I never left a last post for Japan, so here's a quick update: I spent more time in Kyoto, going to a castle, a palace (did I already cover these?), and awesome temples.
Now, to the present/President. Right now, I'm in a hotel room at the Marriott Wardman in Washington, D.C. I'm attending a four day conference (the University Presidential Inaugural Conference) revolving around the inauguration of Barack Obama. Highlights include the opportunity to try to grab a spot on the National Mall to watch the event (wish we'd gotten tickets for the money we payed...) and/or viewing the parade, addresses by Colin Powell, Al Gore, and Luke Russert, panels involving Mary Matalin, James Carville, Tucker Carlson, and Paul Begalla, and opportunities to tour D.C.
Today was arrival day. There wasn't much to do other than orientation and the chaos of the evening. By chaos I mean packing 5000 attendees into a ballroom with a capacity of 3,156 or so and forcing them to try to figure out how to get in line for food. The speaker wasn't bad - Luke Russert of NBC talked to us about how our generation (with Russert himself being a recent BC graduate, apparently) was not the worthless mass of sheep that many of our elders had labeled us, which is quite true. And yet, he still spoke to us with the realization that we are young and like to party. It was, as I say, a decent speech, and I think the point is valid: our generation will both have fun and leave a good mark on our country/the planet.
Tomorrow, unfortunately, I must awaken before the 5:15 - 6:00 check-in. It'll be worth it, though: we're going to see Colin Powell speak. After that, we'll try to get spots at the opening ceremonies of the inauguration, which will feature a concert. Awesome.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Definitely Not in Tokyo Anymore...
Why am I definitely not in Tokyo anymore? Because I'm in Kyoto!!!
I took the highest-speed shinkansen (bullet train) available yesterday from Tokyo Station to get here. If you're ever in Tokyo, take a ride on the bullet train. I'll give you three good reasons. First, you get to take a 200-300 kph ride. Second, you go through some very lovely countryside, a nice sight after spending several months in the city. As it's autumn right now, the trees are also turning all sorts of awesome colors, making it an extra special trip. Finally, you can see Mt. Fuji out the window. Unfortunately, I was riding on the wrong side of the train, so I had to be a bother and take photographs through people. However, I can tell you this: it really IS as cool as everyone says it is. I hope global warming doesn't hurt its snow cap.
That same day, I managed to fit in a trip quick to Ginkaku-ji. This temple was originally supposed to be covered in silver, but, alas, the best laid plans and whatnot. It was also supposed to be NOT undergoing renovation when my respectable self visited, but that memo fell through. Nonetheless, there was a little garden, some fine Fall foliage, and a Zen garden to look at. There was also a cone of sand which (if I'm not mistaken) is supposed to be a way for deities to come down to earth.
I spent the night at a place called "Budget Inn," in one of their dormitory rooms. Eh. Fortunately, they only had space for one night, so I got to switch lodgings for tonight. I much prefer where I am now: The Palace Side Hotel. It is quite literally beside the Imperial Palace park. Because they had no singles, I have a twin all to myself. There's a cafe inside the hotel that serves relatively fancy fair, as well as Thai massage. Don't get me wrong - this isn't a Hyatt or anything. It's still quite nice, though.
Today I managed to get in three sites. First up was Chion-in (which, if I'm not mistaken, is the main temple of Jodo Buddhism). This is a complex of Buddhist temples up on a hill. There was plenty of notable stuff to look at and absorb. Right off the bat, you're wowed by a massive gate. (There's some interesting history associated with this gate: its creator and his wife committed suicide because he exceeded the budget for making it.) The "wow" is quickly extracted from you, however, by the steep ascent you have to make up the stone steps. It's worth it, though, as there are numerous temples to look at. I got lucky and, when I went into one of the larger buildings, found myself watching and listening to some sort of ceremony; chanting and some instrumentation were involved.
In the rafters of this same building was an umbrella with two alternate histories to it. The first involves (if I remember correctly) the building's architect leaving it there. The second involves a fox leaving it there. I like the second one, personally.
Not too far from the temple is the brilliantly colorful Yasaka Shrine. Here I saw another Shinto wedding ceremony taking place. Just outside the shrine I bought ￥8400 in old currency. I don't know if the stuff's legit, as the vendor was beside other vendors on one of the approaches to the shrine, but if it is, it's awesome. This is just the kind of souvenir that's awesome. In any case, I got two Edo-era coins, a war-era bill, and another coin.
Next up was the Imperial Palace. Once again, I got lucky, for today I did not have to take one of the two daily tours. Instead, I got to go in and tour freely, in both senses of the word.
Let me tell you, this was a very nice place to live. The buildings, naturally, had awesome architecture, as did the gates. Inside the buildings were fabulous screens; outside there was some lovely landscaping, including a massive garden. It's good to be the king. I also got to see an ox-pulled carriage there; it was quite brilliant.
My final cool stop for the day was at a place called Sanjusangen-do. That's actually not it's real name (which, for the record, is Rengeo-in) - it is called this because of the 33 spaces between the pillars of the hall. It is the largest wooden building in Japan, and what it houses is incredible. Inside, you'll find a six-foot high (I think) statue of the Goddess Kannon; she's accompanied by 10 rows of 1000 smaller statues of, well, herself. One tenth of these are the original statues, which were carved in 1249; the rest were lost in a fire. (Courtesy Wikipedia.) And that's not even everything. There are also statues of 28 other gods. These are quite impressive. The coolest one was the one with a dragon wrapped around him. Completely badass. The detail on these statues was incredible. The muscular ones even had bulging veins.
