Pottering in the City

Photos from a ride in Niigata City.

Photo at top shows a particularly extreme example of a ゴミ屋敷 (gomiyashiki). I couldn't tell if the house was occupied. Neighbors and other concerned parties are not without recourse and may appeal to authorities to order a cleanup. The second photo is of a 1980s(?) arcade game called Robolette. For more photos, see here.

A Shiftless Man: A Japanese Folktale from Hiroshima

Long, long ago, in a certain village, there lived a man proverbial for his laziness. Although he was employed at the home of Oodanna, a neighbor, money burned a hole in our hero's pockets, so that he was forever penniless. He was always taking advantage of his employer's generosity, promising to repay money borrowed. Which of course he never did. The New Year was approaching, and our protagonist (let us call him Goro) discovered he was dangerously low on rice. After all I've borrowed from Oodanna, he's not going to give me any rice, unless I have a cunning plan, mused Goro. And holding his head in his hands, Goro commenced to scheme. Aha, that's it, it's bound to work, exclaimed Goro, whereupon he hurried to let his wife (Setsuko will do) in on the plot; when she understood her role, she put on her saddest face and went to Oodanna's house. Most Honorable Oodanna, the most terrible thing has happened. Truth is, my husband died yesterday, and there's not a grain of rice in the house. You wouldn't be able to lend me a sack of rice, would you? beseeched Setsuko. My, but only yesterday he was hale and hearty! Well, when you're time's up. it's up. However, there's no need to worry, and though I've already loaned you no end of things, you can have a sack of rice. But Oodanna was greatly moved by Setsuko's tale of woe, and he added: Well, I suppose you'd better take all three sacks of rice I've got, and here's some money to tide you over as well. Goro was overjoyed at the success of his ruse, and for some time he lived the life of Riley. But before long things began to run low, and then lower still, so Goro betook himself to Oodanna's to ask for work. Standing outside the house, Goro had a sudden thought: I'm supposed to be dead! But what am I to do? I'll starve if I don't get work! As Goro was pacing about irresolutely, who but Oodanna himself should emerge from the house? Goro dived into a clump of tall grass, thinking to hide. But Oodanna had seen him, and heaving a big sigh, said, Of all people, it's the dead guy. Come now, the joke's gone on long enough. Come on out, you! As Goro didn't comply, the other parted the grass and took up a position right next to him. Goro, placing his hands together, replied, No, I didn't lie to you. I'm praying to you from the shade of leaves of grass. By the way, Dear Reader, 'from the shade of leaves of grass' is an expression that may be used when referring to the dead. THE END http://hukumusume.com/douwa/pc/minwa/03/11.htm

3/11, 13 years on

March 11, 2024, marks 13 years since the Great Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami of 2011. The disaster claimed the lives of 18,131, with 2829 unaccounted for, and resulted in the total destruction of nearly 130,000 structures, with an additional 1,000,000 buildings damaged. The tsunami, ranging in height from 7.6- 14.8 meters, caused damage to 36,000 structures. I was on the top floor of a rickety old building in Niigata City that Friday afternoon when, at about 2:45. the shaking began. And didn't stop. There were four of us in the meeting room, all of us with experience of strong tremblors, but this was different: the shaking went on and on and on. Finally, after about 45 seconds, our Japanese supervisor, clearly rattled, suggested we vacate the building. At the time none of us had a smartphone, so it wasn't until I returned home, hours later, that I first saw footage (filed under 2011 Earthquake) of the destruction.

Unicycles in the Schoolyard

Photo taken at a primary school in Kanazawa, Ishikawa.

Rural Shrine to Jizo

On a bike ride this morning, a weathered shrine to Jizo-sama (video here).

Among the donors to the shrine, those with the surname 本間、渡辺、丸山 (Honma, Watanabe, and Maruyama) are most numerous.

Rolling Stock

Pictured are new rail carriages at JR East's manufacturing and assembly plant in Niitsu, Niigata City. Nicknamed 'Railway Town', Niitsu, in Niigata's Akiha Ward, has long been an important hub for rail operations in the region. The new rolling stock sports the livery of JR East's Yokosuka-Sobu Line, which comprises 28 stations from Kurihama,in Kanagawa, to Chiba Station.

More Jihanki (自販機）Vending Machine Curiosities

Pottering Pics: Kitamura the Dentist

キタムラ: perhaps written in kana for stylistic purposes, the kanji are 北村, literally 'northern village' 歯科：pronounced shika, dentistry

Shrine to Jizo-sama (地蔵様）

I encountered this tidy, refurbished shrine to the Buddhist deity Jizo on a recent bike ride in Niigata City. The wooden tablets give the names of donors to the shrine and amounts (in multiples of 1,000 [千- sen] or 10,000 [万- man] provided for its upkeep.

