Filed under: Expat, Family, Japan | Tags: Aikido, Ise, Mieken-Aikidokai, Osawa, Shihan, 合気道, 師範, 三重県合気道会
The occupants of the little house returned to Ise this past weekend. We all had similar goals for the trip. The kids met old friends at the central park near the old little house. Megumi met her teacher buddies, PTA buddies, other buddies and played with our rental Prius (we have developed a serious case of Prious Envy). In my case, I came for a special training session held to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Mieken Aikidokai.
Osawa Shihan came from Honbu to teach. The class itself was well outside the normal experience of most of the attendees as most of them had only trained under Ueda Shihan during their Aikido career. Many were surprised at how different individual teachers can be! I had trained under Osawa Sensei two or three times previously so I knew that his Aikido had gone in a slightly different direction to that of Ueda sensei’s so the main surprise for me was how much detail he put into teaching.
From the start he addressed the group and said that from his perspective the origin of Aikido “styles” was primarily due to the personal beliefs and assumptions of individual teachers about how martial conflicts are initiated. Assumptions about how attacks of various kinds work governs how techniques unfold. So, a grab using the same hands approached from a slightly different angle would then require a slightly different response. From that subtle beginning arise the bulk of differences between one teacher and another and thus their respective “styles”. Osawa Sensei then went on to point out that what he was saying did not mean that he believes his Aikido alone to be correct and everyone else’s was wrong. It just meant that he felt certain attacks should be done in certain ways and that other people believed differently.
So, he instructed on what felt was the correct method for standing in hanmi (半身 : “half body”). He gave step-by-step almost clinical descriptions of how he felt shomenuchi (正面打ち: strike to the face — a “chop”) should be performed and why. In this case, his belief was that the hand position should end such that if the strike missed its target the attacker could still naturally grab their intended victim without significant change in posture or angle of the wrist. Sensei went into similar detail on techniques as well breaking them down into quanta of movement that could easily be compared and repeated both alone or with a partner.
The class was fun but the best part was seeing many of my old teachers and dojo buddies. It has only been nine months but there have been changes. New black belts here and there, new faces, new strength in formerly beginning level students. It was good. That evening I snuck away from the family for a short time and enjoyed some excellent sashimi, a few beers and the company of a raucous group of Aikidoka.
It was very nice to go back to the little house in Ise even if only for two days.
Filed under: Expat, Family, Japan | Tags: Akafuku, おかげよこ町, 赤福, Ise, no pan shabu-shabu, Okageyokocho, 伊勢
The joyful vision of squishing mochi and squishier anko being hand smushed together once again greets (abuses?) the senses of visitors to the Akafuku shop in Okageyokocho Ise (おかげよこ町伊勢). On Wednesday, February 6th, 2008 Akafuku reopened their doors to throngs of tourists and locals armed with cash rather than the expected pitchforks and torches. All in all the company seems to have rebounded quite well from scandal after spending about three million dollars to upgrade equipment and processes for ensuring the accuracy of freshness dates. News from the trenches indicates that three days later the lines have shortened but business is still bustling for the recently bruised 300 year old company. Whew!
On a sad note, the stuff still tastes like shoe polish — to my barbarian palate.
Finally, to those of you who discovered this blog after Googling for “No pan shabu shabu”, I apologize. The first usage of was an attempt at humor. This time it is egregious link baiting…
Since I am between my last job and my next (it starts 1/28) I have been at home a lot lately and so doing more cooking than I did previously. Normally, when I cook I stick to recipes of the American South-West and South. Recently, however, Megumi has subscribed to a food club. I don’t know how else to describe it. We have a two or three option menu that changes daily. Every day a cooler box filled with fresh food — vegetables, meat, fish, whatever is needed, is delivered to our door. The food matches the needs of the menu for the day and there is a detailed description of how to prepare the meal.
I have to admit that the recipes are written out in a order and manner that I find hard to follow but it is a great way to practice kitchen Japanese. There have been a couple of mistakes that I have made in reading the directions that have impacted the flavor and … presentation… but, but, skipping past details… this is a great way to kill several birds with one stone. We do less grocery shopping, we get fresher food (like going to the store every day) and I learn new “technical jargon”. This is a win and I highly recommend the option for anyone living here.
Shokubun (ショクブン ), from shokubunka (食文化 — dietary culture), is the company that offers this service here in Ise. The chain seems to be centered in Nagoya but I am sure there are other similar companies in other areas. If you’re living in Japan, want to optimize your shopping time, vary your menu or maybe learn to prepare real Japanese food, give it a go! For more information … Google is your friend!
