Plain Talk
TOKYO NOTICE BOARD DECEMBER 07. 2018A Winter Tale by Jeremy Moorhead
As the shadows lengthened and cold bit into him he realised it was time to soak up some atmosphere and a pint or two. The neighbourhood was changing, and it might be the last time he’d find that unique warm welcome he was guaranteed. He could never remember the name of the izakaya. Did it even have a name? It was always packed with people, locals and visitors alike. A dozen or so, at a squeeze. But that’s Tokyo for you, especially when you went old school.
The lights at the train crossing beckoned and he ducked down the side streets, the night taking hold and the alcohol too, judging by the sounds of some happy salary folk on their way to a favourite haunt. Just like him, he imagined. He’d not been in the area for a good while, preferring the brighter, chic districts. He turned a corner and found the place. Through the door where a loud welcome greeted him. Of course, that’s why the east is the best part of the city. The owner and patrons made it seem genuine and lively without being too raucous. He ordered a beer and kushiage. He fumbled for a lighter and a fellow drinker lit his cigarette for him. “Soon, this will be gone” his drinking friend gestured around the room shaking his head. It was sad, he agreed in his broken Japanese. Maybe there would be a stay of execution? A petition, perhaps? “Mmm” nodded the other man in a non-committed fashion.
Such is progress, he thought and gulped the remainder of his beer. None of us can avoid it. All cities are in a state of constant flux and what we treasure is eventually taken away from us. Stored only in our memories and then one day, we’re taken away too and all that remains is the spirit of yet another bygone age. In a hundred years’ time the streets would be unrecognisable, having succumbed to the unstoppable forces of finance and development. The familiar sights, smells and laughter will have been concreted over by office monoliths or department stores, selling retro fashion and pocket gizmos. The present was already sepia tinted, he sighed, looking through the beer glass which was now full again. Couldn’t remember ordering it, though. Only the one drink and already confused.
The evening lasted a lifetime. Friendships were sworn, alliances made, and the wallet didn’t suffer too badly. Politics were discussed, sometimes politely, more often with a vigorous slapping of the beer stained counter. Before he knew it, the time had come to get the last train. Hands were shook and backs heartily slapped. He wanted to take a few selfies to preserve the night out forever. The clientele, those few remaining, refused and told him to put away his device and savour the moment instead of stealing it. He didn’t quite understand but he knew they were right.
The next day he told colleagues he’d been to that old place in Tateishi. They looked at him strangely. His supervisor took him aside telling him he was mistaken or still drunk. The bar had burnt down a year ago to the very day. He shivered then. And it wasn't just the Tokyo Winter that chilled him.
Plain Talk
TOKYO NOTICE BOARD DECEMBER 07. 2018Sengakuji in Shinagawa by Joseph
Have you ever heard of the Sengakuji shrine? It's best known as the final resting place of the loyal 47 ronin in Tokyo, Japan. It's a place with a rich tapestry of historical significance.
The story of the 47 ronin is probably one of Japan’s most famous historical tales exemplifying the lengths of loyalty by which the samurai code curtails one to, even while facing certain doom, in rectifying injustice. Endless retellings that take shape around fictionalized accounts based on the actual event have long captured the imaginations of innumerable people worldwide. The story has been spun over a multitude of artistic formats: from Bunraku, kabuki, to cinema (Hiroshi Inagaki's Ch?shingura, along with Kenji Mizoguchi's The 47 Ronin, are probably the most well known versions of the story outside of Japan that do not feature Keanu Reeves wielding magic like a Wild Stallion slow strumming an air guitar).
The gravesite itself is nestled into the high-winding side street of the posh Minato-ku area of Tokyo. It’s by no means hard to locate, and is accessible from Shinagawa station, but it is rather unassuming in it’s understated appearance. The 47 Ronin rest off to the left of the spacious courtyard, where a functional temple resides. It’s a sparse layout, but if you’re there to pay deference to the deeds of these brave folks, you won’t need any gaudy trappings because actions speak louder than words.
For sure, Tokyo may offer other places where glitz and glamour will overstimulate your ocular cavities like a barrage of paparazzi on the prowl at a Kanye West concert, but the subdued reverence witnessed at Sengakuji temple is awe inspiring to those with even the faintest familiarity to its backstory. Whether you're a film buff (yes, I've also visited Ozu's grave, but that's a story for another time), a history buff, or just someone that enjoys finding serenity in the center of Tokyo, Sengakuji is a slice of culture well worth the time.
