marredbyobviousburnmarks.AsItook picturesandmademywayup,Icouldn’t resistfeelingexcitedandevendelighted atsuchafind.Althoughruined,theinside wallswerepaintedwithstrangegraffiti eyesthatseemedtolookatme.Burnt evidenceoffireworksfromothervisitors scatteredthefloor.The“whitehouse” hadbarsoverthewindows,andametal shutterforadoor. Ifeltdrivento satiatemy curiosity and my longing for adventure, and soIcreptinsidetotakemorepictures.As Ilatertoldmystudentsofmyexperiences, andshowedthemthephotos,therewas oneparticularimagethatcaughttheir attention.Reflectedinadustywindow wasadistortedbeamoflight. “That’sher! That’sthegirl!” mystudents shouted.“You canseeher!She’sthere!”“She’sthere!” “She’sthere!” |7
Nanamen Daitenjo Iwayal
Longago,itwassaidthatthevillagewasplagued bymalevolentspirits,snakes,anda kappa,who woulddragchildrentotheirdeathsinthelocal river.Onenight,inagreatstorm,amonknamed Nichiren Shonin escaped from nearby Sado Island andwashedashore.Thevillagerstookhiminand protectedhimfrom theauthorities,and asthanks, themonkagreedtosethimselfagainsttheevil spiritshauntingthevillage.Afteragreatstruggle, thewise monkbanished thecreatures andsealed theminsidethiscave.
Aftervisitingthetemple,Isawasitenearbyon mymapsandaskedastaff memberabout it.They excitedlytoldmeaboutthecave’sstory.
Thepathwaytothecavewasjustadirtroadwith atreegrowinginthemiddleofit,soIgotoutof mycarandwalked.Thegreycaveandmountain facewererockyandovergrown.Therewerered andwhitebannersandastandingplaquetothe rightofthemouthofthecave.Totheleftwasthe statueofthemonk.Thecavewassmall,butstill lookedlikeahungrymouth.Walkinginside,Isaw acuriouspileofsmoothrocks.
Ifyouvisit,donotdisturbthepileofrocksthere! Suchanactisdisrespectfulandissaidtobring uponacurseupontheoffender.
Thetownalsokeptarelicnearbyofthecreature: amummified,webbed“handofthekappa”which was on display at the time. It’s small, smaller than a child’s hand, dark, and mummy-like. Local children stillavoidthecave,forfearthatthekappa’sangry spiritwillcatchanddrownthem. 8|
OnRoute402neartheneighborhoodof Kadudahama,byKudaBeachandsouthofthe MyokojiTemple,Idiscoveredacaveverynearto the“whitehouse”site.Ihadgonetogetashrine stampinthetemplenearby.Theneighborhood wasquaintenough,withnarrowsidestreets.
TheRussianThemePark WhiletheNiigataRussianVillagehadnoghost stories associatedwithit,Istillwantedtovisitthearea.In the‘90’s,NiigatawasbigoncarexportationtoRussia and assuchhadasignificantpresenceoftheRussian mob, apparently.TheprefectureofNiigatainsiststhat theRussian-themedamusementparkwasmadetoencourage tourismandboostinternationalrelationswithRussia, butsomelocalstoldmemoneyfromthemobfunded the park.TheimpressionIgotwasthatthe Yakuza, the Japanesemafia,didn’ttakekindlytotheirpower inthe region,andsotheybulliedtheforeigncompanies outof thetradeindustrythere.
Iarrivedinthemid-to-lateafternoon.Plentyoftimeto exploreandgetafewpictures toshowmystudents before nightfall!Iparkedmycarundertheoldsignfor thetheme park, got out, and walked up to the old metal fence plastered withnoticesfromtheprefecture. “Condemned”“Stay Out”“RiskofDeath”andthelike. Perfect.Ihadtoskirtthe gate,butitwassimpleto walkaround,sincethesitewas surrounded by forest. I walked down a dirt road until I finally cametotheold “NiigataRussianVillage.”Amongvarious unidentifiable ruinswas aRussianchurch, anonsenwith a collapsed roof,andahotelfarinthedistance. IkeptmyeyesandearsopenjustincaseIhadtoget out ofthere quickly,and Itook careto bequiet asI walked.
The onsenwasfascinatingtosee.Inoticedsome Japanese graffitithattranslatedto“bodyunder(here).”I really enjoyedpokingaboutthechurch,seeingthe crackedart, brokenstatues,andoverallsenseofdecay. WhileI’msure itoriginallyhadanairofreverencetothe place,itjustfelt creepytome. |9
Nearthechurchwastheremaininghalfof thetwo-storiedhotel.Thegroundswere extensive,andItookmytime,enjoying myself.BythetimeIgottotheroomsatthe hotel,thesunwasgoingdown,andIgota strongersenseofforeboding,seeingthe collapsedroofof theplace.Not willingtoget caughtundersomerubble,Icontinuedmy examinationofthepark. Now,Iamnotasuperstitiousman,butasI exploredthespaciousruinsofthetheme park,Icametowhatappearedtobethe welcomearea,withbranchingpaths,alittle flowergarden...whensuddenlyIheard anoise,likeabodyfallingasignificant distance.Then,footstepsinmydirection. TherearefewthingsinthisworldIfeel comfortabletemptingbutneitherJapanese ghosts,norgangsters,areamongthem.
LupinlivedinJapanfor sixyears,inToyama, Niigata,Nagano,and Okayama.Hisfavorite hobbyisShorinjiKempo. HenowlivesinVirginia andworksforanairline. 10|
Thosestoriesneverendwell.SoIbooked itbacktomycar,cradlingmycamerainmy handsasIranfasterthanI’veeverrunin mylife.Itwouldn’tbeaghosthuntwithout freakingmyselfout! Ultimately,whatIlearnedfromthesespooky adventuresistosayyestowhateverweird opportunitiescomeyourwayinJapan!You neverknowwhoyou’llmeet!Youtoocan explorecreepyJapan.Thereare“yabai” spotsalloverthecountry,soifyou’re interestedinghosthunting,weirdfolklore, orurbanexploration,beonthelookoutfor spotsinyourprefecture.Justbesureto takenecessaryprecautionsandreconsider visitingcondemnedareas.
Formoreinformationon thelocations: TheWhiteHouse(Japanese) NanamenDaitenjyoIwayal(Video) AtlasObscura—RussianThemePark Tostartyourghost huntingjourney,see thefollowinglinks to discovermore haunted spots: 15Nightmareinducingplaces Theninemosthauntedplacesin Japan BacktoContents|11
TokuyaOkitsu(Hyogo)interviewedbyRachelFagundes(Okayama) andtranslatedbyToshieOgura(Okayama)
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*Thisinterviewwasoriginallyconducted inJapanese.Ithasbeentranslated intoEnglishandeditedforclarityand concision. Mostpeoplethinkofkabukiormaybeeven nohwhenitcomestotraditionalJapanese theater,butwhataboutpuppetry?Lavishly designedanddressedpuppetsmoveand poseonstage—thedramasputonin ningyojoruri,Japanesepuppettheater,aresaidtobe soengagingthataudiencesforgetthereare human puppeteers in the background dressed inallblack.Inthisarticle,RachelFagundes interviewsMr.Okitsu,whospecializesinthe Awajistyleofningyo-joruri. |13
Howlonghaveyoubeen involvedwithningyo-joruri? Ihavebeenapuppeteerfor32years. storyteller,or tayu
It’salsocommonlyknownas bunraku thoughthat’snotexactlythecorrect label.BunrakuactuallyreferstoOsakastyleningyo-joruri,andisnamedafter aparticulartheaterinOsakathat popularizedtheartform;“ningyo-joruri” includesbothOsakabunrakuandthe AwajistylethatIperform.
isthemoregeneraltermforit,and
Whatdoyoudo?
Ningyo-joruri is one of the five traditional forms of Japanese theater (the other four being kagura, kyogen,noh,andkabuki).
,
Beforethat,Iwasaningyo-joruri
Ningyo-joruristartedasareligiousart formtoaskthegodssuchas Ebisu for blessingsofagoodharvestorplentiful fishandsoforth.Itlaterbecameaform ofpopularentertainment.Ningyo-joruri developedalongsidekabukiaround thesametime,andtellsmanyofthe samestoriesthatkabukitells,except thatkabukiuseshumanactorstoplay thecharacters,whileningyo-joruriuses puppets.
Pleasetellourreaders,what is ningyo-joruri? Whatmakes itdifferentfromotherforms ofJapanesetheater?
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Thepuppeteersalllearnspecificposes andmovementscalled kata thatconvey emotions.Forexample,therearemany differentwaystomovethepuppetsto indicatecrying,dependingontheage andgenderofthecharacter.
Howmanypeopledoes ittake tomoveapuppet?Howdo theyworktogether?
Itwasjustonepersonlongagowhen storiesforningyo-joruriweresimpler, butasplaysbecamemorecomplex, puppetsrequiredmorecomplex movement;nowadays,ittakesthree peopletomoveonepuppet.Thelead puppeteeriscalledthe omo-zukai,and theymaneuvertheheadandtheright hand and arm of the puppet. The second performeriscalledthe hidari-zukai,and theymovethepuppet’slefthandand arm,andaddpropslikefans.Thethird performeriscalledthe ashi-zukai,and theymovethepuppet’sfeet.
Apuppeteerstartsbytrainingto maneuverthefeetasanashi-zukai, whichtakessevenyearstomaster,then anothersevenoreightyearsasahidarizukaitomastertheleftarm.Ittakesa lifetimetomastertheroleofthelead puppeteer.Theomo-zukaiguidesthe actionsoftheothertwopuppeteersso thattheyallmovetogetherasoneunit. Theyhavesecretsignsbetweenthem sothattheomo-zukaicanguidethe othertwo,and tellthepuppet towalk,or tellthelefthandtodosomething.
Forexample,theomo-zukai(lead puppeteer)willmakeeyecontactwith thehidari-zukai(lefthandpuppeteer)to tellthemtotakeaction.
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Theskinofthedollisfirstpainted bright,shinywhite.Thepaintismade fromoystershells.Theoystershells areburned, andthen groundinto powder.Then,thepowderismixed withasortofglueorgelmadefrom boiledanimalskin,toproduceawhite paint.This paintis layeredonto thedoll 30times,andeachlayerispolished beforeapplyinganotherlayer.Thatis whytheskinissosmoothandshines brilliantly,likeporcelain.Anycolor totheskinisappliedafterthiswhite, 30-layerbase.Femalecharacters’ facestendtoremainwhite,whilemale onesaremorelikelytohaveadditional coloradded. Formorerefinedcharacters,the dollmakerwilluserealhumanhair. Thepropertiesofhumanhairallow foreasierstylingwithahotiron, creatingrefinedhairstylesforelegant characters. Forrough,orstubborn,characters,the dollmaker willuse wavythick thetailofayak.
Thefemalepuppetscanblinktheir eyes.Malepuppets canturntheir eyes left and right, move their eyebrows, and openandshuttheirmouthstocreate differentexpressions.Thesemotions areallcontrolledbytheomo-zukai puppeteersbypullingleversinsidethe puppet’sneckthatcontrolthedelicate mechanismsinsidethepuppet.The facemovementsareattachedto stringsmadefromwhalebaleen(the bristle-likefeedingfiltersthatwhales haveinsteadofteeth). Howarethepuppetsmade?
happy,while tiltingit down
afine
hairfrom
Thefaceofthedollisalwayscarvedto haveaneutralexpression,andshow noemotion.Thisallowsthepuppeteer tocreateemotionsbytiltingthehead ormovingthedoll inspecificways.For example,tiltingtheheadupmakesthe puppetlook makesitlooksad.
Thepuppetsarecarvedbyaspecial craftsmanandmadefromHinoki cypresswood.
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Thepuppeteersdon’tspeak, right?Thereisanarrator whospeaks asthe characters anda shamisen player. You alsomentionedearlierthat youwereanarratorbefore youwereapuppeteer.Please tellusmore. Thepuppeteersaresilent.Thereis, instead,astoryteller,ortayu,whohas tworoles.Oneistonarratetheplay, andtwoistovoice-actthelinesofall thecharacters.Thereisjustonetayu foreveryplay. Inadditiontothe2-3yearsittakesfor someonetobecomeatayuofficially, itcantakeoneyearforatayuto memorizeasingleplay.Theymust learnbreathingtechniqueslikean operasingertoprojecttheirvoice. Theyalso haveto conveythe voiceand emotions of all the different characters.
Thetayuareaccompaniedbyone shamisenplayer.Theshamisenplayer notonlycreatesbackgroundmusicfor ascene,butalsoaddssoundeffects intotheplay,likethesoundofadoor openingorsnowfalling.Theyalsouse theirinstrumentstoaddemotionsinto theplay.
Howisthisartformbeing passeddowntothenext generation? OnAwajiIsland,thereisalotof communityoutreachtotrytoteach theyoungergenerationaboutthisart form.Forexample,thereareschool clubsdedicatedtopracticingningyojoruri.Ivisitschoolsonceamonthto teachthestudentsaboutit. AwajiMinamiCityhasevenmade ningyo-jorurianofficialpartofthe elementarythroughjuniorhighschool curriculum.Thistheaterfocusedprogramisonlythreeyearsoldand wasstartedwhenanewmayorwas electedwhodecidedtotrytopromote ningyo-jorurimoreinthecommunity. Each year, the students have a different projecttolearnaboutningyo-joruri. Forexample,thejuniorhighschool thirdyears’assignmentis tousesocial mediatopromoteningyo-jorurionline toawideraudience. WhatmakestheAwajistyle ofningyo-jorurispecial? TheAwajistyleuseslargerpuppets thanthestylefoundinOsakaor otherpartsofJapan.Thismakesthe performancesreallydynamic.What reallymakestheAwajiStyleuniqueis theskill andmastery ofthe performers. Whentheyarestartingout,these storytellersmightknowashortplay withfewcharacters,butasthey growinmastery,theywilllearn morecomplicatedplayswithmore characters.
audiencewill understandthe storyand theemotions. 18|
Thetayuandtheshamisenplayer workcloselytogether,likeahusband andwife.Thetayuisthehusbandand theshamisenplayeristhewife.Ifthe tayustartsgrowingtiredduringthe performance,theshamisenplayercan supportthemwithmusic.Theyhave thiskindofrelationship.
Thescriptsoftheningyo-joruriplay areoftenwritteninancientJapanese, likekabukiplays,sothedialoguemay bedifficulttounderstand.Butifall theplayersareworkingtogether,the
Howcanforeignpeoplesee ningyo-joruripuppetry? Howcantheysupportit? Theycanvisitthe AwajiPuppet Theater.Normally,thetheaterhosts performanceseveryday(although duringtheCOVIDstateofemergency, theperformanceschedulehasbeen reducedto weekendsonly). Theyshow differentplays everymonth, bringingin performersfromallovertheisland. Foreignpeoplecanreadsummaries oftheplaybeforehandinEnglish, Chinese,Korean,andmodern Japanese. Isthereanythingelseyou wantforeign peopleto know aboutningyo-joruri? It’sreallygreat!Pleasecomeseeand supportusatourtheater. LINKS: JapanVisitor:AwajiPuppetTheater TokuyaOkitsuisapuppeteeratthe Awaji Puppet Theater. He likes cooking, eating,andsolo-camping. He’sexcited togettosharethecharmofningyojoruriwiththeworld. ToshieOguraisanEnglishelementary schoolteacherbyday,andanECC teacherby night.She lovesdoing both! Forfunsheenjoystraveling,growing treepeoniesandroses,andpracticing theartofteabrewing.Shealsohasa podcast with her friend where they rave abouttheirfavoritethingsinJapan! RachelFagundesisafifthyearJET inOkayamaandtheHeadEditorof CONNECT.Shelovestraditional Japanesetheater,Mexicanfood, sciencefiction,andcats. BacktoContents|19
Photo:TimFoster|Unsplash.com
GENERAL SECTION EDITOR Forseveralyears,Ihavebeenwritingarticlesfor magazinesintheU.S.andJapan,butthispastyearwas myfirsttimeinaneditorrole.Asageneralsectioneditor, Ilearnedaboutsourcingarticlesfromtheinternational communityinJapan,formattingandediting,andhowto broadenmyscopeasawriter.Iwasabletomovebetween sectionsofthemagazineandapplymywritingskillswhere theywereneededmost.Icreatedconnectionswith contributorsandguidedthemthroughaconstructiverevision process.Iwaspartofasupportiveteamofprofessionalswho cametogetherandworkedhardtoproducesomethingthat wecouldallbeproudof.Lastly,Ihadalotoffunsharingwhat I’mpassionateaboutwithourreaders.Knowingthatmywork hasintroducedsomeonetoatalentednewartistoranefficient waytostudyalanguageisdeeplyrewarding.I’mincredibly gratefulforthisopportunityandIhopetocontinueinthe comingyear!
RyonMorrin Letterfrom THE
Forourfinalissueoftheyear,Imadeselectionsfromboththe EntertainmentandLanguagesectionsof former, AlbumRecommendation:PilgrimageoftheSoul,isan albumreviewonseasonedpost-rockersMONO’snewest release.It’sawritingformatIthoroughlyenjoy,butasmyown harshestcritic,Ioftenfeelmyapproachisoverlyformulaic whilereadingbackmywork.However,MONO’slatestfulllengthLPisdensewithdeeplydarkyetbeautifulsounds,and thisreviewisanoutpouringoftheprofoundlyemotional experiencethatrepeatlistenselicited.Itbreaksthemoldfrom mypastwritingonmusicthusfar,andIfeelitdeservesaspot Asforthelatter,Iselectedanextensiveinterviewwith linguisticsprofessorDr.DaikiHashimototitled Language Borrowed.Ihadtheopportunitytointerviewhimandexplore thetopicofloanwords.Theconversationisadeepdiveintoan aspectoftheJapaneselanguagethatisveryprevalentbutnot necessarilywellunderstood.Ilearnedagreatdealfromour fascinatingtalkandhopethatourreaderswill,too.
CONNECT.The
intheJulyissue.
Forthepasttwenty-twoyears, Tokyo’sMONOhavebeencrafting grandiosesoundscapes.Theywrite musicthatlinksserenemomentsof calmandroom-fillingwallsofsound.
On PilgrimageoftheSoul,thetone isconsistentlysombreanddark throughout,withbriefbreaksinto periodsofresolution.These momentsaredeeplysatisfyingafter thebleak,sorrowfulsoundsthathad comebefore,buttheyarenottobe mistakenforhappiness;rather,they areatasteofclosureaftera traumaticexperience,ora temporaryresurfacingfromthe depthsofadeepdepression.Thisis nota“feelgood”record;itcontains littlewarmthorbrightness.Those feelingsareseldomandfleeting.
However,withinthedarknessof PilgrimageoftheSoul existsaraw, unfilteredbeauty.
Althoughoftenconsideredtobea partofthepost-rockscene,MONO aimtotranscendanylabellingof theirlusciouslymelodic,emotionally powerfulmusic.
Albumrecommendation: PILGRIMAGE OFTHESOUL Releasedate:September17th,2021 RyonMorrin(Hokkaido) 22|
isatragicfilmthatwillbring
Youcanstream PilgrimageoftheSoul nowonSpotify. BacktoContents|23 RyonMorrinisathird-yearALT
Thoughpurelyinstrumental,MONOarecapableof heavilyinfluencingtheemotionalstateoflisteners. Manytrackssoundgargantuaninsize,aneffect partiallycreatedbythicklyappliedreverbanddelayon leadandrhythmguitars.Theyoftenfeeloverwhelming andthefeelingstheyinspireareimpossibletofightoff; anidealsettingforthisrecordisadimlylitroomwitha placetolaydownandfocusonthechangingstateof theheart.Oftenbeginningasagentlewhisper,songs like“TheAuguries”slowlybuilduptocrescendosthat areimpossiblydenseandcrushinglyloud.Intruth, PilgrimageoftheSoul evenanironhearttotears.“AndEternityinanHour”, withitsgorgeouslymelancholicpianoandstring arrangements,wouldfitperfectlyaspartofafilm score.
Pilgrimage
Withoututteringasingleword,MONOpouroutthe contentsoftheirheartsintoeachsongon oftheSoul,writinganambiguousstoryofprofound griefanddespair.Itisfilledwithscenesofallencompassingsadness,genuinefear,andblinding anger,themostpunishingelementsofthehuman experience.Butwhenthesemomentspass,theyare replacedbyconcludingfeelingsofacceptance,relief, andsometimes,triumphforhavingsurvivedthemost gruellingbattlesinlife. basedinShintotsukawa,Hokkaido. Inhisfreetime,heenjoys discoveringnewmusic,hikingin themountains,andplayingrhythm gamesatthearcade.
Recently,IhadtheopportunitytotalkwithDr.DaikiHashimoto,an assistantprofessoratJoetsuUniversityofEducationinNiigata,Japan. HeearnedhisPhDfromtheUniversityofCanterburyDepartmentof Linguistics,wherehewrotehisdissertationonEnglishphonetics(1). Wehadaconversationaboutaparticularlyfascinatingaspectofthe Japanese language: loanwords. In our interview, we unpacked the origins ofloanwords, publicperception oftheir use,their effecton thelanguage, andmuchmore. Iwasoriginally interestedingrammar. WhenIstudied fortheuniversity entranceexam,IfoundEnglishsentencestructuretobeinteresting. IwassurprisedtolearnthatEnglishspeakersprocessverbsafter subjects,asJapanesespeakersprocessverbsattheendofsentences. AfterIenrolledinuniversity,IfoundthatEnglishpronunciationsare alsointeresting.EnglishhasalargernumberofvowelsthanJapanese has,andsomeconsonantsareproducedinanunusualway.Luckily, IhadanopportunitytodomyPhDattheUniversityofCanterbury, andstudyingthereincreasedmyinterestinEnglishpronunciation. ItisalwaysfascinatingtoseethatdifferentvarietiesofEnglishhave differentvowelsystems.(IwouldsaythatIloveNewZealandEnglish pronunciationsbest!) 24|
LoanwordsinJapanesecanbeclassified intotwotypes:Sino-Japaneseloanwords andothers.Japanhasalonghistorywith China,andweborrowlotsofwordsfrom themalongwithChinesecharacters (kanji).Manywordswrittenwithkanji areSino-Japanesewords,suchas and .Somepeoplemaybesurprised aboutwhichwordscomefromChina.For example, (rakuda) and (zou) arenot nativewords,butactuallySino-Japanese words. In fact, the sound structures of these wordssuggestthatthesearenotnative Japanesewords.Therearen’tanynative Japanesewordsthatbeginwithr-sounds ( ragyouon))orvoicedsounds( (gazadabagyouon)).Manypeople inJapandonotregardSino-Japanese wordsasloanwords.Theybelievetheyare actuallyJapanesewords. Let’sgobacktothequestionaboutthe percentageofloanwordsinJapanese vocabulary.According toYamazaki,about 40% of daily use words are native Japanese words,50%ofdailyusewordsareSinoJapanese,and10%areotherloanwords as of1994 (2).Loanwords comefrom avariety oflanguages,but mostcomefrom English. Onereasonforthisistheemphasison EnglisheducationinJapanesepublic schools. Additionally, English is a dominant languagearoundtheglobe.Thereisalso apublicawarenessofEnglishloanwords. They’reinkatakana,sothey’reeasyto identify.I’mnotsurehowmanypeopleknow aboutthehistoryofwordsthatwereadopted fromChinese. Itisnoteasytodefinewhenloanwords become“legitimate,”becausethe likelihood of a loanword being integrated in theborrowinglanguagevariesfromword towordandfromspeakertospeaker. Inwhatfollows,Iwouldliketorefer towordswhicharewidelyusedinour societyas“legitimate”.Caludeetal.(2017) pointoutthatthereareseveralfactors whichdeterminetheborrowabilityofa loanword(3). Thefirstfactorispartofspeech.Nouns aremorelikelytobeincorporatedthan verbs.Infact,almostalloftheloanwords inJapanesearenouns.Second,word frequencyplaysanimportantroleinthe borrowabilityofaword.Ifawordisused frequentlyindailyspeech,thewordis incorporatedintothehostlanguageeasily. Then,wemayhavetoaddressanother question:whatdeterminesthetoken frequencyofaloanword? Thismaybecomplicatedasthereare numerousfactorsdeterminingwhichwords weusein speech.Ifa loanwordrelatesto a conceptinwhichweareinterestedin,we mayusethewordfrequently.Ifaloanword referstothingswhichweusefrequently, we will likely use it frequently. Furthermore, aloanwordmaybeusedfrequentlyifthe host language does not have an equivalent. Japanesehastheword (kame).Itdoes nothavethecorrespondentword“turtle.” Japanesehasnowordequivalentto “toaster.”Hence,“turtle”isnotborrowed intoJapanese, whiletoaster issuccessfully borrowed. |25
For example, (kagaku) was translated from“science,”and (tetsugaku) was translatedfrom“philosophy”(5).
referstoaphrasecreatedby Japanesespeakerswhichiscomprisedof loanwords(4).Asthecompoundwords aremade inJapan, thewhole wordactually doesnotcomefromforeignlanguages. Onefamousexamplemightbe (noutopasokon).Itconsistsoftwo loanwords, (nouto) and (pasokon).BotharederivedfromEnglish, buthavebeencombinedintooneword originatingfromJapan.Justtonote, isusedtorefertoa“laptop”.
Doyoumean (waseieigo)?
