The Japanese film “A Man Called Pirate”

I went to see the film “A Man Called Pirate”, which was created by the film director Takashi Yamazaki and the leading actor Junichi Okada together again.
They created another film “The Eternal Zero” three years ago, which was a great hit.

The opening scene reminded me of the one of “The Eternal Zero”. However, this film’s model is existing person and not a kamikaze pilot, Sazo Idemitsu, who was the founder of Idemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd.

An impressive scene of harsh dredging the Imperial Japanese Navy’s oil tanks in the original novel, which won the Literary Award by Bookstores in 2013, was fully depicted in the film as well. After World War II, Japan was suffering from extreme shortage of oil.

Although oil remained in the bottom of the Navy’s oil tanks, it was a very little in sludge. It’s impossible to use pumps or machines. So the employees have to go down into the bottom 10 meters deep with strong smell and noxious fume.

Due to the gas, they could work for only ten minutes in relays. In the novel, an employee was surprised to see Tetsuzo(Sazo’s role name) who took such an assignment : “Even the daredevil navy didn’t try to do that, but he is going to try without expecting anything in return.
Now Japanese people just think about only themselves but he is different. What a man!”

 I think that such Japanese people’s willingness to work hard at any task has created today’s Japan.

Tetzuzo shouted “Oil is blood of a country!”, and the words made me think if Japan would not be able to import oil again.

 By the way, the re-enacted scene of “Nissho-maru(oil tanker) Incident” is the climax scene of the film. The director Yamazaki used amazing VFX which was his favorite, and the scene which the Nissho-maru faced the British Royal Navy’s destroyer was as if I could sense the tension of the crews over time.

 The running time is 2.5 hours but I didn’t feel that long and I felt like I also lived the life of Sazo, who was endeared by the employees. Throughout the film, I felt tears running down my face to see the people worked very hard. (H.S)

 

Kitaguchi Hongu Fuji Sengen-jinja Shrine

I visited Kitaguchi Hongu Fuji Sengen-jinja Shrine in Yoshida-cho, Yamanashi Prefecture for the company trip this fall.

As I walked through the gate of the shrine which was large and powerful, there were two large and tall trees standing on both sides of Haiden (the front shrine).

These trees are 1000 years old and called Fujitaro Sugi (Sugi means cedar trees / Fujitaro is a name of a Japanese man) and Fuji Meoto Hinoki (Hinoki means cypress trees / Meoto means a married couple in Japanese). Even the trees were very old but they still looked fresh, strong and beautiful. When I touched them, I felt very sacred.

 

There are also the main shrine, the west main shrine and the east main shrine in the precinct which are registered as important cultural properties.

 

If you have a chance, how about visiting Kitaguchi Hongu Fuji Sengen-jinja Shrine?

 

T.F

 

Kitaguchi Hongu Fuji Sengen-jinja Shrine

Informatory Sign

This is an informatory sign for the bathroom at Wakasa Mikata Jomon Museum in Wakasa, Fukui Prefecture.  Aren’t the male and female signs which look like ancient Japanese clay figurine cute?  Although I think that the most important role of the informatory sign is functionality, it becomes creative and enjoyable to look at with some ideas like this.

(T.S)

“Exhibition from Reims Museum” at Fukui Fine Art Museum

I went to the museum for the first time in a while to see the “Exhibition

from Reims Museum” which I had been looking forward to.　

Reims is an old city in the Champagne region of northern France.

Reims Museum in the center of the city was opened in 1913 with articles

donated by billionaires who made their fortunes by Champagne. 

The reason why I had been looking forward to the exhibition is because I’ve been to

Reims before. I wanted to visit Champagne maisons and made a little side trip there

from Paris.　On the way to Reims, vineyards extending in rolling hills can be seen.

The sunny scenery was not only just beautiful but also it made me realized once again that France was an agricultural country. 

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　
　　　　　　　　　　　　The vineyards in Champagne

As for Champagne maisons where I wanted to visit, I went to Moet et Chandon and

PIPER-HEIDSIECK. Both companies have a good tour of the brewing process and you can learn about that.   

Reims is a quiet city where a World Heritage site, Notre Dame Cathedral presents

dignified appearance. In Reims, there was a relaxed atmosphere, the food at a restaurant was good and its garcon was nice so they were good memories of the trip.　