I got three souvenirs here: a piece of calligraphy (the character for "road"), a bow and an arrow which is supposed to guard against evil; and a fortune. (The fortune read "good," which wasn't the highest, but was still...good. Maybe it's because I walked outside with my socks on to put my stuff in a coin locker, then went in the temple without taking them off...)
Now, don't get me wrong, today was by no means a smooth adventure. My attempt at visiting one temple was cut short by its being used for a lighting-up event (which was open to the public, but I couldn't just stay for it; besides, I was in the "daytime photography" mindset. Also, there was the shop I couldn't find. In any case, it was still a good day. Tomorrow's gonna be good, too.
I took the highest-speed shinkansen (bullet train) available yesterday from Tokyo Station to get here. If you're ever in Tokyo, take a ride on the bullet train. I'll give you three good reasons. First, you get to take a 200-300 kph ride. Second, you go through some very lovely countryside, a nice sight after spending several months in the city. As it's autumn right now, the trees are also turning all sorts of awesome colors, making it an extra special trip. Finally, you can see Mt. Fuji out the window. Unfortunately, I was riding on the wrong side of the train, so I had to be a bother and take photographs through people. However, I can tell you this: it really IS as cool as everyone says it is. I hope global warming doesn't hurt its snow cap.
That same day, I managed to fit in a trip quick to Ginkaku-ji. This temple was originally supposed to be covered in silver, but, alas, the best laid plans and whatnot. It was also supposed to be NOT undergoing renovation when my respectable self visited, but that memo fell through. Nonetheless, there was a little garden, some fine Fall foliage, and a Zen garden to look at. There was also a cone of sand which (if I'm not mistaken) is supposed to be a way for deities to come down to earth.
I spent the night at a place called "Budget Inn," in one of their dormitory rooms. Eh. Fortunately, they only had space for one night, so I got to switch lodgings for tonight. I much prefer where I am now: The Palace Side Hotel. It is quite literally beside the Imperial Palace park. Because they had no singles, I have a twin all to myself. There's a cafe inside the hotel that serves relatively fancy fair, as well as Thai massage. Don't get me wrong - this isn't a Hyatt or anything. It's still quite nice, though.
Today I managed to get in three sites. First up was Chion-in (which, if I'm not mistaken, is the main temple of Jodo Buddhism). This is a complex of Buddhist temples up on a hill. There was plenty of notable stuff to look at and absorb. Right off the bat, you're wowed by a massive gate. (There's some interesting history associated with this gate: its creator and his wife committed suicide because he exceeded the budget for making it.) The "wow" is quickly extracted from you, however, by the steep ascent you have to make up the stone steps. It's worth it, though, as there are numerous temples to look at. I got lucky and, when I went into one of the larger buildings, found myself watching and listening to some sort of ceremony; chanting and some instrumentation were involved.
In the rafters of this same building was an umbrella with two alternate histories to it. The first involves (if I remember correctly) the building's architect leaving it there. The second involves a fox leaving it there. I like the second one, personally.
Not too far from the temple is the brilliantly colorful Yasaka Shrine. Here I saw another Shinto wedding ceremony taking place. Just outside the shrine I bought ￥8400 in old currency. I don't know if the stuff's legit, as the vendor was beside other vendors on one of the approaches to the shrine, but if it is, it's awesome. This is just the kind of souvenir that's awesome. In any case, I got two Edo-era coins, a war-era bill, and another coin.
Next up was the Imperial Palace. Once again, I got lucky, for today I did not have to take one of the two daily tours. Instead, I got to go in and tour freely, in both senses of the word.
Let me tell you, this was a very nice place to live. The buildings, naturally, had awesome architecture, as did the gates. Inside the buildings were fabulous screens; outside there was some lovely landscaping, including a massive garden. It's good to be the king. I also got to see an ox-pulled carriage there; it was quite brilliant.
My final cool stop for the day was at a place called Sanjusangen-do. That's actually not it's real name (which, for the record, is Rengeo-in) - it is called this because of the 33 spaces between the pillars of the hall. It is the largest wooden building in Japan, and what it houses is incredible. Inside, you'll find a six-foot high (I think) statue of the Goddess Kannon; she's accompanied by 10 rows of 1000 smaller statues of, well, herself. One tenth of these are the original statues, which were carved in 1249; the rest were lost in a fire. (Courtesy Wikipedia.) And that's not even everything. There are also statues of 28 other gods. These are quite impressive. The coolest one was the one with a dragon wrapped around him. Completely badass. The detail on these statues was incredible. The muscular ones even had bulging veins.
I got three souvenirs here: a piece of calligraphy (the character for "road"), a bow and an arrow which is supposed to guard against evil; and a fortune. (The fortune read "good," which wasn't the highest, but was still...good. Maybe it's because I walked outside with my socks on to put my stuff in a coin locker, then went in the temple without taking them off...)
Now, don't get me wrong, today was by no means a smooth adventure. My attempt at visiting one temple was cut short by its being used for a lighting-up event (which was open to the public, but I couldn't just stay for it; besides, I was in the "daytime photography" mindset. Also, there was the shop I couldn't find. In any case, it was still a good day. Tomorrow's gonna be good, too.
Monday, November 3, 2008
WHOOSH!
That's what this blog's gonna be like, since I haven't posted in a while. I'm also going to separate
-----------------------
the different things I've done with that irritating line
-----------------------
thing. So, first things first.
-----------------------
There's a complex in a very glitzy, lit-up part of Tokyo called Sunshine City. Contrary to what one might think, it is not the haunt of millions of brain-thirsty zombies, but a wonderful place to spend some time. I went there later in the day, so I didn't have much time there.