It’slikelypeoplelivingduringthose periodswerestronglynationalistic,and theydidnotwanttointroduceforeign wordsintotheJapaneselanguage.On theotherhand,ourcurrentsocietyis largelyglobalized;wedon’thesitatetouse loanwords.
Infact,duringtheMeijiperiod(18681912),Japanesepeopletriedtotranslate foreignwordsusingSino-Japanesewords. TheeducationsysteminJapanmadean effort to use Japanese words for all subjects andattemptedtotranslatethemintoSinoJapanesewords.
Infact,usingloanwordsmayhavean advantageinmessagetransmission.
AsIwrotethisanswer,Irealizedthat Englishspeakersdonotsay“note”torefer toanotebook.Itmightbethefactthat notebookwasborrowedas in thebeginning,andthentheloanwordwas truncatedinto Additionalexamplesof include (bijinesuhoteru) which referstoabusinesshoteland (shaapupenshiru) whichreferstoa mechanicalpencil.
Somewordsareborrowedbecause thereisn’tawordtoexpressacertain conceptinthelanguage.Whyaren’tnew wordscreatedinthelanguageasopposed tobeingborrowed?Thisisaninteresting question.
In addition, during World War 2, Japanese peopleavoidedusingwesternloanwords (6).Forexample, (gorufu) was referredtoas (dakyuu) and (biiru) wasreferredtoas (bakushu).
Loanwordshavedifferentsound structuresandtheyareunlikelytobe homophonousorsimilartootherwords. Thismeanstheycanbeeasilyidentifiedin speech. Forexample, and areclearly distinctivefromotherwords.Thisis becausetheirsoundstructureisunusual, astheybeginwithvoicedconsonantsand includelongvowels.
Forpolitical andcommunicative reasons, Japanesepeoplemayadoptanduse loanwordsmorefrequently.
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Ontheotherhand,theirtranslated versions( and )are notso distinct. There are homophonous or similar words like (dakkyuu) and (mugicha).
IfeellikeJapanesepeople findEnglishto beaprestigiouslanguage. Thisobservationmaybesupportedby thefactthatEnglishphrasesareprinted onmanyT-shirtsandmanysignboardsin Japan,andmanyEnglishphrasescanbe foundinJapanese songs.Ithink thisiswhy usingaloanwordsometimesfeels“cool” or“smart”inJapan.Forexample,some peoplemaysay (topikku) instead of (wadai) and (ebidensu) insteadof (shouko) inordertosound cooler or more intelligent. These loanwords andtheirJapanesecounterpartscarry theidenticalmeaningandarecompletely interchangeable,andyetsomepeopleopt tousetheloanword.Iguessthatusing theseloanwordsinconversationelevates theperceptionoftheirownintelligenceby others. IamwonderingwhetherEnglish speakershavethesekindsoffeelings towardsFrench. Somelongerloanwordsaretruncated thesedays. Forexample, (asuparagasu) istruncatedinto (asupara),and (chokoreito) istruncatedinto (choko) Ontheotherhand,someloanwords( (foagura) and (painappuru))arenottruncated. Iamprettysurethatwordfrequency causesthisphenomenon.Highfrequency wordsarelikelytobetruncated.Itmaybe thatweofteneat and . Onthe otherhand, wedon’t eat and veryoften. Itiswell-knownthatlanguagesevolve tomaximizetheefficiencyofmessage transmission.Itmaybeauniversal phenomenonthatahighfrequency wordorphraseisshortenedinspeech. Forexample,inEnglish,highfrequency phraseslike“bytheway”aresimplifiedas BTW,and“assoonaspossible”isASAP. Ifit’sshorter,it’seasiertopronounceand moreefficient. |27
Forexample,youngerpeoplesay (sumaho),whileolderpeoplesay (keitai).
Medicalprofessionalsuse (ope) (operation)insteadof (shujutsu). Additionally,somebusinesspeoplesay (kuraianto) insteadof (okyakusama).Itiscommonforjargontoprimarilyconsistofloanwords,andusing theseloanwordsconveysamessageofgroupmembership.
Forexample, (doggufuudo) and (kamera) come fromEnglish. This isbecausewestartlearningEnglishatprimaryschoolsandarelikelytoencounter thesourcewordsinEnglish.However,wearenotalwayssurewherealoanword comesfrom.Infact,wearesometimessurprisedtoseethatsomewordsareactually loanwords.Forexample,whenIwasachild,Ithoughtthat (kappa) (raincoat) wastrulyaJapaneseword,becauseJapanesehasthehomophonousword (kappa) meaninganimaginarymythicalcreature.
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Sociolinguistssaythatwe expressoursocialstatus bychoosingalinguistic variant.
IwasreallysurprisedtohearthatitcomesfromPortuguese.
Itwasalsosurprisingtofindthat comesfromSpanishand comesfrom Russian.
Weknowwheresomewordscomefrom.
Theword-final/n/canbepronouncedintwowayslikepickingandpickin’. Campbell-Kiblerpointsoutthatproducingavelarvariant(picking)expresses “formality”and“intelligence.”Iamsurethatchoosingawordagainstanotherisalso thiskindofsociallanguageuse.Youngerpeoplesometimesexpresstheir“youth”to keep away from older people by using (wakamonokotoba) (young words). For instance,youngpeoplesay (pien) or( (katan)),butmatureadultsdon’t usethesewords.Byemployingthesewords,youngerpeopleexpresstheirsolidarity andsocialstatus. Employingloanwordsmayalsoexpresssomesocialmessages.
have
butthey areonly usedby alimited numberofpeople.Ifwedefine“adopt”as “usedbythemajorityofJapanesepeople,” Iamsurethatmanymedicalloanwords wereadoptedinrecentyears. Ihadneverseentheword (parusuokishimeitaa) (pulse oximeter)beforetheCOVIDoutbreak,but theword iswidely usednow dueto COVID. Iguessthatmanymedicalloanwordshave been“adopted”overthelasttwoyears.
Forexample,phoneticiansmaysay (forumanto) speech,butthiswordisseldomused outsideofourfieldofwork.
Probablymanywordswereborrowed lastyear,
(formant)indaily
Asaphonetician,Iwouldliketopointout thatsoundsystemsofJapanesehavebeen changingduetoloanwords.Ifyou’refamiliar withJapanesehiragana,youmayhaveheard thephrase,” (tachitsuteto) may have noticed that highvowelsianduareproduceddifferently beforea,e,ando. and (tsu) soundslikeSandsafterairrelease,while
”
.You
the t-sounds before the
(chi)
(ta), (te),and (to) havebreathysounds afterairrelease. Traditionally,Japanesehasthiskindofrule governingsoundsequences(whichiscalled phonotactics). However,someloanwordsviolatethisrule, andtheiradoptionandusearecontributing totheerasureofthisrule. Forexample,wehaveloanwordslike (tiishatsu) and (turii), whichviolatethesounddistributionrules. Thesounds/ti/and/tu/traditionally didnotexistinJapanese,although/tSi/ and/tsu/areallowed.Thisleadstoa situationinwhicholderpeoplepronounce wordsdifferentlythanyoungerpeople.My grandmothercannotsay well. Instead,shesays (teishaatsu). Ontheotherhand,mymotherandIsay .Ialsohearsomepeoplesay (kaadegan) insteadof (kaadigan).Thismayalsobebecause/di/ doesnotexistinjapanesetraditionally. EmployingloanwordsmaychangeJapanese soundsystemsfurtherinthefuture. |29
Isearchedforthis,butthereisno systematicresearchIfound. Itmay bedifficult todefine “adopt.”Some loanwordsareusedbyalimitedsocial group.
1. https://researchmap.jp/daiki_hashimoto?lang=en 2. https://www.anlp.jp/proceedings/annual_meeting/2004/pdf_dir/P6-3.pdf 3. https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/cllt-2017-0010/html?lang=en 4. https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%92%8C%E8%A3%BD%E8%8B%B1%E8%AA%9E 5. https://kotobaken.jp/qa/yokuaru/qa-96/ 6. https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%95%B5%E6%80%A7%E8%AA%9E RyonMorrinisa3rdyearALTbasedinShintotsukawa,Hokkaido.Inhisfree time,heenjoysdiscoveringnewmusic,hikinginthemountains,andplaying rhythmgamesatthearcade. Illustration: |soco-st.com Illustration:Irasutoya|irasutoya.com Photo: PorapakApichodilok|pexels.com 30|
Welcometothefinalmonthlylanguagecorner!!Iappreciateyouallcomingon thisjourneyofmonthlylanguagelearning withme.Didyoulearnanything? Maybe somebadjokesatleast? I’llleaveyouwithtwoeasybutfunpuns!Ifyouknowofanyother dajare,please sendthemmyway. final saigo pear nashi star hoshi GoldenWeek goorudenwiiku “longconsecutiveholiday” i.e.,GoldenWeek oogatarenkyuu GreeneryDay i.e.,May4 kenpoukinenbi Children’sDay i.e.,May5 midorinohi carpflags kodomonohi trafficjam(whichistobe expectedwiththelarge amountoftravelers!) koinobori jyuutai Photo:EvgenyTchebotarev|pexels.com ConstitutionDay i.e.,May3 (nashiwanashida.) (hoshigahoshii.) BacktoContents|31
Photo:NicY-C|Unsplash.com
teachesthetraditionalartofkintsugiasaway forstudentstoviewthemselvesortheirlives fromadifferentperspective.Inourturbulent
offeredasmuchinsightorinspirationtoour readersasithastome.It’sbeenapleasure workingwithandinterviewingsomany impressiveanddedicatedcreativesoverthe pastyear. Cheers, JessicaCraven THEArts
We’vealsobeenveryprivilegedtofeature manytalentedandcreativemembersofthe expatcommunity fromsculptorsand photographerstomakeupartistsand museum-goers.They'vesharedwithushow arthasenrichedtheirlivesandhavegiven theirbestadviceonhowtotryoutdifferentart formsasabeginner.
Ihopetheartssectionof CONNECT
moreandmorepeopleareturningbackto traditionalartformsandadaptingthemto
Thearticleallowsreaderstogetaglimpseof severaloftheartworksondisplay,andalso servesasapersonalmemoirthatenablesthe readertofeeltheemotionalimpactthatthe exhibithadontheauthorandhisgirlfriend followingthesuddendeathofhisgirlfriend’s father.Thepiecewasboldlyvulnerableand servestoremindusallofhowartcanhelpus Kintsugi:TheArtofRepairingBrokenPottery withGoldLacquer.Ireallyenjoyedtalkingto Ms.Moriuchiandlearningabouthowshe andrapidlychangingworld,itseemsthat serveahealingormeditativepurposein contemporarylife. has
O
Overthelastyear, CONNECT’sArtssection hascoveredawiderangeofart formsーincludingurbansketchingacross Japan,snowsculptureinHokkaido,anddrag makeupartistryinTokyo.Althoughwehave continuedtoseeartseventsadapttoonline formatsinresponsetothepandemic,we havefortunatelyseenawidespreadreturnof in-personartsevents.
LETTER FROM EDITOR
ThefirstarticleIwanttohighlightis Yeux Nouveaux:SeeingwithNewEyesafter Kyotographie. Ireallyenjoyedworkingwith DanielMulcahyandhelpinghimpolishhis alreadyextremelywell-writtenand emotionallyevocativenarrative,recounting hisimpressionsoftheartexhibitsthatmake uptheKyotographiefestival.
healandmakesenseoftheunfathomable. ThesecondpieceI’dliketohighlightis
scarWildeoncewrote,“Ifanartist fallsinlovewithyou,youcannever die.”Ifthatistrue,I’dliketothinkthat thisphenomenonappliestoanything meaningfulinlife,ratherthanjustaromantic interest.Thisyear,afrequentlyrecurring themethathasarisenwithintheArtssection of CONNECT hasbeentheroleofartin healingfrompersonallossorasameansof spiritualormentalself-improvement.
Notlongago,mygirlfriendTabiastarted learningFrenchonZoom.Onceaweek,Ihear thesoundscomethroughthedoorthatbisects ourapartment,familiarvowelsslidinginto place.Itiswonderfullycomforting.Shehasan artist’searforthemusicoflanguageand delightsinthesillinessoffindingnewvoices.
seeingwithneweyesafter Kyotographie YeuX Nouveaux
Thistimelastyear,Tabia’sfatherMariowas murdered,shotdeadonenightonastreetin Fresno.Californiawasfar,theairlinesclosed orthrottledwithquarantineprocedures.With nowayhome,sheneededspacetoherselfto grieve. Nosmallmercy,thetragedycoincidedwith Kyotographie—aninternationalphotography festivalthatannuallyspansthecitywith marvellousworksofart.Foraweekandmore, shewalkedfromexhibitiontoexhibition, measuringhergriefagainstthevagariesof experienceshefoundthere.Attheendof thosetwoweeks,shewroteherfather’s eulogy.
DanielMulcahy(Kyoto)
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Withherpermission,I’veincludeditbelow:
HiDad, WhenIthinkofyou,Ithinkofanartgallery.
Itriedtofindlighttoeasemymind.Toremindmeofgood.Toremindmeof fragility. Onmypilgrimage,Ifoundanartgallerywherethepiecesaremadeforthe visuallyimpaired—inhand,awornpapermaptoguidemeintotheunwritten blueprintsofcreativity.
Itakeabustoasolitary,unassumingtwo-storybuildinginthecity.Thereisa brightredclothsignsettledintothegroundwavingatme,tellingmeI’ve arrived. Iwalkinandhavetogodownthiscorridor.Nolights.Justarailtoholdonto. Attheend,Ihavetopushadooropentothisopen-airgallery.Marbleplaques withimagesetchedintotheirsurfaceareplacedintheroomonsmalltables. TheassortedpieceshaveEnglishandJapanese.Andofcourse,Braille. Whatastrangeexperienceitistoberemindedofthisgiftofsight. Iclosemyeyes.Breatheintomynewform.Trytorecalibratemyselftouse bothhands.Palms.Fingers.Nails.Ifeelthelinesandcurvesofsculptures thathavenocolorbutthetextureoflife.
Itakemytime,tryingtoreconstructthefaceofachildandherfriendsplaying underatreeonanautumnday.Thesemoments,sotangibletosomeoneelse, butjustapassingdreamforme.
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Variousstoriestoldbyasingleartist.Youweresofullofstoriesandwords wereyourpaintbrush.Theworldyoupaintedwasbright,colorfulandfullof compassion.Thelightingofyourworkwasmischievousandintelligent. Oneinstant,Iamalonewithmysorrowandmythoughts,surroundedby beautifulthings.Andsuddenly,itisallbutabeautifulmemory. WhenIwasinthecrestofmygriefoveryourpassing,IwalkedaroundKyoto lookingforsomesenseofthebeautifulfeelingofhumanity.Fear,anger, chaos.Itlingersinmyheartlikemold.
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Icontinuemyvisit,lettingthelullofthisnewexperiencehuminmelikethe breezeofarotatingfanonahotsummerday.
Thenitstopped.Abruptandunceremonious.Myfingersdroppedfromthe woodenplankinconcertwiththetears. WhatIfoundaftermyeyesopenedwasthesimplicityofit.
Justasitwasbefore—awoodenboardwithdisparatepointsreaching towardsme. Butthatpieceofartencapsulatedallyouweretome.Nowordscanexplain why.Theyneverwould.
Iamherewhenyouarenot.Ifeeltherainstorminmyhearttryandspilloutmy eyes. Inthesilenceofthedarkroom,apiecestruckme.Itstitlewas 「ぶつかるの音、はしるの音」 (“ButsukarunoOto,HashirunoOto,”“The SoundofCollision,theSoundofRunning”)
ThereIstood,withmyeyesclosedinfrontofaplankofwoodwithnailsand pinshammeredintoit.Ididn’tdaretolookatthepathofmyhands,just wantedtodiveintothefeelingwithsincerity.Ithinkyouwouldlaughatmy seriousness. Ifollowedthesmoothestpath.Thepearlsguidedmyfingersacrossthe board.Therewereforksandotherpathsonthatsingularline.Andwhilemy fingersvisitedthem,Ireturnedtothepearlycourse.
Howstrangeaworldwelivein.
Whatastrangethingtoremindyourselfthatnotoneofyoursenseswillever allowyoutounderstandthebreathofthesoul.Howitshowsitselfasaform onanicywindshieldofacarinwinter. Love,Tabi
Iwalkupthesesteepstairsintoadimlylitandquietplace.Witheverycreak ofthefloor,Iamremindedofmyweightinthisworld.
ItwastheeveoftheanniversaryofMario’s passing. Kyotographie hadalreadybeen underwayforsomeweeks.Ahandfulof exhibitionswe’dseenseemedalmostto pointusbacktotheyearpastby:aphotoof afatherbeneathaneclipse;another afflictedwithglaucoma,hisvisionechoed inthepagesofabook—itsimages perforated,blurred,almosttoodarktosee. Synchronicity,perhaps. Buttonightwastobe NuitBlanche—the WhiteNight—thefirstSaturdayinOctober whenartisticeventsareheldincitiesall overtheworld,andsomehow,despite COVID-19,Kyotowasrunningtwomajor artsfestivalsatonce.Wewerenotgoingto missit. Wemadetheten-minutepilgrimagefrom ourcozyapartmenttothenearbyOkazaki Park.Itisaplacedesignedwith sophistication,blendingcommunaland artisticspaces,traditionalJapanese architecturewiththesharplinesof modernity.HeianJingupresidestothe north,whiletheavenuesouthisflankedby KyoceraandtheNationalMuseumof ModernArt.Anartlover’sparadise. Somehowwehadonlyeveruseditasarest stopafterkendotraining.TheStarbucks nearbyhasniceoutdoorseating. WearrivedtofindthecourtyardoftheRohm Theatreemptybutsetforsomething performative. AmaterasuII,thesignsaid. Therewasapictureofa maiko withredhair. Aroundstagewasmarkedintape,and seatswerelaidoutforahandfulof musicians.Speakersandlightswere arrangedaboutthepillarsupholdingthe secondfloor.Wewereearly,itseemed. Awoodenconstructionsatnearby.Titled 動 く山 (“UgokuYama,”“TheMoving Mountain”),thiswasthecentralmeeting pointfor Kyotographie,anditwasbizarre. Theartisthadpainstakinglybuilta miniaturerollercoaster,entangledinsuch awaythatsmallgroupscouldsiton |37
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simplebenchesinpocketsbetweenthe twistingrails—sit,andwatchaslittle wheeledplatescarryingsurrealist artworkswhizzedby.Apairoftraditional Japanesedolls;agoldenlion;asetof rubbersausages;aghostwithtusks;a housewithamoustachioedhead...one byone,theywouldeachclimbtothetop ofthemountainandthensetoffatsome speeddownthetrack.Whataudience therewasfounditveryfunny.
Wespottedourartsyfriendsononeofthe benches—aphotographer,apoet,the ownerofalocalbar.Standingthere, chattinghappilyinthemidstof somethingunusual,beautifulandlong overdue,Ifeltwemightbeatthe CladdaghduringtheGalwayArtsFestival, ordrinkingonthebanksoftheSeine.The sameswirlsofinspirationenteredme,set mymouthtosmilingandthoughtsagoing.Tabialookedhappy. Acrowdgatheredaboutthestage,and wemovedtojointhem.Musiciansfound theirperchesinthecircle—thelights turnedon.Anolderwomanwithshort, slicked-back,blondehairstoodina corner,stretching,readyforthe performance.Itookoutmyphone. Music.Cellojoinedwithoboejoinedwith richpercussioninadeeplyunsettling ambientsoundscape,partclassical,part jazz.Theolderwomanenteredthecircle withelegant,deliberatestrides,her physicalityutterlychanged.Awomanno longer—intheflexofherlegs,inthe angleofherhead,shebecameanoble demonwalkingamongmortals.From anothercorner,themaikoemerged, glidinglikeagoddess,tiltingherhead. Theirdancebegan.
IturntoTabia.Hereyesarefulloftears.
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Afterthat,allIseearethemusclesinthedemon’sback,herstaunch stance,thewaysheshrugshershoulders.Therearetableaus—the dancerswavewhitefabric,brandishgoldenfans.Themusichitsa crescendoandthencrashesintosilence.
Mycamera’stimerreachesoverthirtyminutes.Theaudiencecomes aliveandstartstoapplaud.Theperformersgatherinaline,bowingdeep. Theovationgoesonforthreeencores.
Thedancersholdthespacelikeitisalive.Whirlingalong,pointed naginata,thedemon-womangathersmenaceaboutherliketheblack trailsofherwaistcoat.Catchingtheeyeofthemaikoassheturns,Ifeel thebodilyshockofbecomingprey.Thephonewarmsmyhands,the minutesstretchingon.Thedemon,wearyofchasingandbeingrepelled bythesun-goddess,sitsdownandbuildsadenofsadnesswithjustthe confusedcrookofherlimbs.
Amaterasuglidesover,herhandextendingfromitslongwhitesleeve, reachingforthewomaninblack,theirfingersalmosttouching.Thehand withdraws.
ThemomentseemedtostretchoutforeverasIbeganrecording.
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Thenextday,wewalkedtoNijo Castletosee Kyotographie’s signatureevent.Thisyear’stheme wasEcho.InthewakeofCOVID-19, andtomarktheten-year anniversaryoftheTohoku Earthquake,acollectionofartists hadrespondedtothecollective griefinvariousways.Ikebanainthe wastesofFukushima.Two corrugatedcorridors—oneforthe pandemic,theotherforthesorrow ofirradiation.Thefinalroomwas morehopeful;itcontainedan organicallycoilingtubemadeof bambooreedscutinatraditional manner,signalingour interconnectednessandstrength. Lightshonethroughthegapsinthe reeds.Ababyintheroomkept cryingout.
“Thedeaddonotfearbeing aloneorcold,andtheyare notafraidofthedark.”
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Inthesoutheastwatchtowerwasa finalexhibition.Thelightswereout. Attheentrance,weweregivendim torches.Onthewallswithinwere picturesofthedevastationwrought bytheearthquake.Acarona railroadtrack;alineofsakuratrees inbloomaboveadried-outriverbed coveredintrash.Linesoftext seemedtofloatinthespace between—Japanese,English, French.Oneinparticularcaughtmy eye. ”Thedeaddonotfearbeingaloneor cold,andtheyarenotafraidofthe dark.” Weemergedundertheautumnsky. Manyhoursofsunshineleft.
byDaniel,youcancheckouthis
livinginKyotocity,aneditorofthe
on
DanielMulcahyisathird-yearJET KyotoJETsnewsletter,anda seasonedprocrastinator.Hehas writtenbeforefor CONNECT thetopicofkendo,somethinghe reallyquiteenjoys.Ifyouwould liketoseesomeotherscribblings backburnerblogat shingaimumon.wordpress.com
. BacktoContents|43
TheArtofRepairingBrokenPottery withGoldLacquer
YukikoMoriuchi(Okayama) interviewedbyJessicaCraven(Saitama), interpretedbyToshieOgura(Okayama)
Kintsugi
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Iwasabletotalkwithherandoneof hercurrentstudents,ToshieOgura,to learnmoreabouttheprocessofkintsugi andhowstudentsembarkonapersonal journeythroughstudyingit. J:WHATiSTHEHiSTORYBEHiND KiNTSUGi? Y: TheJapaneselacquerneededforthe kintsugiprocesshasbeenusedsince theJomonperiod(around7000BC).This lacquerismadefrom thesapofthe native urushitree.However,kintsugiflourished intheMuromachiperiod,likelyduetothe popularityofteaceremonyduringthis time.Kintsugiwasdevelopedasawayto repaira valuableteacup oranother similar objectsothatitcouldstillbeusedandbe transformedintosomethingevenmore valuableandbeautifulthanbefore. areinspiredbythephilosophybehind kintsugi.Aviralquoteaboutkintsugi thatcirculatestheinterneteveryso oftengoessomethinglikethis: “InJapan,brokenobjectsareoften repairedwithgold.Theflawisseenas auniquepieceoftheobject’shistory, whichaddstoitsbeauty.Considerthis when youfeel broken.”ーAnonymous YukikoMoriuchi,akintsugiteacherin Okayama,helpsherstudentsmake thisideaawayoflifeandimprovetheir confidencethroughtheartofkintsugi. Kintsugi literally translates as “to connect withgold”andistheartof putting brokenpotterypiecesback together withgoldlacquer.The techniqueisat least400yearsoldand wasbornoutof theideaofmakingan objectevenmore beautifulandvaluable byembracingits imperfections.The “scars”ofthepiece becomethe definingfeatureofthe finishedwork, resultinginaone-of-a-kinddesign borneoutofmistakes. Youonlyhavetotakeagoodlook aroundPinteresttorealizehowmuch somepeoplefromWesterncountries “In Japan, broken objects are often repaired with gold. The flaw is seen as a unique piece oftheobject’shistory,which addstoitsbeauty.Consider thiswhenyoufeelbroken.” ーAnonymous |45
J:HOWDiDYOUBECOMEiNTERESTEDiN KiNTSUGiANDHOWDiDYOULEARNABOUT iT? Y: Ihavealwayslovedmakingthings,andItriedto learnabout differentart formslittle bylittle. Iwanted toconnectthishobbytomywork.Originally,Ihad onlyheardofkintsugiinpassingbutdidn’tknow muchaboutit.Ithoughtitwascharmingbecause itinvolvestheuseoftraditionalJapaneselacquer. IstartedpracticingkintsugibecauseIbrokearice bowlthatmyhusbandcherished.Iconsultedwith theartistwhomadethebowlaboutifitwouldbe possibletorepairitwiththekintsugiprocess,and hesaidthatIcoulddoit.Hewaskindenoughto showmethe firststep oftheprocess sticking the brokenpieces togetherwith lacquerand flour.I was drawntokintsugibecauseyoucanuseeveryday materialssuchaswheatorflourtorepairaceramic pieceーthe only special material you need is lacquer.Icontinuedtostudythekintsugi process throughtheInternet,andItaughtmyselfhowto repairmyhusband’sbowl. Ittookaboutsixmonthstorepairit,butwhenI sawthefragmentsoftheshatteredbowlpieced backtogether,Ithoughtitwasbeautiful,andIwas proudtobeabletodothisprocessmyself.Atthis moment,Ithoughtthatwhatwasoncetheugly “scar”ordamagetothebowlbecamewhatledme tospendalotoftimewiththepieceandrediscover itsbeauty.Thepiece’sfinalformislikeabeautiful tangiblememoryofallthetimeIspentworkingon thepiece andeverything I experienced duringthat periodofmylife...Inthisway,itwaslike“proof” ofthedaysthatIspentwhileIwasworkingonthe piece.I wantto conveythis excitementthat Ifeel, so Inowrunaclassroomforstudentsofkintsugi. 46|
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Reattachingthebrokenpieces. 48|
J:COULDYOUEXPLAiNTHEKiNTSUGi PROCESSFOROURREADERS? Y: Theprocesscanbedividedintothreegeneral phases: 1.Makeamixtureofflourandlacquertomakea kindofgluepaste(naturaladhesive)anduseitto attachthebrokenpiecesbacktogether.Also,ifyou mixastoneorsandmaterialwiththelacquer,itcan beusedasaputtytofillinanygaps.Thetextureof themixtureislikeputtywhenworkingwithit,but whenitdries,itformsahardsurface. 2.Applythelacquertothedamagedareaofthe brokenobject usinga brush.Let thisapplication dry andrepeattheprocessmanytimesuntilyouhave filledinthecrackedcompletely.Ialwaysbuildup acarefulsurfacewiththelacquerthroughmany applicationsandthinkofitassimilartoapplying makeupfoundation.Iconsiderthebeautyofthe particular crack as I fill it in to make a beautiful result. 3.Paint ared lacquerover thesurface youhave built up.Then,applythegoldoverthatusingabrush. Theentireprocesstakesabout3monthsto complete it takesa longtime forthe lacquer to completelydry. |49
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Y: It dependson howyou usethe dish,but apiece repairedwith thekintsugi process couldlastforever.However,ifyouleavethedishstandinginwaterforalongtime, putitinthemicrowave,orputitinthedishwasher,itwillruinthelacquer.Thegold powderfalls off littleby littlefrom use,but youcan applymore laterto makethe piece look“younger.”Althoughsomepeopleallowtheappliedgoldtofademorebecause theythinkthereisbeautyinthisagingprocess.
