Leftovers from the cherry blossoms... Happy Easter!

This Year's Cherry Blossoms... the trees look old and unattended (or am I projecting?)

Click here to see the neighborhood cherry trees through the years...

Announcement: New JAWS Newsletter released (and check out the cover!)

Congratulations and many thanks to the co-editors, Jennifer McGuire, Christopher Tso and Anna Vainio, on putting together and releasing the Japan Anthropology Workshop Newsletter (#52) that catches up since the last publication in 2016 and launches the newsletter into 2022. The cover photo features a young Japanese skateboarder.

Available at:

https://japananthropologyworkshop.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/JAWS_Newsletter_52_2020.pdf

「SK8ER の女の子」Photo by Steven C. Fedorowicz. Copyright 2021.

The photo was taken at the Tawaramoto Skate Park in Nara Prefecture in 2019 and celebrates the glocalization and success of skateboarding in Japan. Skateboard parks and schools are increasing in number for dedicated skaters of all ages, including this 6-year-old girl. Park and Street Skateboarding were Olympic sports for the first time at Tokyo in 2021 and Japanese skaters won five medals (three gold) in the events.

Stop Terrorism! with a Mean look... from Yutaka Matsushige.

I don't know how I missed this. This photo was the Picture Of The Day on the Japan Today website on January 28, 2022. The title was "Mean look" and the text merely read "A poster in a Tokyo subway station asks for public cooperation in the fight against terrorism."

https://japantoday.com/category/picture-of-the-day/mean-look

I copied the photo to my desktop because of my interest in sign language/facial expressions and police posters. I rediscovered it on my computer the other day and thought to myself, hey, this guy looks familiar. And sure enough, it is Gorō (actor Yutaka Matsushige, actually)! From the Asahi Shimbun, January 15, 2022:

"Zero terrorism" Yutaka Matsushige appeals to prevent terrorism The Metropolitan Police Department creates a video

The Metropolitan Police Department made a video calling for the prevention of terrorism by actor Yutaka Matsushige (58) , who is known for his popular drama "Solitary Gourmet." It will be distributed on the street vision in front of JR Shinjuku Station , digital signage (electronic signage) in the city, and the agency's website for one year from the 14th . They also make posters, which are said to fit in train stations, airports, pharmacies, etc. (rough translation from the original Japanese)

Source: https://www.asahi.com/articles/ASQ1G6W1XQ1GUTIL00H.html

Out of 37 reader comments on the Japan Today post, only 3 noticed it was Yutaka Matsushige from "Solitary Gourmet" fame. And OK, here's the video:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fp-tyzHXJqc

"Japan to recommend sake brewing as UNESCO cultural heritage"

Original news story photo substituted with this VAoJ shot from Tenbun.

Story from The Japan Times, 2/26/22.

The Cultural Affairs Council has decided to propose traditional Japanese sake brewing techniques using koji mold as a candidate for UNESCO intangible cultural heritage listing.

After seeking approval at a meeting of relevant government agencies, the government council will submit a proposal on the registration of the traditional brewing techniques to the U.N. organization at the end of March, people familiar with the matter said Friday.

The UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee is expected to deliberate whether to inscribe them at its November 2024 meeting.

“Sake brewing is a traditional craft technique that has been established as work of the hand, and sake itself is deeply rooted in the social customs, rituals and festive events of Japanese people,” the council said of its reason for the proposal.

Koji is also used to make shochu and awamori distilled spirits.

In October last year, the council called for registering traditional sake brewing as an intangible cultural asset under the country’s domestic system, together with a traditional technique in the shodo art of Japanese calligraphy.

Sake brewing and shodo were formally registered as intangible cultural assets in December.

Currently, 22 Japanese intangible cultural assets are on the UNESCO heritage list.

As the country has many registered items, its bid for new listings is examined once every two years.

At this year’s meeting, its proposal for furyu odori folk performing arts, such as Bon summer festival dances, will be screened, along with recommendations from other countries.

Source: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2022/02/26/national/unesco-sake-cultural-heritage/

Transitioning from the walker to the canes...

These are the walking sticks I used four years ago.

Update (4/10): at the time, this would have been nice... and it looks like there would have been a place to hold my toast...

Setsubun in the hospital...

They didn't give me enough beans to throw at the nurses and doctors or to eat the same number as my age.

See how setsubun should be celebrated - out of the hospital and pre-COVID: https://visualanthropologyofjapan.blogspot.com/search?q=setsubun

Happy Holidays from VAoJ!

Looking forward to drinking the psychedelic bottle of California Zinfandel with our traditional Christmas Eve dinner tonight. It's been a while since I have had wine, as my research has taken me in a different direction...

As always, here is the VAoJ bonus holiday present:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9kfdEyV3RQ&t=23s

Happy Holidays!

Best Zoom Workshop Ever!

As a part of my ongoing tachinomiya project, I participated in a two-day Introductory Sake Professional workshop over the weekend. I have drunk a lot of sake over the last twenty years, but not in any educated way (probably quite the contrary...). But I learned so much from the experience. I hope to take further workshops and perhaps become a sake sommelier... In any event, I am gaining knowledge that should be useful for future tachinomiya/izakaya fieldwork.

The last part of the workshop was a sake tasting exercise. My new sake sensei sent all participants six small bottles of various kinds of sake and an ochoko. This is what it looked like when I opened the box.

And this is what it looked like after I removed the bubble wrap. I learned how to observe the color, aroma and taste of sake. And there was plenty left over to enjoy after the workshop. It was a great weekend of research.

The workshop was also a wonderful example of a globalization. The sensei is Italian and affiliated with a British sake institution and the students were from Britain, Australia and America. The only Japanese participant was my daughter/research assistant with her zoom bombs and extreme interest in smelling the different kinds of sake. Cheers! #jijisake

AJJ 2021 Presentation