Saturday, January 30, 2021
Friday, January 29, 2021
Thursday, January 28, 2021
Friday, January 22, 2021
"Foo Fighters unveil exclusive new Japanese sake"
“To commemorate the release of ‘Medicine At Midnight’, Japanese sake brand “TATENOKAWA” that produces top quality Junmai Daiginjo sake has collaborated with Foo Fighters. Based on the preference of the sake-loving band members, TATENOKAWA has specially created two types of Daiginjo sake. Please enjoy ‘HANSHO (Midnight)’ while listening to their fantastic new album.”
For those new to the world of sake, or wanting to know more about the collaboration, Tatenokawa, the brand producing the limited-edition tipple, has been making sake at their brewery in Yamagata Prefecture for 180 years.
The Foo Fighters, who say they love sake, remotely tested a number of different offerings from the brewery, and the sake they chose as their favorite was used to create two new varieties to mark the release of the band’s upcoming album.
Both varieties are classified as junmai daiginjo, which is regarded as the highest-grade sake. “Junmai” refers to a pure sake, made from only rice, water and koji mould, with no extra alcohol added, while “Daiginjo” is the term used for sake containing rice that has been highly polished, with at least 50-percent of the outer grain layer removed. This results in a sake that is easy to drink, with an elegant balance between acidity and umami.
The first Foo Fighters sake is called Foo Fighters x Tatenokawa Junmai Daiginjo Hansho Ao, with”Hansho Ao” translating to “Midnight Blue.”
Brewed with the “pop side” of Foo Fighters in mind, Hansho Ao uses 100-percent locally sourced Dewa rice from Yamagata Prefecture, polished to 50 percent. Said to display a gorgeous aroma with a gentle mouthfeel and light sweetness, Tatenokawa describes this sake as a combination that will “heal your daily fatigue and permeate your entire body,” which sounds like the same effects you’d get after listening to the band’s music.
The second limited-edition variety is the Foo Fighters × Tatenokawa Junmai Daiginjo Hansho Gin, with “Hansho Gin” translating to “Midnight Silver.”
This sake is based on the “rock side” of the Foos and is made with 50-percent polished Omachi rice sourced from Okayama Prefecture. According to Tatenokawa, this version displays an excellent depth and sharp aftertaste with a firm body to provide you with “vitality for tomorrow”.
Both 720-millilitre (24.3-ounce) bottles will retail for 3,080 yen and become available on 5 February, to coincide with the band’s new album release. There’ll also be a “Foo Fighters × Tatenokawa Complete Box Set” containing both bottles and a copy of the new album sold in a special gift box, although price details for the product are yet to be announced.
Source: https://japantoday.com/category/features/new-products/Foo-Fighters-unveil-exclusive-new-Japanese-sake
Teaser video, Foo Fighters x Tatenokawa Collaboration Sake “HANSHO (Midnight)”
Wednesday, January 20, 2021
Checked my postal mail: the print copy finally made it to Japan!
Anthropology News,
November/December 2020,
Volume 61, Issue 6, p. 12-15
ISSN 1541-6151
Available online (but without the cool cover): https://www.anthropology-news.org/articles/eat-drink-and-stand-in-japan/
The Tenbun/tachinomiya project: http://visualanthropologyofjapan.blogspot.com/2020/12/behind-scenestenbun-closingpresentation.html
Tuesday, January 19, 2021
Monday, January 11, 2021
「Eat, Drink, and Stand in Japan」featuring the tachinomiya Tenbun is the cover story for the print version of Anthropology News (November/December 2020)
The original pitch:
In Japan, food is prominent in documentaries, cooking shows, travel shows, variety shows, dramas, manga, anime, books, magazines, blogs, Facebook and Instagram. This food, not eaten but consumed, provides entertainment, enjoyment and knowledge. Many of these presentations are set in izakaya (Japanese-style pub) and tachinomiya (Japanese standing bar) located in shitamachi (“lower city” associated with common people) neighborhoods that serve B-kyu gurume (B-rank food)—comfort food and/or local food. These are fascinating shops and sites to explore the production (cooking) and consumption (eating) of food. The portrayals themselves are another form of production, that of knowledge and enjoyment that is “good to think” (Levi-Strauss 1962), “communicated” (Barthes 1966; Dusselier 2009) and “shared among people” (Cheung 2002).