There's a lot one can do there. The most important reason to go is to take the super fast elevators to the 60th floor of the big skyscraper in the complex, where one gets a view of Tokyo at the same level as the uppermost deck of the Tokyo Tower. There are not as many tall buildings in the immediate vicinity of Sunshine 60 as Tokyo Tower, but one can see clusters of skyscrapers from the windows.
Also present at Sunshine City is a good aquarium. Unlike most aquariums, it is housed on the 9th floor (and above) of a building, and part of it is open air (even at that height). There was plenty of cool stuff there, but, then again, I'm easily impressed sometimes. Nonetheless, I will list what I saw: a troop of tiny monkeys (housed, curiously enough, in the same enclosure as some otters), penguins, a small moa, a ring-tailed lemur, several armadillos, Fennec foxes, a skunk, eels, Japanese spider crabs, more otters (different species, I think), and a darling seal that would sometimes follow the motions of your hand with its face. The lemur, armadillos, foxes, skunk, and some other animals were in an area you could walk through. A weird feature was a pair of tanks housing those algae-eating fish into which one could stick one's hands. The result was bizarre, as the little guys proceeded to (I presume) feed on your dead skin cells. Tingly.
Sunshine city also features an extensive shopping mall, both above and below ground (at which I got a stuffed, grinning Totoro), along with a number of restaurants. There's a museum, too, but I didn't get to go to that. Also present is an arcade and a gyoza place. It could easily be a full day's excursion in and of itself.
-----------------------
This weeked was the ICU festival. Apparently schools in Japan hold their own festivals; this makes some sense when one considers all the festivals that are held in general in Japan. I played harpsichord (poorly) for the Early Music Society as I accompanied a singer on some John Dowland pieces and an ensemble on a Corelli piece. (Random side note: ask me to say "Corelli" in Japanese sometime. Their pronunciation of it is interesting, but I think I know why.) - I also slept through part of a lecture on the Model UN which I was supposed to help with in a minor capacity (don't judge me) and helped the English class section from which my airport escort comes from sell "Banana Choco." What's Banana Choco, you ask? It's a banana dipped in chocolate. Surprise! I acted ridiculous as I pitched the product to passersby, but they sold out before the festival ended Sunday (although it was after my one and only shift).
I also got to browse the food at the festival and see some performances. There was good stuff to eat, ranging from churros to yakitori. I saw a koto (it's a Japanese zither) concert, a dance performance, and some drumming action involving LAMBS, the Latin American group I'm in. (They wouldn't let me perform with them at the festival - I'm too much of a noob, and there were no costumes. :( )
Word is that other schools have bigger festivals. It's really not fair to compare them to ICU's, though, since ICU's student body is about 2000.
-----------------------
Today was a national holiday, "Bunka-no hi." This translates as "Culture Day," and one wonders if a country like America could actually have something like this. I mean, think about it...what would we celebrate - the stuff sung about in the Team America theme song?
Anyway, I and a bunch of guys from the dorm took a trip to Kamakura, which is only an hour outside of Tokyo. Even so, this is only the second time I've traveled outside the city (not counting my travel into it from Narita airport). The trip was definitely good.
We first went to Engaku-ji, a temple dedicated to the Kamakura government's power and those who died fighting the Mongols. We missed out on seeing 700-year-old bell, but we did get to see a beautiful temple and part of a Shinto wedding ceremony, complete with music. (These weddings keep following me.) Don't worry, there are lovely pictures which I swear to post. Sometime.
Next, we went to see the Daibutsu, a 37-foot tall Buddha dating back to 1292. He is awesome. Interestingly, you're allowed to go inside the Buddha and take a look at his insides, which, naturally, don't exist. There's an explanation provided of how he was made, which states that he was made by piecing together separately-cast sections.j
Our last stop was Hase-dara, an incredible temple which I would call an incredible bargain for the 300 Yen you pay to access it. Here I saw a gold-covered, 30-foot wooden statue of Kannon (see previous posts) and a golden/gold-plate/something Buddha, neither of which I could photograph. I also couldn't photograph the incredibly awesome cave we got to go into, where statues were carved into the rock. There was a bell there, too, and I saw this one. I don't know its age, but I got to photograph it, along with hundreds of stone Jizo statues (a Buddhist bodhisattva who protects children) and a great view of Sagami Bay. As I said, there was a lot to see, and it was well worth 300 Yen.
-----------------------
Whoo! Long post, eh? Sorry in advance for any typos. I'm hoping to do some more Tokyo exploring this weekend, and I promise to write about it as soon as I've experienced it. Meantime, I've got a bunch of work to do...
-----------------------
the different things I've done with that irritating line
-----------------------
thing. So, first things first.
-----------------------
There's a complex in a very glitzy, lit-up part of Tokyo called Sunshine City. Contrary to what one might think, it is not the haunt of millions of brain-thirsty zombies, but a wonderful place to spend some time. I went there later in the day, so I didn't have much time there.
There's a lot one can do there. The most important reason to go is to take the super fast elevators to the 60th floor of the big skyscraper in the complex, where one gets a view of Tokyo at the same level as the uppermost deck of the Tokyo Tower. There are not as many tall buildings in the immediate vicinity of Sunshine 60 as Tokyo Tower, but one can see clusters of skyscrapers from the windows.
