Kendo

On Sunday, I went to the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo to see some kendo and judo classes. You might remember I went there a few months back for the David Bowie concert.

Originally built for the 1964 Olympics, it is now a major venue for rock concerts as well as martial arts competitions. It is octagonal in shape and contains three halls, the largest of which holds 14,000 people and is modelled on the Horyuji Temple in Nara.

It was very interesting to see these martial arts in their country of origin and it's also possible to see aikido and karate on other days. You can even join if you want, although a grasp of the Japanese language is definitely recommended.

Rainy Day in Shibuya

Well it's rainy season, so this basically means lots rain for the whole month of June, although so far it hasn't been as bad as I thought it would be, as the sun has managed to shine on a few occasions. In Shibuya, which is one of the busiest places in Tokyo, it's impossible to move when it's raining because so many people have umbrellas.

Apparently, now it has got warmer as well there will be a plague of cockroaches descending upon Tokyo, which I'm really not looking forward to.

In fact one of my students who is an ear, nose and throat doctor, has had to remove a total of eleven baby cockroaches from the ears of patients in his career. If I'm being honest, this sounds a bit to much like some nightmare story from the Bangkok Hilton for my liking.

Sanno Festival

On Sunday, I went to the Sanno Festival at Hie Jinja. This shrine was built in 1478 for the lord of Kawagoe(Ota Dokan), to ensure divine protection for the Edo Castle and is dedicated to the god O-Yamakui(Sanno Gongen). The present buildings are largely a new construction and were rebuilt in 1967 after being destroyed in the Second World War.

During the Edo period, this shrine became famous as the Tokugawa clan family shrine. The festival started in 1681 and is one of the biggest in Tokyo.

Today, the main Sanno Festival is held every other year with mikoshi from local communities participating and there is a parade of people dressed in ancient costumes around the nearby streets.

I had a great day and it was really exciting and like lots of festivals there was lots of drum playing and delicious food. Best of all was the traditional music and dancing in a performance called Daidengaku.


You can see all the photos here.

Today, I went to the National Noh theatre in Sendagaya. Noh is a traditional form of Japanese theatre that involves a combination of dance, drama, music and poetry.

Noh is believed to have developed into i's present form in the 14th century, when the playwrights and actors Kan'ami (1333-1384) and his son Zeami (1363-1443) took elements of traditional Japanese entertainment to create Noh.

Plays are performed on a square stage approximately 19 feet square, that is made of cypress wood. The is no scenery except for a painting of a pine tree at the back, which dates from when Noh plays were performed in open shrines that usually had a pine tree nearby. Most interesting of all is that above the stage is a roof, which is the same as on a Shinto Shrine. At the back of the stage sit the musicians who are composed of three people on drums and one person on a flute.

The costumes are very beautiful to look at and are adapted from ones from the 15th century. The principal performers also wear wooden masks, which help to portray the emotion of the character, many of which are hundreds of years old.

The cast are divided into three groups which are Shi-te, Waki, or Ai-Kyogen. The main performer is the Shi-ite and these people often wear masks, especially if they are playing a female role. The Waki are the secondary characters in the plays and the Ai-Kyogen present monologues while the Shi-ite is off stage, in order to give more information about the Shi-ite's situation and to allow the Shi-ite time to change.

Intrinsic to Noh is dancing, which is very stylized. The dances are very slow and elegant and completely different to the forms of dancing often seen in western culture. Everyone also moves about the stage very slowly, not raising their feet from the ground, almost gliding across.

Kyogen is also performed alongside Noh plays. Kyogen is comic in its nature and uses the stories of everyday people or folklore. There is no dancing or music performed in Kyogen and it relies entirely on dialogue.

The first performance I saw was a Kyogen play called 'Kaki Yamabushi'. This play was about a warrior returning from his ascetic training on Mount Omine to Haguro. On his way he stops to climb a persimmon tree to get its fruit.

The farmer who owns the tree then turns up. The humour in this play comes from the warrior pretending to be different animals in order to try and convince the farmer that he is not stealing the fruit from the tree.

The next performance was a Noh play called Raiden. This is about Sugawara no Michizane(845-903) who was an early Heian court figure. He was a brilliant scholar and had great influence in the court until he was exiled to Kyushu by the jealous Fujiwara no Tokihira. A few years after his exile Michizane died and a number of natural disasters occurred. As many people believed that that these disasters were the result of Michizane's angry spirit he was given a number of posthumous titles in order to placate him. He is most famous for being the god of learning, in fact you may remember that I visited the Kameido Tenjin Shrine in February and April, which was built to honour him.

