porcelain-monkey

RSS Feed Homepage

Articles: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

Flower Dome 2008
2008-03-17 12:11:00
Billed as Japan's largest annual flower show,Flower Dome 2008 is currently on in the Nagoya Dome until March 19th.Nagoya Dome,which is the home of the local professional baseball team the Chunichi Dragons, is also the venue for various events such as trade shows, concerts,exhibitions and monster garage sales.The photo above shows the layout of the Dome with the flower show taking up most of the baseball field below the stands.As well as various orchid competitions,there were displays involving growers of other flowers such as chrysanthemums and carnations.Florists also vied with each other in competitions involving bouquets and larger displays.There were also stands of cacti,an eco friendly gardening stand and various trade stands selling plants and gardening goods.There were a number of competitions and displays,not least some very large orchid displays.Some of the orchid exhibits included water features such as streams and waterfalls.This teddy bear made from small succulent and ...

Unpaid Wages
2008-03-17 11:57:00
Finally following a torturous paper trail and numerous visits to obscure government departments I received my unpaid wages following Nova Corps demise.Eighty percent of two months or so salary as prescribed under the law.A welcome addition to my bank balance and timely too as the yen strengthens against the US dollar which dropped to 95 yen its lowest point in the last 12 years according to tonights NHK news.Im just hoping that the kiwi dollar continues to drop against the yen so its more worthwhile sending some of it back.
More About: Wages

Friday Flash..White Day 2008
2008-03-14 03:29:00
Friday March 14th here in Japan is celebrated as "White Day".A completely bogus commercial venture to sell confectionery especially marshmellows,biscuits and confectionery.Instead of the free for all flower and chocolate frenzy of St Valentines Day that occurs in most countries where both sexes give and receive gifts,in Japan only women give presents on February 14th.March 14th is payback day where those men receiving presents have to return the favour.The problem for me,as I imagine with most,is trying to remember back a month ago and recalling who actually gave you anything.The other thing is that most of the confectionery,biscuits and gifts available for White Day seem to be a little more expensive than the single bar of chocolate you got.The dilemma then is whether you spend more money or somehow manage to overlook the fact that you got anything at all.The photo above shows some of the gift options available at my local convenience store.
More About: Flash , Friday , 2008

Nagoya Auto Trend 2008
2008-03-10 12:39:00
Having had my fill of culture recently,I decided to join the throngs and head off to see the annual car show.It was the first time I'd used the Aonami train as well as visit both the car show and the Port Messe Nagoya complex.The Aonami line begins at Nagoya Station and ends some 25 minutes and 350 yen later on the industrial commercial side of the Port.Port Messe is a sprawling complex of exhibition halls and conference venues.The Nagoya Auto Trend show ran for three days and displays spread over three huge halls.As well as the major local Japanese car manufacturers being present a number of luxury foreign car makers also had displays such as BMW,Audi and Mercedes Benz. There were a number of F1 racing cars on display including this vehicle.Its the first time Ive tried to take photos at a car show and I encountered a number of problems.The first problem was the different light levels round each display.Spotlights and coloured lights,flashing indicator lights and glare from all the...
More About: 2008

Friday Flash...Bentos
2008-03-07 02:11:00
A couple of bentos or boxed lunch sets that Ive eaten recently.The one above contains more meat and less traditional ingredients than the one below.There is a noticeable absence of seaweed and pickled vegetables in the upper bento which also includes pasta,egg salad and a small helping of coleslaw. The bento below is more traditional in the sense that it has pickled vegetables such as beans and lotus root while there is also a small sampling of seaweed.Instead of meat this lunch box contains grilled fish and a generous amount of rice.
More About: Flash , Friday