J:ISTHEREANYTHiNGYOUNEEDTOBECAREFULOFWHENDOiNGTHiS PROCESS?
Y: When working with lacquer, you have to take special care to avoid getting it on your skinーotherwise, it’slikesuperglue andisverydifficult togetoff.Also, itmaycausea rashandmakeyourskinveryitchy.
J:ONCEYOU REPAiRAPiECE, HOWLONGCAN YOUCONTiNUETO USEiT?
ToshieOgura(currentstudent)
However, after repairing my husband’s cup through kintsugi,Irealizedthatyoucanrecoverevenafter makingamistake.I’dliketothinkthatyoucan eventransformyourselfaftermakingamistake. Soforme,kintsugiisawaytorediscovermyself. Iwanttoremindmystudentsthattheyalsocan recoverfromanyfailureandre-createthemselves anytime,usingthethingstheyalreadyhave. “Ms.Moriuchihasawayofteachingthathelps herstudentshavetheirownexperienceofgrowth throughlearningthekintsugiprocess.Itisa subjectivejourney,butitisimportantforus.”
ー
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J:WHATiSYOURiNSPiRATiONFORYOUR WORK? Y: Ihopetohelpmystudentstodiscovernew waysofthinkingthroughtheprocessofkintsugi. Everyonemakesmistakesintheireverydaylives, yetmanypeoplearehighlycriticalofthemselves, especiallyinJapan.Itseemsthatmanypeople worrythattheirentirereputationwillberuined withinacompanyorschooliftheymakeevenone mistake.Sensitivepeopleespeciallyfeelpressure fromthisandmaybeevenworrytheywillbearthe scarsofthesemistakesfortherestoftheirlives.
Toshie Ogura (current student)
“Ms.Moriuchihasawayofteaching thathelps herstudents havetheir own experience of growth through learning thekintsugiprocess.Itisasubjective journey,butitisimportantforus.”
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Ms.Moriuchi’sclassesareheldinTsuyama City,OkayamaPrefecture,everyWednesdayand Thursdayfrom10:00to12:30,andinMimasaka City,OkayamaPrefectureonthe3rdSaturdayof everymonthfrom10:30to1:00and2:00to4:30.
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Youcanalsoseethisculturaldifferenceifyou comparekintsugitothepotteryrepairprocessesin Westerncountries.InWesterncountries,thegoal oftheprocessistohidethebreak,butinJapanese culture,we emphasizethe breakto showthe beauty ofanimperfectthinganditshistory.
Y: Atfirst,Iwassurprisedbysomeforeigners’way ofthinkingaboutkintsugi.Forme,thevalueof kintsugiistorepairsomethingthatyoutreasure ifyouaccidentallybreakit.Ialsofindhealing throughthisprocess.However,someforeigners intentionallybreaktheircupstoparticipateinthe kintsugiclass.Theyseemconfidentthattheycan makethecupmorebeautifulthanbeforethrough kintsugi...(althoughIwasconcernedthatthey wouldhurttheirself-esteemiftheybrokethingson purpose).Ithinktheymaybeattractedtothefact thatyoucantransformapieceintoanewartwork, andthecrackedmarksareabeautifulorganic patternthatyoucan’tplanorwouldn’tbeableto makeotherwise.
J:IHEARDTHATYOUTEACHSOMEFOREiGN STUDENTSABOUTKiNTSUGi.WHYDOYOU THiNKKiNTSUGiiSiNTERESTiNGFORTHEM?
AlthoughMs.Moriuchiteachesthetraditionalart form of kintsugi, she does so as a means of teaching self-healingoranothertypeofpersonalgrowthin contemporarytimes.Aspeoplearoundtheworld arestillrecoveringfromthepandemicandfeel variouspressuresinwork,school,ortheirpersonal lives,kintsugiseemstobeanartformandprocess withuniversalappeal.
YukikoMoriuchiisakintsugiteacherin OkayamaPrefecture.Sheencouragesher studentstodiscovernewwaysofthinking throughtheartofkintsugi. ToshieOguraisanEnglishteacherfora languageschool.Shealsohasmany creative hobbiesーsuch askintsugi and tea ceremony and is interested in using her language skills to connect with people around theworldanddiscussJapanese culture.She alsorecordsthe Medetai Japan podcast, anEnglishpodcasttaking auniquespinon topicsrelatedto Japaneseculture,withher Americancohost,Ada. JessicaCravenisafifth-yearAmericanJET livinginSaitama.Onweekends,sheenjoys hikinginremoteareasofSaitamaortaking daytripstoTokyo.Whennotadventuring, shecan befound readingor creatingher own artwork, which can be seen on her Instagram BacktoContents|53
LETTER FROM ENTERTAINMENT Japanhasalwaysbeenatouchstoneforme,eversinceIstarted university,IwasinlovewithJapanesecinema.Itwasn’tthe typicalKurosawafarethatcaughtmyeye,butthehorrorstories ofthelate‘90sandearly2000s.Theprofoundlonelinessofthis timeperiodinspiredme,andIwassimilarlyinspiredbysomeof thearticlesmysectionreceivedthisyear,soI’llkeepthisshortand sweet. MyfirstpickforthisrewindissuewasourveryownRachel Fagundes’piece WelcometoAnEveningofKagura.Assomeone whoisanavid Bunraku and Kagura fan,Ifoundthispieceon Kaguraenlighteningandfascinating.Definitelyworthasecond look. Asformysecondpick,thereissomethinginspiringaboutallofour editorsandcontributorscomingtogethertosharetheir Christmas traditions,andaswecomeintothelatterhalfoftheyear,Ithought theymightbeworthare-read. TheEntertainmentsectionof CONNECT hasbroadlyfocussedon gamesandTV,yetthesetwoarticlesfocusonaspectsofJapan thatIpersonallyfindfundamentaltotheforeignexperienceinthis country.Afterall,aren’tweallheretoseethingsthatwegenerally wouldn’twitnessinourhomecountries? Tothatend,Ihopeyou’llallreflectonthisyearof CONNECT with me,openyourheartstoJapanesetraditionaltheater,andthink aboutthetraditionsthatyou,thereader,canmakeforyourselfin thisgreatcountry. Sincerely, FergusGregg Photo:SoraSagano|Unsplash.com THE Editor
Welcome
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56| An Evening of Kagura
Whatmakesitdifferent fromkabukiornoh? Whatmakesitdifferent fromkabukiandnohisthat ithasreligiousroots, whereastheothertwodo not.Kaguratellsstories fromJapanesemythology andwasoriginally performedonlyatshrines orfestivalsasawaytogive thankstothegodsfora bountifulharvest.As Shintoismspread throughoutJapan,sotoo didkagura.
RachelNicholson(Hiroshima)interviewed byRachelFagundes(Okayama) to
Pleasetellusabout kagura.Whatisit? Kagurais,asthelegend goes,theoldestformof entertainmentinJapan. Thekanjithatmakeup kagura(神楽)literallymean “gods”and “entertainment”— “entertainingthegods.” Oneoftheoldestlegends inJapanisthestoryofthe SunGoddessclosing herselfofffromtheworldin arockcave(essentially,the modernequivalentof lockingyourselfinyour room)afterherbrother doessometrulyawfulstuff. Tolureheroutofthecave andsavetheworldfrom completedarkness,the GoddessAme-no-Uzumeno-Mikotostartstoperform alivelydance,which becomesthefirstkagura performance.Ame-noUzume-no-Mikotoisstill worshipedtodayasa goddessofentertainment andthearts!(Checkout thekaguraplaybasedoffof thislegend, Ama-no-Iwato)
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closertotheirShinto roots.However,Hiroshima Kagura(orGeihoku Kagura)tookadifferent approachbyembracing theuseofelaborate costumes,smoke machines,masksfor demonsthatshootactual sparksandflames,paper streamerstorepresent magicorblood,andthe useof“modern”(ish) storiesthatcomefrom kabukiornoh(likethe OeyamaTrilogy,which youcanfind here (Part1), here (Part2),and here (Part3)).
Theshifttowards becomingapopular performingartislargely duetotheNakakawado KaguraTroupe’s performanceof Itabukino-Miya (ItabukiPalace) atthe44thAnnualGeiseki KaguraCompetitionin 1992.Theperformance includedanunforgettable andimpressivepropofa severedheadthatflew aroundthestageshooting flamesandsparksthat delightedandamazedthe audience.Whileit receivedincredible cheersfromthecrowd, thejudgespanelrefused toacceptit.Spurredby theirfrustrationatthe judgespanel,the NakakawadoTroupeheld theirownself-funded kaguraperformanceat AsterPlazainHiroshima City.Theirperformance titled“SuperKagura,the SongsoftheGodsfrom theNakakawadoTroupe” wasahugesuccess,and crowdspackedthe performancehall,leaving manywatchingfrom standingroomonly.Word begantospreadabout howincredibleand entertainingkagurawas. Thislandmark performancealsomarked whenGeihokuKagura begantobecalled HiroshimaKagura. Youcanlearnmorein The HistoryofHiroshima Kagura,whichisagreat resource.
Kaguraisalsomuch shorterthannohorkabuki performances,usually about45minutesperplay. Whiletheydosharesome ofthemoredramatic qualitiesofkabuki(the elaboratecostumes), kaguraisn’tconsidereda highartform—it’smoreof agrassrootsartform.The musicisalsounique:each playisaccompaniedby livemusicandsinging (perhaps“chanting”isa littlecloser)byfour musiciansplayingthe kaguraflute,hand cymbals,smalltaikodrum, andlargetaikodrum.
Whatmakes Hiroshima’sstyleof kaguradifferentfrom otherstylesaround Japan? Thereareactuallymany differentstylesofkagura withinHiroshima,whichis understandablesince thereareover200troupes inHiroshimatoday!The mostpopularstyleis GeihokuKagura. Thebiggestdifferenceis thatmostotherstylesof kaguraaroundJapanare stillquitetraditionaland
Pleasetellusmore abouttheperformers. Whoperformskagura? Aretheyableto performkagurafull timeoristhismoreofa hobby? Kaguraisavery community-basedartform, sotheperformersaren’t dedicatedactorsbytrade. You’llseemiddle schoolers,highschoolers, thoseintheir20sallthe waytotheir60soreven laterworkingeitheron stageorbehindthe scenes.Theyevenhave kids’kaguratroupesand women’skaguratroupesas well.Everyonewho participatesdoessoafter schoolorwork,usually meetingafewtimesduring theweektopractice. Theycangetpaidto performatshrinesand othervenues(ifthey’rea well-knownkaguratroupe), butit’smoreofahobby thanaside-gig. Canyoutellusabout themasksand costumes? Themasksareusedfor characterslikedemons, gods,andtheelderly.They aremadefromlightweight washi paperandsome havelittletricksinthem, likeapiecethatjutsout fromtheinsidethatactors bitedownontoholdthe maskinplacewhendoing quickmaskchanges.Alot ofthehairthatyouseeon themasksisactuallyhorse hair. Thecostumesareallhandembroideredandone-of-akindpiecesmadeby professionalkagura costumemakers.They havelittlemirrorsor 58|
reflectivesurfacessewninto themthatcatchthelight. Therearedistinctivepatterns onthemthatareuniquetothe troupe.Youcanfind traditionalsymbolsofgood fortune,liketurtles,or traditionalJapaneseflowers embroideredintothemas well.Sincetheyusealotof metallicthreadandheavy fabrics,thecostumesfor demons(oftenwiththemost intricate3Ddesigns)can weighupto20or30 kilograms!
Anothercharacteristicofthe costumesisthereveal.During thebigfightsceneattheend, you’llusuallyhaveascene wheretwogoodguysface twobadguysbeforegetting thefinalboss.Theytwirl aroundoneanothertomimic thefighting,andthen,halfway through,thecostumeswill appeartochangeintoanew costumehalfwaythroughthe intensespinning.
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Costumesareextremely expensiveandarenot somethingthatispurchased frequently.
Hiroshima-stylekagura makeswonderfuluseofa lotofstageeffects,like smokemachines.Canyou tellusmoreaboutthat? Smokeusuallyindicatesthat somethingmagical(goodor bad)isabouttohappen.So, forexample,whenthe innocent-lookingmaidbegins herslowtransformationintoa demonduringTsuchigumo, you’llseeherfirstfreeherhair frombeingtiedback,and thensmokewillslowlystartto creepoutfromthecurtainsto signifythismaidisnotallshe seems.Smokefillingthe stagebeforeacharacter comesoutfromthecurtains canindicateademon,or sometimes,agod.Sowhen youseesmoke,it’sacueto payattentionbecause somethingimportantisgoing tohappen.
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Atthatpoint,Ihadonly seenkaguraonceata localfestival.Iwas absolutelyentranced, captivatedbythelavish costumes,themusic,the dancing—andalsoathow everyonehadgatheredin theparkinglotofthistiny shrine,huddledtogether onblanketsandtarpson theground,staringupat theperformancein wonder. Sowhenaskedtobea partofthat,I,ofcourse, accepted.
EarlyonIwascontacted bythechairwomanofthe HiroshimaInterpreterand GuideAssociation,who askedmeifIwould translatekaguraplaysfor anas-of-yet-unnamed performancefortourists. That’sright!I’mtheone whonamedit AnEvening ofKagura!
Whenisthe traditionalkagura season? Askagurawasoriginallya ritualtoofferthanksfora bountifulfallharvest,the seasonusuallybeginsin thefallandgoesthrough thewintertime. Pleasetellusabout AnEveningof Kagura.Howdidthat getstartedandhow didyougetinvolved? AnEveningofKagura beganinHiroshimaCity in2017withthegoalof introducingHiroshima’s traditionalperformingart ofkaguratointernational tourists.Differentkagura troupesfromaroundthe prefecturewouldcometo thecityandperformone oftheirpopularplayswith Englishtranslations projectedalongsidethem. Theseliveshows continueduntiltheendof 2019,whenCOVID-19 decidedtoshowup.
Thepandemicmeantthat liveperformanceswerea no-go,andalsothat touristswerebarredfrom enteringthecountry.So, RCCBC(theRCCCultural Center,or,RCC Bunka Center,inJapanese) decidedtogodigitaland beganoffering An EveningofKaguraOnline inthefallof2020.These videoswereamixofprerecordedperformances andlivestreamsfeaturing anintrobytheMC, performance(subtitled), andaliveQ&Awherewe tookquestionssubmitted inreal-timeand interpretedthemforthe troupeandaudience.
Thegreatthingaboutthe onlineversioniswehada muchlargerreach
globally.Someofthe livestreamsandevenprerecordedvideoshad600 peopleormorewatching atonce!Theprepandemicshowsmaybe hadanaudienceof40if wewerelucky— sometimesonly10people orevenlessshowedup! Weevenhadathree-day WinterKaguraFestival onlineinDecember2020 withlotsofpeoplejoining usinthechat,asking questionsaboutkagura andhavingagoodtime. Wealsoproducedsome explanatorycontent,such asthehistoryofkagura videolinkedabove,as wellasvideosintroducing someofkagura’sbest knownplays,like Yamatano-Orochi (TheEightHeadedSnakeDemon) and Momiji-gari (The MapleLeafViewing Party).
Our2021seasonfeaturedvideos ofpastperformanceswith Englishsubtitles,andincluded eightnever-before-translated plays. Kaguradialogueusesan olderformofJapanese, comparabletoChaucerian English,thatevenmodern Japaneseaudiencesdon’t understand.Whatisitlike translatingthesescripts? WhenIfirstgotthescriptsto translate,theywereinclassical Japanesewithamodern Japanesetranslationbelowthem. Ihadzeroexperiencewith classicalJapanese,soatfirst,I largelyignoreditandjustlooked atthemoderntranslations. However,asIwaswatchingmore oftheseplays,Istartedtodecode whattheyweresaying,andI realizedthattheoriginal translator(whoputtheclassical JapaneseintomodernJapanese) hadleftquiteafewdetailsout!So Istartedlookingmoreatthe classicalJapanesewhenIwas tweakingthetranslations.SinceI sawmanyofthesameplaysover andoveragain,Ibegantoget prettyfamiliarwithwhatthey weresayingandsoonfoundI didn’treallyneedthemodern Japaneseasmuch. IfI'mstuckonawordorphrase,I usuallyendupaskingthe coordinator(whoisakagura expertinhisownright)ifIhave themeaningornuanceright.It’s beenarealtestofmyown understanding,butalsoagreat waytodeepenmyunderstanding ofJapanese.
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Howhas AnEvening ofKagura adapted duringthepandemic?
62| Whathasbeenyour favoritestoryor performancethat you’veseensofar? Handsdown Ushi-gozen, orasIdubbedit, The TragicTaleofUshi-gozen. It’sgoteverything:the fragileegosofmenin power,babiesbornwith horns,mentalanguish overbeingorderedtokill yourhalf-sister,notto mentionincrediblemakeup,costumes,and dramaticactingthatwill leaveyouintears.It’sone ofthefew shin-mai plays thatislessaboutgoodvs. evilandmoreaboutmoral corruption,family,and whatitmeanstobea militaryfamily. Howcanforeign peopleexperienceand learnmoreabout kagura? Well,it’salittlemore difficulttodosoatthe momentwithCOVID-19, butinternationalresidents canwatchonline performanceswith Englishsubtitleson .Therearealso somevideosaboutkagura historythere,too.Ifthings calmdowninthefall,you cancatchlivekagura performancesatcertain shrines(lastyear, SorasayaShrinein downtownHiroshima hostedanoutdoornight kaguraperformance)but they’renotsuperheavily advertised.Therearealso kaguracompetitionsheld inplaceslikeKitaHiroshima-choand AkitakataCity.Speaking of,theyhavea (dedicatedspace forkaguraperformances) at MonzenTōji-mura whereyoucancatch specialperformances, highschoolkagura competitions,andmore (inJapaneseonly). Youcanalsofollow An EveningofKagura on and , orreadaboutiton !
RCCBChasaddedaway forviewerstodonatevia theThanksbuttonontheir YouTubevideos.Youcan seemoredetailsabout thatonourInstagram (“Donate”storyhighlight). Evenjustwatchingthe livestreamsorvideo premiereshelps,asdoes sharingposts,liking posts,orevenjust subscribingtothe YouTubechannel! Isthereanythingelse thatyouwantpeopleto knowaboutKagura? It’ssuchagemoflocal culturethattrulyisunique toHiroshima.Ifyou’ve neverseenit,Iencourage youtojustwatchoneof thevideos(preferably Ushi-gozen or ,maybe )—they’renotthat longandtheyaresuper entertaining!
OriginallyfromMarylandintheUnitedStates,Rachel NicholsonhasbeenlivingandworkinginHiroshimafor almost15years.FromtranslatingforHiroshimaUniversity toowningherownrestaurant,workingatabakery,and thenatadentistoffice,shefinallylandedherselfajob translatingforHiroshimaCityHall.Shealsodoesfreelance translationandnarration,andsometimesfindsherselfon cameraintroducingHiroshimaanditsincrediblefood culture.YoucanfindheronInstagram,wheresheisknown asthe RachelFagundesisa fifth-yearJETinOkayama andtheHeadEditorof CONNECT.Sheloves traditionalJapanese theater,Mexicanfood, sciencefiction,andcats.
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BacktoContents
Whatcanwedoto support AnEveningof Kagura?
64| tofeel like alot be�nning It's Ch�stmas THECONNECTTEAMSHARETHEIR CHRISTMASTRADITIONS&RITUALS FergusGregg(Kobe)
Afterwe’veallworkedonourtans,orin
mycasefoughtoffsunburn,wereturn tothehouse.Familymembersfrom acrossthestatesstarttoturnup.Aunts andunclesIhaven’tseeninmonths,as wellashappycousinslookingforsome light-heartedholidayfun. Thespreadisinspired:honeyedham, prawnsonbutteredbread,andfresh trout.Afterlunch,wegettomy particularlyfavouriteholidaytradition— thefilms! Mymum,dad,sisterandIallcrowd togethertowatch BridgetJones’sDiary, LoveActually andofcourse, The Holiday.WhenitcomestoChristmas I’masbasicastheycome,sosueme. Withallthisattheforefrontofmymind, I’vereachedouttosomeofmy colleagueshereat CONNECT tofind outhowtheycelebratetheholidays andgetinthemood.Soenjoythese excerptsofthewinterseason!
|65 It’sthattimeoftheyear. Shoppingcentresstartplaying seasonaljingles,MariahCarey’s incessantsongbecomesa frequentearworm,andifyou’re likeme,youstartpiningforhome. AsmyfirstChristmasawayfrom Australiainafewyears,Ibecomeeasily nostalgicforourtraditions.Inmyhome, Christmasisasummeraffair throughandthrough. Westartwithmy nephewjumpingup anddownonmy bed,tirelessly excitedfortheday ofpresentsand gamesthatawaits him,thenwe exchangegifts.After thatalargeAustralian breakfastisserved, typicallyconsistingof “BrekkieBurgers”crafted withlashingsofbarbecued bacon,butteredmushrooms cookedinasaucepan,perfectly poachedeggsandtoppedwithHeinz’s finestBBQsauce. Afterthisdelight,wehitthebeach. Therewereclineforhours;typicallymy motherandIreadinthedunes,whilst myfathertakesmynephewboogie boardingandsplashingintheshallows.
JonSolmundsonisasecond-yearJETand CONNECT CopyEditor.ThisChristmasyou'll findhimprancingthroughthesnow,camera inhand,enjoyingthefestivewinter wonderlandwhichsomanysongsandmovies arefascinatedwith,thatwasunavailableto himandhisfellowAustralians.
Inacolumndedicatedtopersonaltraditions, perhapsit’salittleunproductivetohighlightideas thataredeeplyembeddedintheholiday landscape.Avoidingclichesandreligious connotationsseemsstandardnowadays.Butlike, yougottahaveBingatChristmas,don’tya?
JonSmoldson’s(Hokkaido) WinterWonderland
Whilehisspirithauntstheshoppingmallsandcar radiosofDecember,oldmanCrosbyisnoless welcomeinmyhome.Ontotheplaylisthegoes. Yes,hesharesthegloriousstageofmycrackling Bluetoothspeakerwithcontemporarypretenders tothethrone—Buble,Carey,WAM,etal.—butwe allknowwhoreignssupreme.Thedulcettonesof theOG-croon-daddyringthroughthehomewitha lazilyconfidentstep.Icanalmosthearmyfather’s half-bakedattemptstomatch.Whatoptiondoes onehave?Idroptoanexaggeratedbaritoneand beltout,“IT’SBEGINNINGTOLOOKALOTLIKE CHRISTMAS...”Ofcourse,ittakesonlyafew momentstorememberthatInowsharethin Japaneseapartmentwalls,andbringthevolume backtoamorereasonablelevel,lestIsharealittle toomuchholidayspirit.
