The balloon was pierced, not popped!

At Fukiya (blowgun) practice, last week, our teacher put five balloons on the target for us to enjoy by popping them with our arrows. All balloons popped when struck except Mr. Fukuzono's. From 9 meters, his arrow went into the balloon and came out the other side of it without popping it--I had never seen that, so his wife took a picture. By the time we got the camera ready, some of the balloon's air had seeped out, but you can have a look. There is a target in the background of the photo.

Shakuhachi (bamboo flute) + Koto (harp-like sound)

A brief video of traditional Japanese music performed by a Koto sensei and her students. Four Christmas songs were included in the concert...["Silent Night" was beautiful, but the memory card was full at that time.] The two young men later did a duet (koto and shakuhachi) of Stan Getz' "Take Five." They regularly perform in Tokyo and improvise professionally. This was their teacher's recital in Ota.

Soba

I went to the Ashikaga Soba Festival on Saturday with Shinji. Soba are noodles made from buckwheat and very popular in this area. Soba is traditionally made by hand and you can see the process in the photos. First the dough is prepared in a large special wood bowl. Then it is hand rolled by wood cylinders to about 1mm thick. This is then folded over several times and then cut by hand into the individual noodles. They are cooked in boiling water and served either cold or in a warm soup. The cold soba are dipped in sauce that is based on soy but is unique to each soba shop (their secret). After, you are served the water that the soba is boiled in. It is supposed to be very good for your health to drink it. (click on photo to enlarge)

Barbara's Concert

Barbara, a friend here, has been a member of this chorus for about 20 years. She is standing on the far left. Their show was wonderful; almost SRO. The songs were all in Japanese. Click on the photo for close-up view.

Celebration of Confucianism at Ashikaga Gakko

Confucianism is celebrated at five locations in Japan, in November. One of these locations is at the Ashikaga school(oldest continuously running school in Japan), next town over from Ota. The school has a shrine and a library on the grounds. The ceremony of remembrance takes place by the 700 year-old wooden statue of Confucius (a treasured relic, not an idol) and is televised. Two priests and a score of city officials participate. Enclosed are some pictures during and after the ceremony and a 4 second video of the recessional.

7,5 & 3 Year Olds' Day

Our friend suggested we go see the annual flower show held on the public space at the temple grounds. The mums are competing for prizes as single four-foot tall stems, bonsai-ed stems, cascading and weeping stems==a full year's growth and training. We thought we would view the flower show, but it was upstaged by the children. During the month of November, children the ages of 7, 5 and 3 are brought to the temple for their special blessing. Click on the collages to see details.

The Official and Hidden Story of Gennai and the Battle of the Frogs

[Bunkamura-Shibuya, Tokyo.]
Based on an autobiography, Gennai Hiraga is portrayed as a two-sided figure (split personality?) and playwright Inoue Hisashi refers to the two sides as "face" and "back." (Two different actors play the two parts.) Gennai's struggle is between his genius (channeled into his life as a doctor, an artist, inventor of the elekitel, and of "catch copy" in advertising; among many other achievements) and his more sinister side (selfish, dark, insensitive, and hedonistic). The play begins when Gennai is favored by a Daimyo lord(Edo Period) to keep company with his son of the same age of 18. Eventually, Gennai goes on to study at a university in Nagasake, the major entry port for the import/export industry, rife with foreign influences (mainly Dutch at that time), both positive and negative. Gennai's success and positive contributions are also hindered by his former childhood playmate, the Daimyo's son. The play was staged beautifully in 22 scenes changed rapidly by "stage hands" in all black clothing and black hoods under low lighting. The general atmosphere was tongue-in-check, and even the raunchy scenes were too kitschy(deliberately) to be offensive...and there was something for everyone. After more than 4 hours, including a 20 minute intermission, the story ends tragically. The photos are of the playbill and of the stage upon audience arrival where several of the actors were dressing in the dressing room at stage back. Then for the story, a backdrop concealed the dressing room, with a full floor to ceiling/stage left to stage right, smoky tinted MIRROR--a fabulous effect.

Noriko and Kyl's Real Costumes

It took me awhile to get this photo adjusted, but here is a good look at both Noriko and Kyl's costumes. Kyl's friend had this made especially for him years ago in China. Brocade and other beautiful details. He made the hat himself just for the party.

