If you happen to be in Japan in early February you should be able to catch a Mame-maki event at a local shrine. Early February is when Setsubun 節分 occurs, and the main event is mamemaki. At home, usually the father of the house will throw a paper demon (oni) mask over their face, stand…
ならまち花あかりちゃんねる (Naramachi HanaAkari Channel) This channel features a couple of maiko in Nara. They frequently do live events and react to view comments. They have videos where they introduce some culturally interesting aspect of maiko-life or Japanese traditional arts, and a few where they walk around famous locations in Nara. The production quality is very…
Summer 2005, I went to Gion Festival 祇園祭り in Kyoto. Gion is one of the largest festivals held in Kansai. It is one of the three largest and most important festivals in Japan. Normally held in July, it is a treasured annual event that completely consumes all activity in downtown Kyoto. Some Japanese phrases to…
Business cards in a Japanese context are important. Bring them. Receive them. Respect them. Going to do business with a Japanese person? Learn how to handle business cards and how to follow business card etiquette. Note, Japan is changing. Some companies are adopting Western business mannerisms, and Japanese who are overseas may take the “when…
I finally made it to Sumiyoshi Taisha after years of visiting Osaka. It was never on my radar as it’s a bit out of the way from the city center, but now that I’ve been there I wish I had gone sooner. A friend of mine recently moved to the Sumiyoshi Taisha neighborhood, which was…
Do you want to really geek out on Japanese Shochu? Check out these two videos featuring Stephen Lyman, America’s leading expert on Japan’s national distilled spirit: shochu. Shochu is a nice, distinctly Japanese drink. Like whisky, different shochu labels have memorably different tastes and qualities. You can drink shochu on the rocks, split with warm…
One of my all time favorite musicians talking about his memories of one of my all time favorite musicians. If ya know ya know… Shing02. Nujabes. Links:E22: Shing02’s works. Tons of free MP3s, and bilingual lyrics. Nujabes [Wikipedia] The story of Luv (sic) as written by Shing02 [Reddit]. Another interview where Shing02 introduces himself, and…
“Nothing is impossible. With single-minded resolve (ichinen), heaven and earth can be moved as one pleases. There is nothing that cannot be achieved.“ Quote from Hagakure 一念 (ichinen)
Summer 2004 I went to a pretty interesting Japanese festival called Handa Matsuri. It actually takes place in Kamesaki ( 亀崎). You can get there in about one hour from Nagoya. I have to say I am lacking details on the history of this festival, but that can be found elsewhere. During this festival enormous dashi…