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Ch�stmas-themed
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Dianneisathird-yearJETinGunmaPrefectureandacopyeditorfor CONNECT. Ifshe’snotfranticallytryingtomeetherdailywordcountforNationalNovel WritingMonth,she’shikingupherelectricbillbybakingadorablytinyBirthdayChristmascakestosharewithherco-workersthisholidayseason.
Asforthefinisher:Myfamily reallythrivesonJimHenson humour;weloveeverything Muppets,fromthetried-andtrue TheMuppetShow to MuppetTreasureIsland and beyond.Howdowetypically spendChristmasnight?By watching TheMuppet ChristmasCarol,ofcourse! Whileit’ssillytoreimaginea classicCharlesDickenstale withgoofy,bug-eyedpuppets inperiodgarb,thismoviewill alwaysholdaspecialplacein myheart.It’sjusttheright balanceofhumour,drama,and camptogetmefeelingthe Christmasspirit.
Myfamily’sholidayritualsmightsounda littlebitstrange(orfunny).WheneverI getthequestion“Doyouhave Christmascake?”frommyJapanese students,italwaysshort-circuitsmybrain becausetheanswer,forme,isn’tas clear-cut.Yousee,Iwasbornon ChristmasDay,andwhileitisn’tthe customtohavecakeonChristmasinthe U.S.,itcertainlyIScustomarytohave cakeonyourbirthday. So,foreveryChristmasmorning,my grandmaalwaysmadespicecakeoutof thosePilsburycakemixesyoucouldbuy atthegrocerystore.She’dbakeit,throw onsomecreamcheesefrosting,and thenmydadwouldsticktwocandlesin it:oneforme,andoneforJesus.Guess whogetsabirthdaysong?That’sright: meandJesus.Ifthat’snotagreatstartto agreatholiday,Idon’tknowwhatis.
IcametoJapanafterspending myteenageyearshopingI couldcometoseemyfavourite Japanesebandsplaylive. SinceI’velivedhere,Ican’t starttocounthowmanytimes I’veseenmyfavouriteartist,or 本命 honmei,butDecember alwayscomeswiththespecial promiseoftheannual“endof yearparties”andNewYear countdownsliveconcerts.It’s oftenlonelyinthecountryside, soknowingI’llgettomeetmy fellowconcertenthusiast friendsfromalloverthe countrycomingtoseeour favouritemusiciansis reassuringandexciting. Theprocessofplanningour meeting,findingtheperfect outfit,andsharingthispassion wehaveforsupporting inspiringcreativepeoplemakes itfeellikeafamilyreunionwhen someofuscan’tseeourtrue families.Weforget,forafew hours,thelonelinessofour obscuremusictasteunknown tomostinremotecountryside villagesandwebecomeone strongpowerfulsupportparty. Recently,evenfromhome,we cantalktoeachotherwatching theconcertonlineandshare emotionsinreal-time.Every year,Iknowthatnomatter what,ChristmasiswhenIgetto meetmychosenmusicalfamily. Everyyear,asChristmasapproaches,Ifeelaholidayfilm togetmeintheholidaymood.Igetunderkotatsucovers, laptopinmylap,amugofteanearby,playbuttonpressed onamovieinspiredbytheiconicChristianNativityscene: TokyoGodfathers,byJapanesedirectorSatoshiKon.A middle-agedalcoholic,atransgenderwoman,anda runawayteenager—allhomeless—discoverababyon ChristmasEveinamangeroftrash.Theydecidetocare forthebabe;whatensuesisafunny,tragic,andheartfelt taleaboutthemarginalizedofsociety...plusothermore traditionalChristmasthemeslikefamily. An Unorthodox Comfort Film forMarcoOliveros(Tokushima)
DahliaLemelin “Honmei”PartyChristmas
Marcoisafourth-year JET wholikes studying Japanesecultureand historyandwatchingand writingaboutanime.On occasion,whenhe’snot busyandhuddlingfor dearwarmthunder severallayersduring winter,hecombinesthe twointerests.
Dahliaisanobscuremusicandfashion enthusiastthatenjoysspendingwaytoo muchmoneyonliveconcertgoods.
’s
Hopefullythisarticle,aswellasthecontributionsofsomeofour CONNECT Teammembers,willhelpyoureaderstofindnewholiday traditionsorevenbuildontoyourexistingones.
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Merry Christmas
Onthatnote,andintheinterestsofcreatingnewtraditions,I’mexcited thisChristmastocreateafavouritedishofmineintheconfinesofmy ownneighbourhood.I’llbemakingafestiveGyozaTantanHotpotand pouringsomenicesakeformyselfandmyguests...beforeIsubject themalltoaveritablesmorgasbordofthesoppiest,cheesiest,andmost festiveoverplayedfilmsthatHollywoodhastooffer.Thosepoorpeople, hehe.
Thewaysthatweallcelebratetheholidaysareasvariedasour backgroundsasacommunity.Aspartoftherecentcohortofexpats, freshtoJapan,Ibelievethatthefirststeptowardssettlingintoanew homeisfindingnewtraditionsandrituals.That’swhythisChristmasin particular,andtheperspectivesofmycolleagues,issoimportanttome.
Fergusisayouthfulfirst-yearJETwhohasstepped intoJapanbright-eyedandlookingforadventure. Whennotobsessingoverhorrorfilmsand literature,hecanbefoundexploringHyogoin searchofmystery.
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HappyHolidays toallofyou!
anindeliblepartofJapaneseculture.Itis everywhere,andwrappingyourheadaround asaforeignercanbechallenging.Butitneed notbesoforeign,asAmberdemonstratesin herarticle—breakingdownwhatthe Ohenro Buddhistpilgrimagehasmeanttoher, personally,whilegoingoverthesurprisingly fewstepsneededtoactuallydothe pilgrimageproperly. Mysecondchoiceis InsideAwaOdori: InterviewwithaDancingJET byDavid Cowland-Cooper.SincecomingtoJapanand Tokushima,DavidhasbuilthislifeoffofAwa Odori,aspectaculardancefestivalhailing fromanotherwiselittle-knownprefecture.He goesoverhistimeencounteringand experiencingAwaOdori,detailsthemany littlefactoidsandmoveshe’slearned.You canalmostseethepassionwaftoutofthe pagethroughthewordsofthislongbut fascinatinginterviewabouthowAwaOdori becamethestoryofhislife. Tothe CONNECT staff,it’sbeenapleasure workingwitheveryone.Toourreaders,it’s beenapleasurepublishingworkforyoutobe informedandinspiredby.Andtoour contributors...youprovideanimportant servicetoourcommunity.Withyourstories, youenrichthelivesofreadersthecountry over.Andwiththat,thanks,andlookforward toanotheryearof CONNECT! Sincerely, MarcoOliveros Photo:FinanAkbar|Unsplash.com THE Culture
LETTER FROM EDITOR Asanenthusiastofhistoryandculture,I wanttogetmorepeopleinterestedin thatstuff.There’saquestionof accessibilitythough.Howdoyoumake learningaboutthesesubjectsnotdry?How doyoumakethemrelatable?Tome,the answerliesinbotheducationandnarrative, hardfactandpersonaljourney—writingthat givesuscontextwecanimagineourselvesin, andcharacterswecanrelateto.Ashuman beings,weare,asJonathanGottschallputsit, “storytellinganimals,”withminds“shapedfor story,sothat[they]canbeshapedbystory.” Whilethearticlesof CONNECT’sCulture Sectionaren’tstoriesinthetraditionalsense, thebestofthem,inmyopinion,leverage personalstoriestosuckreadersin,to entertainandtheneducate,andthen... hopefullyinspire. CONNECT hashostedgreatarticlesoverthis pastyearonthemanyvariedandinteresting aspectsofJapaneseculture—performing artssuchaskabukiandnoh;traditionssuch asfirefestivalsandteaceremony;places suchasGifuandWakayama.However,I’ve beengiventheunfortunatetasktoselectjust twoarticlesthispastyeartohighlight.Ihope thisrestrictiondoesn’tdiscourageother writers;instead,Ihopeitservesasacallto creatorstosubmiteverbetterexamplesof theirbestwork.Withthatoutoftheway,I presenttoyoumytoptwoCultureSection articlesforthisyear. Myfirsttopchoiceis 88:MyJourneyAcross ShikokuasanAccidentalPilgrim byAmber Bunnell.Fromthetemplepilgrimagesthat thousandsofJapaneseundertakeeveryyear,
tothestone-carvediconsthatlitterevery Japanesecityandcountryside,Buddhismis
AmberBunnell (Tokushima) Temple35,Kiyotakiji, inTosa,Kochi 72|
Frontcoveroftheauthor’snokyocho.
Exampleofastampedandsignedpage fromtheauthor’snokyocho,receivedat Temple66,Unpenji
twasamistySundayinmidOctoberwhenIbecamean accidentalpilgrim.Froma templeperchedona mountaintop,anhouranda halfawayfrommynewhome inruralTokushima,Istudied themountainrangebelowin awe,thewayitstretched endlesslytothehorizon.I’d leftmycarparkedinatinylot onthesideofacliff,hiked throughabambooforest, passedthroughanenormous templegateandclimbeda hundredstairsforthisview. Theairsmelledsweet,like incenseandrain.Icouldsee mybreath. Earlierthatday,I’dgoogled theShikoku88Temple Pilgrimageonawhimand foundthetemplenearestme: Number66. Unpenji.Later, insidethetemple nokyosho, thesmalladministrativeoffice thatsoldthingslikeomamori charmsandengravedwalking sticks,Ieyedthedifferent designsofthenokyocho pilgrimagebooks.Theyeach hadbrightcolorswoven togetherindifferent patterns—somepocket-sized, somelarger,allwith88blank pages.Ichoseonewitha deepbluebackgroundand redflowers.Thetemplestaff signeditwithalong calligraphybrush,in purposeful,unwavering strokes. Ididn’tconsidermyselfa pilgrim,an ohenro (お遍路), yet.Butthisimpromptuvisitto Unpenjiwouldsetintomotion ayears-longjourneyaround thewild,mesmerizingisland ofShikoku. A1200-Year-OldTradition TheShikoku88Temple Pilgrimageisknownas ohenroinJapanese,aword whichcanbeusedtomean both pilgrimage and pilgrim.It beginsinTokushimaand circlesShikoku’sperimeter, stretchingthroughKochiand Ehimebeforeendingin Kagawa.The88temples alongthepilgrimagearea collectionofsacredsites wherethe9thcentury BuddhistmonkKoboDaishi (alsoknownasKukai)issaid tohavetrainedorvisited(or beenborn,inthecaseof Temple75, Zentsuji).Asa youngman,KoboDaishi traveledtoChinaandbrought acollectionofEsoteric Buddhistpracticesbackto Japan,beforeestablishinga monasteryatthesacredsite
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ofMt.Koya.Hewouldlaterbeknownasthe founderofShingonBuddhism. The88TemplePilgrimagehasbeenalteredover thecenturiesbeforebecomingtheroutewe knowitastoday,butonethinghasremainedthe same:thereisno wrong waytodothe pilgrimage.Thetemplescanbevisitedinany order.Thepilgrimagecanbecompletedinone go,oritcanbebrokenintochunksand completedovertime.Pilgrimstravelbyfoot,car, bus,motorcycle,andbicycle.Somepaytogoon guidedtours.Somehitchhike,likeamanfrom HokkaidoImetatTemple29, TosaKokubunji; he’dbeenhitchhikingJapanfortwoyearsand wasdoingthepilgrimageasecondtime.There’s alsono wrong reasontobecomeapilgrim.Some becomeohenroforreligiousreasons,ortopray Temple26, Kongochoji, inMuroto,Kochi Anotherbenefitofpilgrimage_ Theworkoutprovidedbyclimbing allthestairs.(Temple35, Kiyotakiji inTosa,Kochi)
neartheentranceanduse oneofthedipperstowash yourhandsandmouth.All templesonthepilgrimagewill havea daishido (大師堂),a hallinthetemplededicatedto KoboDaishi,anda hondo (本 堂),ormainhall.Makeyour waytoone(orboth),and placeacoinintheoffering box—fiveyencoinsarethe mostsacred.Placeyour palmstogether,bow,andsay aprayer(orreciteyoursutras). Finally,visitthenokyosho officeandpay300yentohave thetemplestaffstampand
signthecorrespondingpage inyourbook. Ifyou’dprefertosimply wanderthegrounds, appreciatethearchitecture andthehistoryoftheancient groundyoufindyourselfon, that’sperfectlyacceptable too. Modern-DayPilgrims “KoboDaishiwasagreat businessman,”myfriend Naokolikestosay.“Hesaved theeconomyofShikoku.” Itisundeniablethatarobust industryhassprungup aroundohenro,includingbus tours,restaurantsand souvenirshopsinremote locales,and shukubo,templeruninnsforpilgrims.While theimageofKoboDaishimay beofanascetictraveling alonewithfewworldly possessions,asubstantial portionofmodernpilgrims aredrivenbytourism.They wanttoexperiencethegood food,beautifulviews,and localhospitalityoftheisland. IadmitthatIowealottoKobo Daishi.Hispilgrimagehas broughtmetoplacesIwould Temple25, Shishoji,inMuroto,Kochi Temple24, Hotsumisakiji,inMuroto, Kochi
Otherpilgrimscomeoutofan appreciationforthehiking trailsandwildnatureof Shikoku,orforself-discovery.
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foranillnesstobehealed.I oncemetanelderlycouplein Kagawa—thewifewitha headscarfwrappedaround hershort,losthair,the husbandsteadyingherwith hisarmastheymeticulously litincense.Idon’tremember thetemplenumber.Ido rememberprayingforthem.
Andwhileyoumaysee pilgrimsinthetraditional whitejacketandtriangular strawhat,thereisno mandatedpilgrimuniform. Nomatterthereasonsfor yourvisit,therearesome templebasicsmostpilgrims adhereto.Bowbefore enteringthroughthetemple gate.Findthebasinofwater
haveneverdiscoveredonmyown. Thankstohim,Iknowthatthe seasidetrailsinMuroto,rightbelow Temple24, Hotsumisakiji,offerthe mostspectacularviewofthesun risingabovethePacificOcean.I knowthatthelongestropewayin westernJapanspansastunning greencanyoninsouthern Tokushima,providingaccessto Tairyuji,Temple21.Iknowthat eachOctobertheneighborhood kidswholivearoundTemple39, Enkoji,performacenturies-old dancedressedingoldpants, colorfulscarves,anddeerantlers. Ofcourse,thepilgrimagehas connectedmetopeopletoo.I’ve completeddifferentpartsofthe journeywithdifferentpeople,and withdifferentpurposesinmind. Thetemplesfarthestfromme,deep inthemountainsofKochi Prefecture,Iexploredwithfriends onacartrip.Wespenttheentire timelaughing,takingphotosof sunsetsandwaterfalls,turningthe musicinthecarupasloudasit couldgo. Ivisitedthetemplesnearestmein centralTokushimaalone,theday aftermygrandmotherdied.Idrove forhoursinsilence.Idon’t remembermuchofthattripexcept forthebeautyofTemple6, Anrakuji, whereItriednottocrywhile watchingkoifishswimcirclesina pond. IdidmostofKagawaondaytrips withmypartner,duringtheworstof thepandemic.Weclimbed hundredsofemptystairsleadingup tothehondo, GOTOOHENRO postersplasteredonbulletin boardsaroundus.Fromthesteep topofTemple71, Iyadaniji,I thought, ThisisthemanIwantto spendmylifewith. Mostrecently,Itookafriendon medicalleavefromworkwithmeto thePacificcoastinsouthernKochi. AtTemple23, Shinshoji,wewrote prayersforherrecoveryonwooden blocksandthenhungtheminthe wind,amongdozensofother wishes.Weweresoclosetothesea thattheairarounduswassalty. “Areyouokay?”Iaskedheraswe madeourwayslowlybackdown thestairs.Shelookedtired. “Let’sdoanotherone,”shesaid. AnOngoingJourney Despitebeingafourth-yearpilgrim, Ioftenforgettherulesofhowto washmyhandsandpray.Inmy earlydaysvisitingtemples,Ifelt
Flowerillustrations- PatternVectorsbyVecteezy
AmberBunnellwasaJETfrom2016-2019, basedinTokushima.SheisalicensedEnglish andJapaneseteacher,andco-founderof TsunaguMimaWorldCommunity.Whennot teachingorvolunteering,Amberenjoys campingandtravel,andisobsessedwith onsen.Followheratambersensei.mimaon Instagram
recitingtheirsutras.Feelyourprayer,whatever thatlookslikeforyou eyesclosed,palms together,thinkingaboutGod,oryourfamily,or simplytakinginthetranquilityaroundyou.For amoment,therestoftheworldbecomes quiet,88times.
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SignpointingthewaytothedaishidoatTemple38, Kongofukuji,inTosashimizu,Kochi
self-consciousaboutmylackofexpertise,and wasnervousaboutoffendingtheother pilgrimsortemplestaff.DoIbowbeforeor afterwalkingthroughthegate?Whichhanddo Iwashfirst? Butnow,morethananypreciseBuddhist ritual,Iknowthatthemostpreciousthing aboutohenroistheopportunitytofeel everything.Feelthecoldwateronyourhands asyouwashthematthetemplegate.Smell theincensefloatingintheairasyoumakeyour waytothehondotopray.Hearthebriefclank ofmetalasyourcoinentersthecollectionbox, andthechantsofthepilgrimsnexttoyou
Photo:AmberBunnell Eachtemplehasawaterbasinnear theentranceforvisitorstowashtheir handsandmouth,anactthat symbolizespurifyingthemselvesfor thetemple Visitorswritewishesandprayerson woodenblocksandleavethem hangingatthetempleinthehopethat theyaregranted.
DavidCowland-Cooper(Tokushima)interviewedbyMarco Oliveros(Tokushima) AwaOdori isbothadance styleandoneofthebiggest festivalsinJapan.Forfourdays inAugust,localsandvisitors, inthethousands,pouroutinto thestreetsofTokushimatojoin what’sbasicallyamassivedance party.Thedancefeverhaseven sweptupJETs,otherpartsof Japan,andplacesoverseas. Here’saninsidelookfromone JET,DavidCowland-Cooper.
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Couldyoutellusalittleabout AwaOdorianditsorigins? Also,whatstartedyour personalinterestandpassion inAwaOdori? AwaOdoriispopularlythought tohaveoriginatedaround 1586duringthecelebrationof Tokushimacastle’sconstruction. Awa isthetraditionalnamefor theeasternpartofShikoku, nowTokushimaPrefecture.The Japaneseword odori literally means dance. Thedrunken dancingoftheAwalocals, accompaniedbysimplebut
catchymusic,wasentertaining, eventuallytakingonalifeofits ownas“thefool’sdance”ofAwa Province. Evenpriortothe16thcentury, therootsofAwaOdoriliein BonOdori,traditionaldancing connectedtotheannual Obon festivalinAugust. Bon dances havebeenpracticedforcenturies andarestilldonealloverJapan, withstylesthatvaryregionto region.MosttraditionalBonOdori arerelativelylow-keylocalevents, butAwaOdorihasevolved intoamassivespectacleof performancelastingseveraldays. Itisawonderfulexpressionofthe spiritofTokushima’speople. NewteacherscomingtoJapan aspartoftheJETProgramme generallyarriveinthemiddleof summer,whichisfestivalseason acrossthecountryandpeaktime forAwaOdoriinTokushima.As partofournewTokushimaJET orientation,beforedoingactual teachertraining,myJETgroup
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80| wasthrustintoArasowaren,anAwaOdoridance teamestablishedexpressly tofosterinternational exchange.Thatwasmyfirst tasteofAwaOdori,butIhad littleideaofhowbigitwould endupbecominginmylife! Iheardthatyouareapart ofandactuallyleadan AwaOdori ren.Whatisa renandhowdidyouend upparticipatinginone? I’vealwaysstruggledwith translatingthewordren neatly.Ifeelithasnuanced connotationsofcommunity orfamily,butIusuallygo with“team”or“group.” MyfirstAwaOdorirenwas alocalteaminwestern TokushimacalledMinodaren.Igrewtolovedoing
AwaOdorisomuchthat Idecidedtomoveto TokushimaCityinAugust 2004andjoinafamousteam there. TheAwaOdoriteamthatI’m amemberofinTokushima nowiscalledTensui-ren.I’m justastandardmemberof thatteam. Tensui-renisoneofthe largestandmostwellknownAwaOdoriteams inTokushimaandacross Japan.Tensui-renwas foundedin1946andis amongsttheoriginalgroups involvedinthepost-war rebirthofAwaOdoriasa modernfestival.Ithassister groupsacrossthecountry— inOsaka,Saitama,and Tokyo.Youmightsaythat TensuiAustralia—ateamI startedwhenImovedback toAustralia—isalsoa sistergroup. Formygroupherein Australia,youcouldpossibly refertomeasTensui Australia’s renchou,or leader. Soyouareamemberof Tensui-reninTokushima, andyoualsostartedand areleadingtheTensui Australiaren.Whatwould yousayisyourbiggest challengewithleading yourreninAustralia? Howhaveyoubeen dealingwithit? Thechallengeherewith TensuiAustraliaisgetting ourselvesknownand growingtheteam.
|81 ToputonaproperliveAwaOdori performancerequiresacriticalmassof dancersandmusicians.It’sbeenhardto pulltogetherenoughpeopleinAustraliato achievethat. TherealpowerofAwaOdoriisinlive performance—thegroupdynamic,thesound ofthelivemusic,andtheinterplaybetween dancersandmusicians.Toshowpeoplewhat it’sallaboutandcommunicateitsfeeling,it’s hardtojustshowthemavideoortalkaboutit. Youreallyneedatleastahandfulofdancers andsolidmusicianstomakethemagic happen.We’rejustaboutatthepointwhere wecandothat. Startingout,wefocusedonthedancingand justusedrecordedmusic(fromTensui-ren)to practiceandperform.Alongtheway,wehave takenopportunitiestopracticethemusic withinstrumentsanddoacoupleofoutdoor paradesandworkshopswithverybasic instrumentalaccompaniment.Wearegetting tothepointwherewecanperformonstage withlivemusic. Wearealsostartingtogetmoreinvitationsto festivalsandworkshops,fromwhichwecan hopefullybuildintosomethingsustainable. I’veheardAwaOdoriconsistsofdifferent dances,likeamaledance,afemale dance,andothersub-varieties.Couldyou tellusaboutsomeofthesedances,their differences,andwhatdancesyourren specializesin?Additionally,howcommon isitforwomentodomaledancesand men,femaledances? Dancingitselfisbasicallytwostyles—onna odori,whichisdancedonlybywomen,and otokoodori,whichcanbedancedbyanybody. IfIwastranslatingthetermsintoEnglish,I’d refertothesedancesasthefeminineand masculinestyles,ratherthanreally“women” and“men”ones. Otokoodoritypicallyweareitherashort happicoatoralongeryukatasummerrobe, withfitted tabi plastic-soledsocksand a hachimaki headbandtiedinoneofmany styles.Otokoodoriistypicallydancedina
usingtraditionalumbrellas, too.Ofcourse,youcandance withoutaccessories;allyou reallyneedareyourhands andfeet.Betweenthemusic, costumes,choreography,and accessorising,there’squitea lotofvarietyinlookandstyle amongstAwaOdoriteams.
otokoodori,andfinallythe narimono,oraccompanying instrumentalistsection,at thebackofthepack. Speakingofmusicians, whatelsegoesinto aren’sperformance besidesdancing?I’ve personallyseenvarious instrumentsbeingplayed inthisnarimono,and differentaccessories beingemployedbythe dancers. Thereareanumberof traditionalJapanese instrumentsthattypically featureinthenarimono, allofthemplayedwhile walking:drumsofdifferent sizes,bambooflutes,threestringedshamisenguitars, andthesmall kane gong. AwaOdoricanbedanced withawidevarietyof accessoriessuchasfans orlanterns,whichareoften recognisableelementsof thestyleofeachindividual ren.InTensui-ren,theotoko odoriusuallydanceswith an uchiwa fanintheirright hands.BackwhenIwasin Minoda-ren,weoftenused uchiwainbothhands;we alsoused chouchin lanterns, sensu foldingfans,evena metal jutte stickattimes. I’veseensomegroups
Althougharentraditionally featuresdancersofboth styles,itisn’tcompulsory tohaveboth,andthereare manysmallerteamsthatjust dooneortheother. InTensui-ren,wehaveboth. Forotokoodori,wehave bothmenandwomen.When weparadedownthestreet, wetendtohaveakids groupwithboysandgirls togetherdoingwhichever styletheywant,followed bytheonnaodori,the 82|
Themaindancingseason kicksoff inthelead-upto Obon,withpracticeforthe mainfestivalstartinginJune andrampingupthroughJuly. BytheendofJuly,weare practicingeverynightofthe weekinthecarparkofalocal temple,andthereareoften lead-upperformancesduring thattime.Wecontinueto practiceandperformevery dayinAugustuntiltheendof ObononAugust15. Tensui-renisactuallylarge enoughtopracticeand performallyearround.When it’snotthemaindancing season,wekeepbusywith lower,openstance,abit morefreestyle,embodying thethemeofthe“dancing fool”thatAwaOdoriis famousfor.Onnaodoriwear amoreornatefulllength odorikimono,lighterthan atraditionalformalkimono foreaseofdancing,with wooden geta clogsand thedistinctivehalf-moon amigasa reedhat.This costumecomplimentsthe onnaodoridancingstyle, whichismoreuprightand refinedthanotokoodori,but stillfullofmotionandjoy. Itisquitecommonfor womenandgirlstodance otokoodori.Ihaveseen somemenparodythe onnaodoristyleorusean amigasahatforabit oflight entertainment,but Ihave neverseenanyone otherthan awomanorgirl seriously dressedinthe onnaodorigear ordoingthe onnaodoridance. Perhaps therehasbeen someoneout therewhohas doneit,butI haven’theard aboutit.The majorityofmen probably couldn’thandle dancingin getaclogsanyway!