By the way, the exhibition’s highlight is Tsuguharu Fujita’s paintings.

Reims is a city associated with him. Because in Reims, he was baptized,

became Leonard Foujita and he built a chapel which he had always dreamed in his late life. 

70 paintings including Fujita are on display in the “Exhibition from Reims Museum”.

I like landscape paintings called the Barbizon School and my favorite out of this

exhibition is “Woman reading a book in the shade of a tree beside the river” by

Camil Corot.  

The exhibition is open until December 25^th (Sun). 

December is a busy time though, as the end of the year approaches, why don’t you feel
an elegant atmosphere viewing rare French paintings which you cannot see that often? (H.S) 　

Feel Japan / Making Bamboo Crafts at Echizen Bamboo Doll Village in Fukui, Japan

We had a shooting at Echizen Bamboo Doll Village
in Maruoka-cho, Sakai City, Fukui Prefecture with two participants.
The participants experienced making bamboo dolls and conducting a few other activities.

This was the first time for both of the participants to do anything with bamboo.
I was worried that they might cut their fingers and/or get hurt when they used knives
to cut the bamboo. They conducted and finished everything safely under the guidance
of the master of making bamboo doll. They even said that they had such a great.
experience and it was an enjoyable challenge. They hope to come back to
Echizen Bamboo Doll Village.


According to the master, he used to be a joiner and then he became
a professional bamboo maker about 45 years ago. He used to make doors
and other things for houses and it was the beginning of his craftsmanship.
Chief Director of Echizen Bamboo Doll Village, Ryuichi Morota who has
such a busy schedule, he came to our shooting gave the participants
advice for how to use knife easily and safely.  With his advice, they seemed more
comfortable using the knives, and started cutting and shaving the bamboos faster.

Overall, we all had a great experience at Echizen Bamboo Doll Village.
Please stay tuned for upcoming video of “Echizen Bamboo Doll Village”!

T.F


Echizen Bamboo Doll Village

Look down at the street when you walk down

This is a picture of the manhole cover which has same tiles as the street has.

 

Each manhole cover has been made one by one by hand to match with the designs of the tiles on the street around the manhole cover.

 

I don’t know since when people started doing such a complicated thing but I think these tiles are not as slippery as metal ones. When it rains and/or snows, walking on the manhole covers with these tiles might not be slippery as walking on the ones with just metals like most of them on the street in Japan.

 

Besides the functional parts of the manhole covers, the designs made by the tiles of the street and manhole cover look like an abstract art and it’s interesting to look at.

 

This is a simple one, but it’s done precisely.

 

When I walk down the street,

I actually see many sceneries which I want to cut out and place on the wall.

 

T.S

“Temple of the Wild Geese” and its author Mizukami’s background

I read the “Temple of the Wild Geese” written by Tsutomu Mizukami, who was one of Fukui Prefecture’s representative authors, on this occasion when we created the video, ”Walk around Kyoto after reading the books by Tsutomu Mizukami" I guess that there is nothing left to say about its picturesque description and unimagined plot in the climax of the story. Meanwhile, Mizukami’s own background borrowed its main character Jinen and how influential such a one to him was is endlessly interesting to me.

Mizukami was sent to a Zen temple in Kyoto as a trainee priest when he was nine years old. His family was very poor that they would be given change by the head of the ward doing errands. And, a child of just nine who would be nestled up to his mother walks in the snow to go to a strange temple far away. It is a very pitiable scene. I think that there are no longer such children. But at that time, actually such children as Mizukami might have been. When he looked the ticket gate out of the window in the train, he saw his mother was standing there.

While I read the novel, words such as the following from Freudian theory within my mind which a psychologist Shu Kishida mentioned in a book “ Great expressionists had problems in parent-child relationship when they were young”. Another popular Japanese author, Osamu Dazai was, too.

Tsutomu Mizukami mentioned as follows in “The Truth of the Temple of the Wild Geese” by Osamu Tsukasa and in the postscript of his collected edition. “ I have too many tough times so I can’t talk about overcoming them. I can’t do anything.” “ As I wrote in [The Temple of the Wild Geese], the chief priest tie a cord to my arm to wake me up. It was hard for me.” “In my lifetime, from nine to nineteen years old, during mentally formation, about human suffering problem that the temple taught me, I cannot get out of mind as if it was nothing. The part will follow me all my life and it will be put in my coffin.”