Kyl's Costume Party

Kyl organized and executed a fun Halloween dinner party. The food was named after various creatures not so appetizing in words but delicious. Prizes were awarded and Pictionary enjoyed in 2 languages. The pictures tell the rest.

Fall Shamisen Concert

I was roped into this one, but it was a growing experience. We have a video and extracted this photo so it is not as clear as a normal photo. The shamisen arrangements were in two parts and sounded very nice in the group.

R & R in Tokyo

The National Art Center, Tokyo and the Suntory Museum of Art, both in the Roppongi area, hosted works by Picasso on loan from the Picasso Museum in Paris (touring while the Picasso Museum renovates).
These two photographs were taken near the Suntory Museum. Please do click on the pic to see detail--the kimono next to Western-style dress is not unusual.

Hiking to the Nitta Castle Ruins on Mt. Kanayama

The fall weather, R & R, and a hike in hills. The trail to the centuries-old Nitta family castle ruins in Gunma Prefecture is where the view overlooks(see the header photo as ex.) the cities of Ota, Kiryu and Ashikaga. The sun pool--a rare thing atop a small mountain--was built especially to collect rainwater for the castle operations.(click the pic to see detail)

Chef as Origami Expert

We ate at a restaurant called Kikaku. The chef there is so skilled with a kitchen knife that he is called Ita-mae ("Ita" means cutting-board/"ma-e" means in front of); it is a complimentary nickname for an accomplished Japanese chef. He is also accomplished at making origami. He made the 4 cranes he is holding out of one sheet of paper while keeping them connected as seen in the photo.

Futon photo for Ginger

Ginger asked about futon bedding, and the practice of hanging the futons out in the sunshine, every day or so. Here is a good example.

Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum=Vermeer Exhibit

Friend Michiko and I went by train to Ueno Park where the Metropolitan Art Museum was hosting an exhibition of Vermeer and the Delft Style. In the same building was a special annual exhibit of Japanese artists which included a piece by my painting sensei; he gave his students 2 free tickets for that exhibit. He is 82 years old and lived and studied in Paris for 20 years. Alas, Al had to work.

Oze National Park--Gunma Prefecture

Hiking

Today we took a hike starting from a temple on the east side of Ashikaga. This is a photo of the small waterfall garden at the start of the trail. Click on the photo to enlarge it.

We've been pre-occupied since August--

WE VISITED AMERICA FOR A FEW WEEKS, MOSTLY IN NC. WE VISITED OUR PRECIOUS GRANDDAUGHTER, ALSO. INDULGE US AS WE BRING YOU UP TO DATE WITH HER, PICTORIALLY. WITH LOVE.

Fireworks Festival (Hanabi) in Ashikaga

Shinji and I had a very traditional Japanese evening. We went to an eel restaurant (unagiya) for grilled eel over rice and then spent 2 hr watching the summer fireworks festival on the banks of the Watarase River.

Thunderstorm Aftermath

A bit of the "rainy season" - very pleasant, usually.

Audio from our window at night--JUST LISTEN:

Frogs singing at night(+ one) in the rice paddies on our NE corner.

Tour of a spice distribution factory by lunch group

Vegetariarian Cooking Taught by a Buddhist Monk

The Yamadas invited us to a vegetarian cooking class led by a Buddhist monk at a Tatebayashi community center. There were about 20 members and 4 cooking stations. The menu was somen noodles with sauteed green beans, lettuce, carrots, cucumber, tofu and some seasonings; soup made with konbu (seaweed) soup stock, miyoga (a kind of ginger with cilantro flavor), yuba (for me, the best kind of tofu), fresh young soybeans, soy sauce and sake; and a whole tomato soup made from fresh tomato, yellow and red pepper.
After cooking we dined together drinking mugi cha (tea made from barley). The photos show the noodle dish and the tomato soup, the sensei (cooking teacher) and some of the class members. Click on the photo to see the food close-up.

Frogs sleeping in the roses

After the rice fields (tanbo) are flooded, it activates all the frog eggs that have been lying dormant since last fall. At night with all the frogs singing, the noise is incredible. These 2 have climbed out of the tanbo and are nestled in the roses. In the daytime they sleep, getting ready to sing when it gets dark.

A paper bird in on a glass shelf.

Need a new hobby? Paper can be interesting.

Origami swan.

Rice Planting Season

It is rice planting season now in the fields next to the house. The traditional way was to plant by hand but now they use small tractor type machines. The photos above show the farmer loading the seedlings and then planting (click on the photo to enlarge)