March 3 2008 Girls Day
2008-03-03 08:55:00
Once again the traditional day to pray for the safety and health of younger members of the fairer sex rolls around.Of course Im referring to Girls Day which is celebrated today.Many supermarkets and food outlets had displays and food on sale to mark the day.The photo above shows one such bento available today.It has very colourful contents as is the custom of the day and comes in a diamond shaped container decorated in the traditional colours of the festival,i.e red,white and green.The diamond shape and colours of the container mimic that of the hishi mochi biscuits that are also part of todays festival.The diamond shaped hishi mochi are placed alongside the hina dolls that are traditionally displayed in homes prior to March 3. As mentioned briefly last week I went to the Tokugawaen Gardens and the adjacent Tokugawa Art Museum.The Tokugawa family was one of the powerful and influential ruling families during the Edo period(1603-1867).The museum has a number of exhibition rooms whi...
More About: 2008

Friday Flash...A Few More RiceBalls
2008-02-29 14:26:00
A couple of variations on the riceball theme.The pink riceball in the foreground is a plum or ume flavoured onigiri(riceball) while in the rear there is a vegetable onigiri.Priced at one hundred and five yen each they make a quick,filling snack.
More About: Flash , Friday

Winter Peonies
2008-02-25 14:06:00
Despite the overnight dusting of snow and the bitterly cold wind,I ventured down to Tokugawen,a local garden/museum yesterday morning.After a tour of the museum,of which more next week, I strolled over to see the winter peonies in the adjacent garden.The plants,as you can see above,each have their own straw thatch/matting tent to protect them from the rigors of winter.The tent like-structures help the blooms defy the elements that would otherwise ravage and spoil them.Ive also noticed looking again at the photo above the abysmal state of the lawn.Brown and dried up it doesnt exactly enhance the area at this time of year. Although most of the winter peonies or botan were past their best some of the blooms were splendid and retained their beauty.There are a number of different shades and shapes of peonies cultivated at Tokugawaen.From subtle salmon pinks to brassy reds and from tight compact flowers to the more exuberant ruffled styles. Despite the inclement weather I was surprised b...
More About: Winter

Friday Flash...Todays Cheap Lunch
2008-02-22 14:24:00
My co-workers and I recently discovered a cheap lunch alternative to Dorito chips and other saturated fat,high carbo foods just down the street from our place of servitude.The small shop,with an entrance barely wider than an average doorframe, offers a variety of rice balls including the spicy chicken riceball above.Within the generous serving of rice nestles a large chunk of delicious chicken.The seaweed or nori on the outside adds a balanced saltiness to the riceball.Among others for sale I noticed tuna,salmon and plum riceballs also available. As well as riceballs and small plastic containers of vegetables and salads there are also some fried croquettes or patties for purchase.The croquette above contains fried pumpkin and is liberally covered in a sweet savoury sauce.Two riceballs and a croquette made for a filling and inexpensive lunch as I still had a little change from 500yen.Bargain!
More About: Flash , Lunch , Friday , Cheap

Valentines Day 2008
2008-02-18 11:42:00
Valentines Day seems to be becoming more and more popular if the number of promotions and acres of shelf space given over to hawking chocolate is anything to go by.My suspicions were proved correct after reading several local newspaper articles.In 2005,the latest year that figures are available,the Valentine season saw 53 billion yen in chocolate sales.Reportedly sales have never gone down and show a year on year increase of about 10 per cent.This runs counter to what some people I spoke to this week were saying.They told me that their company had sent out a fax requesting that people refrain from the so-called obligation or "giri-chocolate" gift giving practice.Apparently the ban is due to the perceived financial burden it places on female workers who feel pressured to purchase items for their male co-workers. What I also noticed this year among the imported chocolate brands such as Godiva were an increasing number of local Japanese sweet makers trying to cash in.I observed some he...
More About: Valentines Day , Valentines , 2008