Tokyo Fab
TOKYO NOTICE BOARD DECEMBER 07, 2018Sengakuji in Shinagawa by Joseph
Have you ever heard of the Sengakuji shrine? It's best known as the final resting place of the loyal 47 ronin in Tokyo, Japan. It's a place with a rich tapestry of historical significance.
The story of the 47 ronin is probably one of Japan’s most famous historical tales exemplifying the lengths of loyalty by which the samurai code curtails one to, even while facing certain doom, in rectifying injustice. Endless retellings that take shape around fictionalized accounts based on the actual event have long captured the imaginations of innumerable people worldwide. The story has been spun over a multitude of artistic formats: from Bunraku, kabuki, to cinema (Hiroshi Inagaki's Ch?shingura, along with Kenji Mizoguchi's The 47 Ronin, are probably the most well known versions of the story outside of Japan that do not feature Keanu Reeves wielding magic like a Wild Stallion slow strumming an air guitar).
The gravesite itself is nestled into the high-winding side street of the posh Minato-ku area of Tokyo. It’s by no means hard to locate, and is accessible from Shinagawa station, but it is rather unassuming in it’s understated appearance. The 47 Ronin rest off to the left of the spacious courtyard, where a functional temple resides. It’s a sparse layout, but if you’re there to pay deference to the deeds of these brave folks, you won’t need any gaudy trappings because actions speak louder than words.
For sure, Tokyo may offer other places where glitz and glamour will overstimulate your ocular cavities like a barrage of paparazzi on the prowl at a Kanye West concert, but the subdued reverence witnessed at Sengakuji temple is awe inspiring to those with even the faintest familiarity to its backstory. Whether you're a film buff (yes, I've also visited Ozu's grave, but that's a story for another time), a history buff, or just someone that enjoys finding serenity in the center of Tokyo, Sengakuji is a slice of culture well worth the time.
12.14. (Fri) 2018 - 7:00 am to 9:00 pm
Ako Gishi-sai Festival @ Sengaku-ji Temple
Sengaku-ji Temple is located a short 1 minute walk from Toei Subway Sengakuji Station
http://www.sengakuji.or.jp/about_sengakuji_en/
What’s App With You?
TOKYO NOTICE BOARD DECEMBER 07. 2018Imiwa?
Imiwa? was created using the amazing JMdict files from the Electronic Dictionary Research and Development Group based on the work of Jim Breen on the EDICT project. While some definitions are available in 4 languages (English, French, Russian and German), only the English translation is guaranteed for all entries in the JMDict dictionary. Initiate a search in any of those 4 languages, in Japanese or in romaji and imiwa? will do the rest. imiwa? Also includes a rich database of kanji (KanjiDic), examples (from tatoeba.org) and conjugations as well as tools suitable for beginners.
Yomiwa:
Yomiwa is a modern offline Japanese dictionary, including numerous features to help you read and learn Japanese. Yomiwa's dictionary has been built up from diverse sources. The powerful search function lets you input words in any kind of alphabet (Kanjis, Hiraganas, Katakanas, Romajis). You can even input whole sentences. Yomiwa can recognize more than 4000 Japanese characters in your pictures or with your device camera. Japanese text is detected, recognized and parsed into words in a fraction of a second. Yomiwa's OCR modes have been designed to help you read with ease all your favorite reading materials, such as mangas, newspapers, books or restaurant menus and signs.
Tokyo Voice Column
TOKYO NOTICE BOARD DECEMBER 07. 2018Calligraphy Class in a Buddhist Temple by Kai Raine
I went to a calligraphy class in a Buddhist temple one Sunday. It had been fifteen years since I held a calligraphy brush. I always loved calligraphy in school, though as a child, the ugliness of the letters shaped by my own brush was a deterrent on my love of the activity. As an adult, I decided to try again. In part, I wondered if I would be better able to simply enjoy it as I didn’t in childhood. I was also partly there for the meditation on Buddhist sutras.
The instructor was unbothered by my amateurish lack of knowledge and supplies. She lent me a brush and an inkstone, gave me some paper, and prepared for me some ink. She wrote out three sutras for me to copy and think upon as I practiced my brushmanship. “It’s okay,” she reminded me, for though I said nothing, my tension must have been visible when she came to look at my progress. “It takes time, getting used to holding a brush.” An obvious point―and one I needed to hear.
