"Directive to promote 'awamori' spirit adopted in Okinawa town"

Photo and text from Japan Today, July 12, 2019

A town assembly in Okinawa on Tuesday unanimously adopted a directive to promote toasting with awamori, a rice-based distilled spirit, as part of efforts to revitalize the local economy.

The "ordinance" implemented by the assembly of Yonabaru in Okinawa Prefecture is the first in the country for awamori, according to the Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association.

Similar moves to promote sake and shochu alcoholic beverages during toasting have been introduced by local governments in many parts of Japan.

Awamori, produced in Okinawa, is regarded as Japan's oldest distilled spirit, dating back around 600 years.

Yonabaru's efforts to encourage drinking of awamori, incorporated into the municipal code, points out that the number of awamori distilleries has declined sharply and shipments of the spirit have been falling since peaking in 2004.

It also calls on local residents and related business operators to cooperate in supporting consumption of the spirit.

As of Monday, a total of 144 "kampai ordinances" had been passed in Japan, according to the association, with Kyoto implementing the first one for sake in 2013.

Source: https://japantoday.com/category/national/directive-to-promote-awamori-spirit-adopted-in-okinawa-town

Sunny Saturday Street Photography in Sanjo

After the overwhelming response to my plea for advice on photographing in public in Japan on the blog, Facebook and Twitter (sarcasm intended), I decided to head out once again. This time I went to Sanjo in Kyoto. There was a lot going on and it reminded me of the carnivalesque settings Mikhail Bakhtin describes in his Rabelais and His World - a mixture of people and events creating a cacophony of culture; I had flashbacks from my San Francisco days in the Haight-Ashbury district and Golden Gate Park and more recently the scene around the great cathedral in Cologne, Germany. It was a great opportunity to interact with people and take photographs.

I had no problems asking people's permission to take their photographs, beginning with the young woman handing out flyers for the izakaya she works at. I encountered many interesting people, including street musicians, a group of my own students out for ramen and other adventures, a group of Japanese professors from my university, school girls asking to practice English and even political activists holding a petition drive and political rally criticizing U.S. military bases in Okinawa.

This man introduced himself as Ju-Ju. I first saw him playing percussion on his bicycle with a couple other street performers (the song, Stand By Me...). He spoke English and said he was a jazz musician and tarot card fortune teller. We took pictures of each other and with each other. But my photos definitely fail to capture the character and personality of this man.

The name of this group is Kyoto Action; they are a citizens group opposed to new U.S. military bases in Okinawa. Check out their web page for more information on this important issue.

Link to Kyoto Action's web page (in Japanese): http://kyoto-action.jugem.jp/

I had a great time meeting and photographing people in Sanjo. I was able to speak with people in Japanese, English and even Japanese Sign Language. Some people seemed to be attracted to my foreignness, others to my attempt to speak Japanese, and others interested in my camera. It would seem that walking slowly and being friendly is a good method for street photography. Thanks to all who let me take and post their pictures!

"Film by 14-year-old director from Okinawa to hit cinemas"

From today's Japan Today:

A film directed by a 14-year-old boy has gained such popularity in his native Okinawa Prefecture that it will be commercially screened at theaters on the mainland beginning with three cinemas in Tokyo and Yokohama this weekend.

The feature film titled "Yagi no Boken" (adventure of a goat) by Ryugo Nakamura, a third-year student at Okinawa Higashi Junior High School in Okinawa City, has drawn 40,000 viewers during screenings at community centers in the prefecture last year, leading to the upcoming theatrical release.

The film depicts lives of local boys and other people in the Yambaru area in the northern part of Okinawa Island through the escape of a goat kept for food.

"Goats are food in Okinawa," Nakamura said. "Many films portray Okinawa like a tropical paradise. I hope people will know about its real culture and tradition."

Producer Yuichi Ide said, "I would like people across the country to see this film because of its quality. You would not believe it was shot by a junior high school student."

Nakamura, who will turn 15 on Monday, began shooting independent movies when he was eight with the video camera of his father who died in an accident. He has created more than 30 short films thus far.

Critics raved about his short film "Yagi no Sampo" (a goat on a walk), which served as the groundwork for the latest feature, at the Okinawa tourism drama competition in 2009.

For the latest movie, most actors and crew members were chosen from top local professionals, and Cocco, a renowned female singer born and raised in Okinawa, sings the theme song of the movie.

Nakamura wrote a letter to Cocco asking her to provide the song for the film.

The film is scheduled to hit theaters in many parts of Japan after being released in Tokyo and Yokohama on Saturday.

"Okinawa photographer captures life around military bases"

From today's Japan Today:

Okinawa Prefecture-based photographer Mao Ishikawa on Saturday opened an exhibition in Nago in the prefecture showcasing the lives of diverse groups of people who live near U.S. military bases.

On display at the Nago Museum are about 80 pictures by Ishikawa, 57, taken between June 2009 and July 2010 during her extensive visits to areas near the Marine Corps’ Futenma air station, its possible relocation site in the Henoko district in Nago and entertainment areas near the Kadena air base.

One picture shows a Marine with a tattoo of the World Trade Center buildings, which collapsed in the Sept 11, 2001, terror attacks, with the letters ‘‘NEVER FORGET,’’ while another shows a bar owner treating young American soldiers like her own sons.

Ishikawa, who has long been photographing her native prefecture, has also captured people outside military circles, such as an Indian clothing store owner and Japanese people moving to Okinawa from other parts of the country.

The exhibition will run through Oct 3 excluding Mondays. It will reopen in January at a venue in Okinawa City in the prefecture.

Ishikawa and her work both seem to be very interesting. Here are some more links about her:

Mao Ishikawa (in Japanese):
http://www.outofplace.jp/TOKIO%20OoP/Mao%20Ishikawa.html

Mao Ishikawa, by Eye Curious
http://www.eyecurious.com/mao-ishikawa/

Review: Mao Ishikawa, Life in Philly, by Eye Curious
http://www.eyecurious.com/review-mao-ishikawa-life-in-philly/

Political Poster: Close the Base!

Political poster as reported in today's Japan Today. Caption reads: This full-page ad by Japanese group Juco Network ran in The Washington Post last week, protesting a plan to build a relocation site for the U.S. Marine Corps’ Futenma Air Station in Okinawa Prefecture. Former Okinawa Gov Masahide Ota was among some 90 signatories.

Photo and text borrowed from Japan Today:
http://www.japantoday.com/category/picture-of-the-day/view/anti-base-ad

More information:
http://closethebase.org/