Unhappy Ending of Sorts

Azuma Shuhei, a candidate in Osaka in the July elections. Unlike most, soft-spoken and self-effacing. The Mainichi reports he visited all 43 municipalities in Osaka during the election, bringing his low-key style to "dialogue meetings". Sometimes he had an audience of just one or two. He finished 12th out of 19 candidates, while Sanseito-backed Miyade Chisato finished third, securing a seat in parliament. During campaigning Miyade delivered an observation typical of the party: "Look at Osaka's Dotombori -- it's chock-full of foreigners," Miyade said in a speech posted to X in May. "They buy up real estate and ignore Japanese customs. Is the government really protecting the assets of Japanese people?" The full story is here: A quiet voice in a loud election: Shuhei Azuma's lonely campaign - The Mainichi https://share.google/ANTl6aEuwtRzSuZkQ

Commute Photos

Foreigners and Japan: Updated

Minority party Japan Innovation has announced its own proposals regarding immigration: limiting foreign residents as a percentage (no figure provided) of the population, and making it harder to become a naturalized citizen, with revocation of citizenship in unspecified cases. Another example of how the goalposts are moving in a certain direction. Here are two not-unrelated articles. In The Guardian: https://share.google/Tb6K7ghZ7Xn2W1DtI From The Asahi Shinbun: https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/16031070 As someone (Hemingway?) observed, collapse occurs gradually, then suddenly. Which is why I'm very concerned about what's happening in Japan. Here's what decades of gradual collapse looks like when it reaches critical mass: https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/u-s-citizen-tased-detained-during-ice-operation-des-plaines/ (Countless other instances, of course.) Such as this: https://share.google/zYdvZf13c7SIT0uJd The Shining City on the Hill, the New Jerusalem, Land of the...

World Athletics Championships

Held in Tokyo for the first time since 1991. The most electrifying moment so far from a discipline sometimes an afterthought: pole vault. This is A. Duplantis, competing for Sweden. Nickname, Mondo. Enjoy https://www.youtube.com/shorts/e1c5jA7iGsY?si=lLTJc_ccDgXiDaFa

9/15: Respect for the Elderly Day

敬老の日、in Japanese. The numbers: over-65s comprise 29.4% (about 36 mil) of the population, with 9.3 million still working.

Sanseito Has a Trans Problem

A politician representing Japan's populist party in Okinawa has, predictably, weighed in on trans awareness with entirely unoriginal, recycled rhetoric. What else? From Mainichi Shinbun: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20250914/p2g/00m/0na/005000c In the run-up to parliamentary elections in July (in which Sanseito perfomed extremely well, especially among young voters), a university student I teach expressed his support for this pack of bigots. I gently suggested that its 日本人ファスト slogan and statements by party chief Kamiya (including slurs referring to Korean residents of Japan) were anti-foreigner, as widely reported in the media; there's nothing subtle about Sanseito. The student brushed aside my observation, insisting such was not the case. It was bizarre and unsettling, as though I were watching synapses engaging in cognitive dissonance or doublethink in real time.

Sanseito Sighting : Updated with Sanseito's Message to Turning Pointers, Kirkian Reflections

A sprinkling of Sanseito volunteers in downtown Niigata. Sporting their trademark orange. Waves to all, indiscriminately, Japanese and foreigners alike. The late Mr Kirk attended a Sanseito rally last weekend. Strange bedfellows, perhaps, considering the white, Judeo-Christian vision of America he championed. Don't imagine he was bothered by the wartime internment of Japanese Americans. Not overmuch. One thing about extremists: no sense of irony. From the official site: In Memory of Charlie Kirk We are stunned and heartbroken at the news of Charlie Kirk’s passing. Only on September 7, we welcomed him to Japan for a lecture. In that short time, he became more than a distinguished guest—he became a comrade, committed to building the future with us. We had promised to meet again at his year-end event and had begun to imagine the work we would take on together. Charlie left us with a wealth of vital messages. Though his life was taken, no one can take his convictions or silence the message he carried. We will honor him in the only way worthy of his example: by treasuring what we received from him, by telling it faithfully, and by carrying it forward—here in Japan and beyond. To his family, to our friends at Turning Point, and to all who loved him, we extend our deepest condolences and our unwavering resolve to continue the work we pledged to undertake together. Rest in peace, Charlie. We will see you again. ("comrade" an interesting choice) "carrying it forward—here in Japan": hopefully that doesn't extend to accepting some gun deaths, as Kirk opined was an acceptable price to pay for gun rights (fortunately Japan doesn't suffer from the peculiar American derangement about firearm ownership and God-given rights) Official site of Sanseito

Japan Today: Reliably Shoddy, Caveat Lector

The title, and link: Policewoman forgets gun in restroom, continuing an odd trend in Japan - Japan Today https://share.google/Zxanb7KUEePFnElli Now, you might expect from the title that Japanese police routinely misplace or forget their weapons. A brief and shallow dig reveals that this is not so: only two other such incidents have been reported this year, and none in 2024. In fact, you have to go back several years to find more than two 🕝 incidents occurring in a single year. (For comparison, The Trace reports that it reviewed records of "100 law enforcement agencies [in the US] and found that they had collectively reported the loss or theft of at least 1,781 guns between 2008 and 2017.") A trend, in fact, and one that belies another problem with the story: the claim that this is "odd", with the suggestion that Japanese police are uniquely unprofessional. Typical of JT's occasional inhouse story (nearly all news per se comes via wire services- JT employs moderators, not journalists.) What does it matter? This kind of report reinforces the biases and soft racism about Japan shared by many foreigners, both here and abroad. Namely, that Japanese officialdomm is peopled with total incompetents.

