Here are three scenes from January, or February, 1991.  That’s the Bantan Line (播但線), the small train line that runs from Himeji in the south to Wadayama in the north.  A few years ago Wadayama was incorporated and consolidated into Asago (朝来), so there’s no more Wadayama now.

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Just a couple miles north of Asago (and its inner town, Nii / 新井, where I lived) is Takeda, home to the Takeda Castle Ruins.  Here’s a photo from my last year’s post on Takeda . . .

I write at length about Asago and my time there in several stories posted on this site, though I call it “Asaki”  in those tales.  Those who can read Japanese get the Asago/Asaki (朝来) joke.   For further reading I invite you to read “Duty,” “Etsuko,” and “Enlightenment.”

Gordon Hirabayashi in 1983. Vancouver Sun photo.

Earlier this week Gordon Hirabayashi died at the age of 93.  Along with millions of other Americans, I learned about this on Wednesday afternoon while listening to National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered.”  Here’s the link to the feature on Gordon Hirabayashi.  He was a native of Seattle, Washington, a second generation Japanese-American born in 1918.  In 1942, when his family was ordered to turn themselves in to authorities for transportation to and incarceration in a World War II internment camp, Gordon refused to go.  He considered the round-up and internment unconstitutional.  He was jailed as a criminal for his stand.  He fought this travesty in court, all the way up to the United States Supreme Court.  He lost his Supreme Court case, a demonstration of how the Supreme Court can itself distort and pervert and disgrace the U.S. Constitution (this time, in the name of “national security”).

It was not until that Gordon Hirabayashi was vindicated:

In 1986 Judge Donald G. Voorhees of the U.S. district court in Seattle ruled that the government had withheld from the U.S. Supreme Court in 1943 critical information that might have led the high court to strike down the legal foundations of the internment. Specifically, he found that the government suppressed a report by Lt. Gen. John L. DeWitt, who was in charge of the internment, stating that racial reasons made it impossible for military authorities to determine who was loyal and disloyal. In finding federal misconduct, Voorhees invalidated Hirabayashi’s 1942 conviction.

In the wake of Voorhees’ ruling, Congress approved legislation providing $1.2 billion in reparations to Japanese American internees.

“As fine a document as the Constitution is,” Hirabayashi told The Times on the eve of his legal victory, “it is nothing but a scrap of paper if citizens are not willing to defend it.”

Excerpted from The Los Angeles Times.

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More on the Internment of Japanese-Americans During World War II

Please see this incredible — and shocking — photo essay  (from The Atlantic)  on the internment of Japanese-Americans during WWII.

See also this piece on the “Manzanar Relocation Center,” (California) which itself provides links to additional reading and information.  Here’s the link to the Manzanar National Historical Site, maintained by the U.S. National Park Service: 

In 1942, the United States government ordered more than 110,000 men, women, and children to leave their homes and detained them in remote, military-style camps. Manzanar War Relocation Center was one of ten camps where Japanese American citizens and resident Japanese aliens were interned during World War II.

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Sake, from February 2011.

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Takeda, from April 2011.

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Shinmonzen-dori, from May 2011.

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So You’re Going to Japan, from July 2011.

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Ichi-go Ichi-e, from August 2011.

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終

Akemashite Omedetou Gozaimasu!  ・ 明けましておめでとうございます  –  in Japanese.

Shin Nian Kuai Le! ・新年快乐  –  in Chinese.

The Cloud Dragon. Ceiling of Tenryuji Temple (Kyoto) Teaching Hall.

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I stayed a couple nights in Kyoto’s Tenryuji Temple in the Spring of ’91.  A group of fellows from my small, Hyogo Prefecture town, and the local Renzai Sect priest, invited me to travel with them for a weekend at the temple, about two and a half hours away by train.  These were the same guys with whom I’d experienced a Sunrise Meditation several months before, on a chilly December morning.   This weekend in Kyoto, though, turned out to be something different.  No meditation, just an enjoyable Weekend with the Guys in the Big City.  That’s another story, though.

Another Kyoto “Dragon Temple” I’ve visited — this one many times over — is Ryoanji, not too far from Tenryuji, the “Dragon at Peace” Temple.

Lantern Detail. Ryoanji Temple. Kyoto. May 2010.

So long 2011

There’s an expression, a kotowaza, in Japan:  “Time (flies) like an arrow,” or 光陰矢のごとし,  Kouin ya no gotoshi.  So it is.  So it is.  I’ve been a little sad to see 2011, the Year of the Rabbit, pass by.  But such is the way of things です、ね.