Also present at Sunshine City is a good aquarium. Unlike most aquariums, it is housed on the 9th floor (and above) of a building, and part of it is open air (even at that height). There was plenty of cool stuff there, but, then again, I'm easily impressed sometimes. Nonetheless, I will list what I saw: a troop of tiny monkeys (housed, curiously enough, in the same enclosure as some otters), penguins, a small moa, a ring-tailed lemur, several armadillos, Fennec foxes, a skunk, eels, Japanese spider crabs, more otters (different species, I think), and a darling seal that would sometimes follow the motions of your hand with its face. The lemur, armadillos, foxes, skunk, and some other animals were in an area you could walk through. A weird feature was a pair of tanks housing those algae-eating fish into which one could stick one's hands. The result was bizarre, as the little guys proceeded to (I presume) feed on your dead skin cells. Tingly.
Sunshine city also features an extensive shopping mall, both above and below ground (at which I got a stuffed, grinning Totoro), along with a number of restaurants. There's a museum, too, but I didn't get to go to that. Also present is an arcade and a gyoza place. It could easily be a full day's excursion in and of itself.
-----------------------
This weeked was the ICU festival. Apparently schools in Japan hold their own festivals; this makes some sense when one considers all the festivals that are held in general in Japan. I played harpsichord (poorly) for the Early Music Society as I accompanied a singer on some John Dowland pieces and an ensemble on a Corelli piece. (Random side note: ask me to say "Corelli" in Japanese sometime. Their pronunciation of it is interesting, but I think I know why.) - I also slept through part of a lecture on the Model UN which I was supposed to help with in a minor capacity (don't judge me) and helped the English class section from which my airport escort comes from sell "Banana Choco." What's Banana Choco, you ask? It's a banana dipped in chocolate. Surprise! I acted ridiculous as I pitched the product to passersby, but they sold out before the festival ended Sunday (although it was after my one and only shift).
I also got to browse the food at the festival and see some performances. There was good stuff to eat, ranging from churros to yakitori. I saw a koto (it's a Japanese zither) concert, a dance performance, and some drumming action involving LAMBS, the Latin American group I'm in. (They wouldn't let me perform with them at the festival - I'm too much of a noob, and there were no costumes. :( )
Word is that other schools have bigger festivals. It's really not fair to compare them to ICU's, though, since ICU's student body is about 2000.
-----------------------
Today was a national holiday, "Bunka-no hi." This translates as "Culture Day," and one wonders if a country like America could actually have something like this. I mean, think about it...what would we celebrate - the stuff sung about in the Team America theme song?
Anyway, I and a bunch of guys from the dorm took a trip to Kamakura, which is only an hour outside of Tokyo. Even so, this is only the second time I've traveled outside the city (not counting my travel into it from Narita airport). The trip was definitely good.
We first went to Engaku-ji, a temple dedicated to the Kamakura government's power and those who died fighting the Mongols. We missed out on seeing 700-year-old bell, but we did get to see a beautiful temple and part of a Shinto wedding ceremony, complete with music. (These weddings keep following me.) Don't worry, there are lovely pictures which I swear to post. Sometime.
Next, we went to see the Daibutsu, a 37-foot tall Buddha dating back to 1292. He is awesome. Interestingly, you're allowed to go inside the Buddha and take a look at his insides, which, naturally, don't exist. There's an explanation provided of how he was made, which states that he was made by piecing together separately-cast sections.j
Our last stop was Hase-dara, an incredible temple which I would call an incredible bargain for the 300 Yen you pay to access it. Here I saw a gold-covered, 30-foot wooden statue of Kannon (see previous posts) and a golden/gold-plate/something Buddha, neither of which I could photograph. I also couldn't photograph the incredibly awesome cave we got to go into, where statues were carved into the rock. There was a bell there, too, and I saw this one. I don't know its age, but I got to photograph it, along with hundreds of stone Jizo statues (a Buddhist bodhisattva who protects children) and a great view of Sagami Bay. As I said, there was a lot to see, and it was well worth 300 Yen.
-----------------------
Whoo! Long post, eh? Sorry in advance for any typos. I'm hoping to do some more Tokyo exploring this weekend, and I promise to write about it as soon as I've experienced it. Meantime, I've got a bunch of work to do...
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Pwned x 47
I'll go ahead and tell you right now, this will be a long post. Sorry for not blogging day-by-day. This will cover Saturday, Sunday, and today (Tuesday).
First, I'll start by revealing the mystery purchase from Jimbo-cho: a Japanese print which is supposed to be from around 1888. Is it authentic? Who knows. At some point I'll have to look into verifying the authenticity of my purchases.
Second, I will note that I did not end up going to the temple of the 47 ronin or the Edo-Tokyo Museum immediately after the previous blog posting. I have, however, been to both since then, and I will describe them shortly.
OK, the good stuff:
After practicing with the EMS sub-group I'm in (which required another Saturday trip to ICU), I tried to go to the 47 ronin temple (Sengaku-ji) and the Edo-Tokyo Museum again. Unfortunately, I got on the line that circles Tokyo in the wrong direction, and, having dithered about wondering about my next move, I decided to skip Sengaku-ji for the moment and head to the Edo-Tokyo Museum.
To say that this '90s-era museum only covers two floors is an understatement of the vast collection offered for viewing. I was there for hours and still didn't really take in everything. I sort of had to rush my viewing at the end. Essentially, though, I can tell you that the museum describes the history of the city it is named after (Edo is the old name for Tokyo), including (to a remarkable extent) the lives and doings of those other than the warrior and noble classes. I didn't really take pictures, but you might want to search the web and see if you can see anything from the museum.
I did have a non-touristy purpose in visiting the museum (alluded to in the previous post) was to give me material for a museum review I have to turn in for my history class. With regards to the scope of my history class, the museum did have a section on Tokyo during World War II. Ugly stuff. Let me tell you, it felt pretty awkward standing behind some Japanese people as we watched bombs fall on a television. This trip's bringing me to very dark conclusions about the conduct of the U.S. during what the Russians called "The Great Patriotic War."
