第四: J-CULT THURSJAY!

Some J Soul Brothers? Anyone? Yes, please! 

Here is their new track Storm Riders feat. Slash which was released this April! I have been waiting for some new Jpop tunes for my iPod, so I am super happy right now, and also really excited to do the ironing (I iron as I listen to music)...

I love it - I think J Soul Brothers (and Exile), are defs my favourite Japanese boy band. Actually, I know so! I can't think of any others that I like more. I tend to prefer Korean boy bands to Japanese ones, and it is often hard to beat Korean boy bands because they all dance and sing so well. The music videos are also so creative. Enough about Kpop.

So, I have heard that they are releasing another song this month called Starting Over - but I haven't been able to find it sadly. If you find a link, please send it to me. I think it might be a ballad, which is usually not my cup of tea. Then again, I think they could convince me otherwise somehow. Very easily...

Well, here's the new one for your enjoyment. I added some older ones that I love to the bottom too. Hey, who is Slash, by the way? 

STORM RIDERS feat. Slash:

O.R.I.O.N:

R.Y.U.S.E.I:

FUYU MONOGATARI: (My favourite!)

第三: J-CULT THURSJAY!

I love サカナクション (Sakanaction), and for those of you who don't know them yet but like Japan and electro music, BANG! Sakanaction is a beautiful union of the two and you should have a really good listen to all of their stuff. Their lyrics are equally as beautiful.

After my time in Japan, Sakanaction holds an even more special place in my heart than it did beforehand. I got on very well with one of the ladies at my school and one day it snowed and snowed and snowed, so much that there was no way I could ride back home on my bicycle. She kindly offered to drive me home, and as the car started, Sakanaction started playing loudly from her car stereo. As she turned it down, she frantically apologised for having it so loud, but I told her to turn it back up because she was playing a song I loved! We both laughed hysterically as she couldn't believe I liked Sakanaction, and also because I had unfairly expected her not to be into such music! It was a great moment and one I will always remember. In fact, I have just finished writing a letter to her by hand and in Japanese! (I haven't written in Japanese since I left almost four months ago!)

So, here are my personal favourites which you should go and look up on youtube:

- 夜の踊り子
- ミュージック(Have a look at the lyrics for this one!)
- Ame(B) 
- minnanouta 
- ユリイカ

The reason I am posting about Sakanaction is because they have recently released two new songs, さよならはエモション (Goodbye Emotion) and 蓮の花 (Lotus Flower) which has a really awesome music clip as you will see below. One thing I love about Sakanaction is the dreamlike nature of their music and videos. As you watch, it is as though the imagery leads you toward a place where you are closer to the music, and that in turn sets your mind off on a beautiful adventure! 

On a different topic, have you ever heard of Rabbit Island? ウサギ島 (Usagijima) or 大久野島(Ōkunoshima)? Well, neither had I! It's a little island located near 竹原 (Takehara) in Hiroshima Prefecture.

Originally a home to Japanese fishermen, the island was used in WWII as a place for producing poison gas for chemical warfare. After WWII, the poison gas factory became a museum and hotels, a golf course and camp sites were built. Now the island is home to hundreds of rabbits which are tame and can be fed. I am so sad I never visited the island when I was in Japan, but as I love rabbits, I will add it to the list of places to go.

I found a lovely little video of the rabbits which you can see here (click me!), or have a look here at the following video by David Tang on his adventure to the island! After seeing it, I really want to go there and have rabbits jump all over me! 

I hope you enjoyed the THIRD J-CULT THURSJAY! Here are some links that might interest you:

Sakanaction on Wikipedia

Sakanaction Youtube

Okunoshima on Wikipedia

第二: J-CULT THURSJAY!

I'm already one day late for my J-Cult Thursjay post! How awful. I will try harder next week!

This evening, after finding articles on Japanese art trends, strange panda seats on trains, and an elaborate advert for the Japanese department store Isetan with their song isetan-tan-tan (you really should have a look. It's so cute!), I finally found something really awesome! 

Vampillia is a Japanese band which was started in Osaka in 2005. They have a really interesting style which I find incredibly exciting yet difficult to describe. Their music takes you on a journey from gentle, hypnotic sounds and experimental orchestral music to fast-paced death metal crossed with punk/grunge. I'm not very good at describing musical styles - never have been - but this one is really hard to label. They say it themselves on their facebook page! Anyway, who needs labels.

This evening I have been checking out their newish song Mirror Mirror. The video clip complements the music incredibly well with beautiful and sometimes shocking animations playing with fractals and images melding together to form interesting shapes. In fact, the more I watch it, the more intriguing it is seeing the beauty juxtaposed with quite horrific images! Have a look! 