Filed under: Expat, Family, Japan | Tags: Canada, Green, Hokkaido, insulation, Ise, Japan, Mie, Tokyo, Wyoming
A few things that Japan has not learned in the green department have been chaffing the more sensitive parts of my soul today. The first that leaps to my frozen fingers this morning is the desperate (DESPERATE) need for insulation in homes and buildings. Though the weather in Ise isn’t particularly chilly normally, it is painfully cold INSIDE. Neither the house where my family lives nor the building where I work are insulated. My son’s elementary school has cold concrete and steel walls. Heat leaks through the aluminum framed single-pane windows, doorway gaps, ventilation holes and open bathroom windows (no vent fans where really needed). Ise feels much colder than it really is!
I grew up in Wyoming (Note to non-Americans and New Yorkers: Wyoming is a frigid rectangle in the US section of the Rocky Mountains) so, I am not a cold wimp. However, I do expect to get warm once I’m inside. This is generally not the case here in Ise and in other parts of Japan too. I know the folks up in Hokkaido have discovered the mystery of insulated walls but much of the rest of the country is missing out. In fact, my wife pointed out an ad for “Canadian Houses”. These are 2 by 4 construction type houses with both central heating and insulation. The quotes from owners in the ads all dealt with how surprisingly warm they were even with heat turned low or off. We both laughed hard enough to not be envious — for a while.
The envy came back hard this morning. With the heated seat of the toilet below and a chill breeze through the window above confusing my barely awake body, I decided that I really wanted some of that Canadian house action. Since we are going to move to Tokyo my Canadian House will remain a fantasy. I just have to hope that the combined body heat of 35 million other folks in the greater Tokyo area will keep us warm!
Filed under: Expat, Japan | Tags: Akafuku Scandal, Akafuku, スキャンダル, 赤福, 赤福スキャンダル, Ise, Japan, Moral decay, no pan shabu-shabu, Scandal, Yakuza
The breaking news in Ise this weekend was related to consumer fraud perpetrated by the 300 year old Akafuku company of Okageyoko-cho. When I heard the news I was very disappointed. I’d been hoping for no-pan-shabushabu bribes of politicians or yakuza hits on other pastry makers. Sadly no, the news was mundane and, had they been clear in their advertising, not really news-worthy.
Apparently, Akafuku has been mis-dating some of their pastries *GASP*! As anyone who bites into the red anko covered mochi knows, these things have an eat-by date of tomorrow (or-you-will-heave). Well, they have been freezing ingredients and saying they were fresh *GASP*! They have also been adding sugar and not listing it on the right part of their label *GASP*!
This is truly a sign of moral decay. I’m going to move back to America! Errr…. maybe not…
Filed under: Expat, Japan | Tags: caffeine, Dr. Pepper, Ise, Ise-shi, Japan, Kawasaki, Mie, Mie-ken, Nintendo, Nintendo DS, Osaka, Red BUll, shopping
Nintendo DS addicts and crack-heads have a greater grip on the consumer zeitgeist than those of us who abuse other products — but we are out there. A few of us are even over here.
In the old days, I used to have to take the hydroplane to Osaka (up-hill, both ways, in the snow, etc…) in order to buy Dr. Pepper. So, I wouldn’t have thought there were any other Dr. Pepper users in central Japan but then the New Guy showed up. The New Guy isn’t really new, he’s been with the company since long before it was this company. However, he was sent to the US for seven years to work at a subsidiary there (trans: “to be a tool”). Somewhere during that period, the New Guy picked up a baaad case of the Peppers…
Since this was the only Japanese person that I have ever met who admits to liking the stuff, I figured his problem couldn’t be too bad. I was wrong! It turns out that the guy was seriously jonesing for some of the other “caramel colored caca water”. So bad that he went and found a source — a local source! The dude hooked me up the next day.
So … If you’re ever in Ise-shi, Mie-ken and you are in desperate need for the ideal caffeine delivery mechanism (PUNK, don’t even start about Red Bull), drop by the second floor of the Kawasaki-cho LaLa Park. The not-so-trust-worthy looking shop above MaxValue can set you up the bomb. Tell them Eric sent you — you won’t get a discount but the lady behind the counter might get confused and mis-calculate your bill.
Filed under: Expat, Japan, Robots, Work | Tags: Asimov, Ise, Ise-shi, Japan, Mitsubishi JetTowel, Robotics, Robots, RTFM, star trek, Toilets, Toto
Hi!
On Sep 13, 2006, at 6:50 AM, marcus j chavez wrote:
ERIC!!!! how’s Nippon how are the children adjusting Megumi, CAN you go home again:)
Funny you should ask. I was just soaking in the tub listening to the rain. There was a horny cricket out there trying to get a little action. The burping of the tub as it heated up to 40 gave this little corner of the world a nice bass accompaniment. Right now, Japan sounds nice.
