RainCastles Blog

November - Part 3

PART 3

There was also another trip I made to Tomo no Ura coordinated by the Hiroshima City’s international center, rather than the university’s. That way it had people who live in HCity as well as some students…good mix really! The day was a blast and I got to know some new people from Indonesia and from the US, as well as one of our Japanese volunteers from the local area. On our trip, we first went to a fish factory to make “fish cakes” or Chikuwa at the Uonosato fish factory. These cakes were actually fish tubes made from ueber-processed fish paste wrapped around a piece of bamboo. Regardless, it was fun to do and also to see the inside of a fish factory. They were drying octopus outside when we were there. It was fun to watch…they were all in a tray stacked up at a slant and spinning around. The women from Australia thought they were wind generators until I pointed out that they were drying racks. They had been in Japan for over three years and refused to learn any of the language—the whole trip they were complaining that nothing was in English…I avoided them as much as possible. After the fish factory, we walked around the town and up to a shrine on the hill called Nunakuma. It was a great place to get photos and we took plenty. On our way back to the town, we went to the Bingo Ankoku-ji (temple) where there is the Amidasanzon and the Hattokokushi, wooden statue of Buddha. These statues are considered national treasures. After that we walked around in the town a bit and to a homeishu brewery, where we sampled some homeishu. It was very tasty—probably my favorite of the day since it was sweeter. We continued to walk around and went to a Japanese tea-shop called Shiomachi Chaya for lunch. The shop had formerly been a shipyard, where they build ships. Some of the decorations were actually old equipment from the building’s former use. During lunch, I met and talked with an Iranian couple and their young boys. A while into the conversation, they told me that they thought Americans did not like Iranians. I felt a little hurt, but explained to them that actually I have a friend who lives in Tehran and that the US government and media doesn’t really always represent the US people. Also that many Americans would love to meet people from Iran, but all we ever seem to learn is negative from our media sources. After lunch we walked around a bit more and went to some more shops and another homeishu brewery. It was good, but a bit mediciny in taste. After that we walked around a bit more and went up a huge hill/mountain to the Ioji Shrine and graveyard. It afforded a lovely view and there was a large bell to normally be rung by monks calling people to prayer, but some in our group thought it was a toy. Once they settled down, it was really a nice place to be. We went back down into the town and to the lighthouse near the ports. After that we went to another homeishu brewery. This brewery let us come in to see how it was made and watch them bottle it with corks, the old fashioned way. We also were able to visit a small museum they had there and look at the whole place pretty much on our own. After that we went up a hill to the Tomo no Ura Museum of History and Folklore that had a lot of info about Tomo and the history, including festivals and so on. It was quite well done and a good museum. On our way down the hill, we were able to look at the Taigashima-Jo ruins. We also were able to see the Ota-ka house Chosotei as well. It is designated as a National Important Cultural Property and it is clear to see why. The building had been built in the mid-1800s and is simply a wonderful representation of building of long ago as is the whole town really. We then went on to a temple and to listen to the story of Tomo no Ura from a monk there. This temple was called Kaiganzan Senju-in Fukuzen-ji (temple). We were all brought into the Edo era reception hall that is designated a national historic landmark. It was spectacular—it has been considered “Japan’s more scenic beauty” by writers since 1711 when a Korean writer first penned the phrase. It was in this hall where we listed to the monk tell his story of the town in a strong dialect that most of our Japanese volunteers didn’t even understand. His is a true storyteller though and interpretation wasn’t entirely warranted. After his lesson, we all took photos of course, but I also stayed behind a bit to thank the monk as well. He thought I was German and showed me a figurine that Dr. Siegbold from Germany had presented his grandfather with decades ago. It was clear that he appreciated someone interested in the history he had to share, but unfortunately, we were far behind the rest of the group and had to excuse ourselves. We caught up with everyone else and walked to the seaside. There were many people fishing since it was a holiday and so we wandered about a bit. We found a fellow who was willing to show us his catch and here he had several small fugu in his icebox—that is to say, blowfish (also known as globefish). He said that these small ones are not poisonous, but the Japanese women I was with said they didn’t really believe him. He also had two small, slender fish—all of them no bigger than pike bait. Shortly after that the bus arrived and we were on our way home. It was a great day, but I was pooped!