The temple was beautiful. We sat facing outward, looking at the beautiful temple garden. Mosquitos feasted on my wrists and fingers, and occasionally my ankles. I blew on them when they came near enough, unable to swat a life away inside a Buddhist temple. The instructor―who carefully rescued a stink bug crawling near my knee―took a swat at a mosquito, and I had to swallow a laugh.
I am a restless sitter―I couldn’t hold any position for two hours. I must have shifted position at least half a dozen times through the class, but no one said anything. No payment was accepted from me for that first class.
But I left with a revived love of calligraphy. In the evenings since, I frequently arrive home exhausted and ready to spread out my futon and go to sleep―only to sit down at my desk, set out my newly purchased inkstone, water and paper, and start making my ink. I choose a few sutras and write them out again and again and again. My letters are still ugly. But my mind feels a little more alive in peace.
ある日曜日、お寺で開かれる書道教室に行ってみた。以前に筆を持ったのは15年も前のこと。学校で教わった習字は大好きだったが、自分の筆の先に生まれる字の醜さに、その気持ちは押しつぶされるように薄まった。大人になった今、もう一度挑戦してみようと思った。半分は、子供の頃のあの字を愛する気持ちがまた生まれてくるのかどうか知りたかった。あと半分は、釈迦さまの教えについて深く考えたかった。
先生は私の素人っぷりに動じなかった。筆と硯を貸してくれた上に、和紙を私の横に置き、墨さえ作ってくれた。お経を一つ、釈迦さまの教えを二つ、見本として描いてくれた。その見本を横に、私はその教えを考えながら真似しようと頑張った。「大丈夫よ」と先生は言ってくれた。私は何も言わなかったが、先生が横に来ると、緊張のあまり、肩の力でも入ったのだろう。「筆を持つことに慣れるには時間がかかるから」まあ、当然ですけどね。
お寺は本当に美しかった。私たちは、寺の中から外の穏やかな庭を眺めるように座って書いていた。手首、指、そして足首までを蚊に食われていた。近くまで来た蚊にフーッ、と息を吹きかけ、追い払おうとした。お寺さまの中で、蚊にさえ乱暴するのは気が引けた。だが、膝の横で歩いていた亀虫をそっと広い、外へ逃がした先生さえ、蚊に手をかけた時は笑いをこらえた。
じっと座ることは昔から苦手だ。正座どころか、どんな体制も続けられず、書道教室の2時間、6回以上は座り方を変えたと思う。だが、誰もそれを指摘するようなことは言わなかった。先生は、初体験だからと言って、礼金さえ受け取らなかった。
だが、お寺を去った私には、文字への愛が再び目覚めていた。あれから、すぐ寝るつもりで家に帰ったはずなのに、机に座ってすみを打ち始める自分がいる。打ちながら、今日書くつもりの釈迦さまの教えを選び、それを何時間もかけて、何度も書き出すようになった。
筆の先の文字は未だに醜い。だが、少しだけ、心が前より落ち着いている。
Strange but True
TOKYO NOTICE BOARD DECEMBER 07. 2018All I want for Christmas is...
Sony is working on a foldable, transparent smartphone, according to a recently published patent application. The patent describes a ‘dual-sided transparent smartphone’ as well as a ‘foldable transparent smartphone.’ It was filed with the World Intellectual Property Office in May, but has only recently been published. The patent describes six different display modes - three for the front and three for the rear. These modes include transparent, semi-transparent and non-transparent modes, which the user can switch between as and when they like. Looks like Sony has a lot of fun plans in the works! Unfortunately, it seems that we may have to wait a while for these plans to become a reality. Sony is yet to comment on the plans.
It's the Thought That Counts
Buying Christmas presents for your special someone can be an extremely stressful experience. You want to buy something that will put a smile on their face, but it's not always easy to know what you should get. One man thought he'd nailed the gifts he bought for his girlfriend after selecting some of her favorite things. But when she accidentally found his secret present stash while cleaning, she was left feeling rather "disappointed". Her gifts included two bottles of her favorite perfume, a dressing gown, a pair of slippers and a skin care set from Boots. What's wrong with that you may ask? She claims that she gets same presents every year… So much better than getting nothing! Let this be a reminder to appreciate whatever you are getting for this Christmas. If you really hate it… well there's always 'Mercari' in Japan!