Thank God the Semester Is Over!

Felinization -or- "Sushi for Cats"

Source: JunsKitchen
URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGcYabz3hYg&t=194s

I'm not sure how I missed this. But as I am immersed in social media in my latest research, I am coming across many interesting things. I hope this form of felinization (glocalization for cats) is not offensive to anyone. I am sure the cats and their owner are not racist nor are they trying to appropriate Japanese culture.

The Neko Project

Photo borrowed from Neko Project/Yuko FUKAGAWA

Project synopsis (from the website):

IN THE OLD DAYS, A MAN WAS TAUGHT TO FORGET HIMSELF. TODAY IT IS QUITE DIFFERENT: HE IS TAUGHT NOT TO FORGET HIMSELF AND HE ACCORDINGLY SPENDS HIS DAYS AND NIGHTS IN ENDLESS SELF-REGARD. WHO CAN POSSIBLY KNOW PEACE IN SUCH AN ETERNALLY BURNING HELL? THE APPARENT REALITIES OF THIS AWFUL WORLD, EVEN THE BEAST LINES OF BEING, ARE ALL SYMPTOMS OF THAT SICKNESS FOR WHICH THE ONLY CURE LIES IN LEARNING TO FORGET THE SELF.

SOSEKI NATSUME, I AM A CAT

This anthology I am a cat of Soseki in the Japanese literature reveals the importance and the necessity to sometimes have cat’s point of view on our crazy world. Cats have been significant in Japanese culture from Hello Kitty to the maneki-neko, from A Cat, A Man, and Two Women written by Jun’ichiro Tanizaki to The cat returns from Ghibli Studio, from Chiro, Nobuyoshi Araki’s cat to Sasuke, Masahisa Fukase’s cat, cats are omnipresent. When visiting Japan, no one could ignore cats everywhere in the streets but also their representations in bars or restaurants next to the tanuki.

This project is to offer Japanese photographers a challenge within the framework of an open call: to propose a series of very personal photographs on the theme of cat but with their own language, their own style, their own techniques.

A jury (described in the pages of this site) will meet in May 2018 to select all the series that will be published in a book – Neko Project Book (The release will be scheduled for 2019) by the publisher iKi.

In addition, this Neko project will lead to various proposals: different types of exhibitions, conferences and workshops, throughout Europe to express the important place of Japanese photography in worldwide photography expression.

URL: http://neko-project.com/about/

You can still see some exhibitions: http://neko-project.com/partnership/

Thanks to LD for the heads-up on this project.

Jalan Jalan (63): I can't get enough of this place -or- "Be cautious of cats and dogs on this bike..."

"Hiroshima eyes tourist boost with cat’s-eye view of city streets"

Photo and text borrowed from The Japan Times, 9/4/15.

Tourism bosses in Hiroshima Prefecture have come up with what they hope will draw more feline-loving visitors: a Google-style street view for cats.

Billed as a world’s first, officials this week launched an online map that explores the streets of the port city of Onomichi from the “purrspective” of a four-pawed visitor.

“We decided to focus on cats because they know everything about the city, including the back streets,” a tourism spokesman at Hiroshima Prefecture said.

He added that the city of about 150,000 people is known for its many felines and has a street known as “Cat Lane.”

The map is based on the perspective of Lala, a fluffy kitty with emerald-colored eyes, who lives with a local hair salon owner.

So far the map covers just two streets but plans to expand its reach are in the works using a camera attached to a stick that hovers 20 cm above the ground.

Viewers can trace what Lala — appointed the head of the prefecture’s “back street tourism” division — sees from her low-level perspective.

The unlikely feline-focused tourism bid is not Japan’s first.

Wakayama Prefecture drew thousands of tourists to a regional train station where a cat served as nominal stationmaster.

Tortoiseshell-colored Tama was credited with single-pawedly saving the provincial Kishigawa Line after being appointed master of tiny Kishi Station.

With the regional railway losing money, the station lost its last human employee in April 2006, passing on the mantle to Tama, who delighted in strolling around her own office wearing the formal uniform cap of Wakayama Electric Railway.

After Tama’s death in June, a new cat took over the position.

Source: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/09/04/national/hiroshima-eyes-tourist-boost-cats-eye-view-city-streets/#.Vevgqs5ZG2w

Hiroshima Cat Street View: http://hiroshima-welcome.jp/kanpai/catstreetview/

Life of Cats: Selections from the Hiraki Ukiyo-e Collection at the Japan Society - And Cats Understanding Sign Language!