Having a quick listen to some of their other music, lilac is also really lovely! Such beautiful orchestral music! Northern Lights is really awesome as well! I will definitely spend a little more time with these guys! From the look of it, they have been quite successful and have done a lot of tours all over the world including one to Australia! I wish I'd known beforehand! Here they are for your enjoyment! 

If you want to know more about Vampillia, here are some links!

Vampillia Official Web Page

Vampillia @ facebook

Buy an album!

第一 J-CULT THURSJAY!

Over a year ago, I remember posting the following:

Ha! Well, that never really happened. Perhaps my little project was unreasonable considering how busy my life was at that time. Short films, theatrical productions and the like...     . . .

Instead of going all out, researching and writing a thesis on each topic that interests me, I am going to trawl the net each Thursday and find one thing I like from Japanese culture. I'm going to call this section THURS J-CULT! I'm hoping there are no horrid cults out there calling themselves this. So, this is most likely going to be from Japanese pop culture, but I wont close any doors. Not even my front door. (It's rather hot and the breeze is gently blowing up my short leg...)

Today will be the first, and I have no idea what I'm going to find. Let's have a look now. BRB......

Well, I have found something super interesting related to Japanese culture! It is also related to teddy bears, and who doesn't like soft, fluffy things!

Steiff, the maker of the very first teddy bear in the whole entire world, has just made a totoro plushie! In case you didn't know, My Neighbour Totoro (となりのトトロ) is an anime and a Hayao Miyazaki masterpiece from 1988. (Check here for a trailer!) 

(From http://yattarjapan.com/en/3008302/)

Apparently Steiff has made Hello Kitty plushies in the past, but the totoro plushie will be the first plushie from a collaboration between Steiff and Studio Ghibli. 

Unfortunately you can't buy it now, but if you get in early, you'll be able to score yourself one for about $400 sometime next year in 2015! Remember, you have to fill up the back seat of your car with soft toys and that includes Steiff teddy bears. Just don't park anywhere with a high crime rate... Steiff totoro plushies are a limited edition, so don't wait! I want one, but I am still trying to justify purchasing a giant pikachu plushie from the Pokemon Centre in Japan last year...

七夕 Tanabata!

Tanabata is a Japanese star festival taking place on the seventh day of the seventh month each year.

七夕は、「星の祭り」の別名、毎年の七月の七日に起こる祭りです。

Tanabata originates from the Chinese Qixi festival and is based upon the story of two deities, Orihime and Hikoboshi.

七夕は織姫と彦星と呼んだ神について中国物語にふまえた「チーシー」祭りから来ます。

According to the story, the two lovers were separated by the Milky Way. 

物語によると、あの二人の愛好家は銀河系で別れされた。

For one day each year, a flock of magpies create a bridge so that the lovers can meet.

毎年一日間、一群のカササギは来て、愛好家が合うために大きい橋を作ります。

Japanese people believe that if it rains on Tanabata, the magpies will not come.

七月の七日に雨が降ると、日本人はカササギが来る事が出来ないを信じられます。

Therefore the lovers must wait yet another year before they can meet.

それに、愛好家は、合う事が出来るために、一年間を待たなければ行けません。

People celebrate Tanabata by writing a wish on a piece of paper and attaching them to bamboo. 

七夕の日に、人は希望を紙に書いて、この紙を竹の枝につなぎます。

The bamboo branches are then placed in the river and later burned.

その後で、この竹の枝は川に流させて、焦げた。

-----------

REF:

Tanabata on Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanabata

Tanabata on Japan-Guide: http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2283.html

Notes on Yakuza

So, I've been interested in the yakuza a little recently after watching My Boss My Hero, so I decided to learn a bit more about it all. 

The following are some notes I have made from wikipedia*. I wrote them for my own use, but thought others might like to read a mini-summary (if it makes sense to you...)

* I have put "from wikipedia" in bold as I have no idea whatsoever if it is ok to take notes from wiki which are and are not in my own words and then put them on my blog. I am in no way stating that I wrote the following or am trying to pass it off as my own. Well, it's probably in such "note" form that it doesn't make sense to anyone else... but yeah, as I don't really know if it's ok to do this, I thought I'd clarify myself a bit. Did I say the following words are notes I have made from wikipedia?

---------

Yakuza

General:
- aka gokudou (or bouryokudan by police / media, or ninkyou dantai by yakuza themselves).
- members of transnational & international crime syndicates
- strict codes of conduct / organised nature

Divisions:
- tekiya (one of lowest social groups in Edo / ilicit and stolen goods / later formed own organisations, took over some commerce and admin roles in society, then allowed members to be peddlers or guards at festivals etc. / peddlers paid rent for their positions / Edo govt. formally recognised the tekiya organisations and gave the leaders permission to carry nagawakizashi (previously only noblemen and samurai could have swords on their person).
- bakuto (gambling / the lowest social class as gambling was illegal / opened small gambling houses in abandoned temples etc / the gambling houses ran loan shark businesses / bakuto looked down upon / negative aspects of yakuza originate from the bakuto - even the word yakuza refers to a losing hand in oicho-kabu blackjack.

