This is the house Mike owns, he has never seen it so if you talk to him tell him you think it is very nice. These are views of a bedroom, living room, the view from the front door and the dining room. I had the bedroom painted in 'Hyacinth'. When I took my brother's family to see it there was a family of turkeys in the yard
The past month was spent experiencing the glory of Maine in the summer.
Mel Stobbs turned 60 which means that a theme had to be identified by the Kittery Point gang so we could plan costumes . Since Mel likes home improvement projects the theme was 'Home Depot' and all the guests had to dress in orange. Maureen and I went to Home Depot to try to buy a Home Depot apron. We were told that they do not sell them because people would buy them and attempt to impersonate a Home Depot associate. Maureen and I win the incredulous award for keeping straight faces while the store manager told us this. I will leave it to you to guess why impersonating a Home Depot associate is not a good idea.
......Means hot and humid. For my first ever public musical performance it was hotter and more humid than I have ever experienced. This wasn't MY koto and the sun was beating down on us so I just looked at this block of wood and thought "I have no idea what to do with this". I regained some of my composure and played OK, not perfectly. I also crossed my legs, YIKES!
We had a Fourth of July party and here is a photo of Mike with Nozomi san's daughter Unity who loves ice cream and Lucky.
Last week Mike bought us this.
It comes with 4 acres on Gerrish Island in Kittery Point, Maine
My limited Japanese combined with my koto no sensei's (Koto teacher) limited English has brought me to this conclusion; on Sunday evening in Yokohama they are celebrating the 150th anniversary of something, my koto no sensei is giving a concert and she has asked me to play a duet with her. Of course, I could be delusional.
This week we attended a Kaiseki dinner hosted at the Tadodai House by the Admirals from the Japanese Maritime Defense force. This was a sobetsukai (farewell party) for Mike and Kathy Krentz. Kaiseki is a multi course meal of small dishes that is the ultimate in Japanese dining. The term "kaiseki" means hot stone in a kimono fold, the term "kai" means a fold in a kimono and "seki" means stone. Probably derived from Zen monks putting hot stones in their kimono next to their stomachs to allay hunger.
A typical Kaiseki meal:
"shiizakana" (appetizers served with Japanese sake)
"mukouzuke" (sashimi - slices of raw fish)
"kuchitori" (a small side dish)
"suimono" (a soup)
"nimono" (simmered vegetables)
"aemono" (food dressed with sauce)
"kounomono" (Japanese pickles)
"sunomono" (food marinated in vinegar)
"yakimono" (grilled fish)
"mushimono" (steamed food)
"nabemono" (Japanese hot pot)
rice
miso soup
dessert
Even more remarkable was the house; the Tadodai House was built in 1913 and was the official residence of the Japanese Imperial Navy (what is now the Yokosuka base was the largest JIN base). As I sat in the dining room across the table from the elegant Japanese Admirals it occurred to me that Pearl Harbor had most likely been discussed in this room, if I squinted my eyes I could pretend I was a fly on the wall in November 1941.
The first resident of the house was Vice Admiral Prince Higashifushimi Yorihito in 1913. Vice Admiral Hirata Noboru lived there from Oct 1941 until November 1942. From May 1945- August 1945 Vice Admiral Totsuka Michitaro lived there and then the next resident was Captain Benny Decker in 1946. I live at 6 Edwina Hill, Mrs. Decker was named Edwina and was pivotal in making this base a "little America" and forging a relationship with the Japanese community.
A Sumo Stable is comparable to a monastery. Young men enter right after high school and renounce the modern world. A stable is run by a former Sumo wrestler and his wife, they become the young men's parents and consider themselves a family. In order to become a Sumo you must have a sponsor, you are not evaluated on your size or strength but on your spirit and mind. There are no weight classifications in Sumo and I was assured that size doesn't matter. Mike and I got to experience a little in the daily life of a Sumo. We went to a stable run by a man and his wife, they have nine wrestlers living there. Despite the sand ring on the first floor the house was immaculate. A Sumo cannot wear western clothes again until he retires, when out in public they wear kimono. Daily practice runs from 7-11 AM, then they eat a delicious stew called chunko nabe and many bowls of rice, they eat only twice a day and sleep right after eating. Young men want to be Sumo but their parents often object because of the unusual and demanding lifestyle. Lately there have been several foreign Sumo, from Mongolia and Bulgaria, this has Japanese Sumo fans concerned about the focus of the sport as Sumo is the National Japanese sport and is supposed to be more spiritual than athletic I think. Sumo retire in their early to mid thirties and go on to open chunko nabe restaurants or run their own stable.