Bottom left: 　小杉 (一万）時田（５千円）　　 　　 In other words, one Kosugi has donated 10,000 yen, while a certain Tokita, 5,000 yen.

Nagoya Castle: More Screens and Things

Nagoya Castle: Screens and Things

Nagoya Castle Photos

Nagoya Castle, built in 1615 on the orders or Ieyasu, founder of the Tokugawa Dynasty (1603-1868).

I visited Nagoya last December and will be sharing photos of the castle in posts to follow. As for the golden roof ornaments, they are shachihoko, mythical creatures with the head of a tiger and tail of a fish. Capable of summoning rain, they offer protection from fire. Those atop Nagoya Castle are the largest in Japan.

Vending Machines

Vending machines are ubiquitous in Japan, and 20 years ago, jihanki (short for jidouhanbaiki- 自動販売機) selling alcohol were a common sight. However, the number of such machines has dropped significantly over the years in response to efforts to curb underage sales; the machine pictured is the only one of its kind remaining in downtown Niigata. Conversely, a new breed of jihanki offer a variety of food items, as here and here.

A Disappearing Japanese Institution: The Sento (銭湯), or Public Bath

It's becoming harder and harder to find public baths, with the following photo (taken in downtown Niigata City) illustrative of many sento today:

"- 乃湯", the first character of the name is missing, but the character 湯 , meaning 'hot water', is the giveaway that this used to be a bath (as are the doors separately marked ’女湯’(Women's Bath) and ’男湯’Men's Bath). However, as the plume of steam indicates, いずみ湯 is still in operation.

The number of public baths peaked at 17,999 in 1968. As of 2022, the figure was 1865. By the way, hot springs are indicated by the characters 温 and 泉, or onsen, literally 'hot spring', while the sen (銭)in sento is a trifling sum of money, 1/100th of a yen.

Ramen Kurai

There's always a queue at らーめん倉井, regardless ofthe day ofthe week or the weather. If you are a fan of 'Japan's soul food' and are in Niigata, it is well worth the wait. (Please note that the shop only accepts cash.)

Kayabuki Thatch Roof

The thatch roof is a feature of traditional Japanese farmhouses, of which the most iconic are the gassho-zukuri of World Heritage site Shirakawa-go. While such roofs last 30-40 years, replacing them is labor intensive, besides requiring a local supply of raw materials. Metal sheeting is the practical solution.

Mamoru-kun, Mascot of Miyako

The mascot of Miyakojima (宮古島-in the Okinawa island chain) is Mamoru. 'To protect, defend', also a name for boys, hence the 'kun'- Mamoru, in the guise of a policeman, watches over the roads in 20 locations throughout the island. I attended a wedding on the island a year ago, and one evening some of us repaired to an izakaya where customers are treated to- I'll let the video do the rest.

Basho and Sora in Niigata: Narrow Road to the Interior

A couple of links to short videos regarding the haiku poets' passage through Niigata in early July, 1689. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kveHtuRNMc8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCjueus1cLg

That's a lot of Takoyaki

Pottering Discoveries: Yoshida Inari Shrine, Niigata

Inari is the god of rice in the Shinto 'pantheon'-since the late Edo Era, Japanese have prayed to the god for commercial success as well as agricultural bounty. Given its history as Japan's most productive rice-growing region, it is unsurprising that Niigata should be home to the greatest number of shrines to Inari, of which that pictured offers a fine example of Inari gates. By the way, the fox: as a predator of mice, the bane of rice farmers, a natural choice to be Inari's messenger (not a representation of the god). As everyone knows, foxes are particularly fond of fried tofu, hence: Inari Zushi and Kitsune Udon/ Soba. 

https://youtube.com/shorts/uxObqqa4DVs?si=YaJySIZabxHS0gfo

  

A Showa-style Dagashi-ya Candy Store

 C-57 is the largest Showa-style dagashiya in Niigata, with over 300 varieties of 'low-grade' (the da [駄] of dagashi ) candies, sweets, and sundries. Located in Niitsu, nicknamed 'Railroad Town' because of its long history as a hub for Japan National Railways (until 1987) and its successor, East Japan Railway Company (familiarly, JR East), the shop takes its name from the old steam locomotive 'C-57', pictured prominently above the entrance.  Clink the link below to see a video of the shop's exterior.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptf5g8KaQk0

For videos of the interior:

https://youtube.com/shorts/6vxh5-9fY3k?