Myunderstandingis thatmostAwaOdoriis performedinTokushima— fromAugust12-15,thefour daysofObon.InTokushima, wheredoesTensui-ren usuallyperformduring August?HasTensui-ren evertraveledoutsideof Tokushima,beforeorafter August,todance?
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ThebeautyofAwaOdoriisthatit’sforeveryone. Kidscanjoinin,andsocangrandparents.You candanceotokoodorioronnaodori,orifyou don’twanttodance,youcanplayaninstrument
Couldyousharewithus oneortwomemorableexperiencesofyou performingAwaOdori?Howdidyoufeel duringandafterit? Dancingonstageat zenyasai ...andinthe souodori attheendofeachnight’sdancing...these areprobablythemostmemorableperformances I’vebeeninvolvedin. Zenyasaiisthemajorstageperformancethat happenseveryyearonAugust11,thedaybefore theofficialstartofObon.It’sregardedasthe pinnacleshowcaseofAwaOdorieachyear, withsomethinglike500ofthebestdancers and100mixednarimonomusiciansperforming onthebiggestindoorstageinTokushimaCity. Sou-odoriisthe“all-indance,”thebigparade traditionallyheldattheendofeachnightduring theObonfestival.Aboutathousanddancersare packedshouldertoshoulderintoasinglestreet stadium,makingtheirwaydownthestreettothe combinedsoundofhundredsofnarimono. There’snotmanyAwaOdoriperformerswho 84|
AtthetimethatIwaslivinginIyaandTokushima City,itgavemeanimmediateconnectiontomy localcommunity,aregularactivitytokeepbusy anddealpositivelywithisolation,agoodamount ofexercise,asocialnetworkbeyondthedancing, animprovementinmylanguageskills,and
regularperformancesatthe AwaOdoriKaikan aboutonceamonth,occasionalrequeststo danceatweddings,appearancesateventsor festivalselsewhereinJapan,andthemajor off-seasoneventsheldinspringandautumnin TokushimaCity. Aspartofanassociationofthemostfamous groups,Tensui-renalsosendspeopleoverseas whenrequestscomethrough,suchasfestivals inplaceslikeTaiwanandParis.
Couldyoutelluswhat’syourfavoritepart aboutAwaOdori?What’syourfavoritepart aboutyourren?
drinksandbesocial,too.InTensuiAustralia, particularlyforourmemberparentswhobring theirkidsalong,they’vesaidthekidsreallylook forwardtoseeingtheirrenfriendseveryweek.
gettodanceineitheroftheseevents,letalone Tokushimalocalsorforeigners.It’sprettyspecial.
Althoughtheyspendmostoftheirtimejust runningaround,beingpartofanAwaOdoriteam makesthesekidsfeelproudoftheirJapanese heritageinacountrylikeAustraliawhere, comparedtoJapan,therearefewopportunities tocelebrateit. InwhatwayshasAwaOdorichangedyour experiencelivinginTokushimaorJapan?
instead.There’sdepthandcomplexitytothe danceifyou’repassionateaboutlearningit,but youcanalsoenjoyAwaOdoricasuallyifthat’s allyouwanttodo....Andoncewe’vefinished practicingorperforming,wetendtohave
Itcertainlyusedtoberaretoseeforeigners inAwaOdoriteams,butthey’realittlemore commonthesedays.Ifyouwanttojoina team,thekeyisprobablytofindonewithan atmospherethatsuitsyourpersonalityand commitment.Themajorityofsmallerlocal teamsarelessaboutperfectionandmore abouthavingagoodtimewithyourmates. Afterwards,ifyoufindyoureallyenjoyit andwanttotakeittothenextlevel,youcan searchforalargerormoreactiveteam.April isagoodtimetodothis.Manyteamsare wakingupaftertheirwinterbreakbythenand startingtoprepareforthecomingsummer’s festival,sotheyareoftenwelcomingtonew people. IfyouapproachanAwaOdoriteamand decideyouwanttotryitoutregularly,Ithink thekeyistodemonstratecommitment.Like mostthingsinJapan,youcan’tdoitinahalfheartedway!
insightsintoTokushimalifeandculturethat arehardtogainotherwise.Iultimatelystayed inTokushimaforoverfiveyearsbecauseof AwaOdori.I’vealwaysfeltveryluckytohave beenplacedinTokushimaasaJET. Wasjoiningarensomethingthatwas easyforyou?Howeasydoyouthinkis ittojoinarennowasaforeigner?Do youneedtobeinarenatalltodoproper AwaOdori?Whatadvicewouldyougive someonewho’sthinkingofdoingAwa Odori?
Youcanprobablylearnthemotionsofthe danceortherhythmsofthemusicwithout joiningaren,butIthinkthatwouldmakefora prettylimitingexperience.AwaOdoriismore thanthedanceorthesoundortheindividual performances.TheheartofAwaOdoriis reallyincomingtogetherasacommunityand beingpartofsomethinglargerthanyourself. Somyadvicewoulddefinitelybe,firstly: giveitago!Trythedancing,butalsowatch arangeofperformances.Youwantto experiencethedepthandvarietyavailable withinAwaOdoriandidentifywhatreally
resonateswithyou.Seeingthetopteams performonstageinTokushimaCitywasa realeye-openerformethatledmetomove thereandsearchforopportunitiestotakemy dancingtothenextlevel.
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MarcoOliverosisafourth-yearALTand thecurrentCultureSectionEditorfor CONNECT.Helikeshistory.Helivesin Tokushima.HeenjoyswatchingAwa Odori,buthe’sprettybadatdancingit.
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DavidCowland-CooperjoinedtheJET Programmein2001andspentoverfive yearslivinginTokushimaPrefecture. HeservedasChairoftheAJETNational Councilin2004anddidaseason asawhitewaterraftingguideonthe magnificentYoshinoRiverin2006,buthis realreasonforstayingonShikokuforso longwasthedancing.Hereturnedhome toAustraliaandsettleddown,joiningthe publicserviceandmarryingaTokushima girl(adancer,ofcourse!).Davidnowhas threekidswhohaveallbeenco-optedinto TensuiAustralia.
article,IdiscussHanyuYuzuru'sparticipation inthe2022BeijingWinterOlympics,his stardombothinJapanandinChina,andI considertherolesthatageandinjuryplayin thelivesofathletes.Thispieceisverydearto mebecauseitillustratessomethingthat manyathleteshavetroublearticulating:one dayyouwillbefacedwithageasyour greatestcompetitor.Forathletes,our passionsareaccompaniedbyphysicalstrain, notjustmentalburnout.Atanymoment,you couldpullamuscleorbreakaboneandyou maynotbeabletoperformasyoudidbefore. Afterall,lifecomesatyoufast—maybenotas fastasapitchfromOhtaniShohei,oratriple axelperformedbyHanyuYuzuru—butmaybe justfastenoughtohelpusrecognizethat nothinglastsforever. “Shootingstar”athleteslikeShoheiand Yuzururemindusthatevenpeopleatthetop oftheirgamestruggleindifferentways. Althoughthetimesweareabletowatch themarebriefandinbetweentheminutiaeof ourownlives,youwillneverquiteforgetwhat yousawandthewayitmadeyoufeel. Icanextendthatsamefeelingtomy experienceswiththe CONNECT teamover thepastyear.Mytimeasamemberofthe magazinewillendafterthisissue,and althoughitwasbrief,mymemorieswith CONNECT willcontinuetostaywithmelong aftermytimeontheJETProgramhasended. Itwastrulylovelyworkingwitheachand everymemberandforthatIamgrateful.I havenodoubtthattheywillcontinueto publishgreatstoriesandremindallofushere intheinternationalcommunityinJapanthat therewillalwaysbeawayforusto“connect.”
THE Sports
Thefirstpiecethatcametomindwas JeweledWithoutaRing:TheCuriousCaseof OhtaniShohei,writtenbyIanJasonDizon.In thisarticle,ourauthorsetsthestagewith historicalcontext,statexplanations,andtheir genuineloveofthegame.Notonlyisthis pieceheartfeltanddetailed,itisalsoa smoothreadthatevennon-sportsfanscan enjoy.Betweenstatisticsandsympathy,after readingthisarticle,youcanbeginto understandthestrugglesOhtanihasfaced professionallyandpersonallyandthe incrediblelegacyhewilleventuallyleave behind. ThesecondpieceIultimatelydecidedto choosewas PutSomeIceOnIt:Yuzuru Hanyu’sLegendaryCareerPushesHis PhysicalLimit,writtenbyyourstruly.Inthis
peelbackthecurtainonwhoathletesareas people,weareabletoconnectwiththeir storiesandstrugglesandwearethenableto re-humanizethecashcowsandracehorses wehavemadethemtobe.FormerUCLA basketballcoachinglegendJohnWooden oncesaid,“Sportsdonotbuildcharacter. Theyrevealit.”ThepiecesIchosetohighlight inthisfinalissuedojustthat.Theseareshort, butimpactfulpeeksintothecareersandlives ofJapan’stopathletes.
Editorfor CONNECT,mygoalwasto
Signingoff, SamanthaStauch
focusonplayerprofilesforsomeof Japan’sgreatestmodernathletes:Shohei Ohtani,Hakuho,Terunofuji,HanyuYuzuru, andNaomiOsaka,tonameafew.Duringmy owntimeasanathleteandasportsfan,it becamecleartomethatweoftenoverlook thepersonhoodofathletes.Althoughthey havesoaredtogreatheightsintheir professionalathleticcareers,theythinkand feelandexperienceallthesamethingswe do,bothmentallyandphysically.Whenwe
uringmytenureasSportsSection
D
Photo:AlessioRoversi|Unsplash.com
LETTER FROM EDITOR
JeweledWithoutaRing: TheCuriousCaseof ShoheiOhtani
hegameofbaseball
however,thereisalmost MLBscoutsbytossinga100 hashadmanyfaces. Youcouldargue thatseveralofthese athletesorallofthemdeserve tobearthisambassadorial role.BabeRuthwasastar pitcherwhostunnedthe leaguebyevolvingintoone ofthegreatesthittersthe gamehaseverseen.Asa fanoftheDodgersasmuch asthegame,I’dberemiss toneglectJackieRobinson, whonotonlybrokedownthe barriersofcolorandbecame thefirstblackbaseballplayer intheMajorLeagues,butalso wonthefirstRookieofthe YearAward,anaccoladenow namedinhishonor.Ofcourse amongstthelegendsisWillie Mays,a20-timeAllStarand two-timeMVPwhowonthe defensiveGoldGloveAward 12yearsinarowandwas consideredthentobe“the greatestall-aroundplayerthe gamehaseverseen.”(1)The daysofMays,Ruth,and Robinsonaregonenow,and whilethetraditionofbaseball iseternal,thegameiseverchanging.Inmoderntimes,
T
unanimousagreement:the faceofbaseballtodayis ShoheiOhtani. Onpaper,hisstatisticstell anall-starstory,andhe’s assembledatrophycaseof accoladesthatmostplayers wouldonlydreamofhaving. Butitisnotinhisaccolades orhisstatisticswherewe findtheheartofwhatShohei Ohtanirepresentsforthe gameofbaseballandthe legacyhehopestoleaveon thesport;thosearejustthe piecesoftheplayer,afterall. Bringingthoseaspectsof hiscareerintoperspective onlygivesusasmalllookat theclimbofayoungathlete intoathleticstardom,as wellasthepressuresofthe spotlightandthepursuitofa championship. Likemostrisingstarsin baseball,thestoryofOhtani andthesportbeganlong beforehisprofessional career,when,asan18-yearoldhighschoolstudent, heroaredontotheradarof IanJasonDizon(Aomori)
mph(160km/h)fastball(a speedmostMLBpitchers struggleorfailtosurpass)in thequalifyingroundsofthe SummerKoshien,Japan’s nationalhighschoollevel baseballtournament.Unlike mostrisingstarsfromJapan, however,Ohtaniwouldnot onlystuntheMLBbutthe NPB(NipponProfessional Baseball)aswell,bydeclaring thathewouldskipsigning withanyJapaneseteam entirelyandopttobedrafted straightintotheMLBsystem outofhighschool,thefirst Japaneseplayertodoso.(2) Initiallyscoutedasapotential pitcherforMLB,hewould eventuallybeconvincedto postponehisdreamofplaying inAmericawhenthe Hokkaido Nippon-HamFightersoffered Ohtanisomethingnoother MLBteamwould:thechance to“setthebaseballworld onitsearlikenoplayerhad before”anddevelophimas bothapitcherandahitterin a“two-wayexperiment.”(3) Thepressurewason.Ifthey couldsucceed,Ohtaniwould
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jointheMLBwiththechanceofbecoming baseball’sfirsttrue“two-way”playersince BabeRuth. Theydid. Inlate2017,withtheweightofJapan’shopes onhisshoulders,Ohtaniannouncedthat hewouldsignwiththeLosAngelesAngels, hungrytohelpastrugglingfranchisewina championship.It’sShotime.
OPS(OnbasePlusSlugging)Thesumofa playersOnBasePercentage(howoftenthey willreachbaseperat-bat)andtheirSlugging (Aweightedaverageofaplayer’sbatting productivity).Higherisbetter.
DespiteOhtani’sstellarrookieseason, postinga.925OPS(forreference,.700is consideredaverageandtheALMVPthat season,MookieBetts,posteda1.078OPS), 61RBIs,and22HRsonhiswaytowinning ALRookieoftheYear,the2018Angelswould finishadistantfourthoutoffiveteams, sittingonthesame80-82recordthatearned themsecondplacethepreviousyear.(5) Theroadtostardomispavedwithupsetand failures,andOhtani’swouldbenodifferent. TheAngelswouldbeunabletoproducethe championship-levelresultshewasexpecting.
Excepttheydidn’t.
-RBI(RunsBattedIn)Howmanyruns(points) thatplayerhasallowedtoscorethroughhitsor walks.Higherisbetter.
AsaDodgersfan,IreactedtoOhtani’s signingwiththeAngelswithdisappointment andtrepidation.TheAngelsalreadyhadMike Trout,arguablythebestplayerinbaseball, ontheirpayroll,andnowtheAngelswould signaphenomthathadtwicepassedontheir crosstownrivals.Attheirsigning,theAngels hadputtogetherterriblyaverageseasons and,sincetheirWorldSeriesvictoryin2002, hadwononlytwoplayoff series,losingeach timeintheALCS.(4)Butaglimmeroflight
-ERA(EarnedRunAverage):Thenumberof earnedruns(points)apitcherwillallowthe opponenttoscorethroughnineinnings,on average.Lowerisbetter. 90|
wasonthehorizonintheformofOhtani. GarneringsecondplaceintheALWestthat seasonandhavingjustbarelymissedthe playoffsin2017,itwastimeforOhtanito makehismark.Theplayoffswereinstriking distanceandafterathree-yeardrought,itwas timefortheAngelstoreturntostardom.
ThenextthreeAngelsseasonswouldend ineerilysimilardisappointment.Despite Ohtani’sefforts,ineachofthe2019,2020, and2021seasons,theAngelswouldfinishin fourthplace(outofthefiveteamsintheirAL Westdivision).In2020theywouldrecorda .433seasonwinpercentage,theirworstsince 1999.Asoftoday,ithasbeensevenyears sincetheAngelshavebeentotheplayoffs, theirlongestdroughtsincewinningtheWorld Series. However,thisisnotthefaultofShoheiOhtani. Byallaccounts,heisanamazingplayer.In 2021,OhtaniledtheMLBinintentionalwalks, triples,andat-batsperhomerun.Ohtaniis abattingterror,andhediditallwhilebeing exceptionalatpitching.Boastinga9-2record anda3.18ERA,recording156strikeouts through130.1innings,Ohtaniputtogether aperformancethatearnedhimaspotas thefirstplayertoappearintheMLBAll-Star
Gameasbothahitterandapitcher.(6)His WinsAboveReplacement,orWAR,was9.1, meaningthatifitwerenotforOhtani,andif hewereinsteadareplacementplayer,the Angelswouldhavelost9.1moregames.(7) Finally,attheendoftheseason,with639 plateappearances(PA)and130.1innings pitched(IP),ShoheiOhtanibecamethefirst MLBplayersinceBabeRuthin1919torecord morethan200PAand100IPinasingle season.(8)Inthewakeofthisachievement, SportsIllustratedwouldgoontocallOhtani a“onceinacenturyplayer.”(9)Hewouldbe “thenextBabeRuth,”clamoredthesports world,withtheNewYorkTimesarguingthat Ohtanimayevenbelongtoanewclassof playerentirely.(10) Thetorchhasbeenpassed,andbright asitmayburn,thereisamarathonahead andobstaclesabound.OnOhtani’sriseto stardom,sportsanalystStephenA.Smith said:
(11) WhileSmithultimatelywalked backhisdiscriminatory comments,this statement showsbutoneof themany pressuresfacing Ohtaniashe continuesto buildhislegacyin baseball: thepressureto conformto apredominantly American baseballmarket,the pressure ofanationrootingfor him acrosstheocean,the pressure tolearnandspeaka language nothisown,to performatan elitelevel,andto producea championshipfora teamin drought. Attheendofthe2021season, Ohtanihadearned,among
others,aSilverSlugger Award,arareunanimous ALMVPaward,theMLB PlayeroftheYearAward, AssociatedPress’Athleteof theYearAward,andfinally thefirstMLBCommissioner HistoricAchievementAward since2014.Withthese achievementsyoucouldcall Ohtanibymanynames:MVP, starhitter,world-classathlete, etc.Butdespiteallthese,you stillcan’tcallhimthattitlethat thegreatestbaseballplayers share,thatsomeconsiderto begreaterthantherest,and thatexemplifiestheteamwork ofthegamehegrewuploving: WorldSeriesChampion. Baseballisateamsport unlikeanyother.Unlikemany otherteamsportssuchas basketball,football,soccer, orhockey,baseballholds auniqueplaceinthatyou cannotrelyonanyoneplayer tocarryyourteamtovictory. Youcannotfeedtheballto yourstarhitter.Hewillcome uptobatonlyonceevery nineplayers.Youcannotrely onyourpitchingaceevery game.Hewillonlypitcha gameafterseveraldaysofrest betweenstarts.ShoheiOhtani cannotcarrytheAngelstoa championshipalone. InaninterviewwiththeJapan NationalPressClub,Ohtani stated,“theteamhasnot beenwinningandwedidn’t havemuchprospectofgoing beyondtheregularseason. Sointhelatterhalfofthe season,psychologicallyit wasmorestressful.”(12)In thesamevein,attheendof theAngels’lastgameofthe regularseason,Ohtanihinted atpossiblydepartingtheteam in2023duringfreeagency, statingthroughhistranslator, “Ireallyliketheteam.Ilove thefans.Ilovetheatmosphere oftheteam.But,morethan that,Iwanttowin.That’sthe biggestthingforme.I’llleave itatthat.”(13)Morethanthe individualachievements,more thanthenotorietyofbeinga starplayer,Ohtani’shuntfor aWorldSeriesringhascome upempty,havingnotevena playoff appearancetomakeup forit.
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“Thisbrotherisspecial, makenomistakeaboutit. Butthefactthatyou'vegot aforeignplayerthatdoesn't speakEnglish,thatneedsan interpreter—believeitornot, Ithinkcontributestoharming thegametosomedegree[.][. ..]Idon'tthinkithelpsthatthe numberonefaceisadudethat needsaninterpretersothat youcanunderstandwhatthe hellhe'ssayinginthiscountry.”
Onbecomingthefaceofbaseball,Ohtanisaid“that'sverywelcomingtome[...][T]hiswasmyfirst reallygoodyear.Andit'sonlyoneyear.Soitgivesmemoremotivationtokeepitup,andhavemore greatyears.”At27,hisjourneyintheMajorLeagueshasjustbegun,andwithhismostrecent successes,hehasmadearesoundingstatementintotheplayerhehopestobeandthelegacy hehopestoleavebehind.Theworldiswatchingnow.They,likeOhtanihimself,expectgreatness, andsomewillevensharethedreamofwinning.Becausewhentheexpectationsarethishigh,one thingseemsevident:aslegendarycommentatorVinScullyoncesaid,“losingfeelsworsethan winningfeelsgood.” Ianisafirst-yearJETfromLosAngelesnowlivinginAomoriPrefecture.BeforeJET,IanwasaTV camerapersonandvideographerworkingwithlocalnewsandesports.Hiscameraisalwaysin hisbackpack,readyforanyopportunitytouseit,butwhenhe’sathomehefindsjoyincooking, writing,andvideogames(mostnotablyFFXIV). Sources 1. https://bit.ly/3FzQZW2 2. https://bit.ly/3fuflGd 3. https://bit.ly/3Ke4mih 4. https://bit.ly/323VUkB 5. https://bit.ly/3A5i8iB(7) 6. https://bit.ly/3FykeIT 7. https://bit.ly/3Kh9fan 8. https://bit.ly/3txRyO6 9. https://bit.ly/3FF2OdW 10. https://nyti.ms/3rGN9px 11. https://bit.ly/326FsQA 12. https://bit.ly/33phKQb 13. https://nyti.ms/3nvbmOf BacktoContents|93
Foreveryathlete,thereis anunspokenhourglass waitingsomewhereinthe background—ateachpractice, eachmatch,eachtournament. Everygrainofsandthatfallsis leadinguptotheunavoidable truththatwewilloneday reach ourlimit.Anathlete’sloveofthe gamemaycarryintooldage,butfor manytheiractiveparticipationends muchearlier.High-levelathletes workhardtodelaytheinevitable: rigoroustraining,physicaltherapy, regimenteddiets—younameit.And astimehasgoneon,thenumberof athletesstillpursuingcompetitive sportsbeyondtheusualretirement agehasgrownsignificantly.Tom Bradyonlyrecentlyretiredfrom Americanfootballatage44after leadingtheTampaBayBuccaneers toaSuperBowlwinin2021. ProfessionalfootballerKazuyoshi Miura,55,isstillgoingstrongfor theSuzukaPointGetters.Atage37, LebronJamesputup56pointsina seasonhighfortheLakersinMarch and“becametheoldestplayerin NBAhistorytopost50-pluspoints and10-plusreboundsinagame.”(1) Everysporthasseasonedplayers andknowledgeableeldersthatdefy theruleoftimeandseemtobe onlygettingbetterwithage.Onthe othersideofthings,mostathletes strugglewithinjuryatsomepoint 94|
intheircareersandsome areplaguedbyanon-againoff-againcycleofcompeting, injury,physicaltherapy,and repeat.Onesuchathlete isJapan’s“iceprince”and modernfigureskatinglegend HanyuYuzuru. Thetwo-timeOlympic championhascertainly carvedhisnameandlegacy intotheice.TheSendainative beganskatingatfouryears old,andbyage19,hehad claimedtheOlympicmen’s skatingtitleatthe2014Sochi OlympicGames.Hewasthe youngesttodososince1948. Sochi2014wasastronomical forHanyu.Notonlydidhe becomethefirstskaterever toearnmorethan100points intheshortprogram,he alsobecame“thefirstmale skatersincelegendYagudin tocapturetheOlympicand worldskatingtitlesinthe sameyear.”Followingan exceptionalyearin2014,in 2015Hanyucontinuedhis winningstreakandcaptured histhirdconsecutiveGrand
Prixtitle.In2015 and2016,he finishedsecond placeintheworld championships. The2018Olympic WinterGamesin Pyeongchang, SouthKoreaalso showedHanyu athisverybest. Here,hereceived hissecond consecutivegold medal,“becoming thefirstmanto winback-to-back Olympicfigureskatinggolds sinceDickButton didsoin1948and1952.”(2) StarPower Enterthe2022BeijingWinter Olympics.Hanyu’sfans, the“fanyus,”fromaround theworldareeagertosee himskate.Inanormalyear, withouttheplague-thatmust-not-be-named,fans wouldhavepouredintothe arenainBeijing,readyto throwtheirWinniethePooh stuffedanimalsontotheice afteranotherphenomenal performance.(3)Butfans showedupforHanyuina differentway.Ratherthan coveringtheicewithtokens of theiradoration,theybrought theiraffectionstotheinternet. Hisstarpowerwasclearly demonstratedbybecoming thenumberonetrending topiconWeibo,China’ssocial mediasite,evenbeatingout theextremelypopular2022 Olympicmascot,BingDwen Dwen.Postsfloodedinfrom Chineseusers,discussing their“unconditional”support forYuzuruthemomenthe toucheddowninBeijing.(4) Hewascertainlytheskaterto watch. UnfortunatelyforHanyu,he wouldnotbereachingthe podiumthistimearound. Whathappenswhenpeak athleteshavealready reachedthehighestlevel intheirchosensport?They startexperimentingwith somethingnew,something daring,somethingeven moreexceptionalthanthe performancesthey’vealready giventheiralltobefore. Thatiswhat’sleftatthetop forexceptionalathletes. Hanyudecidedtoleaveit alloutthereontheiceby takingariskandattempting tobecome“thefirstman toexecutethequadAxelin competitionattheseGames.” (5) Hecameupshort. Aquadruplejump“requiresa gruelingfourfullrevolutions intheair.”Takingitastep further,aquadAxeladdsan evenhigherlevelofeffort bydemandingfouranda halfrevolutions.Despite everythinggoingforHanyu, evenwithhisownbody dimensionsaccordingto SarahRidge,abiomechanist atBrighamYoungUniversity, hecouldnotcomplete themove.(6)Inoneof hisperformances,Hanyu under-rotatedhisquadAxel attemptandultimatelyfailed. Helaterfellagainduringa quadSalchow—anerrorthat broughthimtoanastonishing eighthplaceoverallgoing intothemen’sfreeskateof thecompetition.Although hefinishedfourthandleft |95
withoutamedalforthefirst timeinhiscareer,Hanyu madeitclearthathehadno regrets.Firmly,hestated“It iswhatitis.TheOlympics wasachallengeandIgaveit everythingIhave.”(7) AnAchilles’HeelinSkates Ontheice,Yuzuruhasbeen pushingthelimitsofthesport andhisbody.Whileworking onanotherquadrupleAxel justadaypriortohisfree skate,Hanyuwasinjured bythemove.Determined toskateanyway,Hanyu wasevenadministered apain-killinginjection momentsbeforetheevent. Understandingthegravity ofthismoment—achance tolandthegreatestmove inskatinghistoryandland onthepodiumforthethird time—Hanyustated,“Ifit wereanormalcompetition,
Iwouldhavewithdrawn.”(8) Hisdeterminationtogivehis alldespiteoverwhelmingpain isatrulyadmirablemove.