At the beginning of the play Michizane's former teacher, Hosshobo, the head priest of Enryakuji Temple, is holding a service to pray for peace. Michizane's spirit then appears and they discuss the strong bond that they had as teacher and pupil.

However Michizane then becomes angry as he recounts how he was treated by Fujiwara no Tokihira. He takes a pomegranate from the alter dish, bites it and then spits it out, turning it into flames. The priest then chants some incantations to put the fire out. The spirit of Michizane then disappears.

In the final part of the play Hosshobo prays to appease the spirit of Michizane, but he does not listen to the priest. Appearing as the god of thunder he throws lightning bolts and thunder before him and he and the priest then embark in a struggle. It is only when the Emperor gives Michizane a new honourable name that he leaves.

Kabuki

Yesterday, I went to the Kabuki-za Theatre in Ginza to see Kabuki, which is a traditional form of Japanese theatre from the Edo period(1603-1868). The word 'Kabuki' translates as 'dance, music and craft or skill'.

Plays are divided into three categories, which are jidai-mono (historical), sewa-mono (domestic), and shosagoto (dance pieces).

Originally both men and women acted in Kabuki. However due to many of the women also being involved in prostitution, the Tokugawa Shogungate forbade them from acting in 1714, as they disapproved. Now it is only men who perform in the plays and they also take on the female roles. The actors who specialise in these roles are known as Onnagata.

This month is extremely popular for Kabuki as there are lots of famous actors and classic plays, so nearly everyday is sold out. It is possible to buy a ticket on the day, which I did, but you have to get there early and queue for a couple of hours.

Although the performance is in an older, more traditional Japanese that some Japanese people may even have trouble understanding, it is possible to rent an earphone guide which provides a translation of what is happening.

In total I got to see three performances. Each performance was from a different play and lasted a total of five hours in all, although you can just go to one if you want to.

The first play was written by the Japanese playwright Chikawatsu Monzaienor, for the Bunraku puppet theatre. The story is about an artist called Matahei, who has been refused a professional name by his master because of his stutter. As a result of this and the fact he is forbidden from rescuing a princess, he decides to take his own life.

So he will not be forgotten he decides to draw his portrait on a stone drinking fountain. Magically his portrait seeps through to the other side and his master seeing this decides to give him a professional name and allows him to go and rescue the princess.

The second performance was from Yoshio Yama. This story is about two lovers called Yoshitsume and Shizuka, who are in exile and on the run. Shizuka has been left in the hands of Yoshitsume's retainer, Tadanobu. When they become separated a magical fox disguises himself as Tadanobu in order to get closer to Shizuka's drum, which is made from the skin of the fox's parents.

The final performance was from the play Sukeroku Yukari No Edo Zakura and is one of the most famous kabuki plays. It is about a man called Sukeroku, who is seeking revenge for the death of his father. The play is set in an area of Tokyo known as Yoshiwara, which is famous for its tea houses and geisha. Sukero spends his time here challenging people to fights, in the hope they will reveal his father's stolen sword, taken when he was murdered.

This play was by far the most interesting with its colourful costumes, acting and humour and in my opinion was definitely the best one. The audience obviously agreed with me, which was witnessed with the rapturous response given to the actors throughout the play.

I had a great day and this traditional form of theatre is definitely a must see when coming to Japan.


The official site for the Kaubuki-za theatre in Ginza is here.

Pachinko

Everywhere you go in Japan there are pachinko parlours and it's an extremely popular way of gambling. In fact you often see people queing up at ten o'clock in the morning in order to get the best machines.

Last weekend I tried pachinko for the first time, which was great fun even though I unfortunately didn't manage to win anything (in order to do so I would probably have to invest a bit more than the measly 500 yen which I spent).

The game itself is like a cross between pinball and a fruit machine. The player controls the speed of the tiny metal balls, which are thrown into the machine and the aim is to get them into holes to gain points. The more points you get, the more metal balls you win. There are even some people who play the game professionally and they are known as 'pachi-puro'.

Now because of the gambling laws in Japan, when you actually win you don't get paid in money. The steel balls which you have won are exchanged for goods in the pachinko parlour. These goods are then taken to a small window in a building or back alley next to the pachinko parlour and are exchanged for money. Even though it is illegal, this practice is completely ignored by the law.

Even though I haven't been in England for about nine months, I haven't managed to escape the presence of David and Victoria Beckham (Posh and Becks).

They're everywhere, advertising everything. Mobile phones, chocolate, cars, TV stations, skincare products. You name it, their face is on it.