But there is a darker side…
I work in an office where industrial robots are designed and built. I walk past half a dozen varieties every day. I think, Asimov would have approved but been a little disappointed. None of these look even vaguely like people. The coolest of the lot, the AGV, looks a lot like the love-child of R2-D2 and a VW microbus (hi Bro!). It gets about as much love. I desperately want to add, “Are you Sarah Conner?” to its repertoire of error signals but no one around here would really get it. Anyway, my point is that I’m spending a lot of time around robots lately. So much so that I wish that Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics were a reality. They might’ve saved my ass today.
It all starts with the almost fetish-like attitude toward personal cleanliness that is more than a stereotype here. This fetish has resulted in the development of plumbing that would look right on the set of a Star Trek episode (if they ever filmed in the bathroom). At the very least, I am convinced that the current models of toilets are robots in disguise. Most seem to be Three Laws compliant but the one in the far left stall of the visiting men’s room at my company stands out as being a deviant.
No one has complained, yet, that I use the visitors’ bathroom rather than take the long hike, to the farthest corner of the building, away from where I do my business, in order to do my business. The visitors’ bathroom is cleaner, or at least has better air freshener, and is equipped with robo-pots that do everything for you except, well, the obvious. Step up and the lid lifts, wait a moment and the hoop lifts. If you sit down you’d better read the instructions before you get serious otherwise you may need to call tech-support. If you think I’m kidding, think again. There is a two-page bilingual manual (full-color, glossy, nice use of graphics) hanging on the wall of each stall.
So, get comfortable, do your thing, press the right buttons, reduce the pressure and temperature — it’s always too powerful — and then fire up the dryer which, thankfully, is_much_ less powerful than the Mitsubishi JetTowel. Done, right? You’d think so but what happens when the toilet displays the Blue Screen of Death? How do you reboot a toilet? Sneaking away isn’t an option as the person to be blamed would be pretty obvious. Damn! Dr. Asimov, where are you when you’re needed!?!? When in doubt, a good engineer returns to the documentation, to RTFM a little more… Aha! On page two, “Tlouble Shooting”, is an answer Scotty would have been proud to use! There is a manual over-ride! The lid and hoop mechanisms still work so, getting down to open the hatch where the override is artfully concealed isn’t too horrific. Sure enough, lower right side behind the graphic showing how to open the hatch is YES! A hatch! With a flush lever. I rule! It may be an indicator of something that this is the sort of victory that I savor. 🙂
Anyway, wouldn’t it have been so much easier if the damn thing just followed orders? (second law of robotics)
Filed under: Aikido, Japan | Tags: Aikido, Aikikai, Black Belt, Ise, training
Hi!
I’ve started practicing again. Ise is going to be good for Aikido and my ego …
The location of practice at Ise Aikidokai rotates from day to day. It seems as though they are trying to tie four different city dojo together into one organization and they’re still having organizational birth pains. I dunno. I don’t care.
The first night’s practice was held in local shrine in a beat up old room with mat space about half again that of my old dojo just longer. The mats are beat-to-hell old tatami. I’d forgotten how tatami is both slippery and abrasive depending on the direction you slide. There was no picture of O Sensei just a massive rising sun flag on the far wall and metal lockers lining both sides. The only thought of safety was that people closed lockers when they swung open. 🙂
It was HOT, stinky, painful (tatami burns from the tips of my toes to ankles and knees) and exactly what I needed. The style is similar to how I trained in Seattle so I fit in immediately — aside from the part about being the only white person in the room and about a head taller than almost everyone. The sensei watched for a few minutes and started saying the same things that my old sensei has been telling me about my foot angle and relaxing my shoulders. It was wonderful.
I’ve sometimes had the very juvenile fantasy of walking into a dojo, kicking ass and then being recognized by a pro for my skills. I hadn’t been thinking that way this time. I was just terribly happy to have a place to release stress with friendly people. I went in relaxed. I kicked major ass the first night. The second night Sensei announced before class that I was a force to be recognized (and studied) and that the Japanese students could learn from my manners and presentation. I spent the whole class keeping up with his head black belt assistant and after that sensei came up to me and talked about testing. He told me to test for black belt in December.
It’s flattering and bewildering and it looks like I’m going to be pushing my physical limits again. I haven’t exercised since a week before I left F5 so I haven’t been this badly out of shape in ages. These young black belts are tough, wiry and have stamina that I haven’t had in ages. So, there is a challenge ahead of me that I think will keep me going for a while. It seems as though Aikido is going to make this move worthwhile for me. We’ll see.
Little House In Ise 