Moving to a new location!

So, for various reasons, I've decided to bite the bullet and move to a new location:

http://amoderngirl.wordpress.com

Please update your bookmarks accordingly!

A nice feature of Wordpress is that I've been able to import all of my entries from here and from the other blog that I kept from 2006-2007, so you can switch over to the new site without missing any of the fun. Thanks!!!

Interesting tidbits from the U.S. Consulate in Osaka

Don't worry, I haven't managed to get myself into any trouble (yet). Our group of language students had a scheduled "security briefing" at the U.S. Consulate General in Osaka this past Friday. The contents of this meeting were mysterious to all of us until the moment we arrived, but it turned out largely to be an information dissemination session. Consul General Ed Dong gave a few remarks encouraging us to use our time in Japan wisely, and some of the other consulate staff reminded us not to become victims of natural disasters or crime--or to commit crimes ourselves.

The most interesting part of the meeting was probably the session where the person in charge of American Citizen Services told us about the typical experiences of Americans arrested in Japan. Apparently, there are a couple of dozen American citizens currently "enjoying the hospitality of the state" (as he repeatedly termed it), most of whom are in for drug possession, mostly of marijuana. Marijuana possession (and of course, dealing) is a serious crime here in Japan, and the police don't mess around with it. If you're arrested in Japan, the police can apparently hold you for three days without letting you contact anyone. At that point, they can extend your stay for two 10-day periods. In practical terms, this means that anyone who is arrested typically stays in jail for at least 23 days. If at that time, the authorities decide to prosecute you, you spend another 2.5 months in jail awaiting your trial. That may be less or more than you'd expect, depending on the judicial system that you come from, but it does amount to quite a lot of time.

Besides drugs, there were apparently several arrests made earlier this year of Americans who had forged JR rail passes and who were also held for similar amounts of time.

In any case, the presentation lacked much gravity, mostly because Japan is such a (relatively) safe place. According to the speakers, the main threats to our security are likely to be natural disasters, rather than crime. If we lose our passports, they recommend that we wait because such things generally get returned to you--even wallets left on trains often come back to their owners, money intact.

There are definitely worse places to be.

As a side note, the security at the Consulate General seemed particularly intense, perhaps because they have been the target of a number of protests as of late, mostly over the controversial Futenma naval base issue.

Things I like about Japan #3: Fans

As I think I've mentioned repeatedly, summers in Japan are hot and humid (蒸し暑い, or mushiatsui, is a phrase you'll hear countless times). There are a few things that make this bearable, however. One is the ability for both women and men to carry around fans without looking ridiculous. (And as you can see from the picture above, having a fan at a choice moment can definitely make you friends.)

There are actually two types of hand-held fans common in Japan: uchiwa and sensu. Although many people might think first of folding fans (sensu) as the Japanese cooling implement of choice, uchiwa are actually more popular for everyday use. Uchiwa are flat, non-folding Japanese fans which have been a familiar part of daily life for all classes in Japan since ancient times. They come in all shapes and sizes, from more decorative/formal ones to video game-themes versions to free uchiwas that actually have ads printed on them:



This site has some interesting background information on uchiwa.

The folding style fan is harder to make and thus also more expensive. But according to various sites, although the uchiwa was commonly used in China, the sensu was actually invented in Japan sometime around the 8th century. The earliest versions were made of thin slats of Japanese cypress hinoki wood that were stacked and bound. The production of these folding fans rapidly grew in Kyoto and sensu became popular among the nobility. Gorgeous decorations evolved with the use of elegantly painted designs and paper sprinkled with gold and silver foil. Folding fans were also made for use in Noh, Japanese classical dance, and tea ceremony. In the 13th century, sensu were exported to China and the fashion later migrated to Europe as well.

Again, a variety of styles of sensu are available, though I have yet to see a sensu with ads printed on it:



The fan I'm using above was actually procured in the Philippines, where it seems that lace styles are also popular. In any case, I'm always looking for ways to beat the heat, and these things are great!

Things I like about Japan #2: Shaved Ice

Summers in Japan can be brutally hot and humid, but one thing I always look forward to is shaved ice, or kakigōri. Kakigōri (かき氷) is basically a snow cone, but it's so much better! Instead of the hard chunks of stuck-together crushed ice you typically get in American snow cones, shaved ice is light and fluffy and literally melts in your mouth. My favorite versions have fresh fruit instead of just syrup. It's making my mouth water just thinking about it. :)

The picture of me above was taken at a small restaurant along Tetsugaku no Michi (the same restaurant selling the "canned bear" shown below). That kakigōri sure hit the spot in the midst of a long day of sight-seeing!