Image and text borrowed from Japan Society.

Announcement: Life of Cats: Selections from the Hiraki Ukiyo-e Collection

Friday, March 13 – Sunday, June 7, 2015

Since arriving in Japan aboard Japanese ships transporting sacred Buddhist scriptures from China in the mid-sixth century, cats have proceeded to purr and paw their way into the heart of Japanese life, folklore, and art. Life of Cats: Selections from the Hiraki Ukiyo-e Collection illustrates the depth of this mutual attraction by mining the wealth of bravura depictions of cats to be found in ukiyo-e woodblock prints of the Edo Period (1615-1868).

Ninety ukiyo-e prints in the exhibition are on loan from the esteemed Hiraki Ukiyo-e Foundation whose holdings are revered in Japan. Select prints, paintings, sculptures, and other works borrowed from U.S. collections complement these prints, making the exhibition over 120 artworks. With cross-cultural and multi-generational appeal, Life of Cats takes viewers on a wild ride through Japan’s love affair with our feline friends.

Lots of great images on the website, by all means check it out!

Link: http://www.japansociety.org/life-of-cats

Woman With A Hearing Loss Taught Her Deaf Cat Sign Language, Including The Word 'Dance'



Story borrowed from The Huffington Post, 3/26/15.

When Kim Silva retired from teaching at the American School for the Deaf, she decided to start teaching sign language to her cats.

"Guess I missed the kiddies so I began teaching the kitties!" Silva says.

It all started after setting sights on a deaf cat named Bambi.

...

Silva's previous teaching experience was pretty much limited to humans, but she was optimistic that American Sign Language would help Bambi live most fully -- and that the cat would be a perfectly good student.

"Since my daughters learned signs from infancy, I had ideas how to introduce sign," she says.

Bambi was at a rescue shelter in Texas, though, and it would take a while before she could be brought to Connecticut, where Silva lives. In the meantime, she figured, she might as well get started with the cats she already had, even though both of them could hear.

A lot of deaf dogs have learned ASL. Groups like the ASPCA say training cats in general is possible (always using positive reinforcement, of course). Still, Silva says even "some deaf people have questioned if cats could learn sign."

"Bobcat immediately understood," she says. "My other cat, Bear, was very old and was not interested."

Bobcat learned one sign after another "until he learned the new vocabulary," Silva says. "Bobcat was a sponge for sign language! He showed off. He was fabulous."

Bambi picked up the signs even more easily, since, Silva explains, she had "peer reinforcement and copied Bobcat."

...

The cats have a delightfully expansive vocabulary. Among the words they now know are: "come," "more," "sit," "stay," "shake," "high five," "sleep," "circle," "shrimp,' "play," "canned food," "finish" and "dance" (though sometimes they don't feel like doing that one). They also know "off," which Silva must spell out, letter by letter.

...

While the talented cats respond to Silva's commands, they don't actually sign themselves -- at least not a whole lot.

Read the whole story: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/26/cats-sign-language_n_6940892.html

My cat, Mugi-chan, in addition to her own native language, understands English, Japanese and Japanese Sign Language. She just ignores them all...

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.

End of the Year: Crab vs. Cat

Giving Maneki Neko a Run for Its Money...

Image borrowed from Maneki Neko Luck Cat.

The cat in the story and video below is apparently doing Russian Sign Language. It might look a bit familiar to cat people in Japan... Anyway, seems like a good way to start out the last week of classes here. Story from MSN.com:

Watch a genius kitty ask for food in sign language 

Here's something great: A cat telling its owner in sign language that it would like to eat. This video is from February, but it's still picking up fans just because of its delightful protagonist. 


Link: http://now.msn.com/living/0513-genius-cat.aspx

Representation of Japan (from Animal Planet): "The Legend of Maneki Neko | Must Love Cats "

Of course this video is much too simplistic. There are countless stories, legends and interpretations of Maneki Neko. Check out this source for more information:

http://www.onmarkproductions.com/html/maneki-neko.shtml

End of the Semester Funnies...

For all who are busy finishing up their final papers, grading, etc, here are some comics to help reduce your end of the semester stress. Enjoy... and 頑張って下さい.