David advertises chocolate for a company called Meiji. In fact a huge lifesize chocolate Becks was made in honour of his visit to Japan last year. On the TV advert for Fran (chocolate sticks) he says, 'One love. Big peace. More Fran. Be sweet.'

Cheers for the advice Dave. You've changed the world with your wisdom.

Last year, they both signed a contract with the Tokyo Beauty Clinique(TBC) for a reported two million pounds. What is even more frightening is that the skin cream that Victoria advertises to reduce ageing, costs one hundred and seventy five pounds.

The advert they do for TBC beauty products is definitely one of the most cringeworthy I've seen. Posh is in the bath and it's full of beautiful flower petals floating on top. David, no doubt feeling left out, decides to have a bath in the one next to her. We then see him putting something into the bath.

Ooh, what are you putting into your bath David? Flowers?

The camera then pans to David in the bath and guess what he's put in the bath.

Footballs.

He then cheekily raises his eyebrows to the camera, in a vain attempt to fool us into thinking he possesses a personality.

I have to admit it will be interesting to see if his recent affair has any effect on his marketability in Japan, as it is the strength of his relationship and commitment to family values that have been used to sell the Beckham brand here.

There is no escape from them. Be afraid. Be very afraid. Their quest for world domination is relentless and they will not stop.

The official website for TBC is here.

Company Songs

Sanja Matsuri

A week ago last Sunday, I went to the Sanja Matsuri in Asakusa, which is one of Tokyo's biggest festivals.

The festival honours the fishermen who dicovered the statue of the Kannon(Goddess of Mercy) in their nets, over a thousand years ago.

The festival lasts three days and it is the final day which is the most spectacular. In total around a hundred mikoshi(portable shrines) as well as the three huge mikoshi from the Asakusa Shrine, are carried through the streets. They're all very beautiful and weighing over a tonne, require lots of people to carry them.

The mikoshi carry the shrine's kami(deities) and the processions bring luck, blessings and prosperity to the neighbourhood. It's believed the more the mikoshi are shaken, the more blessings will be given.

I've never seen Asakusa so busy and the atmosphere was incredible, as the crowds followed the mikoshi around the streets. The rain fortunately didn't manage to put anyone off having a good time either.

Most interesting of all was seeing lots of Yakuza on a shrine being carried around the streets, chanting and blowing whistles. They were showing lots of flesh and you could see their huge tattoos, which covered almost all of their bodies. Apparently it's usually illegal for them to openly display they're tattoos in this way, so I was quite lucky to catch a glimpse. You can see a picture here.

They definitely appeared to be having a great time and the seemed to love the attention that they were getting from the crowd. I suppose it makes a nice change from cutting off people's fingers.

Miya-jima

On my second day in Hiroshima I decided to visit the island of Miya-jima, just off the western coast. Miya-jima is believed to be one of the most beautiful places in Japan and is famous for the Itsukushima Shrine with it's huge vermillion gate which rises out of the sea. It really is an incredible sight.

The Itsukushima Shrine was first built in the sixth century and was remodelled by Taira-no-Kiyomori in 1168. The shrine itself is very beautiful and stretches out into the sea. In 1996 is also became a World Heritage Site. Whilst I was at the shrine I was also very lucky as I got to see a traditional Shinto wedding, a picture of which you can see here.

Seafood is also very popular on the island. Once the tide has gone out lots of people go out onto the beach to collect shellfish.

There are also lots of wild deer on the island, which are very tame. If you want to you can even feed them. You can see a picture of me feeding them here.

The island is also famous for its wooden rice scoops, which are a good luck charm.

It's a great place to go and the island very peaceful. The scenery is wonderful and there's the opportunity for plenty of climbing or just lazing around on the beach if you want.


When I was in Hiroshima I met lots of people and I had a great time. One night I ended up drinking a bit too much and afterwards I couldn't get into my guesthouse as I'd missed the curfew.

I then decided to get a taxi to a cheap hotel, but unfortunately this was also closed. Feeling very drunk and tired, I then went to the first hotel that I came across. It was only when I opened the door of my room that I realised where I was.

Completely by accident, I'd ended up in a love hotel.

The room had a very big gothic vibe to it. It was painted in a very dark red with a huge chandelier in the middle of the ceiling. At the head of the bed on a tissue box was a condom and there was also a local guide, with numerous photos and phonenumbers of women in it, if I required some company for my night's stay. There were also some channels on the TV, that I'm unable to get in Tokyo.

It was another very interesting experience, although I have to admit that I was a bit disappointed that the bed didn't vibrate. I've spoken to a number of Japanese since who have all found it highly amusing that I spent the night on my own. If you're interested in love hotels there's a good link here.