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/5k93LqLW-nM

https://youtube.com/shorts/-UAMhrE-ddQ?si=vcUZXP7X3irMtRX0

Zen Monk and Poet Ryokan-sama: a Reposting

 

Recently I've been reading John Stevens's Zen Poetry of Ryokan. Ryokan was born 251 years ago in Echigo Province, as Niigata was then known. A couple of years ago I visited his birthplace, Izumozaki, as well as the nearby hermitage Gogo-an, where he spent the latter part of his life. The late novelist Yasunari Kawabata as well as the renowned author of books on Zen Buddhism, Daisetz Suzuki, have said that one who wishes to understand the Japanese psyche can do no better than read Ryokan-sama. The following poem is one of my many favorites:

My hut lies in the middle of a dense forest;

Every year the green ivy grows longer.

No news of the affairs of men,

Only the occasional song of a woodcutter.

The sun shines and I mend my robe;

When the moon comes out I read Buddhist poems.

I've nothing to report, my friends.

If you want to find the meaning, stop chasing after

so many things.

THURSDAY, JULY 09, 2009

Zen Master Ryokan- The "Great Fool"

Taigu Ryokan (1758-1831) is one of Japan's best-loved mendicant Zen monks and poet-calligraphers. The topmost photo shows a memorial erected at his birthplace in Izumozaki, Niigata.

Most of his life was spent far from the madding crowd in Echigo Province, as Niigata Prefecture was known in his day, an area of fertile rice fields and rich fisheries some 350km from the capital, Edo, as Tokyo was then called.

According to Minakami Tsutomu, writing in 1984, "Wordly people call him different things: fool, wise man, idiot, man of the Way. He never flatters the rich and important, nor disdains the poor and humble. He isn't happy when he gets things or sad when he loses them. He just goes along, natural, relaxed, a man who has transcended the dust of the world." Maxims to live by, I think.

The daily Niigata Nippo newspaper publishes on its front page a poem by Ryokan every day. There are "In the Footsteps of Ryokan" tours offered by towns and villages through which he was wont to pass, begging for alms. The hut in which he spent the latter part of his life is preserved and annually receives thousands of visitors from all over Japan.

That the Japanese lavish so much attention on poets and writers is one of the things I love about the country.

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Nakasendo: An Old Post Road

 The most heavily travelled and important of Japan's post roads was the Tokaido, which connected Edo (modern Tokyo), the capital of the Tokugawa shogunate, and Kyoto, the old imperial seat. The 53 stations along the way were made famous in a series of ukiyoe woodblock prints by Hiroshige. The nakasendo , as its name suggests (naka is inner, sen mountain), was an inland route (unlike the Tokaido, which followed Japan's Pacific coastline before heading away from the coast to Kyoto.) The way was longer, mountainous, and boasted 69 posts, starting at Nihonbashi and winding its way through present-day Saitama, Gunma, Nagano, Gifu, and Shiga before arriving in Kyoto. One section of the road remains much as it was during the Edo era (1603-1868) and is the subject of the following video link.

Greed and Ginger: A Folktale from Iwate

 Long ago in some forgotten corner of Iwate there was an inn, and the keeper of this hostel was a most covetous man indeed, so much so that anything left behind by guests became the man's personal property. One day a traveler arrived at, goggle-eyed, well-dressed, with a striped bundle on his back. 

"I'd like a room for the night," the man said.

"Welcome, please come in, you can have your pick of the rooms" said the innkeeper and, grinning ear to ear, showed the visitor to his room. 

"He certainly looks prosperous. I wonder what's in that bundle of his?  Aha, I have an idea. They say that myoga  induces forgetfulness, so I'll just serve him up a dish of Japanese ginger for dinner," thought the innkeeper.   

So he summoned the maidservant and explained that the guest had ordered ginger for dinner- and lots of it. 

The guest tucked in to a dish piled high with the herb, exclaiming, "My, this is delicious". Before long the plate was clean.

Our innkeeper gleefully pictured to himself the mysterious bundle of the guest and the riches it must hold, which would undoubtedly be his come morning the next day.

On preparing to depart the next morning, the guest thanked the serving girl for the delicious dinner and set out on his way.

No sooner had he left than the innkeeper rushed into the man's room, fully expecting to find the forgotten bundle lying in plain view on the tatami matting. To his great surprise, however, it was nowhere to be seen. He turned over all the floor cushions and bedding and emptied the closets, all to no avail. Despite having eaten a heaping plate of ginger for dinner, the departed guest had forgotten nothing.

Perplexed and disappointed, the innkeeper remained lost in thought until he had a revelation: the guest had indeed forgotten something- to pay his bill.

The man rushed out and pursued the guest in the direction he had left, stopping passersby to ask if they'd seen a goggle-eyed man with a large bundle wrapped in a striped cloth.  But the villagers knew the innkeeper well, and his inquiries were met with howls of laughter. 

Japanese ginger and furoshiki wrapping cloth

Japan's "Michaelangelo": Ishikawa Uncho at Juni Shrine, Kamo, Niigata

For more on Ishikawa, see here.