In the book “The Truth of the Temple of the Wild Geese”, a chief abbot, Raitei Arima of Shokokuji Temple in Kyoto, who appeared on this site “GEN” contributed an article titled “Mizukami Literature and Zen” as follows.


“Although my generation was different, I have a certain similarity to Mizukami-san And, the feelings for mother have common. Mizukami attaches to his mother. I am too. Mizukami-san calls himself “apostate”. But I think it’s all right. If he had taken the path of Zen, he must have been a foremost Zen monk. I’m glad that he became a first-class author but I wanted him to live as a Zen monk. If he had gone on that way, probably he had changed the Zen circle. I think he is such an excellent person.”

 The chief priest Shoan Yamamori of Zuishunin, Shokokuji Temple(the photo above), who was the model of “The Temple of the Wild Geese” was hit and killed by a car in Kyoto in 1959. “The Temple of the Wild Geese” was released in 1961 and won the Naoki Award in the same year. (H.S)

Autumn leaves in Japan

I visited Kitaguchi Hongu Fuji Sengen-jinja Shrine

in Yoshida-cho, Yamanashi Prefecture for the company trip last month.

 

There were gorgeous autumn leaves with yellow, red and orange ones.

The air was so clean that I felt refreshed and calm.

Autumn leaves can only be seen in the temperate area of Northern Hemisphere.

They cannot be seen anywhere in the world. Some parts of east Asia, Europe, America

and Japan, autumn leaves can be seen. It is said that the autumn leaves in Japan are

the best ones in the world.

 

Japanese autumn leaves have variety of colors.

Main color of autumn leaves in Europe and America is yellow, but Japan has red, green

and yellow ones which create quite a beautiful contrast.

 

In Japan there are 26 different kinds of deciduous tree and there are 13 of them

in Canada and Europe. Therefore, we can see such a beautiful Autumn leaves.

 

I would like to share a video of "Discover Nippon", please enjoy!

 

 

T.F

Venus

The adult cheering squad, “Venus” which has been formed by alumnae of Fukui Commercial High School “JETS” (high school cheering squad) won the third prize in pom /college cheer squad / cheer dance / adult division at “The Finals of All Japan Cheer Dance Championship 2016” which was held on November 19th, 2016 at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium in Sendagaya, Tokyo. This was the first time for them to win a prize at the championship since they were established in 2014. Congratulations!

As people expected, JETS won first place in the high school division and they are going to the NCA/NDA All-Star National Championship in the USA next year.
This was the first time for me to see cheer performance live and I found it very interesting. I had a great time watching many teams performing all day long.




At the end of the championship, the team which was surrounded by many cheer squads and won this year’s grand prize was Japan Women’s College of Physical Education.
T.S

Tasting three-star Wakasa beef that French three-star chef raves!

The other day, I subtitled “Taste of three stars! Wakasa beef” of Fukui Prefecture’s PR TV program, which we release on our video site GEN.
Just around that time, I was given that exact three-star Wakasa beef from an acquaintance.

The differences between common Wakasa beef and three-star Wakasa beef are that the later contains a high amount, more than 55% of olein acid which is a good-tasting ingredient of meat, and it must be under the condition that they are grown in safe and secure raising environment such low-stress raising method.

Olein acid is one of unsaturated fatty acid which is said it is healthy fat that and the main component of olive oil. The more olein acid it contains, the more light and mellow the after taste will be even it is Japanese beef with much marbling.

 The chef, M.Emmanuel Renaut of a three-star restaurant “Flocons de Sel” in France expressed “Its texture and color made a very strong impression. The meat fiber is soft and moist” about the three-star Wakasa beef. Well, so I also tasted that three-star Wakasa beef. 　

Since it was quite a large amount, I made “yakiniku bowl” for the first day and “shabu-shabu” for the second day. It was really soft, and the balance of melty taste and fat was very good.
Also, I feel happy to be able to eat in relief because that fat is healthy. (H.S) 　



 

Ideas for Disaster Preparedness / Slippers made of newspaper

This morning, as I was about to listen to the radio which I always listen to every morning, I same announcements in Korean, Chinese and English were repeated over and over again. I didn’t know what was happening at that point. There was an earthquake occurred in Fukushima Prefecture (northeastern Japan) and the announcements were made for evacuation from the Tsunami that was occurred by the earthquake in Fukushima.

