Get a good spanking in Asuka

 Through my lens  3 Responses »
Feb 012012
 

This Sunday, Feb. 5th, in Asuka (once the capital of Japan, now a small village in Nara Prefecture) a festival called Onda Matsuri will take place.

In addition to religious ceremonies and pantomime of planting rice, you can get some good spanking there. :)

Here’s how it looked last year.

Nov 272011
 
Momiji tempura - maple leaf snacks

When Japanese maple turns red shopkeepers in tourist destinations prepare “momiji tempura” – maple leaves deep-fried in dough.

Unlike real tempura which extracts the taste of food, in “momiji tempura” the leaf has no taste and lends only the shape to the final product. Taste depends on the dough and differs depending on a place, but basically is similar to many crispy snacks that go well with a drink.






But don’t count on finding this snack everywhere. I have seen them being prepared in destinations famous for maple leaves viewing, but those a little bit on the countryside with some nostalgic feeling to them. Like Takao (高雄) in Kyoto or Mino (箕面) in Osaka.

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How one tweet increased my understanding of Osaka Castle tenfold

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Nov 232011
 
Oteguchi entrance and Turret No. 6

I have been living in Osaka for 18th months, but what I knew about Osaka Castle one month ago was merely that “it” had been rebuilt in concrete some time ago and that there was a plum orchard. That was all. And it might be so until today if not one tweet.

I have visited the main keep twice before I moved to Osaka, but since I did so, the castle became too close. With “I can visit it whenever I want” attitude it was never on my schedule.

When my interest in Japanese history grew, I embarked on a 日本100名城 quest (100 famous Japanese castles). I have learned a great deal about the castles, their political and military significance. Every visit to a Japanese castle or its remains gave me opportunity to learn something new.

And I mean even places where a fortress once stood, but not much exists now like the Yamazaki Castle or the Kannnonji Castle.

But Osaka Castle was still too close for me.

In autumn 2011 Osaka celebrated 80th anniversary of the reconstruction of the main keep of the Osaka Castle. It was rebuilt in concrete funded by voluntary offerings from citizens. Though posters promoting the event sprung all over the city, I wasn’t really interested in the history of reconstruction itself. I might have lost a great opportunity as I turned my eye blind to the details of related events.

Then one evening I read a tweet from @glyzinie about two turrets of Osaka Castle being open to the public (which was only for a few days on the occasion of the anniversary).

Thanks to a rainy weather forecast I had no plans to travel on that weekend so I went to the castle. It immediately opened a new world to me. Actually, I went there three times over the last three weekends to explore different areas.

But first things first: Tamon Yagura, Watari Yagura and Sengan Yagura—turrets–were open to the public three weeks ago. They constitute part of a defense system for Oteguchi entrance and Dobashi earthen bridge.

While one can recognize the main functions of the turrets from outside (a potential attacker’s perspective), seeing it from inside the turret (a defender’s perspective) was a really precious experience. The thick walls with openings for guns limit the visibility, but also focus attention on particular spots.

The name Sengan Yagura is said to come from the times when Ishiyama Honganji temple stood there Oda Nobunaga troops attacked the temple. The position of the turret was so perfect for defense against attackers that it would require tremendous costs to conquer it. Sengan (千貫) comes from a name of an old currency and supposedly was used to indicate the value of the turret (roughly speaking it was almost 4 tonnes of gold).

Another original building open to the public was Kinzou—a treasure house—which is the only historic building in the main enclosure, right next to the reconstruction of the main keep. Now hosting a small exhibition with old coins, reminds that not only military or political power was in the center, but also economy.


Last weekend another three original objects were open to the public. Inui Yagura in the Western Enclosure, a storehouse for gun powder and a …hole in the ground that uncovered “mysterious stone wall” a few meters below the current level.

Inui Turret was facing castle town to the West and the river to the North (hence its name which is used to indicate this direction according to Chinese system). During the Edo period the river was main water transport artery to and from Kyoto.

Ensho-gura—the storehouse for explosives—was probably the most impressive. While the space inside was empty, its 2-meter thick granite walls were nothing I have seen so far. It was built in 1685 and no wonder that from a few dozens storehouses on the premises this one stands to this day.


In the last three weeks I have managed to make up for ignoring the Osaka Castle for so long. By walking around and discovering things I have learnt a great deal about its layout, defensive structures and operations.

Kishiwada Danjiri video passes 5000 views

 Through my lens  2 Responses »
Nov 192011
 

To my surprise, a few days ago I noticed the most popular of my videos was about to pass 5,000 views and was about to reach 15,000 views. Both numbers were achieved today. And both are very encouraging to share more and more frequently.

While for YouTube videos 5000 views might not be much, I did not expect a change of wheels in a danjiri float might gather as many views. Thank you, it is a big encouragement!

Here is my most popular video from last year’s Danjiri Matsuri in Kishiwada.

After taking part in the festival this year, I have found out I was really lucky to take this video. Most of the danjiri floats have their wheels changed during a break in their bases at a pace much less dramatic than this one.

Save the Tengu!

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Oct 122011
 
Japanese tengu

Some people claim Tengu—demons living in Japanese mountains and forests—are mythical creatures, but in fact they are very real. However if we don’t change our behavior, they soon might really become only characters in tales for children…

I have encountered Tengu several times in Japan and from my encounters they appear to be mischievous but harmless creatures playing pranks on children and caring for good of elder people by offering sake.

Unfortunately many people consider Tengu to be evil spirits and they chase those who descended to towns and villages. And while Tengu are skilled in martial arts and a single man is no match for them, they succumb to the overwhelming number of human opponents.


Poor creatures become more and more scared of such incidents and chances to spot a Tengu in Japan are becoming more and more rare.

I think we need to start caring for Tengu if don’t want them to disappear from our world completely.

Breakdancing in Osaka

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Oct 082011
 

Some of the best Japanese bboys, streetdancers, breakdancers gather in front of the OCAT building of JR Namba station in Osaka.

In October, an international competition called B1 Saikyo Tag (B1最強タッグ) was held there. It gathered contestants from all around the world as well as the best Japanese dancers.

Here is a little long, but worth watching video of a battle held on the evening before the main contest. Recorded on Oct. 8th, 2011. Enjoy!

 Digital comments  
Sep 302011
 

Kobe Airport which is located on an artificial island next to the city of Kobe, is marked in the middle of a residential area.

Well, what can I say? I Just hope that pilots do not use Google Maps for navigation.

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Osaka Crime Map for iPad and iPhone

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Jul 082011
 

Police headquarters in Osaka has published a free iOS app (in addition to their ) with which you can check recent criminal incidents in the prefecture.

Blue pins mark places of hittakuri (ひったくり) – grab-and-run type of robbery against pedestrians or cyclists.

Red pins mark places of crime or abuse against children (子供被害). Their severity differs and sometimes even “stranger speaking to a child” gets qualified as a crime en par with public obscenity (公然わいせつ) or physical abuse (チカン).

Green pins stand for robbery (強盗).

Apparently it seems that my close neighborhood which is supposedly one of the most dangerous places in Japan observes rather low incident rate. Or they get unnoticed.




According to the software producer, the service is planned to be extended to other prefectures in Japan. At this moment, different cities have their own websites, like for example Tokyo crime map (update: no longer available).