The next day I went to the Tokyo Game Show for two hours. It actually wasn't that great, in my opinion, but I had been told from someone on Saturday (after asking) that this wasn't the show's best year. I only got to try one game, Battelfield: Heroes, and I wasn't terribly impressed. Then again, I'm not used to PC shooters, so that may be part of it. It also looked like a bit of a Team Fortress 2 knock-off. Anyway, regarding the show itself, I also might have had a better impression of it if I had gotten more time to wander about. As it was, I had to leave early for a friend's classical music concert (they're in the university's College Music Society).
It was getting on in the day by the time the concert was over, but I still had time to go to the Tokyo Tower, which is open until 10 PM. The Tokyo Tower was built in 1958, partly to broadcast radio and television and partly to show Japan's determination to recover from the war. It looks like the Eiffel Tower, but, having been built by Japanese people, it's taller and lighter. It affords a spectacular view of the city, although I was only at the top (or "tops" - there are two decks, one at 150 meters and one at 250 meters) after dark; that made the experience more sparkly, though. There was also a little "aquarium" in the building under the tower, but it was basically just someone's very, very impressive collection of rare fish. It did have a little Japanese garden, though, which was awesome.
Today (Tuesday), amidst appropriately gloomy weather, I finally made my way to Sengaku-ji, the temple of the 47 ronin. Let me tell you the story of these samurai in case you don't know it. If you do, read this anyway, because it's still a cool story.
Several hundred years ago, the baron Asano Takumi-no-Kami had to commit suicide after injuring courtier Yoshinaka Kira in Edo Castle. This left 47 masterless samurai (ronin) who avenged his death the following year by overwhelming Kira's villa and decapitating him. Their punishment was also suicide, but they were more than willing to do so, having avenged their master. Meanwhile, Kira's head was sent back to his family in order to allow for a proper burial.
The 47 ronin and Asano are buried at Sengaku-ji in a small graveyard. Everyone has a headstone, and incense is left burning by visitors. There appeared to be a statue of a deity near the graveyard as well. The main temple had incredible architecture; overall, the place looked great. There was also a museum with various relevant artifacts, including armor, weapons, scrolls, and (I kid you not) a receipt for Kira's head. Awesome.
The souvenirs I collected this weekend/today are: a Tokyo Tower keychain, a Tokyo Tower 50th anniversary coin, a small Taiko war drum with someone's family symbol on it, and a set of two miniature swords - a katana and a wakizashi.
Coming up this weekend: a trip the Ueno area and its temples and/or a tour of the imperial grounds and the controversial Yasukuni Shrine.
P.S. I have finally realized that, since I don't have anything after Japanese on Tuesdays save a meeting for ICU Model United Nations, I can do a bit more touring. I don't know why I didn't realize this earlier.
First, I'll start by revealing the mystery purchase from Jimbo-cho: a Japanese print which is supposed to be from around 1888. Is it authentic? Who knows. At some point I'll have to look into verifying the authenticity of my purchases.
Second, I will note that I did not end up going to the temple of the 47 ronin or the Edo-Tokyo Museum immediately after the previous blog posting. I have, however, been to both since then, and I will describe them shortly.
OK, the good stuff:
After practicing with the EMS sub-group I'm in (which required another Saturday trip to ICU), I tried to go to the 47 ronin temple (Sengaku-ji) and the Edo-Tokyo Museum again. Unfortunately, I got on the line that circles Tokyo in the wrong direction, and, having dithered about wondering about my next move, I decided to skip Sengaku-ji for the moment and head to the Edo-Tokyo Museum.
To say that this '90s-era museum only covers two floors is an understatement of the vast collection offered for viewing. I was there for hours and still didn't really take in everything. I sort of had to rush my viewing at the end. Essentially, though, I can tell you that the museum describes the history of the city it is named after (Edo is the old name for Tokyo), including (to a remarkable extent) the lives and doings of those other than the warrior and noble classes. I didn't really take pictures, but you might want to search the web and see if you can see anything from the museum.
I did have a non-touristy purpose in visiting the museum (alluded to in the previous post) was to give me material for a museum review I have to turn in for my history class. With regards to the scope of my history class, the museum did have a section on Tokyo during World War II. Ugly stuff. Let me tell you, it felt pretty awkward standing behind some Japanese people as we watched bombs fall on a television. This trip's bringing me to very dark conclusions about the conduct of the U.S. during what the Russians called "The Great Patriotic War."
The next day I went to the Tokyo Game Show for two hours. It actually wasn't that great, in my opinion, but I had been told from someone on Saturday (after asking) that this wasn't the show's best year. I only got to try one game, Battelfield: Heroes, and I wasn't terribly impressed. Then again, I'm not used to PC shooters, so that may be part of it. It also looked like a bit of a Team Fortress 2 knock-off. Anyway, regarding the show itself, I also might have had a better impression of it if I had gotten more time to wander about. As it was, I had to leave early for a friend's classical music concert (they're in the university's College Music Society).
It was getting on in the day by the time the concert was over, but I still had time to go to the Tokyo Tower, which is open until 10 PM. The Tokyo Tower was built in 1958, partly to broadcast radio and television and partly to show Japan's determination to recover from the war. It looks like the Eiffel Tower, but, having been built by Japanese people, it's taller and lighter. It affords a spectacular view of the city, although I was only at the top (or "tops" - there are two decks, one at 150 meters and one at 250 meters) after dark; that made the experience more sparkly, though. There was also a little "aquarium" in the building under the tower, but it was basically just someone's very, very impressive collection of rare fish. It did have a little Japanese garden, though, which was awesome.