Structure and other stuff:
- due to economic sitch in mid-period, yakuza groups were made up of delinquants / yakuza initiation ceremonies still incorporate tekiya & bakuto rituals, today's yakuza groups still may identify with one group in particular / kyushu island has been largest source of yakuza members / 60% of yakuza decendants of bakumin (a feudal outcast class) 

- obayan/kobun hierarchy / sakazumi ie. sharing of sake cup / during WWII yakuza organisations declined to focus on war efforts / yakuza members cut family ties to show loyalty to oyabun / women yakuza called nee-san / those that receive sakazumi become part of immediate family and are ranked little or big brother / kobun can offer sakazumi to underlings to form own affiliated subsidiary organisation. / yakuza full body tattoos (when playing oicho-kabu, yakuza may remove shirt to display tattoo).

Rituals:
- yubitsume (cutting of the finger as form of apology or penance / transgressor cuts tip off left little finger and gives to boss / transgressor's superior can spare him and take blame / yubitsume has origins in the holding of katana as it would weaken the grip of the sword and force the transgressor to rely more on his gang / prosthetic little fingers used to hide this from others.

Largest Groups: 
1) yamaguchi-gumi - began 1915 / 55,000 members / 850 clans / make up 50% of all yakuza
2) sumiyoshi-kai - 20,000 members / 277 clans / federation
3) inagawa-kai - 15,000 members / 313 clans

Today:
- yakuza groups have helped during disasters - such as Kobe earthquake. 
- many syndicates ban drug trafficking.
- yakuza has ties with realty and the banking market.

Ref:
Yakuza @ Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yakuza
Oicho-Kabu @ Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oicho-Kabu

新しい好きな曲を見つけた

サカナクションが好きで、今日は新しいサカナクションの曲を見つけた！この曲の名前は「ミュージック」と呼んだと思てて、絶対知らないんだ。どうぞビデオを見てね。：）

皆さんはサカナクションを好きだったら、「夜の踊り子」も見つけてみてね。：）昔日と今日のミックスのはすっごく好きだ。このミックスは、日本の現代美術によくあるよ。僕はこのテーマがとても面白いと思う。日本の現代美術のアーチストはよく昔日を現在の芸術品に組み込んでみると思う。日本人のため、昔日は特別だそうだと思う。昔日の接続を維持することは現在にとても大切な事だ。

僕のブログを読んでいる日本人は、この考えどう考えるの？どうぞコメントを書いて、レスポンスしてね。

可愛いビデオ

この可愛いビデオを見つけたばかりだ。：）その食べ物はアニメの食べ物にとって、すっごく美味しそうだな！

それも分かりやすい日本語だね！

神道

Well, I had planned to write a little more tonight than I have, but I'm a little tired and can't concentrate enough. Sorry guys!

今晩は神道についてもっとを書くつもりだったけど、疲れていて、力を注げない。皆さん、ごめんね！

Shintoism, or kami no michi (way of the Gods), is the indigenous belief system of the Japanese people, involving a set of practices which maintain the connection between modern and Ancient Japan.　Shintoism was first recorded in the 8th century in the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki.  

In Shinto belief, everything contains a kami or spirit including mountains, trees, rocks and rivers.

One of the oldest Shinto Shrines in Japan, Tsubaki Grand Shrine.

神道は日本人の土着信念体系です。神道は今の日本と古い日本の関係を保つためにの宗教的な修行です。

八世紀の日本書紀と古事記で最初に書き留められました。


神道の信念によると、すべての物の中に神がいます。神は山とか川とか木とか岩の中あります。

Ref:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shinto
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/shinto/ataglance/glance.shtml

新しい日本文化研究方法！

今日は僕の日本文化計画を変わる事にします！毎月新しい日本文化についてトピックを研究する予定です。今月はもう始めましたので、二月間に次のトピックを一つ研究します。

今月のトピックは神道です。毎ブログ投稿は、僕が神道について何かを書きましょう。誰もが僕のブログ投稿を理解できるように英語とか日本語で書いてみます。


Today I decided to change my Japanese culture research project! Each month I plan to study a new topic about Japanese culture. As this month has already begun, I will study my next topic over two months. 

This month's topic is Shinto! In each blog post, I will write something about Shinto. So that everyone can understand, I will try to write in both Japanese and English.

New blogs I've found!