WhiletheOlympicsaretoo glorioustomiss,Hanyuhas hadtroublekeepingonthe iceinrecentyears.Arepeat injury,Hanyu’srightanklehas stoppedhimfromperforming in“threeofthelastfive seasons.”(9)Intheaftermath oftheBeijingOlympics, Yuzuruwassufferingfromthe samerightanklesprainand madethedecisiontomiss theworldchampionshipsin FranceinMarch.(10)Given Hanyu’sinjuryandage, rumorsofretirementhave startedtobrew.Although Hanyuconfirmedthathe wouldnotberetiring,hedid revealthathedidn’t“knowif thesewillbehislast”Games. (11) Hanyuisnow27yearsold, wellpasttheusualretirement ageinfigureskating—a sportknownforitsteen competitorsandharsh consequencesonthebody. Thiswasalsodeeplyapparent amongthewomen’sskaters attheBeijingOlympics. AmericanskaterMariahBell madehistoryatage25for beingthe“oldestwomen’s figureskateronTeamUSA in94years.”Itseemslike skatersandgymnastskeep gettingyoungerandyounger. Thereasonbeingthatthe youngeryouare,thequicker andeasieryourjumpsand movestendtobe.Forskating specifically,manyofthemore difficultmoves,includingthe quadjump,dependonthe skaterbeing“smallandlight.” However,asskatersage,the movesandstraintheywere abletoputontheirbodies becomemoredifficultasthe
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Whenyou’reanexceptionalathlete, thepressurenevertrulyends.Itcomes fromcoaches,frompeers,fromfans, fromyourself,andevenyourown body.Yourtimeasanathleteisfinite. ButforathleteslikeYuzuru,youfinda waytoimmortalizethehourglass.His accomplishments,hisambitions,and his talentwillstandthetestoftimelong afterheleavesthesport.
skaters’bodiescannolongerhandleit withoutinjury.(12) Yuzurumaybegettingolderandhis bodymaybecatchingupwithhim,but thatfightingspirithepossessesasa topathleteshowsnosignofslowing down.AttheOlympics,hebravely stated:"IfellontheAxel,fellonthe Salchowbutnailedeverythinginthe secondhalf.It'saboutfallingand gettingbackupagain."(13)Hemay havefallenduringhisperformances, buthisattemptatachievingsomething asastonishingasthequadAxelis moreawe-inspiringthanshameful.It takesaspecialkindofperseverance toshowcourageinthefaceofinjury, especiallywhenyouhavemillionsof peopletuningintowatchyou.
Samanthaisafirst-yearJETfromGunmaPrefecture whobelievesinlivingherlifelikeashōnenprotagonist. Maincharactershaveplotarmor,afterall. SOURCES: 1. Nba.com 2. BritannicaBiographyofHanyuYuzuru 3. JapanTimesFanyus 4. JapanTimesHanyuandMascot 5. Olympics.comHanyu’sQuadAxel 6. Popsci.comQuadAxel 7. Olympics.comHanyu’sQuadAxel 8. NBCSportsOlympics 9. NBCSportsOlympics 10. Mainichi.jpHanyuInjury 11. Scmp.comHanyuNotRetiring 12. Cosmopolitan.comWomen’sFigureSkaters 13. Olympics.comHanyu’sQuadAxel IMAGECREDITS: Backgroundvectorcreatedbyrawpixel.com PhotosfromKyodoNews BacktoContents|97
LETTER FROM WELLNESS “Wellnessisastateofcompletephysical, mental,andsocialwell-being,andnotmerely theabsenceofdiseaseorinfirmity.” TheWorldHealthOrganization Whilethepandemic-which-shall-notbe-namedwasstillanever-present partofourlivesthispastyear,asthe abovequotestates,wellnessissomuch morethantheabsenceofdisease.Somy goalfortheWellnessSectionthisyearwasto focusonallaspectsofwellnessandto providewell-writtenarticlesthatcouldserve asresourcesforyearstocome. Thisyear,theWellnessSectionwasableto publisharticlesonphysicalhealth,suchas TheHealingPowersofOnsen byAnnelise Wilp.WealsoreadaboutaJapanese approachtomentalhealthinVictoria Clayton’s ABathintheForest.Weevenhad somebeauty-relatedtopicstohelpyoufeel goodinyourownskin,suchasSophie McCarthy’s FightTheFrizz. Ialsohadthepleasureofinterviewingan incrediblegroupofJETswhoarebanding togethertopoolresourcesandadvocatefor theirownhealthforthearticle Highsand Lows:LifeasaType1DiabeticinJapan.And whocouldforgetallthemouth-watering disheswhichhelpedusembraceseasonal ingredientsandcookwithconfidence—such asKatelynDePalmer’s MatchaFrenchToast, KayaZepeda’s LotusRootChickenNachos andElizabethAndoh’straditional Furofuki Daikon Withsomanywonderfularticlestochoose from,itwasincrediblydifficulttoselectonly twotoreprintforthisspecialissueof CONNECT.SoIdecidedtoreprintthetwo articleswhichIthoughtwouldhelpnew arrivalsnotjustacclimatizebutthriveasthey settleintotheirnewlivesinJapan. Inherarticle TheStrugglesofStandingOutin Japan,KaylaBayerprovidedusavery personalaccountofthestrugglesshefaced beingseenas“other”uponherarrivalin Japan,aswellasthejourneyshewentonto forgeherowncommunityandbuildher confidence.Itismyhopethatanyofyounew readerswilltakeheradvicetoheart,embrace yourdifferences,andfosteryourown communitieshereinJapan. ThesecondarticleIwouldliketohighlightis WaronMaskne:10TipsforClearerSkin by KaityHamill.Summerishereinfullforce.And whilethetemperaturescreepup,inmany placesthemasksmustremainon.Forany newarrivalswhohavenotwornamaskina while,orwhodonotcomefromhumid environments,youmaybesurprisedhow yourskinreacts.Thankfully,KaityHamillisa skin-careguruandhasgotyoucovered. Whetheritbeanarticleonphysical,mental, orsocialwell-being,Ihopeyoufound somethingtohelpyoufeelabitmore comfortable,confident,and“well”inthe Wellnesssectionthispastyear. Thanksforreading! KimberlyMatsuno Photo:ZhaoliJIN|Unsplash.com THE Editor
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half years ago. “Whyiseveryoneglaringatme?” isaquestionthatcausedalotof anxiety when facing the world alone; whetheritwasgroceryshopping, takingpublictransportation,orjust goingtotheconveniencestore acrossthestreet,Ifoundmyself lookingdowntoavoidtheeyesof passersby. Mineisnotarevolutionary experience—itissharedbymany peopleliving inJapan. Youmay have alreadyheardtheproverb, |101
KaylaBeyer(Niigata)
standards
Inthefaceofthesestandardsthat weigh all too heavily many especiallywomen(4),itiseasyto getlostwithintheeyesofothers. Asanylong-termforeignresident ofJapanknows,itisverydifficultto be“invisible”outsideofamajorcity likeTokyo.Ifyoupresentdifferently thantheaverageJapaneseperson, thenyouwillcertainlybenoticed a
on
forbetterorworse(5&6).Thisis somethingthathadbotheredme forquitesometimeafterarrivingin Japan some two and
people,
Beinganywhereintheworldwill presentyou withdifferent ofhowaperson’simageandbody “should”and/or“shouldn’t”be. Japanisnotimmunetothisand is,likemuchoftheworld,slightly influencedbyWesternbeauty standards(1&2),standardsthe globalmajoritydonotfit.Atleast whenitcomestopresenting diversitywithinJapan’smedia, thesestandardsgenerallyfavor skinny,white,able-bodiedpeople (3).Outsideofthat“diversity,”you’ll generallyfindapreferenceforthin, light-skinnedpeople.
Believeitornot,I’venotalways beenanoutgoingperson,northe mostconfidentinmyimage.But sincemovingtoJapan,withits largelyhomogenoussociety(8& 9),Ihavebecomeevenmorehyperfocused on how I’m being perceived byothers.Interestingly,
Thiseventallowsanyonewithinthe community to practice their drawing andcreativityskills,nomatterthe skilllevel.Evensomemembersof alocaldesignschoolhavebegun attending.Ifrequentlymodelfor thisevent,asdootherparticipants.
Forthepastfewmonths,I’vecome toco-runa“Drink&Draw”monthly eventwithanotherJETProgram participantinNiigataPrefecture.
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Beingdifferenthasnotgenerally beenencouraged,andatthevery least,it’sboundtoattractalotof eyes.Eventhoughmanyofthose eyesarewithoutmaliciousintent, feelingdifferentor“othered”can haveanegativeimpactonone’s well-being(7).
Practicemakesperfect,right? |103
Thankfully,theideasofhowpeople “should”or“shouldn’t”lookare beginningtochange.Thisisthanks tomodelsandcelebritiessuchas NaomiWatanabe,acomediangone fashiondesignerwhoproducedthe brand“Punyus”tocombatsizeism inJapan(10);NaomiOsaka,half Haitian,halfJapanese,andU.S. borntennissuperstarwhospeaks openlyandin supportofBlack Lives Matter(11)andself-care(12);and ArianaMiyamoto, bornto anAfrican AmericanfatherandJapanese mother,whowascrownedMiss Universein2015despitecriticisms ofher “Japaneseness”largely dueto herbeingbiracial(13&14).These celebritieshelpnormalizethefact andrealitythathumanscomein variousshapes,sizes,andcolors— evenwithinJapan.
Slowlybutsurely,weareseeing more diversity in media (15). Perhaps thiswillhaveanoveralleffecton standards and how the public reacts tothosewhopresentdifferently, orperhapsitwon’t.Regardless, througheventslike“Drink&Draw,”
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Inthefaceofcriticism,good andbad,withtheweightofwhat standardsIdo/don’tfit,andinan environmentwhereIamsomewhat of an anomaly, I want to connect with myownimagefromamoreneutral angle as well as encourage others to stepoutsideoftheboxinbecoming morecomfortablewithinourskins. Iholdthebeliefthat,despitewhat societalstandardsinsinuate,our personalitiesaremulti-facetedand ourbodiesarenotwhatmakeup ouroverallpersonalityorvalue.
Ialsohopetointroducemy communityto manydifferent people inawelcomingandfunmanner. Personally,sincebeginning“Drink &Draw,”I’vehadmuchlessanxiety surroundingmyappearancein public.NotasoftendoIfindmyself avoidingsolooutingsorerrands duetotheweightofglancesand glares.Ofcourse,likeanyoneelse,I havegood andbad days,but putting myselfintothespotlightthroughmy hobbiesandpassionshashelped metocopeandformnewbonds andconfidence.Ihopefor“Drink &Draw”tocontinuetoinspireand liberateanyonestrugglingwith self-imageandfeelingoutofplace, andIotherwisewanttoencourage anyone living in Japan to find comfort andcommunityintheirownspecial interests. |105
KaylaBeyerisathird-yearJETProgramparticipant fromnorthernVirginia,U.S.A.Sheiscurrentlyliving inNagaoka,Niigataandholdsabachelor’sdegree inFineArts.Inherfreetime,sheenjoysdrawing, reading,meditating,andplayingukulele.Alongwith co-hosting“Drink &Draw” oncea month,she models forandcollaborateswithphotographersinNiigata Prefecture.Youcanviewsomeofthosephotosor contactherviaInstagram@kayla_cbear 1. https://bit.ly/3ojP0Pi 2. https://bit.ly/3F7LgXF 3. https://bit.ly/3kqc5yA 4. https://bit.ly/2YxQrk6 5. https://bit.ly/3qzh5EK 6. https://bit.ly/2YA79iZ 7. https://bit.ly/3ogF3SA 8. https://bit.ly/3Hdd3bl 9. https://bit.ly/3He8RI7 10. https://bit.ly/3krbe0y 11. https://bit.ly/31Rc28A 12. https://bit.ly/3qoN4aT 13. https://bit.ly/2YxRiBk 14. https://bit.ly/3C5zz27 15. https://bbc.in/3D8KHMI 106|
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KaityHamill(Niigata)
Theleaveshaveturned,thecoolairisstartingtosettle skinisecstaticaboutthat.ThehumidityofJapanese summersplustheconfinementofafacemask
inacrossJapan,andifyou’reanythinglikeme,your
combinetocreatetheperfectecosystemforacneto thrive.Eventhoughsummerisgone,ifyourskinis stillsufferingunderyourmask,tryoutthesetipsto helpyouwinthewaron“maskne.” Photo:EnginAkyurt|Unsplash.com108|
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Photo:EnginAkyurt|Unsplash.com110|
Yourfaceisgross;youneedtowash it.Evenifallyoucanmusterisusing afacialcleansingwipe,dowhatyou can. Washitinthemorningandatnight. Overnight,yourskingetshairoilsall overit(fromyourpillowcase).Ifyou don’twashitinthemorningbefore puttingamaskon,you’retrapping thatoilandcloggingupyourpores. Onceyou’rehomefortheday,wash yourfaceagain.Throughouttheday, you’veexposedyourfacetoallsorts ofbacteria,germs,andpollution—not tomentionthatacne-thrivingmask environment—soit’s importantto cleanitup. Onlywearamaskforoneday.All sortsofstuffgetsonthosebad boysandjustgrowsovernight,so makesureyou’renotstickingallof thatbackontoyourface!Ifyou’re usingareusablemask,handwash themwithafragrance-freelaundry detergent. Trysprayingyourmaskwitha spraytonerbeforeyouwearit.I recommendaspraythatis salicylicacid-basedsincethat’sa greatingredientforpreventing cloggedpores!Teatreeoil-based onesareanothergoodchoice sinceteatreeoilisantibacterial andantifungal.Also,makesure yourmaskdriescompletelybefore youwearit! Lush’sTeaTreeTonerWater AprilSkin’sFoamCleanser Iliveforthisfacewash.It hasanamazing combinationofsalicylic acidandcalendulathatis perfectforfightingacne onsensitiveskin. |111
SuisaiBeautyClearPowder Wash Theseenzymepowder exfoliantsareperfectly measuredoutforyouandare generallyprettygentleon skin.
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Evenifyou’rediligentabout washingyourface,there’sstillstuff ontherethatnormalfacewashing can’treach(deadskincellsin particular).Exfoliatinghelpsto makesurethatthereisnothing aroundtoclogyourpores;it’s particularlyhelpfulinpreventing whiteheadsandblackheads.You shouldbeexfoliatingoncetotwice aweek.Do not exfoliateeveryday asthisirritatesyourskinandcan makeitworseinsteadofbetter. Therearetwomainkindsof exfoliating:chemicalandphysical. Chemicalexfoliantsareacidsthat aidinremovingbuilt-uplayersof deadskincellsandexcessoil. Theseexfoliantscangetdeeper intoyourskinthanphysicalones. AHA,BHA,PHA,glycolicacid, salicylicacid,andlacticacid,are allchemicalexfoliants.
Photo:PolinaKovaleva|Pexels.com
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Physicalexfoliantscan’tgetas deepaschemicalonesbutcanbe greatfordrypatchessincethey’ll getthedeadskinoffofyouright away(thatway,itcan’tclogyour pores!).Youdon’thavetobuya newfacescrubtoexfoliate—you canalwayscombineyourusual facewashwithabrushtohelpyou getadeeperclean. SiliconeFaceBrush Thetypeofexfoliationyouuseis totallybasedonyourskin.For somepeople,chemicalexfoliants don’tsitwell.Forothers,physical onesaretooharsh.Ormaybe,you evendobestwitharoutinethat usesacombinationofthetwo. Thisissomethingthattakessome timeandtestingtofigureout;but please,neveruseapeel-offmask ornosestrip—they’reterriblefor yourskin!
Physicalexfoliantsarethingslike scrubs,facewashingbrushes,or basically,anythingthatphysically takesthingsawayfromyourskin.
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Photo:TheCreativeExchange|Unsplash.com
Ifyouhaveoilyskin,itisatotalmyth thatyoudon’tneedmoisturizer! Youmaythinkthatitwillmakeyour skinoilier,butactually,it’sthe opposite.Ifyouwashyourfaceand don’tmoisturize,yourskinwill overproduceoilstohelpreplenish whatyouwashedaway.Basically, moisturizer=lessoilproduction. Thatbeingsaid,ifyouhaveoilyskin, don’toptforaheavycream—gofor alightermoisturizer.Anoncomedogenic(afancywaytosayit won’tclogyourpores)moisturizer iskeyforacne-prone skin.
AprilSkin’sGelCream
Maybeyouhaven’tthoughtabout this,butitdoesmakeadifference! Youwanttodowhatyoucantokeep yourfacelesssweaty,thatway,your porescanstayniceandclear.It takessometimeandmoney,but exploredifferentfabricstoseewhat yourskinprefers.Cottonisagreat fabrictouse:it’sbreathableand shouldn’tirritateyourskin. Youshouldbewearingsunscreen everyday,especiallyifyoustruggle withacne!Despitewhatthedreaded masktanlinesmayleadyouto believe,sunlightcangetthrough yourmask.Thesun’sultravioletrays canincreaseinflammationand redness,darkenacnescars,and createnewbreakouts.Soit’s importanttoalwaysprotectyour skin!Optforaface-specific sunscreenthatisnon-comedogenic soyoudon’tputanythingtooheavy onthere.
Theartemisiaandsqualene inthiscreamareagreat comboforsensitiveskin.The gelconsistencyalsohelpsit tonotbetooheavyforoilier skintypes. Yourskinneedsabarrierbetween itandyourmask.Havingalayerof moisturizerwillhelpyourskinbe lessirritatedbyyourmask.Thinkof itasalittleshieldforyourface!
Curelisasupergreatbrand forsensitiveskin.Alltheir productsarenoncomedogenic.
CurelSPF50
Allthatmakeupclogsporesand makesyourbreakoutsworse.Itcan evenleadtoinfectingyouracne. Yourskinneedstobreathe,sothe bestthingyoucandoisgomakeup free.That’snotforeveryone, though,soatleasttrytokeepyour maskareamakeupfreethebest youcan.
Acnemakesyouself-conscious, especiallyinacountrywhere, somehow,teenagershavebetter skinthanyou(I’mnotsaltyabout it),soit’sunderstandableifyou wanttocoveritup.Unfortunately, maskingyourmasknewithmakeup isonlygoingtomakeitworse.
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Stoptouchingyourface!Iknowit’s temptingtopopthose whiteheads, butyougottastop(I’mmostly directingthisatmyself).Popping yourpimplesmightfeelsuper satisfying,butit’sgoingtomake themstickaroundlonger(and possiblyscar!).
Instead,tryusingaspottreatment tozapthosezits!Salicylicacidis greatfornon-inflammatoryacne (whiteheadsandblackheads),and benzoylperoxideisasolidchoicefor inflammatoryacne(papules,pustules, nodules,cystic—basically,thered,
angry,andsometimes,painfulstuff). Teatreeoilandsulfurproductsarealso goodalternativesforthesetwo. Pimplespop—whetheryoudoit yourselforfatedecidesthatit’stime. Whentheydo,itissuperimportantto nottouchit.Youwanttokeepthearea ascleanasyoucansoitdoesn’tget irritatedandinfected.Thebestway todothisisbyusingacnepatches. Theseincrediblelittlecreationssuck allthejunkoutofapoppedzit, helpingitclearupfaster.Patchesare alsogreatforstickingonacnethat hasn’topenedupandwillkeepyou (andyourmask)fromtouchingand irritatingtheacne.
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PopBerryZeroSpotPatch Thesecomeintwosizes,and I’vefoundthattheyareagood balanceofthickenoughto stayon,andnottoothickthat they’resuuuuupernoticeable. Ifyou’recoveredinpainful,cystic acne,it’stimetoseea dermatologist.Cysticacneis hormonalandmoregeneticbased,sotheover-the-counter stuffjustisn’tgoingtocutithere. Luckily,dermatologyiscoveredby healthinsuranceinJapan,andyou don’tneedareferraltostartseeing one.Also,don’tworrytoomuch aboutyourJapaneseability.Since dermatologistswillbeabletosee youracneproblems,therearen’t asmanyquestionsforyouto answer. Ihopethesetipshelpyou winthewaronmaskne! KaityHamillisathird-yearALTinNiigata Prefecture.Oneofherhobbiesisbaffling dermatologistsallovertheworld.She hasstruggledwithacneandotherskin problems(likerosacea)sincegoodold pubertycamearound.That,combined withhermother’soccupationasa licensedesthetician,resultedinher obsessionwithskincare.Sheisalways happytodumpskincarefactsand productsontoherfriends.Hertopthree skincarebrandsare:AprilSkin,Glow Recipe,andLaneige,andherfavorite skincareingredientiscalendula. BacktoContents|117
LETTER FROM EDITOR Thisyearat CONNECT,Iwantedto sharemylovefortheundiscovered, moreobscureviewsandscenesof remoteJapanwithoutalsoforgettingthe peoplewhomakethetripstothosefaraway cornersofthecountryworthit.Withadiverse groupofcontributorswhosharedtheir adventures,Ibelievethetravelsectioncame alivewithpassionatepeoplethattrulymade theirlittlecornerofJapancomealivewith theirwords. Wesawalltypesoftravel,fromlocalto regional,seasonal,gourmetandspiritual. Withachallengingyearforwanderers,the ongoingpandemicmadeitdifficulttofully experiencejourneysandtogooutandabout foranewtasteofJapan,buthopefullythe articlesofthetravelsectionbroughtyou somewhereyouneverthoughtyou’dvisit.As aChineseproverbsays, “Don’tlistentowhat theysay,gosee.” Icanonlyhopethatthe wordsofourcollaboratorstouchedthe curiousadventurersinourreadersthatwill takeoursuggestionsandfeaturedlocations asinspirationtogooutandseeallthatJapan hastoofferforthemselves,andmaybebring friendsalongtheway. Forthisissue,Ithoughttheheatofthe summerwouldbeperfecttoreviewthe wonderfullyplannedroadtripinNorthern Tohoku, WinterRoadTrippin—Fourdaysin Aomori’sHakkodaMountains article.Even thoughthetripsuggestedtakesplacein winter,thereisnodoubtallthelocations presentedalsohavewonderfulthingstooffer insummeraswell.Toescapethesummer blues,rememberthewinterviewsandget readyforaweekendfulloffun,inallseasons. Mynextchoiceisthecalm,solospiritualvisit toKomatsuinIshikawa. Slidingoutfrom undertheKotatsuinKomatsu—AnAfternoon ExploringaCity’sHiddenGems bringsuson arelaxingtripinthevarioustemplesand forestsoutofthecity,foranafternoonthat willleaveyourefreshed.Evenifthemore spiritualandreligiousaspectsofJapanaren't yourcupoftea,mostreaderscanfind themselvescapturedbythestorytellingof whatseemedtobeaperfectdaytoresetasa solotraveler. Withsomanyplacestosee,visit,and experience,ayearworthofarticlesisbarely enoughtoscratchthesurfaceofwhatare thousandsofinterestinglearning opportunitiesthatcanbringyouto communitiesandplacesthatcansurprise you.Ihopeourteamofwritershavewokenup yourcuriosityandthirstfortravelthatwecan all,hopefullysoon,resumeandenjoyfully andsafely.Haveyouvisited everywhere? Maybeyoushould. Safetravels, DahliaLemelin Photo:Sorasak|Unsplash.com THE Travel
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TessaCalvin(Aomori) FOURDAYSINAOMORI’S HAKKODAMOUNTAINS WinterRoadTrippin’
thesamewarm-heartedlocal peopleandlearningnewthings fromthem,IbelieveI’vecome closetoperfectingtheartofthe Aomoriroadtrip. Ifyou’reitchingtorunoff tothe mountains and watch the snow fall froman open-airhot spring,a road triparoundthenorthernsection ofTowada-HachimantaiNational ParkincentralAomorimaybethe escapefromthemodernworld thatyou’relookingfor. As the pandemic finally appears to giveJapanabitofabreak,many of us are looking toward this year’s winterholidayswithabitmore optimismabouttravellingagain. Thanks to nearly two years of travel restrictions, which have kept all my adventureswithinthebordersof myadoptedhomeofAomori,I’ve criss-crossed the entire prefecture inmykeicar.Aftervisitingmany ofmyfavoritelocalspotstwoor threetimes,frequentlymeeting
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checkinwithlocalsifyou’reunsure aboutyourroute.GoogleMapscan andwilllietoyou! Ifyou’renervousaboutsnowdriving, don’tpanicjustyet—Aomorilocals havespent manyyears perfectingthe artofefficientlyclearingimpossible amountsofsnow.Takeafewdeep breathsasyouhittheroadandgo slowlyatfirst.Brakegradually,and startbrakingearlierthanyouwould onaclearroad.Don’tmake anyquick turns,andstaycalmandfocused. Withtherightpreparationandthe confidencetodriveinsnow,youcan safelyenjoymanysparsely-travelled winterlandscapesacrossJapanat yourownpace. CentralAomori,particularlythe beautiful and mountainous area within thenationalpark,hasessentially notrainservice.Busroutesdo exist,andtheyservethemajorityof locationshighlightedinthissample itinerary.However,servicefrequency decreasessignificantlyinthewinter. Thefreedomtomoveexactlyatyour ownpace, includingstops onthe side oftheroadforrandomphotosofthe stunningscenery,makesdrivinga carbyfarthebestoption. Dobeawarethatmanyofthe mountainroadscloseforthenightor theentirewinter,whichcouldleadto extremelytime-consumingdetours withoutcarefulplanning.Always Let’shittheroad. 122|
大 町 桂 月 遊 ば ば 十 和 田 住 ま ば 日 本 歩 き ゃ 奥 入 瀬 三 里 半 “TheplacetoliveisJapan. TheplacetoplayisTowada. Theplacetowalkisthesanrihan (~14 kilometers)ofOiraseGorge.” —OmachiKeigetsu (Taishoeratravelwriter) ArriveatShichinohe-TowadaStation AsyouexitShichinohe-TowadaStation,takeadeepbreath andtakeamomenttoadjust. Onceyourtraincontinuesonitsway,adistinctquietness setsin—asidefromtheoccasionalchunkofsnowsliding off theroof.Youmayhaveboardedthetrainfromoneofthe manylarge,buzzingcitiesofmetropolitanJapan,butyou’ve steppedoff inthedeepsnowcountry. Rentacar Pick up a rental car at Nippon Rent A Car or Toyota Rent A Car, bothjustoutsidethestation.Althoughabitmoreexpensive than a round-trip, I suggest choosing a one-way plan, as you’ll bedroppingoff yourcarinadifferentlocationattheendof yourtrip. Thisoptionwillsaveyouquiteabitofdrivingtime. . . . DAY 1 → |123
ExperienceTowada’squirky,artisticsideatTowadaArt Center
HaveyourfirsttasteofCentralAomori’stastylocal dishes Ifyou’relikemeandwillingtoeatgelatoregardlessofthe weather, Namiki isa greatstop nearthe stationto perkyou up afterthejourneytoAomori.Tryamixtureofseasonalflavors, andseeifyoucanspotanyhorsesinthepasture. AftercheckingouttheartinTowadaCity,takeashortwalk overto Tsukasa forlunchtotrythisregion’ssimple,saucy, anddelicious“soulfood,”
barayaki.Youcanevenbuyabottle ofthesignaturesweet,slightlygarlickysaucetobringhome andtryyourhandatmakingityourself.