Today (Tuesday), amidst appropriately gloomy weather, I finally made my way to Sengaku-ji, the temple of the 47 ronin. Let me tell you the story of these samurai in case you don't know it. If you do, read this anyway, because it's still a cool story.
Several hundred years ago, the baron Asano Takumi-no-Kami had to commit suicide after injuring courtier Yoshinaka Kira in Edo Castle. This left 47 masterless samurai (ronin) who avenged his death the following year by overwhelming Kira's villa and decapitating him. Their punishment was also suicide, but they were more than willing to do so, having avenged their master. Meanwhile, Kira's head was sent back to his family in order to allow for a proper burial.
The 47 ronin and Asano are buried at Sengaku-ji in a small graveyard. Everyone has a headstone, and incense is left burning by visitors. There appeared to be a statue of a deity near the graveyard as well. The main temple had incredible architecture; overall, the place looked great. There was also a museum with various relevant artifacts, including armor, weapons, scrolls, and (I kid you not) a receipt for Kira's head. Awesome.
The souvenirs I collected this weekend/today are: a Tokyo Tower keychain, a Tokyo Tower 50th anniversary coin, a small Taiko war drum with someone's family symbol on it, and a set of two miniature swords - a katana and a wakizashi.
Coming up this weekend: a trip the Ueno area and its temples and/or a tour of the imperial grounds and the controversial Yasukuni Shrine.
P.S. I have finally realized that, since I don't have anything after Japanese on Tuesdays save a meeting for ICU Model United Nations, I can do a bit more touring. I don't know why I didn't realize this earlier.
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Old School
Last night (Friday), I went to a Dean's Reception for the foreign students and September freshmen at ICU. Everyone was divided into groups based on Japanese animal names; there was actually someone from my dorm in my group ("Snake"). Thankfully, there was little by way of speechifying, but a good amount by way of free (though not always decent) food. There was also a quiz (participated in by group) testing our knowledge of ICU; we won 1st place, and got the spiffy prize bag. We divided the loot back at our table, using the democratic method of rock, paper, scissors to solve any conflicts over who wanted what. The bag contained an ICU sweatshirt, an ICU T-shirt, two ICU mugs, and several ICU folder-things. I ended up with a mug - not bad.
Today, a Saturday, I got up and headed to ICU - a somewhat abnormal move for a non-school day. I had a reason, though: LAMBS (the samba group I'm in) was going to have a parade. Our drum banging outside the D-Kan (basically, the student union) was cut short, however, by a man who told us that people were taking the SAT II in the Honkan (main hall). I don't see why a Latin American percussion ensemble couldn't relax the test-takers as they tried their hardest, but somebody must have disagreed. So, that activity was cut short.
I also went to Jimbocho today. Jimbocho is a short strip of used/old/antique booksellers situated near the Akihabara area. I discovered that one can easily drop a lot of money there through first-hand experience - I went to one store and was persistently presented with new items to gawk at by the owner/employee, and I apparently am not good at resisting these sorts of pitches. In the end, though, I got plenty of cool stuff. To whit:
- A map of Edo (old Tokyo) from the Edo Period (pre-1868)
- A ______________________ (this might be a "half-"present for someone who reads this blog, so its specifications will not be revealed for the moment)
- Three journals on the Russo-Japanese War from the period of said war (1900s or so); one journal contains some sort of map, possibly of the conflict area
At another store, I found old issues of Time magazine which I also purchased. Yet another store had some old Life issues, which I bought as well. I bought the magazines before everything else, but I had looked at the Russo-Japanese items (as well as a smaller version of __________) before that.
I got some prescriptions filled at a drug store today, and that itself was interesting. I was expecting that I had been directed to some Eckerd's-type place, but I instead ended up in a small pharmacy. It stocked not only pills, but all sorts of health supplements - roots, eel, etc. It was like a "fusion" pharmacy.
At dinner tonight, I found out that I could have gotten my Nintendo DS for a cheaper price at a place right near ICU. Damn. However, I was also reminded (not by that misfortune) that the Tokyo Game Show starts this week. It will last four days, with the last two days only being public-access. Apparently Nintendo doesn't typically participate, but, oh, well. I think I'll go anyway.
My plan for tomorrow is to go see the place where the famous 47 ronin of Japan are buried and to go to the Edo-Tokyo Museum. The latter actually falls into something I need to do for a class, but...more on that later.
Today, a Saturday, I got up and headed to ICU - a somewhat abnormal move for a non-school day. I had a reason, though: LAMBS (the samba group I'm in) was going to have a parade. Our drum banging outside the D-Kan (basically, the student union) was cut short, however, by a man who told us that people were taking the SAT II in the Honkan (main hall). I don't see why a Latin American percussion ensemble couldn't relax the test-takers as they tried their hardest, but somebody must have disagreed. So, that activity was cut short.
I also went to Jimbocho today. Jimbocho is a short strip of used/old/antique booksellers situated near the Akihabara area. I discovered that one can easily drop a lot of money there through first-hand experience - I went to one store and was persistently presented with new items to gawk at by the owner/employee, and I apparently am not good at resisting these sorts of pitches. In the end, though, I got plenty of cool stuff. To whit:
- A map of Edo (old Tokyo) from the Edo Period (pre-1868)
- A ______________________ (this might be a "half-"present for someone who reads this blog, so its specifications will not be revealed for the moment)
- Three journals on the Russo-Japanese War from the period of said war (1900s or so); one journal contains some sort of map, possibly of the conflict area
At another store, I found old issues of Time magazine which I also purchased. Yet another store had some old Life issues, which I bought as well. I bought the magazines before everything else, but I had looked at the Russo-Japanese items (as well as a smaller version of __________) before that.