A friend of mine in NYC sent me this song and said I should find out what it means and have someone sing it to me:

O kina kuri no kino shi ta de
Ana-ta to watashi
Naka yoku a so bi masho
O kina kuri no kino shi ta de

As it turns out, it’s a child’s song and roughly means:

Under the chestnut tree
Just you and me
We’re playing friendly
Under the chestnut tree

A colleague of mine was more than generous to sing it for me with the actions that go along with the song. I am planning to learn it and he’s even agreed to sing it so I may tape it to get the tune down too. I really like this song, especially when my other colleague’s kids sang it to me the other night. UPDATE: My kind and generous colleague taped it for me—now I can learn the tune and sing it to myself when I need to keep my head in Japanese or to amuse others, like y’all when I get home! : )

This weekend is a conference for my colleagues and they have been really working hard all week, but are still stressed. That’s something I have noticed here. It’s not necessarily that people procrastinate and then rush at the last minute. Rather it seems important to act as if you need to rush at the last minute—like if one person is, then we all should be in the same boat. It’s kind of funny, but I caught myself getting into it this week with the conference coming. So, I decided to work against stress and made everyone peppermint tea and brought in some treats I picked up in Tomo from my trip to calm folks down. One colleague actually thanked me for caring about everyone so much.

I believe certain things and one of those things is that there are spirits among us—no this isn’t some spook story, but do skip it if you want or if you’re going to be a smart-aleck. Ever since sometime while I was living in the 1BR in our current apartment building (in MN), I have sensed a cat and even seen it out of the corner of my eye at times. It moved from the 1BR to the 2BR with us…I’m quite sure it has come along with me to Japan too. I have had the sense a few times that it was here and then earlier this week, I glimpsed it out of the corner of my eye. I also think that this is a cat that I know well and is a kind of a companion/guardian. I have some ideas, but that’s enough for you to hash over as it is. Or I’m just going mad….ha-ha-ha!

The weather here has been non-exciting to say the least. It seems to have gone from humid and hot to humid and windy, with a touch of chill in the night air since we are in the mountains. Still, I haven’t had to wear more than a sweater and gloves in the evenings for biking. I hear that it may snow a bit, but it’s not so bad and usually melts quickly, which is fine with me since I am biking it everywhere unless it’s raining. I noticed today that all of the trees are really without leaves and things are starting to look like it wants to become winter soon. I’ve heard from folks here that although there isn’t much snow and the landscape looks dreary, often the skies are bright blue and sunny in the winter time.

So you think there’s a man in the moon, huh? Actually, in Japanese myth and story it is a rabbit or hare. Here are two versions of whence this comes:

"The Rabbit in the Moon." by Florence Sakade

Once, the Old-Man of the Moon saw a rabbit, a monkey and a fox all living in the forest as very good friends. He wanted to know which one of these animals was the kindest. He changed himself into a beggar and asked for some food. The monkey brought him back some fruit, the fox brought him some fish, but the rabbit did not bring anything back. Instead, he offered to
have himself cooked over a fire. Just as the rabbit was about to jump in, though, the beggar changed himself back into the Old Man and declared the rabbit to be the kindest. He then took the rabbit up to the moon to live with him.

Rabbit on the Moon Myth

In China and Japan, the rabbit is connected to the moon in a myth. The moon is supposed to be inhabited by the Moon goddess, Heng-o (Japan) or Ch'ang-o (China). She is the wife of Shen I, the "Excellent Archer." He had been given the drug of immortality, and his wife drank it while he was away. When he returned, he became so angry his wife fled to the moon. Her husband persuaded her, and she asked the Hare for protection. The Hare fought with her husband and made him give up his intentions of punishing his wife.

How to see the Rabbit in the Moon:
http://www.planetfusion.co.uk/~pignut/see_hare.html

Well, I think that’s good for now and I think I might end up sending this in a few messages…didn’t realize it would be so long! Next time I’ll try to send it periodically rather than waiting to the end of a month!

Posted by cassl001 at November 30, 2004 3:24 AM