Over the Edge of The World.
2008-02-18 09:35:00
Over the Edge of the World .HarperCollins Publishers.2003.Laurence Bergreen.410pages.Illustrations.Notes.Bib liography.Subtitled "Magellan's Terrifying Circumnavigation of the Globe" this is a no holds barred account of Magellans historic voyage.The author starts the book near the end of the adventure as the 18 survivors of the 260 odd sailors and the remaining ship of the five that set out limp into port.What follows is an exhaustive,highly detailed account of the Armada de Molucca.The first 66 pages sketch out the religious,political and scientific background leading up to the fleets dispatch led by Magellan,a Portuguese nobleman and navigator in the service of Spain and its monarch.The subsequent chapters deal with the voyage itself and the last third of the book describes the fallout after Magellan's death and sums up the significance of what the voyage achieved in terms of history and science.Bergreen draws on many sources such as diaries,pilot logs,survivors and eye witness ac...
More About: The Edge , The World

Hokusai Exhibition Nagoya City Art Museum
2008-02-11 10:51:00
Hard on the heels of the ukiyo-e display currently underway at the Nagoya Boston Museum of Fine Arts in Kanayama is the Hokusai exhibition which opened on the 9th at the Nagoya City Art Museum.Subtitled "Siebold and Hokusai and his Tradition" there are many examples of Hokusai's work on display.Some,apparently, are on show in Japan for the first time having been loaned from the Bibliotheque nationale de France and the National Museum of Ethnology in Leiden.From the brief English language notes at the Museum and a little googling Ive been able to work out how Siebold fits into the scheme of things and gets to share the headlines with Hokusai.Philipp F. von Seibold was a resident physician at Deshima,an island in Nagasaki harbour which was a Dutch trading post set up by the Japanese government of the day.He undertook extensive research into many areas including among other things the local geography,flora and fauna,botany,history and arts.His book "Nippon"which described his resear...
More About: Exhibition

Snow
2008-02-11 10:25:00
Snowed Saturday.Not long.Long enough to smother some of the grey ugliness of the city.Long enough to witness a bicycle rider narrowly avoid hitting pedestrians as she lost control of her steed in the slush.About 11 to 13 centimeters fell late Saturday morning and continued until mid-afternoon.I couldnt recall having snow fall this late in Winter.Especially given that Spring started last week according to the old traditional lunar calendar.I was told later however that snow isnt that unusual as late January to early February is apparently the coldest time of the year.By the time I left work on Saturday the snow had stopped and had already begun to turn into slush.Melting drifts which had built up on lampposts and roofs periodically fell onto the footpath below causing passing pedestrians to cast a weary eye as they trod home.
More About: Snow

Friday Flash..Pieces of Cake
2008-02-08 13:59:00
It seems in the buildup to Valentines Day here local bakeries or patisseries as they advertise themselves make an all out assault on your taste buds and wallets.There appears to be a never-ending array of cakes and desserts to entice you into the shop and part with your hard earned yen.The dessert above consists of four large strawberries balanced on a thick moist caramel flavoured biscuit.The space in the centre of the strawberries is filled with a thick cream filling.The strawberries themselves are bedecked with a thick creamy topping and are also covered in a shiny sweet sugar glace.This second offering is a dense,moist slice of chocolate cake.As with the first dessert above,the cake has a thick creamy topping and also two thin strips of chocolate adding yet more calories.The cake also has a thick sprinkling of chocolate powder on its surface to give it a professional finish.
More About: Flash , Cake , Friday , Pieces

Maki zushi,Setsubun and MameMaki
2008-02-04 12:23:00
Pictured above are three examples of maki zushi,special long uncut rolls of eho maki eaten during Setsubun the day before the start of Spring according to the old traditional calendar.This years Setsubun celebration fell yesterday and it seemed that nearly every convenience store,supermarket and sushi shop was touting their own versions of maki zushi.Prices varied and so accordingly did the ingredients used.The cheapest ones I saw were selling at 400yen each while the more expensive ones were 800 yen and over.The more lavish rolls used crab and shrimp meat but all the rolls seemed to be around 18-20 cm in length.As it was my day off yesterday,I walked down to Osu Kannon Temple to watch the ceremonies taking place.Prior to the mamemaki or bean throwing events there is a Parade of The Seven Gods of Good Luck who ride a treasure ship float around the shopping district.Their voyage ends in front of the Temple.While I just missed the Seven Gods arrival I did manage to catch their treas...
More About: Maki