I got some prescriptions filled at a drug store today, and that itself was interesting. I was expecting that I had been directed to some Eckerd's-type place, but I instead ended up in a small pharmacy. It stocked not only pills, but all sorts of health supplements - roots, eel, etc. It was like a "fusion" pharmacy.
At dinner tonight, I found out that I could have gotten my Nintendo DS for a cheaper price at a place right near ICU. Damn. However, I was also reminded (not by that misfortune) that the Tokyo Game Show starts this week. It will last four days, with the last two days only being public-access. Apparently Nintendo doesn't typically participate, but, oh, well. I think I'll go anyway.
My plan for tomorrow is to go see the place where the famous 47 ronin of Japan are buried and to go to the Edo-Tokyo Museum. The latter actually falls into something I need to do for a class, but...more on that later.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Fat People *Do* Get to Have Fun
Yesterday (Sunday) I, a friend, and another gaikokujin from my dorm (who I hadn't met before Saturday) left home at 6:00 AM to go see sumo. By the time we got to the arena, there were over 140 people in line. (Among them was a friend of mine whom I had invited.) Nonetheless, there were plenty of tickets left, and we got nosebleed access to sumo matches that ran from mid/late-morning to the evening.
Sumo is actually quite a rapid sport - once the match starts. Prior to each match, a man in a kimono comes out and sings something or other (which shows you how sumo used to be more closely associated with ceremonies than it is today). The contestants get on stage, then take their time stomping their feet, slapping their bodies, and putting their fists on the ground. Sometimes they throw salt into the ring, though I can't remember what the purpose of that is. They'll put their fist to the ground, facing each other and seemingly raring to go, then break off - and do so multiple times. Finally, through some process I don't understand, they fight.
There is generally no pussy-footing in a sumo match. The fight always begins with the two fighters charging right into each other. Naturally, there is grappling, but there is also plenty of hitting as well: you can assault your opponent anywhere above the belt so long as you don't make a fist. As is famiiliar to most people, the goal is to either knock one's opponent to the ground or push him out of the ring (which, incidentally, is made of bags of rice (I think)).
The lower eschelons fought first. As time went on, higher level wrestlers came out, leading up to the grand sumo matches, when the stadium was, while not filled to capacity, flush with cheering fans. There were charges, slaps, attempts at tripping, times when the man about to be pushed out of the ring swivelled or whatnot and turned the tables, dodges, and plenty of instances of smaller opponents using their lower center of gravity to their advantage. Two of the matches required the five judges to confer on the results; one of these meetings led to a rematch promptly followed by a false start, leaving no victor until the third round.
At the end of it all, we saw, as we left, a bit of the ceremony celebrating the (or a...there were three final matches between six wrestlers, so I'm not sure what article to use) champion's victory. He got to hold a giant cup, take some sort of symbolic arrow (though I don't know how permanently), and receive cheers. As we left the stadium, we noticed a Toyota of some sort parked facing the gate, with a row of cameramen ready to film what we presumed to be an imminent scene of the victorious champion driving off. (Although sumo has lost popularity due to a recent scandal involving Russian wrestlers who smoked marijuana, wrestlers still have plenty of fans who will cheer for them individually when they get in the ring to be introduced in their fabulous aprons.) Baseball games back home may involve a fake sumo contests with people in padded suits acting ridiculous, but many Japanese love the sport. I must say, there were some good matches.
I got a good souvenir from the trip, too. The first 100 people in a certain line received an autograph from a former sumo wrestler. I and a friend got in that line, and we have the illegible posterboard signatures to prove it. (Seriously, though, it's sorta cool.)
This is a normal week (save the lack of the usual Monday morning Japanese quiz), so there won't be as much traveling. Nonetheless, I hope to do something (or many things) interesting Saturday and/or Sunday. I'll be sure to write about them!
P.S. I do have some photos to post, but I'm a very lazy person. Also, I have no photos for some of what I've done because my camera's gone a bit haywire, and my new, flat-as-a-pancake Japanese phone had a low battery yesterday. Stay tuned.
Sumo is actually quite a rapid sport - once the match starts. Prior to each match, a man in a kimono comes out and sings something or other (which shows you how sumo used to be more closely associated with ceremonies than it is today). The contestants get on stage, then take their time stomping their feet, slapping their bodies, and putting their fists on the ground. Sometimes they throw salt into the ring, though I can't remember what the purpose of that is. They'll put their fist to the ground, facing each other and seemingly raring to go, then break off - and do so multiple times. Finally, through some process I don't understand, they fight.
There is generally no pussy-footing in a sumo match. The fight always begins with the two fighters charging right into each other. Naturally, there is grappling, but there is also plenty of hitting as well: you can assault your opponent anywhere above the belt so long as you don't make a fist. As is famiiliar to most people, the goal is to either knock one's opponent to the ground or push him out of the ring (which, incidentally, is made of bags of rice (I think)).
The lower eschelons fought first. As time went on, higher level wrestlers came out, leading up to the grand sumo matches, when the stadium was, while not filled to capacity, flush with cheering fans. There were charges, slaps, attempts at tripping, times when the man about to be pushed out of the ring swivelled or whatnot and turned the tables, dodges, and plenty of instances of smaller opponents using their lower center of gravity to their advantage. Two of the matches required the five judges to confer on the results; one of these meetings led to a rematch promptly followed by a false start, leaving no victor until the third round.
