Golden Week II: ネコ公園

The second stop for strolling and photographic adventures during Golden Week was what I will refer to as "Cat Park" near my neighborhood.  Stray cats are a problem in Japan. Signs are displayed in the park with messages discouraging abandonment of pets and animal abuse, and to "think about" the repercussions of feeding strays. Some people make daily trips to the park to feed the strays and bond with the animals. They get to know the personality of the cats and their various roles in the cat society. I happened upon such a woman who pointed out a male who she considered to be the boss cat in the park and informed me about a mother who recent gave birth to a litter under a bridge. The adventure today reminded me of Kazuhiro Soda's observational film, Peace, which deals with social workers and stray cats in Japan.

Golden Week I: 鶴橋

There was lots of walking to be done during the Golden Week holidays. Warm, sunny weather made for pleasant strolls and photographic adventures. The first stop was Tsuruhashi, the center of Korean and Japanese-Korean culture in Osaka.

New Film Announcement: The Dance of the Sun

Photo borrowed from studiobuji.

Announcement from H-Japan:

The Dance of the Sun [is] a film about the origins of dance and mythology in Japan connecting with contemporary dance today.

Choreographer Ami Skånberg Dahlstedt takes us on a voyage to Japan where dance has a long and significant history. The dance has its roots in a mythological story, in which the Sun Goddess gets angry and hides in a rock cave. The world plunges into darkness and cold. However, the Goddess of laughter lures her out with some energetic and crazy dancing and finally the light and warmth returns. The story is the basis for both classical and contemporary dance and theater; Noh, Kabuki, Nihon Buyo and Butoh. The film also invites us to meet Nishikawa Senrei, a very special profile in Kyoto. We will see parts of Ami´s lesson in traditional Japanese dance and also meet contemporary performers in Kyoto, Japan. 

For more information: http://studiobuji.wordpress.com/