Friday Flash..More Plum Bonsai
2008-02-01 14:03:00
Due to the fact I had to change my current days off at short notice I didnt have much time today.My days off are now the same as the days my school is closed.While it means I no longer have to get up early on Sundays and work it does mean that I lose a fairly big allowance which went with working on Sundays.Swings and roundabouts really. Anyway here are two more plum bonsai trees that were on display last weekend.As with the trees in the photos last Monday these ones had a highly concentrated scent probably due to their small size.A nice reminder on a cold wintry day that spring isnt far off.
More About: Flash , Bonsai , Friday , Plum

The Best American Short Stories 2007
2008-01-28 01:40:00
The Best American Short Stories 2007.Houghton Mifflin Company.398 pages.Edited by Stephen King.After 2006's underwhelming offering I approached this edition with some trepidation.I was moderately surprised.There was no gloomy stench of death similar to that which hung over its predecessor.Saying that however,death does feature in several of the stories such as "The Wake","Findings and Impressions" and "Sans Farine".But its not the fundamental encompassing preoccupation of these works."Death" with a small 'd'.Stephen King notes in his introduction as editor that if the stories have anything in common .."its that sense of emotional involvement".Im not sure how emotionally involving the majority of the stories are given that two weeks have passed and Im struggling to recall the details of many.A few stuck in my mind such as the already noted "The Wake" and "L DeBard and Aliette:A Love Story.As this years editor was Stephen King I expected some off beat unusual choices but nothing re...
More About: Book Review , Short Stories

Plum Bonsai Show
2008-01-28 01:25:00
There was a display of bonsai plum trees held over the weekend in the Seiutei Teahouse at Shirotori Garden.The traditional teahouse built in the centre of the Garden is used for a variety of cultural events including tea ceremonies,concerts and flower arranging displays.The tatami mats and wooden interior provided a suitable setting for the flowering trees.
More About: Show , Bonsai , Plum

Friday Flash...A Slice of Cake.
2008-01-25 13:44:00
Two photos of slices of gateaux or cake available from a local bakery here in Osu Kannon.The first features a chocolate sponge with a centre of cream and sliced banana.On the top is a walnut and a thin chocolate disk held in place by fresh whipped cream. Below is a slice of strawberry sponge cake.In the middle of the sponge there is a strawberry and fresh cream filling.
More About: Flash , Cake , Friday , Slice

Ukiyo-e...Japanese Woodblock Prints
2008-01-21 01:20:00
The Nagoya Boston Museum of Fine Arts has a ukiyo-e exhibition which has just begun.There are 150 odd woodblock prints,printed books and paintings from the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.Coming hard on the heels of the Toulouse Lautrec show which piqued my interest in ukiyo-e I ambled down to Kanayama last weekend.Ukiyo-e or "pictures of the floating world" depict everyday life in eighteenth century Japan.Scenes from teahouses,brothels and kabuki theatre are on show as are prints of insects,sumo wrestlers,landscapes,actors and animals.One section of the show that attracted a lot of attention explained the process of print making.First an artist copies the original design onto transparent paper.An artisan then carved it on one or more blocks of cherry wood.A publisher then prints the impressions on a robust type of paper called hosh,made from the mulberry tree bark.(Collins Big Book of Art pg 208).All the tools,chisels,cherry blocks and brushes are also on display g...
More About: Japanese , Prints

Friday Flash...UpMarket Bentos
2008-01-18 10:35:00
Having received my first full monthly salary since September after the demise of Nova Corp,I decided to celebrate.I purchased these two lunchboxes from a shop in the Mitsukoshi Department Store basement foodcourt.The one above contains potato and ham salad and a small serving of coconut and mandarin dessert.The six sushi rolls include a variety of fish,seafood and cream cheese.This second bento is also colourful and has a number of different tastes and textures.Under the fried lotus root rings in the centre of the lunchbox there are three medallions of meat surrounded by a spicy Chinese vegetable salad.At the back in the purple patty pan there is a mouthful size offering of seaweed and mushrooms.In the foreground,the crimson-reddish patty pan contains some pickled vegetables.While a little more expensive than their supermarket equivalents I feel its worth it in terms of the presentation,care and attention that distinguishes them from their run of the mill counterparts.
More About: Flash , Friday , Bento