That reminded me about the slippers which is made of newspaper. I brought some old newspaper and tried making ones. I still remember how to make them.

 

Simply put, the picture above is the order for making the slippers. When earthquakes occur, it is extremely dangerous to walk barefoot on floors with broken glasses. Even when there are no shoes around us, with newspapers, we can make these slippers and escape safely. The front parts of the slippers where the most pressure would be put onto has layers of 16 sheets of the newspaper. It’s just the newspaper, but it’s very strong so it makes such a big difference if you have newspaper or not when a disaster occurs.

 

I learned how to make these slippers during the escaping game called “Experiencing Disaster Preparedness, LIFE LINE” in which the participants played in a team unit at “Mori to Mizuumi no Rakuen” (Paradice of Forest and Lake) whose representative is a Japanese comedian Kuniaki Shimizu near Kawaguchi lake in Yamanashi Prefecture. （T.S）

 

Mori to Mizuumi no Rakuen (Paradice of Forest and Lake)

 

Feel Japan / Making Japanese Sake at Kokuryu Brewery / Fukui Prefecture / Rice Planting

The rice which has been planted and harvested by the participants

of “Arigato Project 2016” is now in the process of being made into

the Sake of Arigato at Kokuryu brewery.

 

On May 3rd, 2016, the opening ceremony and rice planting of

“Arigato Project” of this year were conducted.

 

On that day, there were storm warning in Fukui City and a gale advisory in Ono City.

In the strong wind the participants and staff of the projects planted each baby rice

with their hands.

Everyone is looking forward to seeing the completed sake next year.

 

Have you ever experienced planting rice? I stepped into a rice field for the first time.

It was very hard just to take one step that it took more than 20 seconds for me to

walk one step.

Are there any sake breweries in your cities? If you have a chance,

how about experiencing making sake and/or sake brewery tour?

 

 

T.F

Report on “Special viewing of the hidden Buddhist statues associated with Great Priest Taicho” bus tour

I accompanied the bus tour “Special viewing of the hidden Buddhist statues associated with Great Priest Taicho” by Echizen Town’s Tourist Federation on November 6^th.

Asahi District of Echizen Town, Fukui Prefecture has many temples, shrines and historic sites associated with *Great Priest Taicho, where is a treasure house of Buddhist statues in the Heian and Kamakura Periods. On that day, I was able to see the hidden Buddhist statues especially which have survived from the battles in Period of Warring States and

anti-Buddhism movement in the Meiji Period, and still enshrined by religious belief of local people.

*Great Priest Taicho was born in Fukui City in the Asuka Period(at the end of the seventh century). He was called a child prodigy. When he was eleven years old, he climbed Mt.Ochi, Otanji Temple following the revelation in his dream. After his ascetic practices and mortification, finally he achieved enlightenment of Buddhist teachings.

Afterwards, when he was 36 years old, he opened holy Mt. Hakusan.

Asahi Kannon Fukutsuji Temple Standing statue of wooden Senju Kannon Bosatsu

(Kamaura Period) Cultural Property designated by Fukui Prefecture

The Kannon has eleven-faced small Kannon on its head and forty two hands    

I got a “goshuin” (stamp) at the Fukutsuji Temple.  

Hiyoshi Shrine  Seated statue of wooden Dainichi Nyorai(Heian Period) 

Tangible Cultural Property 

It is rare that there is a statue of Dainichi Nyorai in a shrine. It is said that originally

it was in the Fukutsuji Temple. When the temple opens its hidden Buddhist statues,

more than ten adults carry back the Nyorai to the Fukutsuji Temple. 

Main hall of Mt. Ochi, Otanji Temple , which is one of the oldest temples in Hokuriku Region with a history of 1,300 years. 

Yasaka Shrine  Wooden Juichimen Joshin statue (Heian Period)

Now it is on display at the exhibition “Buddhist statues of Fukui” at Fukui City History

Museum.  

There is a spring named “Life-prolonging water” in the precincts of the Yasaka Shrine

(100 greatest springs in Hokuriku Region) On July 14^th,  Gion Festival is held at the shrine in the same manner as Yasaka Shrine in Kyoto. I have heard that it has a nice old-style atmosphere. I would like to see the festival.