At the end of it all, we saw, as we left, a bit of the ceremony celebrating the (or a...there were three final matches between six wrestlers, so I'm not sure what article to use) champion's victory. He got to hold a giant cup, take some sort of symbolic arrow (though I don't know how permanently), and receive cheers. As we left the stadium, we noticed a Toyota of some sort parked facing the gate, with a row of cameramen ready to film what we presumed to be an imminent scene of the victorious champion driving off. (Although sumo has lost popularity due to a recent scandal involving Russian wrestlers who smoked marijuana, wrestlers still have plenty of fans who will cheer for them individually when they get in the ring to be introduced in their fabulous aprons.) Baseball games back home may involve a fake sumo contests with people in padded suits acting ridiculous, but many Japanese love the sport. I must say, there were some good matches.
I got a good souvenir from the trip, too. The first 100 people in a certain line received an autograph from a former sumo wrestler. I and a friend got in that line, and we have the illegible posterboard signatures to prove it. (Seriously, though, it's sorta cool.)
This is a normal week (save the lack of the usual Monday morning Japanese quiz), so there won't be as much traveling. Nonetheless, I hope to do something (or many things) interesting Saturday and/or Sunday. I'll be sure to write about them!
P.S. I do have some photos to post, but I'm a very lazy person. Also, I have no photos for some of what I've done because my camera's gone a bit haywire, and my new, flat-as-a-pancake Japanese phone had a low battery yesterday. Stay tuned.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Fish, Swords, and A Park
Since my last post, I made some changes to my weekend plans upon the invitation of a dorm-mate. He invited me to get up early on Saturday (today) to go to the fish market at Tsukiji and to get up early again tomorrow (Sunday) to try get tickets for a sumo match. We'll see how the latter offer turns out, but here's what happened today.
I did indeed get up early, and a group of us gaikokujin (the form of the word you probably know better is gaijin) headed off to the Tsukiji fish market. This is a place to which the fish that were caught the day before have been brought overnight. Most of Tokyo's seafood comes from this market. In the earlier part of the morning it is auctioned; we missed that, unfortunately, but we still got to wander the stalls of the wholesalers and see all sorts of sea creatures, sliced and frozen and whatnot in various ways. It was disturbing, though, to watch a man half-cut off the heads of fishes and sever their spinal chords, then leave them to breathe in bloody water. That wasn't so cool. (There was also a guy using a saw to cut frozen fish. That was cool,.)
Afterwards, we went and had sushi nearby. Surprise.
I split off from the group after that and, after converting some money to yen and wandering about like an idiot trying to find a landmark, I headed for the Japanese Sword Museum in Yoyogi. Unfortunately, I found nothing by way of swords to purchase or tips on doing so; also, most of the text was in Japanese, so I didn't learn enough about each individual blade. Still, there was a lot of very old, shiny steel in that museum, and I got some literature in English.
Next, I went to the Meiji Shrine area. This consists of a large, very wooded park dedicated to the memory of the emperor Meiji. (He's the one who came right after the end of the Tokugawa shogunate in the late 1860s, bringing Westernization to Japan.) There was a "Treasure House" where things like vases, one of the emperor's desks, etc. were on display. The main attraction, however, was the Shrine itself, another post-war reconstruction (although it wasn't ferroconcrete). I got to see one + Shinto wedding processionals while I was there. There was also a large gate at one of the entrances to the temple. Adding to my growing list of souvenirs, I purchased some good luck charms, as well as what I believe to be a copy of the Imperial Rescript on Education.
My feet are really tired, and need tonight's break. Unfortunately, I get to stand in line tomorrow morning and walk through a museum. Urgh. At least I got to see the Meiji Shrine. (Go Google it.)
I did indeed get up early, and a group of us gaikokujin (the form of the word you probably know better is gaijin) headed off to the Tsukiji fish market. This is a place to which the fish that were caught the day before have been brought overnight. Most of Tokyo's seafood comes from this market. In the earlier part of the morning it is auctioned; we missed that, unfortunately, but we still got to wander the stalls of the wholesalers and see all sorts of sea creatures, sliced and frozen and whatnot in various ways. It was disturbing, though, to watch a man half-cut off the heads of fishes and sever their spinal chords, then leave them to breathe in bloody water. That wasn't so cool. (There was also a guy using a saw to cut frozen fish. That was cool,.)
Afterwards, we went and had sushi nearby. Surprise.
I split off from the group after that and, after converting some money to yen and wandering about like an idiot trying to find a landmark, I headed for the Japanese Sword Museum in Yoyogi. Unfortunately, I found nothing by way of swords to purchase or tips on doing so; also, most of the text was in Japanese, so I didn't learn enough about each individual blade. Still, there was a lot of very old, shiny steel in that museum, and I got some literature in English.
Next, I went to the Meiji Shrine area. This consists of a large, very wooded park dedicated to the memory of the emperor Meiji. (He's the one who came right after the end of the Tokugawa shogunate in the late 1860s, bringing Westernization to Japan.) There was a "Treasure House" where things like vases, one of the emperor's desks, etc. were on display. The main attraction, however, was the Shrine itself, another post-war reconstruction (although it wasn't ferroconcrete). I got to see one + Shinto wedding processionals while I was there. There was also a large gate at one of the entrances to the temple. Adding to my growing list of souvenirs, I purchased some good luck charms, as well as what I believe to be a copy of the Imperial Rescript on Education.
My feet are really tired, and need tonight's break. Unfortunately, I get to stand in line tomorrow morning and walk through a museum. Urgh. At least I got to see the Meiji Shrine. (Go Google it.)
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