Unintentionally Hilarious Japanese Thing #2

I promise that this isn't going to become an Engrish blog, but I'm short of time and am trying really hard to keep up the practice of posting regularly, so I thought I would share this snap. It's of a menu that I encountered while walking down the Philosopher's Path (哲学の道 or Tetsugaku no Michi) with the other CLS students this past Saturday.

Canned bear. That would be something, wouldn't it?

Unintentionally Hilarious Japanese Thing #1

It's Sunday here in Japan, and I'm getting my first chance to relax since leaving Berkeley on May 31st. The last week has been crazy busy with orientations, classes, tons of homework, and sightseeing, so it's nice to be able to catch my breath a little. (Though of course, I'm planning to spend the rest of the day doing homework!)

Anyway, I thought I'd update with a short post. Most people are familiar with the hilarity associated with Japanese advertisements (both in print and on television), but I thought I would share one of the gems that I pass every day on my walk to Doshisha University:



There's so much going on in this ad, it's kind of fascinating. Obviously, this guy is being depicted as a symbol of desirable masculinity--evoked by the bulging muscles--but the short shorts and impossibly smooth legs would have a totally different connotation in the U.S.

Anyway, as suggested by the title, I'm hoping to do a whole series of posts about random unintentionally hilarious Japanese things in the future. :) I have a few more already waiting in the queue!

Koudou: The Japanese tradition you've never heard of

Image courtesy of 薬師寺日記

As I mentioned before, I'm doing a homestay here in Kyoto. I have a fairly insane class/homework schedule, but I usually talk to my host parents every morning at breakfast (8 am) and every evening at dinner (7 pm). Yesterday, my host mother showed me a TV program that she'd recorded a couple of years ago about Japanese culture and parallels in French culture. Anyway, during the course of this program, I learned about kōdō (香道).

So, what is kōdō? It's actually one of the three classical Japanese arts of refinement. You're probably familiar with kadō (ikebana, or flower arrangement) and chadō (tea ceremony), but kōdō is much more obscure--it's even relatively unknown among modern Japanese people. (My host parents, for example, had never heard of it.) More concretely, kōdō translates to something like "the way of incense" or "the scent road"--essentially, it is all about appreciating scent, specifically the scent of incense. Like tea ceremony, the practice comes with a host of associated tools and customs. This picture shows an example of some of these tools. Practitioners will put a tiny amount of incense on top of the cups (censers) that look like they're filled with (patterned) sand:


Image courtesy of 東京セミナーBE

Afterward, they will bring the cup to their noses, protecting the area with their free hand (as demonstrated by the monk above). There are various parlor games (kumikō) associated with kōdō that originated in the practices of the Japanese aristocracy. For example, participants might sit near one another and take turns smelling incense from a censer as they pass it around the group. Participants comment on and make observations about the incense, and try to guess the incense material.

Genjikō is one such game, in which participants are to determine which of five prepared censers contain different scents, and which contain the same scent. Judgements are marked using genji-mon, linear patterns which designate chapters in the Tale of Genji. The picture below shows all 54 of the Genji-mon geometrical design patterns which originally symbolized the combinations of the fragrances in the game:


Image courtesy of Made With Japan

Anyway, in the television program, they explained the history of the practice in detail (in Japanese, of course) and showed various French people trying to play Genjikō. It was very interesting. You learn something new every day--particularly when you're studying abroad.

Things I like about Japan #1: Kotatsu

It's only the second day of my language program here in Japan, and I'm already exhausted and drowning in work. Given that, I'd like to take the time to share one of the things that I like best about Japan: kotatsu.

A kotatsu (炬燵) is a low wooden table that is very popular in Japan but used almost nowhere else in the world (although Iran has something similar, according to Wikipedia). This alone is great. They make seats to go with them that are essentially chairs without legs. I love to sit down at a kotatsu and do my homework--I think it's super comfy. In the winter, the table has a electrical heat source built into it, and you sandwich a blanket in between the legs/frame and table top to create a (sometimes treacherously) cozy den of warmth. It looks something like this:

Picture courtesy of www.JohnHarveyPhoto.com

When you're reminded of the fact that most Japanese homes don't have central heating, the kotatsu becomes an even more wonderful device (and one that was certainly very useful when I lived in snowy Niigata). Anyway, even though it's summer time here, I've repeatedly snubbed the normal desk in my room to sit at the kotatsu instead. God knows I'll be spending countless hours studying on it!