That is the name of this instrument which is made of mulberry wood. This particular instrument has been handed down from teacher to student for 150 years. There are four kinds of Biwa, this is the 'blind monk' kind. The Biwa came to Japan from Persia along the silk road, it's a dying art. This sensei played some Santana on it to demonstrate how nicely it lends itself to modern music. Then a bunch of very proper middle aged Japanese women jumped up and yelled "Freebird". OK, maybe it was just, "Thank you most sincerely, national treasure- san".
After the performance I ate yet another meal that looked back at me.
Q: What's the difference between an Ikebana sensei and a 1960's Irish nun?
A: There isn't any.
I had my second Ikebana class today. I have read stories about how demanding these people are. I survived grade 4 with Mother Columba so I am thinking I can survive this. Today's lesson was about angles but most importantly creating and framing empty space.
This is my finished arrangement from today. Sensei said 'good for a second class' and she is encouraged by the fact that I am not afraid to prune. New students usually leave too many leaves on the Shin and Soe.
I had a Koto lesson tonight too. My koto teacher is delightful, she says I am sugoii!! A natural! Today we played duets and it was music to my ears.
Tired of the slow pace of Women's Liberation in Japan, Eeko- san decided to take matters into her own hands
This weekend the Blue Ridge, Mike's office, had a Family Day Cruise. I took along my Japanese Gang. The photo of the ship with Mt. Fuji in the background was taken by one of the helicopters on the ship. My friends and I traveled by train to Shimizu, about three hours south of Tokyo where we spent the night. Mike met us for dinner and we had an authentic Japanese evening of food, sake and Karaoke. We sang Beatles, Elvis and Elton John songs. Painful.
Does anyone know what this fruit is? We got them in Borneo. I ate three of them, not because they tasted that good but because they were there.
I saw an ad for a special on the National Geographic channel that went something like "join us as we follow an indigenous tribe in remote Sarawak, Borneo." Mike and I just took a taxi.
It is remote from Main St. USA and maybe I have gotten too accustomed to these exotic places but you know, if you can get there by taxi does it merit a National Geographic special? I am going to watch these programs with a jaded eye.
Walking along the rain forest canopy on these swinging bridges was fun, they were quite extensive. When we finally came down one of the tribesmen asked us if we had seen the area where a tree had fallen and taken out the bridge.
....and then Jamie Oliver stepped out of the jungle. No kidding, he was a guest at the hotel I was at.
I paid 50 Ringit ($.20) to use this bathroom so I am going to step on the toilet if I want to. I should have taken a photo of the toilet and the hose running into it.
Don't get me wrong, Borneo isn't all overgrown, monkey infested jungle. I had a spa day at our hotel where I had my own cabana, a volcanic mud wrap, I bathed in coconut milk strewn with orchids and had a facial and massage. Maybe that's what Amelia Earhart has been doing all these years.
It is so humid in Borneo I couldn't take too many photos, my lens kept fogging up. I would have to convert to Islam just so I could keep my hair covered every time I left the house. Do you think that last statement will bring a fatwa down on me?
I attended a luncheon the other day where a Japanese Admiral was the guest speaker. He was very candid about military matters that I won't go into here since this is a light hearted tale of this hairdresser's adventures. He did talk about the time he spent living in America and the things that confused him. They don't have checking accounts here in Japan so he wondered why people were writing notes to the check out clerks in grocery stores. And then someone asked him to 'car pool'..........
OK, so one potentially incendiary tale;
My Japanese friends came over for lunch the other day and after we sat down they said "Kathleen san our hearts are heavy, we are very sorry about Pearl Harbor" and I said "My heart is heavy too and I am sorry about Hiroshima". Isn't it nice that they brought it up?
A big part of Mike's job is planning for pandemic influenza. We saw this yesterday and he was talking in his sleep last night. Everyone in Asia wears masks when they have a cold, I read that it started during the SARS epidemic.
Japan has many seasons, one being Cherry Blossom and it's making an appearance. Mature, affluent women will tell you they like plum blossoms more because cherry blossoms are too showy. The close up photo is of a plum blossom. Today Mike and I did the true Japanese thing and went to Ueno Park to view cherry blossoms. The traditional way to do this is to lay out a blue tarp under a cherry tree, eat and get drunk on sake. We were non conformists and went to the National Museum which is on the Ueno Park grounds. Durning Sakura (cherry blossom) season they light red paper lanterns in Ueno Park from 5 until 8 PM.
We got to witness another Japanese tradition in the park today. On Sundays people dress up like Elvis and dance in public parks. Afterwards we had our Easter Dinner, sushi. It is against the law for women to be sushi chefs here, they say our hands are too warm to handle the fish while making the nigiri.
That's the Ikebana International motto. Yesterday I went to an II luncheon in Kamakura, our appetizer was little tiny fish with eyes eaten whole. We saw demonstrations from the various Ikebana schools. The day before yesterday (ototoi) I went to a luncheon where the speaker was the vice mayor of Yokosuka, she is a physician as well and graduated from Toyko University "The Harvard of Japan". What did she speak about??? Bread! I understand her not wanted to get into tricky political waters and it was her first speech in English. Well, it was a very diplomatic decision and she brought bread for us to take home so she was a success.