Hi all,

Just a little post for all those learning Japanese or into Japan and Japanese culture!


You should visit the Japan Visitor Blog! I've only just briefly checked it out, and it looks really interesting. Lots of beautiful pictures of Japan, some information about festivals etc too!

I also found a blog called Wired in Japan and has information about how to study Japanese!

Oh, and if you want some kanji and vocabulary help, try Japanetics!

Ok, gotta go check those sites out a little more!

:P

アジア研究

みなさん！今晩自分が設計したアジア研究を勉強して決めたよ。興味があるトピックについて研究して勉強します。例えば：

- 能楽堂
- 文楽
- 歌舞伎
- 声明
- 日本の伝統的な楽器
- 雅楽
- 神道
- 日本の神話
- 善仏教
- 新宗教
- 侍
- 芸者
- 書道-
- 日本の歴史

年末までにそのトピックについてたくさん良くに分かりたいですね。：）日本について面白くて重要なトピックのお進めとか質問をあれば、ここでポストを書いてください。日本について有識者に成りたいですね。：P

細江英公の写真術

シドニー国際交流基金のインタネットページでは細江英公の写真術展覧会について丁度読みました。ページがふるいに伴い、今展覧は今終わりました。残念ですね。とにかく、そのページを見た後で、何か細江英公について心得をウィキペディアで探して行きました。細江の生活はとても面白くて、彼の写真はすごく強力だと思います。インターネットで感慨深い写真がたくさん見つけました。細江英公、知っていますか。写真術が好きのなら、彼の写真術を探せば良いと思いますね。

A different mood.

Well, it's been a bit quiet for the last few weeks in relation to my Asian language learning. I don't know if anyone else has the same problem as me, but I often switch between my two loves - Asian languages and European languages. I started this blog during my Asian-mood and did lots and lots of Japanese study, but now I am in my Euro-mode and I've been focussing on the other languages I'm learning. This happens every so often - and I can't really control it. I will get back into studying Japanese soon - maybe in a few weeks - then again, I may return to my Asian-mood tomorrow! Until whenever that is, see you soon and thanks for reading!

It's almost a little late to post this, but a few days ago, I found this little clip on Youtube. There are four parts, so please enjoy!

僕の納豆の冒険

みなさん！こんにちは！

Today, I thought I'd have a little chat about Japanese food... and to begin, I will start with 納豆 (nattō).

So, the other day, I thought it would be a good idea to revisit 納豆 and give it a 6th try. Well, I admit I have actually only eaten it twice before - once was only a spoonful from some that a friend was eating for lunch, and once when I thought I might buy some and try it properly at home. That was about 5 years ago and I haven't had any 納豆 since.

My first taste of 納豆 was unpleasant. I did not like the smell, flavour nor the texture. The second time, when I thought I might be able to eat a whole bowl of it at home, I pretty much had the same opinion and gave the rest to my mum who liked it immensely and ate it all without a problem.

Well, my dear readers (one day......), last week I went to my favourite supermarket and bought a 4 pack of 納豆 - 納豆しそ海苔* to be exact. About an hour ago, I returned from an interview and seeing as it was lunchtime, I thought I may as well have 納豆 for lunch!

I made some rice, prepared the nattō with the dressing provided (which on its own, tasted quite good), and scooped the nattō onto my rice with a big splash of soy sauce. I sat down and unfortunately was very quickly reminded of how much I disliked the smell, flavour and texture. In fact, just before I wrote that sentence, I had to run to the kitchen for a drink to get the flavour out of my mouth. 

I kind of want to like it, but I'm going to have to classify myself as a non-eater. I did however make a good effort to finish the bowl. There's about a quarter left and I definitely ate much more than I did the last two times. If I ever feel I can give it another go, I will venture back into the fridge and prepare another of the 3 remaining packs. Who knows, the more I try it, the less nasty it may seem! (I'm trying this with Li Hing Mui but it isn't going well).

So, to more positive subjects, my favourite Japanese foods are たこ焼き (takoyaki = octopus dumplings/balls), well actually I pretty much love everything else except for うなぎ (unagi = eel) and for some reason お好み焼き (Japanese-style pancake) has never been a big favourite. When I went to Japan, I ate カレーライス (curry rice), for the first time ever and my heavens, it was delicious! If only I had some now...  

*I'm not quite sure what しそ海苔 (shisonori) is. If anyone can enlighten me, please do! So far, I've found sites calling it Perilla, and on the packet the nattō is sitting on a leaf with the same shape as the one pictured on wikipedia. It says it is supposed to have a mint/fennel/apple-like flavour. As I said, it tasted good on its own! :P

Here's another video by the ウルフルズ! It's related to takoyaki and okonomiyaki! Enjoy!