Toulouse-Lautrec Exhibition
2008-01-14 13:12:00
I spent a couple of hours Friday morning at the Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art viewing the Toulouse-Lautrec exhibition that ended last weekend.Subtitled "la vie parisienne" it covered the last 10 years of his short 36 year life.On display were some 300 odd works including paintings,drawings and the posters for which he is widely known for.According to my copy of Art for Dummies Toulouse-Lautrec "was and wasnt an Impressionist and stands alone with a personalised and quirky form of realism"(pg 155).I was intrigued by the inclusion of a number of Japanese wood block prints in the show.These woodblock prints or ukiyo-e(literally "pictures of the floating world") began filtering into Europe from the 1850s and became available for purchase in some specialised stores in Paris.A number of the European painters of the time,including Toulouse-Lautrec, adopted in their own work some features of the prints.In his posters,you can see for example, his use of black silhouetted figures and black,...
More About: Exhibition

Bonsai..Where Size Aint Everything.
2008-01-14 12:06:00
Last weekend saw the 78th Annual Bonsai Exhibition hit town at Fukiage Hall in Chikusa.Inside a chilly,crowded aircraft hangar like structure,row upon row of immaculately manicured bonsai specimens sat.Ready and poised for their yearly audience before their admiring masses.The word 'bonsai' is a combination of the Japanese word 'bon' meaning a shallow container and 'sai' meaning plants.You could roughly divide the exhibits into three classes.The smallest group were those you could carry with one hand.The middle group being those plants growing in a container that requires a person to use both hands to carry it while those in the largest category are grown in a container that need two people to carry them safely.Many of the specimens appeared to be either goyo matsu (Japanese White Pine),hinoki (cypress),maples or junipers.There were also a number of flowering cherry and dwarf apple and kaki(persimmon) trees making up the numbers.As well as the variation in size it was obvious ...
More About: Size

Friday Flash...Kagimochi
2008-01-11 10:22:00
Another New Year decoration commonly seen is the kagimochi.Traditionally it is an offering to the god of the incoming year and placed on the family altar before New Years.On January 11th,known as kagami biraki, it is broken up and eaten by members of the household.Kagimochi is a small,round,two tiered sticky rice cake made from mochi rice.It looks similar to a headless snowman.It usually has a small bitter orange on top.The orange is known as a daiai which is a homonymn for the word "generations" and considered lucky.The kagimochi above has a plastic rodent atop instead of an orange as 2008 is the Year of Mouse.Mochi rice cakes are made from boiled sticky rice or mochi-gome.The mochi-gome is hit repeatedly with a wooden mallet-like hammer until it becomes sticky.It is then formed into rice cakes or made into kagimochi decorations.As mochi is very sticky around New Years it contributes to a number of deaths caused by choking.It seems that elderly people in particular are susceptible...
More About: Flash , Friday

MiddleMarch...Ring for Jeeves....Book Review
2008-01-07 14:15:00
MiddleMarch by George Eliot.Oxford University Press 1999.Introduction by A.S Byatt.924 pages.The subtitle "A Study of Provincial Life" gives the reader a hint of what the author was trying to achieve by writing this novel.Its a mixture of sociological,historical and philosophical thoughts.Among other things.Such as small town persecution of strangers and outsiders,gossip and relationships not only between the different classes but between men and women.Of course the concept of marriage is also well traversed as illustrated by the part it plays in the lives of the two main characters Dorothea Brooke and Tertius Lydgate.The motivation for getting married be it for money,stability,social standing or security is also examined in the lives of other characters in the book.I found it a difficult book to read for a number of reasons.First there was an actual physical problem with reading the novel.The actual type is miniscule and it required a lot of concentration just to focus on the sente...
More About: Book Review , Review , Book , Ring