Yoko Ono has established a museum for John Lennon in Saitama, just past Tokyo. It is really a very well done museum with various rooms depicting different aspects of John's life. Mike and I spent two hours there recently. Yoko says John was just a pop star but once he met her he became an artist.
This morning I was walking down a Kamakura street that was built in 1163 just as the stalls were putting up their shutters to sell all kinds of Japanese food and laquerware. It was magical. I was on my way to the Hachimangu, a shinto temple, where I prayed and took a basket weaving class. It doesn't get better than this.
Kathleen and Ricardo arrived in Japan's first snow storm in 15 years, all the highways were closed. I will spare you the nail biting details, we managed. We went to see the "elusive Mt. Fuji", which was true to it's name, and Hakone.
The Sapporo Snow Festival was fun but the highlight ws a small town called Otaru, it was an alpine village in northern Japan. Kathleen and Ricardo blew glass there.
Just so you know she really is famous, Kathleen ran into someone she knew here in Japan.
Mike has been wanting something that is heavier than socks but thinner than slippers to wear on planes. He spotted these felted clogs in a shop that cost $60. "I can make those!". I ordered the pattern from Fiber Trends, you knit them so they are about five times the desired size and then felt them in the washing machine. I made them in two evenings for $20 and here they are.
Kathy Krentz has been telling me for months that I should watch "Heroes", last week I caught a cold and rented the first two discs to see me through the sniffles, right now I think I am faking sick so I can stay in and watch all the episodes. I am at disc 7 and have only one more to go then withdrawal sets in. I love Hiro.
In 1971 on the Bay View- Greenville bus Carolyn Vacca taught us all how to say how are you in Chinese. 36 years later it came in handy. We spent the past two weeks eating everything Taiwan had to cook. Well, we skipped the snake. Here is our tour guide, Danny Mak's, version of recent Taiwan history.
From the mid 19th century until 1945 Taiwan was occupied by the Japanese, then two things happened almost at once, we bombed Japan and Mao defeated Chiang Kai Shek in China. The Taiwanese optimism at the prospect of being given to the US was short lived when we let Chiang take over, in 1945 he established martial law that lasted until his death in the late 1970's. He didn't act like someone who had just lost a war, he believed himself to be the leader of China and fully expected to return in glory. On his way out he managed to take quite a lot of art and historical items with him. So many that the massive exhibit at the Taiwan National Museum changes every three months so most of the objects can be seen. This was a good thing because so much of China's history and art was destroyed in the Cultural Revolution.
With Chiang, one million Chinese came to Taiwan to join the 21 million that had been there for 4 or 5 generations and the aboriginal people. From that diaspora many later moved to the US, it was with their children and grandchildren we took our tour. Jimmy Kao on our tour with his family called it the "Chinese Roots" tour. Mike and I were the only westerners.
To be continued............
With little time and an adventuring spirit Mike and I have decided to go to Taiwan for Christmas. It's a three hour flight from here. We are taking a tour of the entire island before (Mike hopes) the Chinese blow it to smithereens or worse. I have heard Taiwan described as what China might be like without Mao's dictatorship. Taiwan is supposed to have some of the best food in the world. More later.
Upon arrival, I wanted to get out of Saipan as fast as possible. We were the only Westerners in the airport and the only people at the US Passport desk so we sailed right through into your typical American welfare state. Garapan, the main town, is full of poker and massage parlors, once I got past that I saw that Saipan must have been your textbook version of paradise. Saipan was an island where tarro, bannanas, sugar cane and all kinds of fruit grew wild, the coral reef is full of delicious fish, there are no bugs, no poison anything and the weather is temperate year round. Then Magellan showed up after 109 days at sea and the Saipanese ran out of luck. He killed 8 people and burned 40 houses because he thought they were stealing from him. Then Germany, Japan and America used the island for their own purposes and now there are no crops. The Japanese exported the sugar cane then the US paved the entire island in concrete for runways in WWII. They have not had to repair one road in 60 years the Army Corps of Engineers did such a great job. The Enola Gay took off from Saipan to drop the Atomic bomb on Hiroshima, when the Emperor of Japan wanted to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the dropping of the bomb he did not go to Hiroshima to pray but rather to Saipan.
This photo is of Suicide Cliff, the Japanese wanted to commit suicide rather than submit to the Americans and convinced thousands of Saipanese that life would be hell under American rule so they should also commit suicide. Over 5,000 people walked off this cliff, many holding their children. A Japanese man who survived the fall was rescued by an American Soldier and said that from his vantage point at the back of the line it looked like people going down an escalator.