Hiroshima is also famous for its okonami-yaki and it's said to be the best in Japan. Okonomi-yaki is like a pancake with meat and vegetables and is extremely delicious. Hiroshima okonami-yaki is different the rest of Japan as it has noodles(soba) in it.

You can see a picture of an okonami-yaki restaurant here.

The official website for Miya-jima is here.

You can see all of the photos here.

The A-bomb Dome

On 6 August 1945, at approximately 8.15 am, the atomic bomb was dropped on the city of Hiroshima, from a B-29 bomber called the Enola Gay.

The bomb was nicknamed 'Little Boy' and when it exploded 580 metres above the city, the effects were catostrophic.

The blast destroyed nearly all the buildings within a 3km radius and immediately resulted in the deaths of 80,000 people. By the end of the year a total of 140,000 people had died from the blast. In total it is estimated that 200,000 people died as a result of the the blast and the effects of radiation exposure.

The A-bomb Dome was built in 1914 and was originally called the Industrial Promotion Hall. This building was almost at the hypocentre of the blast and has been kept as a memorial to the tragic events that occurred. Seeing it for the first time really puts in perspective the true horror of what happened.

On the opposite bank of the Motoyasu-gawa River, is the Peace Memorial Park. One of the most famous memorials here is the Children's Peace Monument. This is a statue of a young girl holding aloft a giant origami crane. The statue was built in memorial of a twelve-year-old called Sasaki Sadako, who developed leukaemia in 1955. In the hope of becoming better, she started to fold origami cranes with the aim of reaching a thousand, but sadly she died before reaching this figure.

Today many children from Japan and all over the world come and leave paper cranes at the memorial.

The main monument is the Memorial Cenotaph and is designed in the style of protective objects found in ancient Japanese burial mounds. There is also a stone coffin underneath the arch, which contains the names of all the victims of the blast.

Next to the Memorial Cenotaph is the Flame of Peace, which will be put out once the last nuclear weapon on earth is destroyed.

The Peace Memorial Museum is also extremely interesting and provides a fascinating insight into the history of Hiroshima, as well as explanations of why the bombing took place and the effects.

There are also many objects and photographs exhibited, which help to dramatically convey the full horror of what happened. As I walked around there were pictures showing the devastation of the blast and objects such as burnt clothes, bottles and a child's bike, which had been melted by the intense heat.

It is hard to believe that less than sixty years ago, Hiroshima had witnessed such terrible events. All that remains of that terrible day is the A-bomb dome, to remind us of what happened. Now a city rebuilt, Hiroshima provides testament to the triumph of the human spirit over adversity. It's definitely worth visiting if you have the opportunity and I found the whole experience deeply moving.


The official website for Hiroshima is here.

The website for the Hiroshima Peace Site is here.

You can see all the photos here.

Hamamatsu Kite Festival

The day after going to Odawara I went to the Hamamatsu Kite Festival, which is held every year from the third to the fifth of May. Hamamatsu is a city on the coast in the Shizouka prefecture, about an hour and a half on the Shinkansen from Tokyo.

The kites are huge and are around three metres in length. They need about ten people to fly them in each team and seeing all of them in the sky was an amazing sight. Each team comes from a different block in Hamamamatsu and each kite has a different design representing the block. In total there are about 170 teams.

As well as flying the kites in each team there are also people playing trumpets to accompany them, which added greatly to the atmosphere. Even children got involved and it was nice to see such a great show of community spirit.

Apparently, the aim is to knock the opponents kite out of the sky by cutting the strings using a kite, although I didn't really see much evidence of this.

I also got to fly a kite. Ahh....... It took me back to my childhood.

Obviously the part of my childhood before I started drinking cider in bus shelters.

The festival is believed to date from the Eiroku Era(1558-1569). When the Lord of Hikuma Castle, Iwo Buzen-no-kami, had his first son and heir called Yoshihiro, a kite was flown to celebrate his birth.

The festival also coincides with Boy's Day, when carp flags are displayed around the country.

Later that night there was a huge procession with around 70 floats representing different blocks around the city. The floats were illuminated and were all very beautiful.

Whilst I was in Hamamatsu I met a great bunch of people and we went to an isakaya for a few drinks. 

Sitting next to us was a group of Japanese people who had been working at the festival. Just as I was leaving I told them that the Hamamatsu kite festival was sugoi(wonderful). This was greeted with much cheering and clapping and they very kindly gave me glass of shochu, which I had to drink down in one.

Afterwards I got on the Shinkansen for Osaka, where I stayed in a capsule hotel, ready for my trip to Hiroshima the next day.


The official website for Hamamatsu is here.

Click here for all the photos.