The Japanese film “OKINAWA : The Afterburn”

I was so disappointed when I heard the news that an Osprey crashed in the sea off Nago City, Okinawa Prefecture last December. Actually, I was afraid that this could happen at some point. I have visited U.S. Air Force’s Kadena Base in Okinawa for their festival before and gotten inside an Osprey which was opened to the public. Thus I was concerned with the safety of the aircraft. The Osprey in front of me was just huge and I felt coercive pressure. “Can such a huge aircraft takeoff and land vertically? Can it keep it’s balance?” Many questions came to my mind as I didn’t know about its function. When I got into the Osprey, a monitor image kept airing that how Osprey has wonderful functions and it is like a dream aircraft…

By the way, going back to a little while before the accident, the screening of “OKINAWA : The Afterburn” was held at a movie theater Theatre Cinq in Fukui City. It was held by a voluntary film club “Mini-Kinema-Fukui”, which received the “Fukui Shimbun Culture Award” with Natsu Miyashita(Writer from Fukui) last year. The film is a full-length documentary directed by an American director John Junkerman, who studied in Japan. The producer Tetsujiro Yamagami started a film production company when he was thirty two and he continues to make films on the theme of Okinawa. After the showing of the film, his talk show was held too.

In the film, a former Japanese soldier and a former U.S. soldier who actually fought the ground war in Okinawa appeared and talked about their own frightful experiences. While I was watching the film, I had to face the act of folly called war which humans become not humans. Also, I was surprised to see one of the criminals of the rape of a schoolgirl by U.S. servicemen in Okinawa in 1995 appeared and gave an interview about the crime. The principal offender assaulted a woman again even after returning to the U.S. and finally killed himself. I was overwhelmed the unreasonable situation of Okinawa that they have to accept such a brutal person.

It was just one-hundredth screening of “Mini-Kinema-Fukui” that day. They continue their activities because they want to introduce films in different genres that would not be released in local areas. If you have the opportunity, please come to their screening this year. (H.S)

Feel Japan / The Oldest and Largest Bonsai Exhibition of Ume (plum) Trees with Blossoms in Japan

Nagahama Bonsai Exhibition of Ume (plum) Trees with Blossoms has been started since 1952, and it’s the 66th time this year. About 90 bonsai pots out of 300 are displayed in the traditional Japanese room and some of them are as tall as about 3meters. There are also old ones which are about 400 years old. There are many visitors every year coming to see these amazing plum trees.

 

This year’s exhibition is held from January 7th until March 12th at Keiunkan in Naghama City, Shiga Prefecture. Keiunkan is an 8-minute walk from Nagahama train station.

As soon as you walk into the building, you can see the displayed beautiful plum trees in a traditional Japanese room filled with so much fragrant smell (they smell flowery).

Not only you can enjoy looking at the plum trees, you can also enjoy the atmosphere which let you feel Japan. This time of the year in Japan is very cold, so I recommend you to dress warmly if you visit.

 

The video was taken at Nagahama Bonsai Exhibition of Ume (plum) Trees with Blossoms last year.

 

T.F

Triangular Rimmed Ancient Mirror Decorated with Gods and Animals Chocolate

Fukui newspaper, January 8th, 2017

I see, this is the bronze mirror which was made with chocolate and it looks exactly the real thing. Isn’t this interesting? There have been workshops held by Mr. Fujikawa, a curator in Fukui City History Museum who helped me with the shooting the Buddha statue exhibition was held a while ago. The workshop for this year will be held on February 11th and 12th. I wonder if he let me take a video of the workshop...
T.S

Recommendation of fried skewer restaurant in Fukui City, Japan “Kiju”

If you would like to eat fried skewers in Fukui, you should visit Kiju .

Even those who do not like deep-fried food may enjoy the fried skewers at Kiju.

Each skewer is bite-sized, the batter is thin and women will be happy with those things.

The restaurant has a relaxing atmosphere, they have many kinds of drinks and

tables at the back, so groups can visit it as well.

I usually reserve Kiju course (3,980 yen/tax excluded) and always that’s good enough for me.  According to the season, they serve ten kinds of fried skewers individually at the right time, so you are able to eat following one another at a right pace.

Please visit Kiju when you happen to come to Fukui. (H.S)

They serve seafood, meat and vegetable fried skewers using seasonal ingredients one after another.

Even you’re full, you can enjoy a delicious side dish and rice with soup for the last. 　

Happy New Year -2017-

2017 has just begun!

This time of the year is always the best time for anyone to start something new,

restart something and/or start all over anything.

Do you have anything which you would like to achieve in this year?

 

For Hatsumode (the new year’s visit to a shrine), I visited Asuwa shrine in Fukui City.

This area is a recommendable strolling course in Fukui City.

As you walk up the stairs of “Atagozaka”,

there is “ Fukui City Atagozaka Tea Ceremony Museumwhere you can enjoy

Japanese traditional green tea “Maccha” and learn about Japanese tea ceremony.

 

In front of the museum, there is

“Fukui City Akemi Tachibana Literature Memorial Museum” where you can enjoy the Tachibana-no-Akemi’s Dokurakugin (reciting poetry for my own pleasure).

 

And about a minute away from Akemi Tachibana Museum, there is a traditional Japanese restaurant, “Hanase” where you can enjoy the excellent traditional Japanese food that is pleasing to the eye, as well as to the palate.

 

After walking up a few stairs from the restaurant, there is

“Shinpu-kan Atagozaka Martial Arts School”.

 

And a little further up, there is a small observation deck and the entrance of the shrine.

You can take a break seeing the great view of Fukui City and then enter the shrine.

 

Asuwa Shrine has over 1,500 years of history.

The shrine’s crest has the sun, the moon and a star together which is rare for a crest.

 

In the precinct, there are drooping cherry-trees which will bloom gorgeously during spring.

 

Therefore, I can recommend you to take a walk from Atagozaka to Asuwa shrine.

 

 

T.F

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