This photo essay is a multimodal visual ethnography of a 40-year-old tachinomiya in Osaka called Tenbun. Tenbun features many kinds of food and drink, a lively and relaxed atmosphere and plenty of colorful characters including the owner, employees and regular customers. Based upon over two years of participant-observation and photography, a photo exhibition and other post-fieldwork encounters, the text and images explore the intersection of food anthropology, recent research on drinking establishments in Japan and the plethora of “foodie” media productions.
The Tenbun/tachinomiya project: http://visualanthropologyofjapan.blogspot.com/2020/12/behind-scenestenbun-closingpresentation.html
Friday, January 8, 2021
「Eat, Drink, and Stand in Japan」@ Anthropology News - photo essay and visual ethnography about Tenbun and tachinomiya
Direct link to photo essay: https://www.anthropology-news.org/index.php/2021/01/08/eat-drink-and-stand-in-japan/
The Tenbun/tachinomiya project: http://visualanthropologyofjapan.blogspot.com/2020/12/behind-scenestenbun-closingpresentation.html
Tuesday, January 5, 2021
Meet Kai - the new dog in the neighborhood (I'm not a dog person but must admit this one can be filed under kawaii...)
Friday, January 1, 2021
Happy New Year 2021 from「VAoJ」
明けましておめでとうございます。今年もよろしくお願いします!
Ringing in the New Year 2021 at our neighborhood shrine - COVID 19 interferes with the liminality of the hatsumode ritual
The liminal phase in a rite of transition usually entails a certain ambiguity - a period where the usual norms of daily life are absent. However this year, COVID 19 seems to have affected the hatsumode ritual (the first shrine visit of the year) itself. On a scouting mission on December 31, 2020, my research assistant and I briefly visited two local shrines where preparations were underway or had finished for the usual shrine visit at midnight.
This is what we saw at the first site. It is not so easy to see the green tape lines on the pathway to the shrine to encourage social distancing. This got me to think what was being done at our own local shrine.
At the second site, there seemed to have been little preparation. No bon fire barrels, no tent for the sipping of the sacred sake. But there were banners promoting the use of masks, hand sanitizer and social distancing (no green tape maker lines however).
Shortly after the midnight hour I visited our neighborhood shrine once again (my research assistant had fallen asleep watching the New Year's Eve special programming on TV).
There were few people present to say their first New Year's prayers.
There were few people standing in line at the shrine in front of me.
And no one was behind me.
No bon fires, no tents, no containers to dispose of old relgious amulets, no sakered sake, and the water to purify oneself was closed off. And the bell at the top of the opening of the shrine was missing along with the rope attached to it that people shake to make the bell ring before they pray. I talked to a couple of shrine elders and they said these changes (decided by a regional shrine association) had to be made because of the corona virus. The shrine was open for quick prayers but not for the usual ritual festivities. It seemed as if most people were staying home anyway.
You can see the difference between this year and last year (click here).
While it was good that people stayed away to avoid crowds and possible virus spread, it was very sad to miss out on the camaraderie and communitas that the hasumode provides for the neighborhood. Here's hoping for normal ritual activities in 2021!
Shortly after the midnight hour I visited our neighborhood shrine once again (my research assistant had fallen asleep watching the New Year's Eve special programming on TV).
No bon fires, no tents, no containers to dispose of old relgious amulets, no sakered sake, and the water to purify oneself was closed off. And the bell at the top of the opening of the shrine was missing along with the rope attached to it that people shake to make the bell ring before they pray. I talked to a couple of shrine elders and they said these changes (decided by a regional shrine association) had to be made because of the corona virus. The shrine was open for quick prayers but not for the usual ritual festivities. It seemed as if most people were staying home anyway.
You can see the difference between this year and last year (click here).
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