                                             The stairs to Joshoji Temple

Tanzan Ueno, the 13^th Buddhist priest of the Joshoji Temple, was a leading cultural figure in the late Edo Period.  

                         Nagaya Gate in the precincts of the Joshoji Temple

     As I went out of the Nagaya Gate, beautiful rural view of the village spread 

In the bus tour, there were visitors from other prefectures. A woman from Osaka who joined alone talked that she knew the tour on the internet and there were many un knowing Buddhist statues even in Osaka.

According to Mr.Fujikawa, curator of Fukui City History Museum, the power of Buddhist statues was too strong, so they close the doors and made the statues to hidden ones so that people would not be exposed to the too much power. It was like my eyes were opened for the first time hearing his talk.

The same bus tour is going to be conducted next year again.

How about joining to see hidden Buddhist statues in Fukui and to enjoy a day late in autumn? (H.S) 

-Amazing Japanese Cheering Squads- VENUS / JETS Part-3 -The Finals of All Japan Cheer Dance Championship 2016-

On November 19th, 2016,

one of the greatest adult cheering squad in Japan, "VENUS" which has been formed

by alumnae of Fukui Commercial High School "JETS" (high school cheering squad)

will be in Tokyo for the finals of “All Japan Cheer Dance Championship 2016”

conducted by Japan Cheer Dance Association (JCDA).

 

We visited VENUS’s rehearsals last month.

They placed a handmade poster that said “16more times”

in front of their rehearsing space while they were rehearsing.

The poster seemed to heighten the momentum toward the championship.

They take their time to stretch and warm up well.

 

It does not matter if the one who is talking is younger or older.

During their practice, everyone can talk about opinions and/or suggestions comfortably.

When a member talks, others pay attention, listen to the person well and

response nicely with smiles.

 

They also help each other when anyone has any trouble with their moves.

Most importantly, they all have the same goal which is to win the championship.

They made me realized how important teamwork is.

 

On that day, they smiled and laughed a lot in a few of those gaps-between-practices.

Being cheerleaders must be hard but their smiles and laughs showed me

how enjoyable to be the ones.

Toward the end of the practice, they had a run-through with the music.

From the beginning to the end they concentrate very hard on their every movement,

facial expression breathing and everything in between.

Right after they finished the run-through, they were running out of breath

and sweating so much that they couldn’t even talk.

I realized that to perform perfectly as they always do,

they put so much more energy, concentration, time and effort than I imagined.

 

We will visit the "The Finals of All Japan Cheer Dance Championship 2016" on

November 19th, so please stay tuned for upcoming videos and blogs of VENUS!

 

Also the movie, “Cheer and Dance” in which a few members of VENUS were modeled

will be released in March, 2017.

So this is another thing that we can be looking forward to.

Official Site for the movie "Cheer and Dance"

*Available only in Japanese

 

T.F

TOEI Kyoto Studio Park|Experience Samurai Movies in Kyoto

I went to the TOEI Kyoto Studio Park in my company trip at the end of last month. We can choose one among four courses “Lake Biwa and Kyoto|Odaiba|Lake Kawaguchi and Isawa hot springs|Kyoto Studio Park” and I chose the Kyoto Studio Park as I haven’t been there for a long time. This year, each company trip has “Team-building” concept and we tried “Finding buried gold program” by groups. (*This program is only for group tour and you need a reservation.)

And, the program was pretty difficult. If you join the program from now, I strongly suggest that you research beforehand and be flexible in your thinking :) (H.S)

You can meet Ninja there! 

We arrived at the Kyoto Studio Park. In the parking area, there were so many tour buses.

The park was full of elementary students on school excursions. 
There were a lot of foreign tourists as well.

It feels as if time has slipped to back to the Edo Period. 

This is a scenery of period dramas!

It is in the final stage of finding gold. They are working on the last puzzle. 

We arrived a restaurant for lunch. It is ”Rokusei"where is next to Heian Shrine and can be used for wedding receptions.

Their specialty is wooden pail lunch box. The wooden pail box is made by Kiyotsugu Nakgawa, who is a human national treasure. The box is a fine craftwork which is lacquered on the inside. Kyoto cuisine served in it compactly and beautifully is wonderful. They served sashimi and matsutake mushroom steamed dish in an earthware teapot besides this.
Nakagawa's son's studio → Nakagawa Mokkougei Hirakoubou