More on the door: I couldn't forget the Great Pumpkin... or the hand...

Happy Halloween 2023! In memory of Professor Mark Hollstein and all of his monsters...

Since my own office door is occupied as we celebrate the Hanshin Tigers taking on the Orix Buffaloes in the Japan Series, I have annexed Mark's door for the annual Halloween decorations. Happy Halloween! Go Tigers!

「門真市地域伝統文化まつり」 Kadoma City Neighborhood Traditional Culture Festival

It is autumn so it is time to dust off the danjiri and celebrate fall festivals in many neighborhoods in Kadoma City, including my own, Shirogaki-cho. These local festivals will happen on October 14-15. In addition, to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the founding of Kadoma, the city will have a big festival that includes a danjiri parade with at least 12 neighborhoods participating. The last time there was such an event was to celebrate the new emperor and the new Reiwa era.

Date: Saturday, November 4, 2023
Time: 9:30 AM - 2:00 PM
Suggested Viewing Spot: Keihan Furukawa Station


For more information, see below:

Source (Kadoma City October News in Japanese): https://www.city.kadoma.osaka.jp/soshiki/kikakuzaisei/5/2/4/koho2023/24930.html

Everything you wanted to know about danjiris in Kadoma-shi (and much more): https://visualanthropologyofjapan.blogspot.com/2020/05/special-multimodal-bonus-resources-and.html

My office door...

"There is Power in a Union"

Listen! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwbzxemJZIc

There is Power in a Union (Billy Bragg) "Talking with the Taxman About Poetry" (1986)

Lyrics:

There is power in a factory, power in the land
Power in the hand of the worker
But it all amounts to nothing
If together we don't stand
There is power in a Union


Now the lessons of the past
Were all learned with workers' blood
The mistakes of the bosses we must pay for
From the cities and the farmlands
To trenches full of mud
War's always been the bosses' way, sir

The Union forever defending our rights
Down with the blackleg, all workers unite
With our brothers and our sisters
From many far off lands
There is power in a Union

Now I long for the morning that they realize
Brutality and unjust laws cannot defeat us
But who'll defend the workers who cannot organise
When the bosses send their lackeys out to cheat us?

Money speaks for money
The Devil for his own
Who comes to speak for the skin and the bone?
What a comfort to the widow
A light to the child
There is power in a Union

The Union forever defending our rights
Down with the blackleg, all workers unite
With our brothers and our sisters
Together we will stand
There is power in a Union
There is power in a factory, power in the land
Power in the hand of the worker
But it all amounts to nothing
If together we don't stand
There is power in a Union


Now the lessons of the past
Were all learned with workers' blood
The mistakes of the bosses we must pay for
From the cities and the farmlands
To trenches full of mud
War's always been the bosses' way, sir

The Union forever defending our rights
Down with the blackleg, all workers unite
With our brothers and our sisters
From many far off lands
There is power in a Union

Now I long for the morning that they realize
Brutality and unjust laws cannot defeat us
But who'll defend the workers who cannot organise
When the bosses send their lackeys out to cheat us?

Money speaks for money
The Devil for his own
Who comes to speak for the skin and the bone?
What a comfort to the widow
A light to the child
There is power in a Union

The Union forever defending our rights
Down with the blackleg, all workers unite
With our brothers and our sisters
Together we will stand
There is power in a Union

Workers of the World Unite (against the homebreakers)!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nmwDTf9k34

Listen! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-G83Awrw8k

Homebreakers (Mick Talbot, Paul Weller) The Style Council "Our Favorite Shop" (1985)

Lyrics

Good morning day, how do you do
I wonder - what will you do for me?
I should be on my way, I should be earning pay,
I should be all the things that I'm not -
And I've tried on my own, now there's nothing to keep me at home,
Like my brother has too - gotta leave to get out of this view,
You see they, tell you to move around -
If you can't find work in your own town.


As I rise from my bed I can hear the old man
Blaming heaven & mother for this
30 years with one firm, 13 months redundant,
Yes I'd say that's unlucky for some -


Now our tears fall like rain, as my mother walks me to my train,
With a kiss & a wave - come home weekends - that's if I can save.
I swear I'll take it out on the man -
Who ever devised this economy plan.


All the love in the world - can't put -
Dinner on the table -
All the hate that I feel no love could put right


Good morning day, how do you do
I wonder - what will you do for me?
I should be on my way, I should be earning pay,
I should be all the things that I'm not -


And I've tried on my own, now there's nothing to keep me at home,
All the love and the strength has been taken by this government,
You see they, tell you to move around -
If you can't find work in your own town.


Father's in the kitchen, counting out coins,
Mother's in the bedroom, looking through pictures of her boys,
One is in london, looking for a job,
The other's in whitehall - looking for those responsible!

Hanshin Tigers 2023 Central League Champs!

Oh so happy...

https://hanshintigers.jp/

"That is not a place to sit on the bus..."

I usually do not take photos on the bus or train. But I could not help myself this morning. As the fall semester started this week, the buses to campus have been very crowded (wear your masks!). This morning a student found a creative way to sit down when no seats were available. I watched as he hoisted himself up and adjusted his head behind the mirror. At first most people ignored him. But finally, an older gentleman sitting in the seat behind and below the student said, "That is not a place to sit on the bus..." They student responded with a slight nod of his head (a "shit bow"). He was the last person off the bus at the campus stop because he couldn't climb down as people streamed past him to disembark.

I am also seeing students sitting in the priority seats and not giving them up for those in need. Wagamama!

Kenney sensei...

Kenney sensei and two of her students 1998

Elizabeth Kenney was my teacher, colleague and dear friend. She supported me in so many ways since I met her in 1997. I can't put into words how much I miss her.

At a New Years event at school

Helping out with my Halloween in Japan research...

Retirement party 2019

Farewell note on her office door after retirement...

In Memoriam: Professor Elizabeth Kenney: https://networks.h-net.org/group/discussions/20003679/memoriam-professor-elizabeth-kenney

Resource: The Earthquake Children Image Archive

Description (from the web site): Welcome to the Earthquake Children Image Archive. This website, containing over 500 images, serves as a companion to my book Earthquake Children: Building Resilience from the Ruins of Tokyo (Harvard University Asia Center, 2020).

The images collated in this website visually document children’s experiences of the 1923 Great Kantō Earthquake and daily life in 1920s Tokyo. Sources range from postcards, children’s drawings and photographs, to maps, architectural drawings and memorabilia. In addition to images of and by children, the collection depicts teachers, imperial family members, government officials, policemen, doctors, nurses, foreign tourists, and other adults involved in providing relief, education and care of children in the aftermath of the Great Kantō Earthquake. Beginning from the eve of the earthquake, the images are organized into the following eight categories: Epicenter of Vulnerability; Earthquake & Fires; Objects of Concern; Agents of Recovery; Back to School; Earthquake Lessons; New Schools & Parks; and, Remembrance & Commemoration.

I have designed the archive primarily as a teaching and learning tool for undergraduate courses I teach at International Christian University in Tokyo. Each section includes questions intended for further discussion alongside the corresponding chapters in my book Earthquake Children. Today, as Japan marks the 100th anniversary of the Great Kantō Earthquake in September 2023, I hope your visit to this website also encourages you to review your own knowledge of what to do in the event of a future earthquake, wherever you are in the world.

URL: http://www.earthquakechildren.com/