Dragons.

2012 is the Year of the Dragon.  For more on the East Asian / Chinese Calendar, click here.  Dragons are a big deal in Asia.  All over the world, actually.  St. George, and all that.  And there’s Tolkien’s Smaug, of course.  We can’t forget one of the West’s most famous dragons… Puff.  And there’s Albi, from New Zealand.  But in Asia dragons are mostly, mostly, considered lucky and venerable, though wild and unpredictable, creatures.

A client in Japan sent me an New Year’s E-Card a couple of days ago.  It was littered with pictures of seahorses.  In Japan seahorses aren’t seen as seahorses, but, rather, as little baby dragons, or (竜の落し子) tatsuno-otoshigo.  The card read in part:

In Japan dragon has been worshiped as water god that controls

clouds and rain for good harvest.

According to the ancients, those born in a Year of the Dragon (…1928, 1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000, 2012) tend to .  .  .

. . . live by their own rules and if left on their own, are usually successful. They’re driven, unafraid of challenges, and willing to take risks. They’re passionate in all they do and they do things in grand fashion. Unfortunately, this passion and enthusiasm can leave Dragons feeling exhausted and interestingly, unfulfilled.

While Dragons frequently help others, rarely will they ask for help. Others are attracted to Dragons, especially their colorful personalities, but deep down, Dragons prefer to be alone. Perhaps that is because they’re most successful when working alone. Their preference to be alone can come across as arrogance or conceitedness, but these qualities aren’t applicable. Dragons have tempers that can flare fast!

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The Dragon Year will not only be celebrated in China and paid homage to in Japan (and Korea), but all over the world, people will be marking and celebrating the Year of the Dragon.  Here’s what’s going on in Los Angeles, for example:

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 20, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The Year of the Dragon is a significant year in Asian tradition:  the dragon is sacred and symbolizes strength, luck and new beginnings. Throughout Asia and also in the U.S., cities are preparing for this important time of year with much fanfare and celebration—this is especially true in Los Angeles’ most unique historic district, LA Chinatown. LA Chinatown hosts one of the largest New Year celebrations in the country with more than 125,000 attendees convening in the district for the weekend-long celebration.

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And in Washington, D.C.  .  .  . in Sydney .  .  . in London .  .  .  and Birmingham, Alabama.

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Please come back for updates. . .

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I didn’t plan this, but it seems that over the past 12 or so months it seems I’ve posted several liquidy, drink-related pieces this year.  Sake, Coffee, Beer, Whisky (the “e” ‘s not used in Japan).  So here they are again.

Sake

Sake from Tohoku. Tokyo Restaurant. August '11.

Coffee

Hanafusa Coffee. Kyoto. August '11.

Beer

Baird's own craft beer. At Robert's house. Kyoto. August '11.

Whisky

Yamazaki Station. August '11.

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Vending Machine (Jidohambaiki). Kurodani Temple. Kyoto. November '09.

A vid I put together a little over a year ago.  Some of you (who follow this site) have seen it, many have not.

And, for good measure, a true story.  In 2005 I traveled to Northeast China.  I wrote-up a little report on that trip, ending with my being schooled by a local government official on China — North Korea Relations.  Here it is:  “Delegation.”

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Ahhh. . . and let the myth-making begin:

AP- North Korea says a fierce snowstorm paused and the sky began glowing red above sacred Mount Paektu just minutes before leader Kim Jong Il’s death.

State media say the ice on volcanic Lake Chon at the mountain in the far north cracked with a load roar.

And in the city of Hamhung, a Manchurian crane circled a statue of Kim’s father, late President Kim Il Sung, before alighting on a tree, its head drooping before it took off toward Pyongyang. . . .

Full article.

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Sketching in the August Heat, in the Kamo River. Kyoto. August 13.

In a few days it’ll be mid-December and what better time to remember some summer scenes.  .  . and oppressive, semi-debilitating heat and humidity.  Folks living and doing business in Japan, and we travelers there this summer, certainly remember “Business Cool” (shirt sleeves and no suit jackets owing to office air conditioner thermostats being set at a uniform 28C, that’s 82.4F, to conserve power in the wake of the Fukujima plant disaster).  But, all in all, people weathered it in good spirits, knowing that everybody was in the same, scorching boat.  Now I offer some images from my time in Japan this past summer to assist the warming process for you in North America, the U.K., Northern Europe, or Honshu or Hokkaido who have snow outside, or are huddled next to the fire or heater, bundled-up in quilts, or are enjoying your hot chocolate (or a hot toddy) as you scroll through this little gallery.