Towada Art renownedcontemporaryartists.Thebuilding'sunique designblurs ofthecity.Largeglasswindowsallowpassersbytoseeinto themuseumandmuseumgueststoseethedailyflowoflife onthefamouslybeautifulmainstreet,Kanchogai-dori.Just acrossfromthemuseumanditssymbolicFlowerHorse,the ArtSquareholdsevenmoreworkssuchasYayoiKusama’s LoveForever,SinginginTowada accessibletothepublic. DAY 1 EndyourfirstdayjuststepsawayfromLakeTowada. Enjoy a luxurious LakesideHotel DiscoverthewinterstoryofLakeTowadathroughan illuminatedforestandshrine. Hiddeninsomeprimevalforestjustafewhundredmeters fromtheshoreofthelake,TowadaShrinehasauniquely mysticalatmosphereanytimeofyear.The illuminations(which of another festival) natural surroundings OnFridayandSaturdaynightsinDecember,youcanalso enjoyaTsugaru Lastly,makesuretocatchtheshortfireworksshowifyou’re thereonaweekendorholiday!
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Art Center holds a variety of works from internationallyrenownedcontemporaryartists.Thebuilding'sunique designblurs theboundary betweenthe museumand therest ofthecity.Largeglasswindowsallowpassersbytoseeinto themuseumandmuseumgueststoseethedailyflowoflife onthefamouslybeautifulmainstreet,Kanchogai-dori.Just acrossfromthemuseumanditssymbolicFlowerHorse,the ArtSquareholdsevenmoreworkssuchasYayoiKusama’s LoveForever,SinginginTowada whicharecompletely accessibletothepublic. EndyourfirstdayjuststepsawayfromLakeTowada. luxurious kaiseki meal and hot spring bath at Towadako LakesideHotel beforesettlinginforthenight. DiscoverthewinterstoryofLakeTowadathroughan illuminatedforestandshrine. Hiddeninsomeprimevalforestjustafewhundredmeters fromtheshoreofthelake,TowadaShrinehasauniquely mysticalatmosphereanytimeofyear.The FestaLuce winter illuminations(which wereactually apandemic eraadaptation festival) are well-integrated into the ancient shrine’s surroundings and add a new level of otherworldliness. OnFridayandSaturdaynightsinDecember,youcanalso enjoyaTsugaru Shamisenperformancefor noadditionalfee. Lastly,makesuretocatchtheshortfireworksshowifyou’re thereonaweekendorholiday! TheFestival isheld fromDecember 4 toFebruary20 Closed : Wednesdays and Thursdays. (*Exception:Theywillremainopen onDecember29-30,2021) Fireworksshowswillbeheldon weekendsandholidaysduring JanuaryandFebruary. (*ExceptJanuary1-2) HoursofOperation:5:30-9p.m. Entrancefee:1600yen (1200forticketsboughtinadvance) Parkingisavailablefor500yen. VIEW INFO → |125
DAY 2 “Inthiswideworld, thereisonlyone MountFuji,andone LakeTowada.” —OmachiKeigetsu CanoeorSnowshoeTour WhileMountFujiisworld-famousandhasbeenclimbed bythousandsoftouristsandlocalsalike,farfewerknow themagicofglidingacrossthemirror-likesurfaceofLake Towadainacanoeonacrispwintermorning.Aftersome quickoartrainingonland,paddleoutontotheicysurfaceof oneofJapan’sdeepestlakeswith TowadaGuidehouseKai. Iftheweatherdoesn’tallowforsafepaddling,oryou’renota fanofboats,there’salsotheoptiontotrekthroughtheforest onsnowshoesandseethelakefromabove. LunchatLakeTowada Takeadvantageofthelake’sproximitytosample Himemasu, aspeciesofsalmontransplantedfromLakeShikotsuin Hokkaido.Thiscompletelyland-lockedpopulationofred salmonisknownforitsoilinessandisdeliciouswhenserved assashimi. AsLakeTowadaliesdirectlyontheAkita-Aomoriborder,you canalsotryAkita’spoundedricespecialty, kiritanpo here.In winter,theroastedkiritanpoisadeliciousadditiontoahot nabe pot. TakeascenicdrivethroughOiraseGorge DepartingfromLakeTowada,enjoyaleisurelydrivethrough OiraseGorgeandsoakupthescenery.Inthewinter,large waterfallssuchasChoshiOtakicontinuetorushwithcold waterdrainingfromthelake.Smallerfallsmayfreezetoa near-stopinthewinter—althoughifyoulookcarefully,you maybeabletospotsomedropletsstillrollingdowntheice falls. 湖 水 は 十 和 田 ひ ろ い 世 界 に ひ と つ ず つ ﹂ 大 町 桂 月 VIEW INFO TowadaGuidehouseKai 11,000yen 10a.m.-12:30p.m. → 126|
“Inthiswideworld, thereisonlyone MountFuji,andone LakeTowada.” —OmachiKeigetsu Personally,IbringacameraevenwhenI’mjustpassing throughOirase;youneverknowwhena“photoemergency” mightarisehere.Don’thesitatetotakealittleextratimeto stop;you’llprobablybegladyoudid. LearnabouttheuniquenaturalfeaturesofOiraseGorge Justbeforeexitingthegorge,you’llfindthe OiraseField Museum,whereyoucanlearnabouthowthevolcanic eruptionsbelowLakeTowadaformeditsuniqueshape andcreatedOiraseGorge.Ifyou’remoreintoecologythan geology,tryinspectingsomeofthelocalplantsundera microscope.Don’tmisstheAlaRingoCaféforawidevariety ofapple-flavoreddrinksandsweets. (2,000yen 9a.m.-4p.m. Noreservationsrequired) 湖 水 は 十 和 田 ﹁ 山 は 富 士 VIEW INFO Createandbringhomeamossyfriend DAY 2 ←→ |127
→DAY 3 → JustashortdistancefromtheFieldMuseum,the Oirase MossballPark feelsabitwhimsical—itmightbeallthe googly-eyeslookingoutatyoufromthegarden.Here,you cancreateandbringhomeyourown“smallOirase”inthe formofa kokedama,ormoss ball,andgive itlifewith apairof plasticgooglyeyes. Staythenightandwarmupintherusticbeechwood bathsofTsutaOnsen Nestledin thedeep forestof theeastern Hakkodamountains, TsutaOnsen isoneofJapan’s100mostfamoushotsprings andwaswell-lovedbyanumber ofTaisho-eraliterarytalents. KeigetsuOmachi,atravelwriterofthetimewhosepraiseled to the area’s first tourism boom, frequently spent long periods oftimeattheinnandregisteredhisresidencethereinhis finalyears.TsutaOnsenalsoofferssnowshoeingtours,and daytripbathingisavailablefor800yenifyouaren'tstaying thenight. TaketheHakkodaRopewayuponeofthesnowiest mountainsonEarth Thesceneryisstunningineverydirectiononthe Ropeway,whichtakesyoutothetopofTamoyachidake,one ofthemanypeaksinthevolcanicHakkodarange,injust10 minutes. 大 町 桂 月 SnowofTsugaru Powdersnow Cornsnow Cottonsnow Wetsnow Springsnow Coarsesnow Icesnow —OsamuDazai DAY 2← → 128|
→ DAY 3 → Whiletheropewayridecouldbeconsideredanattraction initself,don’theadbackdownwithoutaphotowithone of thegiant juuhyo,or“snowmonsters”—treescoveredin frost andwind-blownsnow.Theseformationsarequiterare and requireaparticularcombinationoffiercewind,heavy snow, andcoldthatcanonlybefoundintwomountainranges in Japan:hereatHakkoda,andatZaoinMiyagi. Advancedsnowenthusiastsalsomayoptforaone-way ropewaytickettohaultheirgearupthemountainandthen makethereturntriptothebasestationbyskiorsnowboard. ← → → TaketheHakkodaRopewayuponeofthesnowiest Hakkoda ,whichtakesyoutothetopofTamoyachidake,one ofthemanypeaksinthevolcanicHakkodarange,injust10 こ な 雪 津 軽 の 雪 つ ぶ 雪 わ た 雪 み づ 雪 か た 雪 ざ ら め 雪 こ ほ 雪 太 宰 治 大 町 桂 月 → |129
DAY Lunch-KuroishiTsuyuYakisoba Howdoyouadaptaclassicsummerfestivalfoodtoan Aomoriwinterstaple?InKuroishi,thesolutionwastoput theiruniquelythicksobanoodlesintosomehot,saltysoup andaddtempura.Whileitstartedwithonesobashopacross fromajuniorhighschool,Kuroishinowhasover70yakisoba shops,making KuroishiTsuyuYakisoba atruecommunity comfortfood. fan:2600¥ smalllantern:3800¥ medium:5800¥ large:8800¥ MakeyourownlampfromoldNeputafestivalfloats AsmallcityinthefoothillsoftheHakkodaMountains, Kuroishiwasanoldsamuraitownjustashortdistancefrom theTsugaruClan’s castlecityof Hirosakiandstill retainsalot ofitsold-world charm.Walkingaway fromyourcar, underthe coveredarcadesofthepreservedtraditionalKomiseStreet, youmayfeelasifyouweresuddenlytransportedbacktothe Edoera. Uponarrivingat Irodori,thecolorfulglowofthehanging lanterns(madefrom piecesofrecycled Neputa floats)is sure todrawyouin.Theartisanswillwelcomeyoutojointhem aroundalargetableandcreateyourownlanternor uchiwa fan.They’llprobablyconvinceyoutocomebackinthe summerforthefestival,too! ← VIEW INFO 130|
VIEW INFO Y 3 AoniOnsenisonlyaccessiblebyshuttle businthewinter.ParkatNijinoMizuumi RoadsideStationandcalltoreserveaseat beforeputtingyourphoneawayforthe night.Thelastshuttleleavesat16:00. → Spend a night away from the modern world at Aoni Onsen Putyourphonedown;it’suselesshere.At AoniOnsen,also knownas Lampno Yado,there’s nothingto dobut soakin the steaminghotbaths,watchthesnowfall,fillupondelicious food,andlistentothesoundoftheriver.Youwon’tfinda phoneorTVinyourroom,andthenarrowvalleyblocksout allwirelesssignals.Infact, mostofthecomplexdoesn’t have anyelectricityatall—it’sallgentlylitbyold-fashionedoil lamps.Oneimportantexception:theydohavearefrigerator tokeepthebeerandsakecold. |131
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Rasse-ra,rasse-ra,rasse-rasse-rassera! (AomoriNebutafestivalchant)
performancesorNebutacraftingworkshops,dependingon thedailyschedule. Lunch:build-your-ownsashimibowlorwildlyunhealthy, classicAomoriramen Surroundedonthreesidesbycold,abundantsea,Aomoriis blessedwithavarietyofdeliciousseafood.Pickupasetof 10tickets (or15, ifyou’re hungry)at GyosaiCenter,andfirstgrabyourwarmbowlofrice.Next, explorethemarketandtradeyourticketswitheachvendor tocraftyourcustom“Nokkedon Aomoriconsistentlyranksnearthebottomofeverylist forhealthmetricscomparedtootherprefecturesinJapan, andonemainculpritisthelocalobsessionwithsalt,miso, butter,and ramen.You canget ingredientsinonedishwith favorite in Aomori City. We have somehow,andthethick,hotbrothcertainlyhelps! 「ラッセラー，ラッセラー, ラッセラッセラッセラー！」 132|
WarasseNebutaMuseum
EnjoyyourlastdrivethroughthesnowyTsugaru countryside AftertheLampnoYadoshuttlebusreturnsyoutoyourcar, it’sjustunderonehour’sscenicdrivetothecapital,Aomori City.It’sthelastlegofyourjourneycirclingtheHakkoda Mountains,sosoakupthecountrysidescenerywhileyou can. Onceyouarriveinthecity,it’stimetosaygoodbyetoyour trustyrentalcar.ReturnitclosetoAomoriStationandspend the day exploring on foot. There’s a lot to see along the Aomori waterfrontandnearthestation,soyouwon’thavetogofar.
Don’t wait ‘til August to experience Tohoku’s greatest summer festival!Aomori Prefectureactually hostsa varietyof different NebutaandNeputafestivalsinearlyAugust,butAomori City’sNebutaisbyfarthelargestandmostwell-known. Whilenothingbeatsthefestivalatmosphereitself,youcan seesomeoldfloatsupcloseandlearnaboutthehistoryof Nebutaat Warasse,the festivalmuseum locateddirectly next toAomoriStation.Theremayalsobelivemusicanddance
HoponthelocaltraintoShin-AomoriStation(ifdeparting
Y 4 Lunch:build-your-ownsashimibowlorwildlyunhealthy, Surroundedonthreesidesbycold,abundantsea,Aomoriis blessedwithavarietyofdeliciousseafood.Pickupasetof hungry)at thefront ofthe Furukawa GyosaiCenter,andfirstgrabyourwarmbowlofrice.Next, explorethemarketandtradeyourticketswitheachvendor Nokkedon”bowlafewslicesatatime. Aomoriconsistentlyranksnearthebottomofeverylist forhealthmetricscomparedtootherprefecturesinJapan, andonemainculpritisthelocalobsessionwithsalt,miso, canget allthose deliciouslyunhealthy MisoCurryMilkRamen,alocal have to get through the long winter somehow,andthethick,hotbrothcertainlyhelps! PickupanythingandeverythingAomoriatA-Factory Agreatsourceforahugevarietyoflocally-producedAomori products,includingcrafts,sweets,andofcourseapples, A-factory alsobottlesitsownapplecideronsite(both alcoholicandnon-alcohol).Youcanevenusethesample vendingmachineonthesecondfloortotaste-testavariety ofcidersbeforechoosingwhichonetobringhome!After you’vepicked outall theAomori goodsyou canstuff intoyour suitcase,grabacoffeeatCoffeeColorsorchowdownonan AppleBurgeratOcean’sDinerbeforeyourjourneyhome.
Wavegoodbyetothesnowcountry—fornow. bybullettrain)orthebustoAomoriAirport(ifdepartingby
plane).Safetravels, andseeyou againsoon!Or astheysay in Tsugarudialect, Heba-na! TessaCalvinisoriginallyfrom SoutheastAlaskaandplanned tostayinJapanforexactlyone year.Sheisnowafourth-year ALTinTowada,Aomori.She enjoyswanderingaimlesslyin thecountryside,samplingevery typeofAomoriappleproduct, andtakingphotosofwhatever happensalongthe way.Youcan findsomeofthesephotoson herAomori-basedInstagram, @ten.peaceful.fields,orunder the hashtag #towadaisbeautiful. . . . BacktoContents|133
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Allthatbeingsaid,thiswinterhasbroughtafewdaysofheavysnowfallwhich hasblanketedthequietcountrysideinawinterwonderland.Afterdragging myselffromthewarmthunderneathmy kotatsu,Iwasabletoexploresome of thehiddengemsofKomatsu,acitynestledinthesouthernpartofIshikawa nearthefootofMountHakusan.
GrowingupintheSonoranDesertlocatedinthesouthwesternUnitedStates where299outof365daysaresunny,Ihadnoconceptofseasons,apartfrom the changing leaves at the tail end of January, which quickly changed two weeks laterforspring.Ihadalwaysseenpicturesofthebeautyoffallleavesanda quietwintersnowfall.ButtonowliveinIshikawaprefecture,whichreceives anannual186centimeters(73.23in)ofprecipitationannually,hasbeena challenging adjustment.Icancountanachingbackfromshovelingsnow, frozentoes,wet socks,andunendingdamplaundryonmyfrozenfingers.
ANAFTERNOONEXPLORiNGACiTY’SHiDDENGEMS
SlidingoutfromUnderthe KotatsuinKomatsu
KatieHawkins(Ishikawa)
NATADERATEMPLEiNWiNTER Saidtohaveoriginatedin717C.E.fromthegreat monkTaicho,NataderaTempleissheltered amongthelowhillsofKomatsuCity.2017marked the 1300th anniversary sinceitsfounding.The groundsofthetemplefeaturenaturalcaveswhich have been revered as places of Umarekiyomaru, the cycleofdeath,purification,andrebirth.Natadera isalsoaplaceknownforitssimplebutinspiring beautythroughouttheseasons.DuringtheEdo Era,themasterhaikupoetMatsuoBashovisited thetemplegroundsandleftwordsofadmiration, “Ishiyamanoishiyorishiroshiakinokaze” (“The autumnwindiswhiterthanthewhitecliffsofthe stonymountain”). I was able to enjoy the tranquil beauty of Natadera’s wabi-sabi duringawinterdaywhichbroughtsnow quietlybutbuiltupsteadily.Irecommendaday likethistoenjoytheheightof thewinter’sserenity. Andafewwordsofwarningfromalifelongdesert dweller:Besuretosuitupwith thicksocks,gloves, andanumbrellaforthedynamicsnowfall.Walking around,Icouldnotfeelmytoes!Pleaseprotect yourlil’piggies. NataderaTempleislocatedjust outsideKomatsuCity andisopenallyearround. Admissionfee: 600yen(adults)or 300yen(Children7-12yearsold) Access: Bycar: Lessthan10minutesoutside KomatsuCity,or20minutesoff KatayamazuInterchangeofthe HokurikuExpressway. Freeparkingisavailableonsite. Bytrain: 20-minbusridefromAwazu StationontheHokurikuLine. Hours: March1toNov.30,8:30a.m.to4:45 p.m.—Dec.1toFeb.28 8:45a.m.to4:30p.m. |135
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Iwalkeddeeperintothetemplegroundsand
Althoughtherewasasenseofisolationinthequietwinter grounds of the temple, it wasn’t lonely. I feel like during the winter months,inplacesofreverencefor naturesuchasNatadera,you areabletoexperienceatrueraremomentofpeacesurrounded bytheintimacyoffrostcoveredleavesandmoss.
Oneofmyfavoritemomentsfrommywintertimevisitwasa smallbreak inthe cloudsabove whichled toa streamof sunlight filteringthroughthecedarsguardingeithersideofthewalkway leadingto themain shrine.Yet, ina truetestament tothe fleeting beautyof mononoaware (awarenessoftheimpermanenceof transienceofthings),thecloudsreturnedandthefallingsnow quicklybeganagain.
Leadinguptothemainshrine,youaredwarfedbyaclusterof cedartreesstandingquietlyinafieldofmoss.Especiallyduring winter,thecontrastofthered kondokeo-den (centralworship pavilion)isawe-inspiring.Onlyahandfulofpeoplewerealso hereatthesametimesoIwasabletoenjoythequietofadeep, deep breath of icy air and exhale to see it escape among the tops ofthecedartrees. greetedthesleepingkoifishnestledinapond atthefootofthefamousseriesofcaves.The koiweresostillthatitmademefeellikethat momentwaspaused intime,the beingfrom thequiet snowdrifting thestillnessofthewater.
Iwalkeddeeperintothetemplegroundsand greetedthesleepingkoifishnestledinapond atthefootofthefamousseriesofcaves.The koiweresostillthatitmademefeellikethat intime,the onlymovement snowdrifting downto break thestillnessofthewater.
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observationplatform,whichoffersa
Following the path along the rocks to the other side of the temple grounds,Iwasgreetedbythecontrastingredofthe chinju-do beautifulperspectiveofthe cavesandtorii gatesrestingon therockycliffs. Havingcomefull circletomeetthesleepingkoi onceagain,Imademyway tosay goodbyetothegentle,giantcedarsdressedinsnow.
With frozen toes, I continued to walk through the temple grounds and passed a row of red, stoic torii gates and climbed to the main shrine, built partially into a large cave. While you aren’t allowed to photographthe insideof themain shrine,there isan observation deckwhichoverseestheentiretemplegrounds.
TheentiregroundsofNataderatakeatleast30minutestoover anhourtoexplore.Eachturnandcornerframesaperspectiveof another area of the temple. The accumulation of culture is rich, and eachpieceofarchitecturecontainsapieceofhistoryaboutthe area,featuringcharacteristicswhichcanbeenjoyedthroughout thechangingseasons.Ican’twaittoseeitinthespringandgreet thekoi fishonce again.Until then,let metake youalong tothe next gemKomatsuhastooffer. BRIDGE CAFE Ifyou’recravingadelicious,warmdrinkandlunchafteryourvisit toNatadera,IrecommendyouvisitBRIDGE,acafeownedbya sweetcouplesituatedinabeautifulbuildingbelowalanguage school.Youcantellalotofthoughtwentintotheconstructionof the building because the exterior stunning.TheinnerdesignerinmealwayshasafielddaywhenI visitthiscafe! K-POPANDDOGSPRiNTEDDRiNKSANDBEARWAFFLES, OHMY! Andif you’rea fanof Korea,bonus featuresK-popdecorationsandKoreanlunchitemsontheir menu.Thehusbandofthecouplewhoownsthecafeisactually Korean,soI’veheardtheirlunchoptionsaredelicious!BRIDGE hassomethingforeveryone.Mytreatofchoicewasofcoursean adorablebearwaffleandcafelatte,whichIwassurprisedtofind hadafrenchbulldogprintedonthefoamofthedrink!BRIDGE offers you the option to print a custom LINE, but I was not expecting to have ofBRIDGE)sittingonmylatte.AndI’mpleasedtoreportthatafter takingamillionpicturesofmymeal,theflavorsweredelicious. 138|
Born and bred in the Sonoran Desert of the American Southwest,Katieisagraphicdesignerbytradebut iscurrentlyexploringherpassionforeducationasa first-year ALT on the JET Programme slowly adjusting totherainyclimateofIshikawa.Shelikestravel, anime,exercising,photography,livemusic,studying Japanese,drinkingcoffeeandonthesideisanavid butdestructivechefinthekitchenplowingherway throughJapanesecookbooks.Seewhatshe'supto
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onInstagram @katiehawk.jpg.