KitKat Cherry Balls
2008-01-07 01:14:00
KitKat Balls According to the old calendar we have entered the coldest part of winter.Hence I was a little surprised when I saw this packet of cherry flavoured KitKats on the shelves of a small shop on a local train platform.Firstly,its the first time Ive seen circular KitKats.If you cut a cross-section with a knife you find a layer of wafer surrounded by the cherry filling.Secondly,it struck me as odd to see something I associate with the season of Spring and the months of April and March appearing in the midst of Winter and January.Maybe I can put it down to global warming or commercial pressures but it does seem odd.
More About: Cherry

Friday Flash..Hatsumode 2008 (part 1)
2008-01-04 11:45:00
Hatsumode refers to the first visit you make to a Shinto shrine or a Buddhist temple each New Year.Traditionally,Japanese people crowd such places en masse over the first few days of the New Year starting from midnight January 1st to pray for a good New Year. The photo above shows the throngs waiting on January 1st at Osu Kannon.While it wasnt snowing,it was bitterly cold with an Arctic wind blowing into the well wrapped up masses.As well as stalls selling the almost obligatory lucky charms in the temple courtyard, there were also the usual food stalls set up nearby.Steam can be seen rising from the potato stand where the hot potatoes were literally selling like...This okonomiyaki stand was also doing a brisk trade as customers formed a patient, orderly line as their meal was cooked. Another staple like okonomiyaki, to be found at festivals and public events is the choco-banana.This was a steal,literally at 300yen each, but very hard to resist with a generous coating of chocolate. ...
More About: Flash , Friday , Part , 2008

Friday Flash..Hatsumode 2008 (part 2)
2008-01-04 11:16:00
These photos below show some examples of New Year decorations or shimekazari which are hung on or over the front door.There are many different designs but generally it is a rope or straw decoration from which a shide or white strip of paper hangs.Shimekazari are hung on or over doors to both show the temporary residence of the God of the New Year or Toshigami who brings good luck and also to deter bad spirits from entering the home.
More About: Flash , Friday , Part , 2008

Nengajo...Japanese New Years Cards
2007-12-31 11:44:00
Japanese people,traditionally near the end of December, send New Years cards to almost all of their friends,relatives and acquaintances.Likewise businesses send them to their customers.This year being the Year of the Rat nengajo cards bear designs of rats or mice on them.Disney shareholders must be rubbing their hands in glee at the prospect of selling cards adorned with Mickey and Minnie on them.Bear in mind that between 3 and 4 billion cards are sent each year.Its a big marketing and commercial opportunity;for example there were numerous Snoppy cards available for the last Year of the Dog.Cards that are mailed through to late December are collected and delivered together by Japan Post on January 1st.Since 1950 government issued cards have been available for purchase.These cards have their own lottery number.Should the recipient's number be drawn they become entitled to such prizes as TVs,kitchen appliances or car navigation systems.
More About: Japanese , New Years

O-Shogatsu..Japanese New Year 2008
2007-12-31 10:29:00
Well the New Year is almost upon us again.A bleak day outside this Monday 31st December 2007.A brisk wind has been blowing most of the day and theres a 40% chance of snow today.This year is the Year of the Rat or Mouse according to the twelve year cycle of the Chinese zodiac.The Rat is the first animal in the cycle,2007`s wild boar or pig representing the last animal in the series.Historically the rat or nezumi (mouse) is linked with bringing and protecting material prosperity.On the other paw,its also associated with war,pestilence and death.Images of The Black Plague and cries of "Bring out your dead" spring to mind.Temperament-wise it is seen as being intense and powerful,eloquent and charismatic but also can be ruthless,tyrannical and megalomaniac.Should make for an interesting year...
More About: Japanese , 2008