Kiyomizu-dera. Kyoto. August 1.

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On the Platform. Kyoto Station. August 2.

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"Ganbaro!" Hang in there, Japan! Nihonbashi restaurant. August 3.

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Ikebukuro Intersection (note the Fan Man). August 6.

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Dad walking his tot. Ikebukuro. August 8.

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Sakura Cafe. Ikebukuro. August 6.

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Obon Rites: Tending to a Relative's Gravestone. Kurodani-dera Cemetery. Kyoto. August 13.

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Rabbits. Okazaki-jinja (shrine). Kyoto. August 13.

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Morning Stroll. Marutamachi Street. Kyoto. August 13.

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Taking a break, cooling off. Kurama. August 13.

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Summertime Salarymen. Nihonbashi, Tokyo. August 5.

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Taking a break, cooling off. Shimogamo Shrine. August 14.

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]]> http://letsjapan.wordpress.com/2011/12/11/summer-in-december/feed/ 1 letsjapan KamogawaSketch_2_13Aug11 1 Aug Kiyomizudera_3.0 2011-08-02_08-41-57_291 2011-08-03_22-31-19_923 2011-08-06_14-00-47_876 2011-08-08_15-15-07_369 2011-08-06_13-56-15_118 2011-08-13_07-49-09_869 2011-08-13_08-57-34_303 2011-08-13_09-10-03_426 2011-08-13_16-03-10_608 2011-08-05_08-02-06_229_2 2011-08-14_13-14-39_270 http://letsjapan.wordpress.com/2011/11/28/satsuma/ http://letsjapan.wordpress.com/2011/11/28/satsuma/#comments Mon, 28 Nov 2011 18:48:07 +0000 letsjapan http://letsjapan.wordpress.com/?p=4692 ]]>

Satsuma. Aching to be enjoyed. From my family's trees.

It’s been a couple years since I first posted pieces (a Part I and a Part II) on satsuma — the fruit, the history, the connection from China, to Kyushu, to . . . Alabama.   Business, Bands, Baths & Beer — all are part of the Satsuma Family and can be found in the links below.  I’ve updated these a bit, added a couple of photos and, as it’s that time of year again, re-offer these for your enjoyment (and edification).  Invite you to click, kick back, enjoy, and share, as you see fit  . . .

Satsuma, Part I

Satsuma Exposed.

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Satsuma, Part II

From China, to Kyushu, to South Alabama.

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On an Autorickshaw. Near Bangalore (or Mysore), India. May 2006.

It’s Thanksgiving Weekend in the U.S.  I’ve posted and updated a Thanksgiving-in-Japan piece.  But it seems an appropriate time to travel to India (recall that Indians were integral to the first Thanksgiving Dinner.  I kid.  I kid) and invoke the words and memory of Mahatma Gandhi.  Please also — on this “Black Friday” in the U.S., note No. 4.  Pick out others, too, and consider how they apply to current events.  Here are what Gandhi called The Seven Great Blunders:

1.  Wealth without Work.

2.  Pleasure without Conscience.

3.  Knowledge without Character.

4.  Commerce without Morality.

5.  Science without Humanity.

6.  Worship without Sacrifice.

7.  Politics without Principle.

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For more Images of India, you’re invited to visit this gallery.

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Ikebukuro　ラーメン, Tokyo. August 2011.

This piece is primarily for those who’ve not yet visited, let alone lived in, Japan.  Most of these dishes will be very recognizable to anyone who’s spent any length of time in Japan.  Some will be recognizable to anyone who has a decent Japanese restaurant nearby, or just generally obvious.  There’s no sushi or sashimi here, though.  So, then, what are these photos of?   Feel free to drop me a line with your answers.  If you read Japanese, well, you probably know what these all are anyway.  By the way, you can see “Foodie II” and “Foodie I” immediately below this piece.

1.       氷抹茶   

Kyoto. August 2011.

2.　　たこ焼き

Late Night Snack. Kyoto, August 2011.

Hint - here’s another batch being made (in Nara, May, 2010).

3.　　ホルモン

Tokyo, August 2011.

Hint — Here’s part of a sign for one of these restaurants, this one in Kyoto (August 2011).

4.      やきとり ( はさみ & 皮 )

Kyoto, November 2009.

5.　　お好み焼き

Kyoto, August 2011.

6.　　稲子　

Kyoto, August 2011.

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Post Script  .  .  .

Late meal detritus & Nigori-zake. Ichiban Yakitori. San-jo, Kyoto. 2010.

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