Ifyou’recravingadelicious,warmdrinkandlunchafteryourvisit toNatadera,IrecommendyouvisitBRIDGE,acafeownedbya sweetcouplesituatedinabeautifulbuildingbelowalanguage school.Youcantellalotofthoughtwentintotheconstructionof and interior design are absolutely stunning.TheinnerdesignerinmealwayshasafielddaywhenI K-POPANDDOGSPRiNTEDDRiNKSANDBEARWAFFLES, Korea,bonus pointsfor youbecause BRIDGE featuresK-popdecorationsandKoreanlunchitemsontheir menu.Thehusbandofthecouplewhoownsthecafeisactually Korean,soI’veheardtheirlunchoptionsaredelicious!BRIDGE hassomethingforeveryone.Mytreatofchoicewasofcoursean eandcafelatte,whichIwassurprisedtofind hadafrenchbulldogprintedonthefoamofthedrink!BRIDGE custom image on your drink through have Mr. Kim (the resident fur baby ofBRIDGE)sittingonmylatte.AndI’mpleasedtoreportthatafter takingamillionpicturesofmymeal,theflavorsweredelicious.
OUTFROMUNDERTHEKOTATSU Ihavesinceslidfromtheblanketofsnowoutsidetotheblanket ofmykotatsu.ButIlookbackonthewondersofmyminiwinter seasonadventurewiththefeelingreturningtomytoesandsmile. Living in a smaller suburban city nestled in the southern reaches of Ishikawahasallowedmetoreallyexplorethenooksandcrannies ofmycitythroughouttheseasonstofindhiddengemsthatIwill returntotimeandtimeagain.Ijusthavetodragmyselfoutfrom undermykotatsu.Wishmeluck!
Photo:ZhaoliJIN|Unsplash.com
hreeyearsagoIdecidedtomoveto Shizuokawithoutknowledgeofthe Japaneselanguage,thecityIwas movingto,oranyofthepeoplethatlived there.BeforeIlefttheU.S.Isetthreegoals; livelifelikeaGhiblimovie,exercisedaily,and findacommunityofmyown.
T
Languagebarriersaside,thepandemicmade thatlastgoaldifficulttoachieve.Likesomany others,Ifoundmyselfisolatedforsuchalong stretchoftimethatIfeltIhadforgottenhowto interactsociallywiththelargercommunity.To resetmylifeandgetoutofmycomfortzoneI leftthecityfortheruralcountrysideto volunteerwork-tradeonafarm.
Oncethere,myGhiblidreamquicklybecame areality.IfeltlikeIcouldfinallyfindmyfooting onunevengroundandmyplaceinthelarger networkofcommunitieshereinJapan.By engagingwithothersinhands-on experiencessuchasfarming,Ibegantolearn moreabouttheJapaneselanguage,and cultureasawhole.Itsolidifiedmy understandingofhowimportanthavinga communitycanbe.
MyluckchangedhoweverwhenIwas appointedastheCommunityEditorfor CONNECT.Ifeltthatthiscouldbemychance togrowanewskillset,sharewhatIhad learnedaboutthecountryside,andusethis newroletoreachouttocommunitiesthatI hadneverhadthechancetointeractwith. Asyoucantellfromthisintroduction,alotof
LETTER FROM COMMUNITY
Still,thatfarmingexperiencewasfaraway fromthecitylifewhereIresideasanALT. SummerarrivedandIfoundmyselfwishingI couldmoveoutclosertothefieldsandthe forests.Unfortunately,atthetime,Icouldno longerescapetothecountrysideonthe weekendsbecauseIwashitbyacar.My physicalabilitiesplummetedandIwas disconnectedfromthecommunitiesIhad juststartedtobecomeapartof. thepiecesIhaveprovidedthisyearhave beenaboutfarmingandrurallifestyles.Over thepastyearworkingwith CONNECT Ihave growntounderstandalotofnew communitiesaswell. InthisJulyIssueIwouldliketohighlightone ofmyfirstinterviewswithsomeoneImet throughthiseditorrole.Theinterviewwas withTeniWadaandiscalled SelfCare ThroughSkincare.Teniisaneco-friendly businessownerwhocreatedand implementedherownlineofbeautyproducts inTokyo.Sheisastrongrolemodelforother foreignerswhowanttosingle-handedlystart theirownbusinessinJapan.Iwasvery gratefultogettolearnmoreabouther journeyintoleadershipandrecordherstory. Apartfromtheperspectivesofsomeonewho builtacommunity,Ialsotriedtogain perspectivesfrompeoplewhojoinedpreexistingones.Thisisbestshowninanarticle Ico-wrotewithTitusJoelwhoisanALTin Hamamatsucity.Aftergoingthrougha natural-buildingworkshoptogetherwewrote anarticleabouttheexperience.Hetoowas abletoseethepowerofagricultureasaway tobringadiversegroupofpeopletogether. Pleasetakeanotherlookat MudwithDeeper Meaning inthisissueof CONNECT
.
THE Editor
SierraNelson-Liner(Shizuoka)
Allofthesestoriesbeganwithsomeonewho wantedtobuild,orbecomeapartof,a community.Thisisanessentialwaytomake peoplefeelconnectedinaworldthatfeelsso divided,especiallynow.Iamhonoredtohave becomeapartofthis teamand sharestoriesaboutcommunitiesthisyear. 2022Team.Iamincrediblygratefulto everyone'sfeedbackandefforttomakethis section,andthestorieswithinit,asstrongas theycouldbe.
Thisofcoursecouldnothavebeendone withoutthesupportoftheentire CONNECT
CONNECT
Ihopethatyouasreadershavealsobeen abletoseeintotheeyesofanewcommunity youmightnothaveexperiencedbefore.In turn,Ihopeyoucanusethisknowledgeto makeadifferenceinyourowncommunities, orevenmakeoneofyourown. isabeautifulthing.
Tosupportandtocreatecommunities.That
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EDOBEAUTYLAB
Anentrepreneur,blogger,andmother,TeniWadais transformingthesustainablebeautyindustryinJapan. OriginallyfromAmerica,TenistartedherlifeinJapan workinginthefashionindustry.Shewasmesmerized byShibuyafashion.However,afterseveralyears,“fast fashion”brandslikeH&MandForever21begantotake holdandtheShibuyafashionthatshelovedwaslosing popularity.Asaresultshedecidedtoattendgraduate schoolandfocusedonsecondlanguageacquisition, whichledtoearlychildhoodeducationandteachingat internationalkindergartens.Duringhermaternityleave shedecidedtostartherownblogaboutmotherhoodin Japan; TheWagamamaDiaries.
Finally,as aresult ofa businessdesign contestthrough hercityhall,shedecidedtocreateherownonline business.Thoughshesaysittookayearofpaperwork andstrategicplanning,everythingseemstohavepaid off intheend.Teni’scoreproductisaclaybeautymask, themainingredientofwhichis komatsuna orJapanese mustardspinach.Thelocallyproducedspinachisvery popularinhertownofEdogawa.Asofpublication,her sustainablebeautybrand hasbeen upandrunningforthreemonths.
WhenIwasonmaternityandchildcareleave, Istartedmyblog, TheWagamamaDiaries. Inoticedthatmybeautyposts(Japanese skincareproductreviews)werejustaspopular asmymaternityposts,andthosebeautyposts performedwellon Instagram. Mostofmyskincarejourneyactuallybegan withKoreancosmeticsaftermyveryfirsttrip toKorea.But,withthedemandsofbeinga newmomandworking,Inolongerhadthe timetoinvestinamulti-stepskincareroutine. Japaneseskincareproducts,ontheotherhand, oftenfunctionas“all-in-one”products.Plus, Japanesecosmeticsarereadilyavailableatmy neighborhooddrugstoreorforpurchaseonline, andIdidn’tneedtoworryaboutbeingunableto decipherwhat’sonthelabel. Mydaughterdevelopedaterribleskinrashat aroundsixmonths.Becauseshewas breastfeeding,Iwascertainthatitwassome sortoffoodallergy.Inordertopindownpossible triggers,Iendedupswitchingtoaplant-based dietthatavoidedall27majorallergens designatedbytheMinistryofHealth,Laborand Welfare.Herskinshowednosignsof improvements,soIthoughtthatmyskincare productswerethepossiblecauseofirritation. Thispromptedmetodoresearchoncosmetics ingredientsandincorporate“natural”products intomyskincareroutine. Asfordevelopingasustainableskincareline, thatcomesfromworkingwithmanybeauty brands.IadmitthatIlovetryingnewskincare products,andnicepackagingmakesforgreat flatlaysandunboxingvideos,butsometimes it canbeapainbreakingeverythingdown intoits propertrashcategory. |143
I’dalwaysavoidedJapanesebeauty boxes,becauseIdidn’twanttoend upwithaboxofmakeuptoolightfor meoraboxfullofwhiteningproducts. Well,oneyearaftertakingtheplunge andsigningupforabeautybox;inthe summerIfoundmyselfopeningabox containingwhiteningcosmetics!
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Iwashesitanttothrowthemout, soIgavethematry.And,despitemy initialfears, Idiscovered thatJapanese whiteningcosmeticsdon’tactually bleachtheskin!Iendedupdoinga bitofresearchwhichturnedintothis blogpost, TheTruthAboutJapanese WhiteningCosmetics,whichismy second-mostvisitedpostofalltime.
IthinkPOC(fromoutsideofAsia,or ofnon-Asiandescent) maybehesitant touseJapanesecosmeticsbecause oftheprevalenceofwhitening ingredientsandthelackofEnglish instructions.Irarelyfoundreviewson Japanesebeautyproductswrittenby someonewithmyownskintone,soI endedupbloggingaboutmanyofthe JapaneseproductsthatIpersonally use.Ioftencross-postorpromote thosepostsonInstagram.Asaresult, Iendedupworkingonmanysocial mediamarketingcampaignswith JapanesebeautybrandsandKorean brandsenteringtheJapanesemarket. SometimesIfeelself-conscious aboutbeingaveryvisiblyforeign lookingpersonworkingwithJapanese andKoreanbrands.So,I’dsaythatmy biggeststruggle isovercoming mylow self-confidence,whichissomething thatI’mstillworkingon!
EDOBEAUTYLAB originallystartedasan entryformycity’sannualbusinessplancontest. Icameupwiththeideaofcreatingalineof “greenbeauty”productsthatusekomatsuna, aJapanesesuperfoodthat’snativetoEdogawa City. StartingabusinessinJapan,inmostcases, isastraightforwardprocess,especiallyifyou opttohaveaprofessionalguideyouthrough thenecessarypaperwork.However,things getcomplicatedwhenitcomestothebeauty industry,specificallyskincareproducts. IntheUnitedStates,forexample,thereisno formalgoverningbodyconcerningcosmetics. However,theJapanesecosmeticsindustryis highly regulated, and there’s a lot that takes place behind-the-scenestokeepconsumerssafe. Forexample,cosmeticscanonlybe manufacturedinlicensedfacilities.Inaddition, paperworktoregisteraproduct’snameand ingredientsmustbefiledwiththeprefectural government before productioncanbegin. But,perhapsthebiggesthurdleIencountered wasfindingawaytoregisterkomatsunainto theinternationalandJapanesecosmetic ingredientdatabases.Allingredientsinany skincareproductmanufacturedorsoldinJapan mustbelistedinbothdatabases.Withoutthis registration,Icouldn’tevenbegintheprocessof formallyregisteringacompany! Overall,thestartupprocessfor EDOBEAUTY LAB tookabout12months—andamajorityof thattimewasspentwaitingonpaperwork! Allofmyday-to-daybusinesstakesplace inEdogawaCity,whichisalreadypretty accommodatingwhenitcomestoparenting programs,childcareallowancesandbenefits. Still,Iwaspleasantlysurprisedthatmyvendor andsuppliershaveallbeensoextremely accommodatingwhenIneededtobringmy daughteralongonmeetings. Onourlasttriptothebank,mydaughtergot acuteplushtoyofthebankmascot,whereasI onlygotpacketsoftissueswhenIopenedmy businessbankaccount! Startingabusinessisperhapsoneofthemost challengingthingsyoucandobecausethere’s noguaranteeonhowthingswillgo.Infact, everythingwon’tgosmoothly,andthat’sokay becauseevery momentis alearning opportunity. Youmightbetemptedtodoitallonyourown because,afterall,it’s“your”business.But,don’t hesitatetoseekprofessionalhelporoutsource stepsofyourentrepreneurialjourney.Having helpwillcertainlysaveyoutimeandreduce stress! |145
Definitely!Icertainlywouldhavebudgeted moretohavesomeonetakecareofallthe backendstuff onmywebsite,setuppayment gateways,andhelpintegratemystorecatalog intoFacebookandInstagram!Duringmyfirst week, I missed out on a few sales simply because PayPalwasn’tworkingandcustomersdidn’t feelcomfortableusingStripe(whichisvery understandable!).Withthatsaid,I’mgladthatI figuredouthowtodoitallonmyown. Onamorepersonalnote,Ithinkitwouldhave beeninteresting ifI hadstarted aTikTok account atthebeginningoftheprocessanduseditto documentmyexperience. IwantpeopletothinkaboutTokyo’sEdogawa Citywhentheyuseourproductsbecauseevery stepof themanufacturing processtakes placein EdogawaCity! EdogawaCitygrowstons(literally!)of komatsuna,andyou’llfindallkindsofdelicious komatsuna creations here, like smoothies, chiffon cake,udon,doughnuts,quiche,andgyoza! To prevent food loss, we use unsold komatsuna thatisgrownatafamilyfarmandprocessedby alocal vendor.This processedkomatsuna, along withotheringredients,istakentoourcosmetics manufacturer,alsolocatedinEdogawaCity. Ourexfoliatingtenuguitowelsarealsomade inEdogawaCityusingtraditionalmethods, andtheyfeatureakomatsunaprint.Inaddition, wealsostockbeautygoodsmadebytalented localartisans.Basically, EDOBEAUTYLAB isa communityeffort,andIwouldinviteanyoneto experiencethiscityandallithastooffer. Ihopeyoucontinuereadingandlearnmoreabout howTenihasmadehernewhomeand businessinJapan. At EDO BEAUTY LAB, we use the minimal amount of packaging material. Our Green Radiance ClayMaskishand-madeinsmallbatches,andpackagedinarecyclableandresalablekraft pouch.Itcomesinpowderformandispreservative-free.Insideeachpackageisadesiccant sachettopreventmoistureandtoextendtheproductshelf-life. -Teni 146|
Teni Wada is a beauty and lifestyle writer residing inEdogawaCity,Tokyo.Hergreenbeautybrand EDO BEAUTY LAB incorporatestheprinciples ofJapaneseskincareandsustainableinitiatives thatsupporttheenvironmentandcommunity.In herfree time,she enjoysdoing activitieswith her daughter,walkingwithherdog,andcatchingup onpopculture. Megis athird-year JETenjoying thesmall town life in Fukui. She is frequently found out exploring andtakingphotosbutalsoenjoysrelaxingat homeplayinggamesorwatchingTV. SierraNelson-Linerisathird-yearALTin HamamatsuCityandistheCommunityEditor for CONNECT Magazine.Sheenjoyslearning aboutsustainabilityinJapan,andcollecting flowersfromthesideoftheroad.Shewantsto inspireculturalexchangethroughfarminginthe Japanese countryside. BacktoContents |147
Roundingoutthegroupofabouttwenty orsopeoplewasourinstructorand master plastererYamamoto-san,theevent leaders, studentsfromauniversityclub, andan assortmentofpeoplefromthe neighborhood.
SanarudaiElementary.“Isn’tthattheschool wemadeeco-bricksfor?”Eco-bricks?What arethose?“They’regoingtousethemto buildagarden!”
TitusJoelwithSierraNelson-Liner(Shizuoka)
TherewereafewsurprisedlookswhenI strolledupthatbalmyNovembermorning— theteachersI’dtoldIwasgoingwerenot the onestherethatday,andthehandfulof students thatdidattendwereshockedto see me.
Thisgatheringwasoneofmanyevents coordinatedby PermacultureDesignLab.It isrun byJun Omuraand WakanaKawamurasan.BothqualifiedinPermacultureDesign, theyareworking towardssupportingnatural projectsinandaroundtheHamamatsuCity area.
Itmightbeoneofthosethingsthat happenswhennewALTsstillaren’t comfortablewithtalkingfreelytotheother teachersinthestaffroom(orindeedableto, whatwiththelanguagebarrier),butitwas thecasethatIdidn’tknowaboutthegardenbuildingeventatmyelementaryschooluntil acoupleofotherALTs(who,pointedly,don’t workatmyschool)mentionedittome. “Wait,what’sthenameofyourschool?”
...Huh.Isee. I found out the garden workshop was meant toprimarilybeaneducational opportunity forthestudents,butwasopen toanyone whowas interested.And, after some friendly prodding,Iresolvedtogo.I’d onlybeenon thejobforamonthatthatpoint andIhad yettoinvolvemyselfinanything community related.I’mgenerallynervous aboutjoining thingsonmyown,buthere wasaperfect opportunitywhere,evenifI 148|
didn’treally knowwhatwasgoingon,there werebound tobeafewfriendlyfaces.And besides,JET isabouthavingnewexperiences, isn’tit? I’msogladIwent.
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nature. This ultimately leads to a communitybasedlifestylewhichpromotesrewilding andregainingconnectiontotheearth.
Thedemonstrationswereaveryhands-on educationalapproachfor thestudents.They wereimmediatelytakeninbytheplasterer’s arrayoftools,whichincludedshovels,hand boards,andnumeroushandmadetrowels ofvaryingshapeandsize.Thefirsttaskwas towraplargebambootubeswithjuterope, sothatthestraw-enforcedmudwouldhave somethingtostickto.Themudwouldbe shoveledintoawheelbarrowfrom apileand broughtovertothegardenarea.Tomake thegardenbedsthemselves,bambootubes wouldbeusedtoformthewalloutline, coveredin mud,and thenmore tubeslaid on top, to be repeated for several layers. The top layerwouldhavetheeco-bricks,withtheir endsrevealedtoshowthattheywerethere. Weallgotachancetoparticipateineach part of the production line, and I spent my time eithershovelingorpilingmudonto bamboo toshapethewalls.Itwasalsothe firstreal physicalactivityI’ddonesince comingto Hamamatsu,andIwashappyto digintoit. Workingsidebysidewiththe studentswas fun,anditgavethemachance tousealittle bitofEnglishoutsidethe classroom.With
theadultsitgavemea chancetopractice myJapanese.Therewere alsoabunchof studentswhocameto practicesocceron theschoolfield,andevery onceinawhilea fewofthemwouldwander overtoseewhat wasgoingon. Illustrations: LooseDrawing|loosedrawing.com Tobreak theice westarted witha greeting, sittinginacircle,andonebyonewe introducedourselves.Wegaveournames andthereasonsforbeingtherethatday.In mybrokenJapaneseIwasable(Ithink)to saythatIwasexcitedtodosomethingfor myschool.Thankfully,Kawamura-sanspoke Englishverywell,sowheneverIstumbled shehelpedtranslatewhenIretreatedback intoEnglish.AfterourintroductionsJun andWakanaoutlinedwhatweweregoing todofortheday.Weweretomakethree smallgardenbedsbycombiningtraditional techniqueswithnewones—namelymaking mudwallswithbambooskeletons,butalso reinforcingoneofthemwitheco-bricks,or bricksmadefromplasticbottlespacked tightwithmoreplastic. Twomonthspreviously,volunteershad metata“SharethePark”eventnearLake Sanaruto learnabout andcreate eco-bricks. Eco-bricksareawaytorecyclediscarded plasticbottles.Thetrickistofillabottle withsmallpiecesofevenmoreplasticuntil itweighsabout150grams.Thisprevents microplasticsfromspreadingintothe environment,andcreatesapermanentuse forasupposedly“single-use”item.Inthis case,thatpermanentusewastoprovide support to a naturally built wall. Furthermore, wewantedto showtheelementary students waysofrepurposingplasticwastethrough permaculture. Permacultureisamethodoffarmingthat connectsnature,people,andcreaturesina waythatisregenerativeandsupportiveby design.Itfocusesontheabundantgrowth offoodandsoilorganisms,aswellasthe intertwinedspacebetweenhumansand 150|
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All thestudentswho’dbeenpresent thefirsttimewerethereagain, along withafewnewfaces.I washappyto beabletointroduce tomyprincipal theALTfriends whohadtoldme abouttheproject inthefirstplace.
Weenteredthefrontgates of theelementaryschool.Next tothe camelliatreeswerethe naturalgarden bedsthathad been constructed themonthpreviously. Wesatunder thewisteriabranches inanopening circleforourself introductionsand expectationsfor theday.
He showedushowtomaketraditional Japanese shikkui plaster.Thiskind ofplasterhasbeenusedinJapan formorethanathousandyears. Itis apureandhighcalcium slakedlime plasterwithadditives typicallybeing seaweed,soybean oil,naturalplant fibers,andeggshells (Shikkui.net). Thestudentshada blastmixing with thepowerdrill. Eachofthekidstook turns teaching each other how to use themachine andmixthematerial together. Itwasaveryinteractive learning experience.
boardontotheearthwall,taking
Wewereluckyenoughtohave Yamamoto-santheretoteachus.As he’ddemonstrated,Iusedmytrowel toslidetheplasterfromawooden Myfavoritepartofthedayhadto bewhen myschoolprincipal,seeing thattherewerenoavailabletrowels, went wrist-deep hesitationtograbwhatsheneeded tomakethewall.Whatelseisthere atthatpointbuttofollowsuit?My handscakedinmud,itremindedme ofwhenIbuiltsandcastleswithmy friendsduringmyownelementary schooldays.Butthesewouldbe thingsmadetolast.Itwasareally satisfyingfeeling.
Whenitwastimetowrapup,we allwentbacktositinthecircleand giveourimpressionsfortheday.It soundedlikeeveryonehadagood time,anditwasespeciallyuplifting toseethoseyoungstudentsputting somucheffort intoaworthy causein theirlittlecorneroftheworld.
Whenwenextmetitwasa blisteringlycoldDecemberday.The temperaturewasnearfreezing,and the wind made it pierce. Nonetheless, thekidswerehappytobethere.
into the mud with no
Asitusuallygoeswhenit’stime forkidstoleaveschoolfortheday, theadultsstayedlongertocleanup andchat.Itwashonestlyaniceway toendtheevent.IadmitIwasalittle worriedaboutthemudwallsinthe coupledays’delugethatfollowed, butwhenIcheckedonthegarden thenext timeI wasat workthey were totallyfine.Ofcourse,that’sonme fornottrustingthoseoldtried-andtruebuildingmethods.
Theworkwasalittlemore straightforwardthistime:Mixthe plaster, lay it on, smooth it out. Master plastererYamamoto-sanwasback toguideusthroughtheprocess.
Neartheend,weweregivena previewofwhatwe’dbedoingthe nexttimewewouldmeet,amonth later:plastering.Apracticeboard wassetupandweallgotachance topracticespreadingplasteronits surface. It was mesmerizing to watch thespeedandskillofYamamotosan’shands whenthe kidsasked him howfasthecouldgo.
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Heencouragedustokeep working,asslowlybutsteadily, thewallswerecoveredwith plastertoprotectthemfrom theelements.Thoughmynose wouldn’tstoprunningfromthe cold,betweenthechattingand theworkandtheoverallgood vibes,Ienjoyedmytimeinthe dirt.
AsIsaid,I’msogladIwent. Igottomeetabunchof interestingpeople,spendtime withteachersandstudents outsideoftheclassroom,and learnabouthowthecommunity isdoingwhatitcantopreserve theenvironmentandpassing thatontothechildren. Wefinishedthedaywith aclosingcircle.Everyone sharedtheirfeelingsabout theexperience.Fromwhat Iunderstood,mostpeople assumeditwouldbedifficult toplasterthegardenbeds,but theyquicklyrealizedhowfun andengagingitcouldbe.Itwas heartwarmingtohearchildren explainhowtheywereimpacted fromtheexperience.Onestudent evendescribedhowhefound therewas“人生の道が増えまし
caretouseasmoothmotion whichavoidedcreatinggoopy, drippingpilesofthepaste.It wassurprisinglystickyand resembledtororo,akindofgrated Japaneseyam.Thisexplained whychildrenwereturningto theirfriendswaitingtoscoop theplaster ontotheir boardsand asking;“tororoonegaishimasu” (gratedyamplease)followedby exclamationsof“oishiisou!”(It looksdelicious!). ThegardenbedIwasworking onhadtheeco-bricksvisibly inlayedintothetopportionof thewall.Thismadeitabitmore challengingtoapplytheplaster aroundthebottomofeach bottle, without covering them, so thatwe couldsee theirpresence intheoverallstructure.This workrequiredalotmorefinesse thanlasttime,buttherewas somethinggratifyinginmaking sureitlookedright.
た”(morethanonewaytolive). Ihopethatfeelingcontinuesto inspirehim,andmorechildren, todoevenmorepermaculture. It’snotoftenyougettoplayin themudwithdeepermeaning, andIencouragepeopletogive itashot.Buildingacommunity cansometimesbeassimpleas mixingwater,shikkui,seaweed, andoil together.You canuse this to build natural garden walls, and memoriesthat willlast alifetime. TitusJoelisafirst-yearALT.Helikestowalkupmountains,and istryingtovisiteveryprefectureinJapan.Hewantstodeepenhis understandingof Japanesepop cultureand hopesto oneday attenda Japaneseuniversitytofurtherhisstudies. SierraNelson-Linerisathird-yearALTwhoistheCommunity Editorfor CONNECT Magazine.Sheenjoyseatingplumblossoms andmakingplumwineinherapartment.Shehopestolearnmore aboutculturalexchangethroughfarming.Youcanfollowherfarming experiencesonher @satoyama_storiesinstagram BacktoContents|153
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