Samurai

Loyal. Self-sacrificing. Brave. Why not Cool as well? Samurai Japan, Samurai Blue, the men's national baseball and football teams, respectively. Romanticized in countless manga, anime, songs and period dramas on NHK. During the Edo period, 2 million out of a population of 30 mil. Insufferably arrogant. Parasitic. That's probably what the rest of Edo thought, for social inferiors were required to support them financially and, adding insult to injury, to prostrate themselves (dogeza, it's called) and grovel in their presence (though this custom was relaxed somewhat in Edo itself). Inhumane, cruel, bloodthirsty. The term tsujigiri (辻斬) refers to practice of testing one's blade randomly on passing strangers (drive by be-headings, perhaps). Social inferiors,of course. And then, there's inuoumono (犬追物). Samurai on horseback, in a circle, armed with bow and arrow. A dog is released. The circling riders let fly, vying to outshine their fellows in accuracy and grace. Charles Dunn, University of London Reader in things Japanese, has written an informative text about Edo called Everday Life in Traditional Japan Except he doesn't know or omits this detail of everyday samurai life. Not so Shirato Sanpei, the author of Kamuiden. Shirato devotes a section of his hit manga to the practice.

Coming of Age Ceremony

The nephew of the Emperor of Japan, Prince Hisahito, celebrated his 20th year in a highly ritualized private ceremony today (totally unlike the ceremony for the polloi, needless to say). Video here: 悠仁さま 成人式 https://share.google/PaBD4uBUi0AwiCsY4 The Emperor himself has just one child, Princess Aiko-sama, and while she would not be the country's first Empress, conservative forces in Japan would see her cousin ascend to the throne.

Sansan Cafe, Kakuda Beach

Spice Curry, Buri Set All good, but the buri (yellowtail) was exceptional.

Tofu, Tofu Everywhere

Fall Scene

Haguro damselfly and rice on the eve of harvest.

A Monkey, a Man, a Forest: Afterword

This remarkable short tale, サルと人と森, reads like a cautionary story for our times despite having been written nearly 120 years ago. As I understand things, the author, one Ishikawa, was moved to pen his warning by Japan's first case of environmental pollution resulting from mining operations in Tochigi Prefecture during the Meiji Era. In any case, Ishikawa's book is most prescient. I had to dig deep to find my copy. If there's enough interest, I would be happy to enquire into an additional print run. Drop us a line.

A Monkey, a Man, a Forest Translation- Final Chapter

The monkey: You humans were once as agile as us monkeys, but no longer. Why, I'd say you're regressing. Humans have become lazy, and clumsiness is the result. On the other hand, your neglect and carelessness grow by the day. You humans boast of your advanced technology, but in truth, all your fancy contraptions bring about human misery. The man, yelling: Cocky beast. Get down here, now. Monkey: Look around you. Do you see any other creatures in such decline as humans? I don't. Look at us, with whom you share an ancestor. We monkeys move about freely, whether on the ground or up in the air, swinging from tree to tree. You used to be like us, the forest for a home, but now you live on the ground with the snakes and frogs. I don't know what to call this, maybe not corruption, but think about it: humans on the ground, monkeys in the treetops, who's closer to heaven, who's nearer hell? Man: Hateful creature. Make no mistake: we humans could cut down all your precious trees. Where would you be then? You'd have to bend the knee and beg your masters for mercy, that's where. Monkey: Well, well, the truth will out, in the end. At last we see just how deranged humans can be. Forever cutting down forests, levelling mountains, filling in rivers, and paving the plains. But your roads lead not to heaven but to the gates of hell. You people have already disowned your ancestors and violated the natural order. I doubt there are more accursed creatures than you in the world. The monkey finished speaking, and the man looked positively miserable. He sensed the truth of what had been said, but he couldn't acknowledge it. Gritting his teeth, the man prepared to leave the forest. Observing this, the monkey said: Dear visitor, where are you going? Man, voice shaking: Wait a bit. I'm sorry for what I said earlier, he added reluctantly. Look, just wait here for a bit while I go home to get my gun. Suddenly out of nowhere, a volley of chestnuts rained down on the man's head. Man: Damn this monkey. What's there to do? In a flash the monkey was gone. The boughs creaked, the leaves rustled, but the old monkey was nowhere to be seen, leaping from branch to branch, farther and farther away, into the mountains where the sun rarely shines.

A Monkey, a Man, a Forest (continued)

The man, disdainfully: What are you talking about, dolt. You monkeys are inferior to humans in every way: intellectually, emotionally, and technologically- that's why your development is arrested. You don't have a roof over your heads and, unlike humans, you haven't the refinement to cover your nakedness. You nibble on nuts, whereas we humans dine on the choicest delicacies, of which you haven't the slightest conception. The monkey, chuckling: Our natural clothing is our fur, which protects us year-round. You talk about monkeys lacking sufficient hair, but I wonder how much warmer we'd be with more. As for not having what you consider a proper dwelling, this forest is our home. And not just this, either, but all the forests of the world are home sweet home. We don't forbid you to enter our home, yet you can't even say hello. Why is that, I wonder. That's the way of polite people, surely. The man, screaming: Come down here, come down right now. I dare you to say that to my face. Monkey: So, you're the violent type. I'm the master of this house. You don't just enter another's dwelling without announcing yourself. You should ask for the head of the household and exchange greetings. I've got some tasty chestnuts here. Why don't you climb up and help yourself? The man looked up at the monkey, who was beckoning him to ascend. The monkey was out of reach, and the man became more and more irate as he considered the grinning monkey. Monkey: Why are humans so pitiful? Because they can't spring handstands? Pick up objects with their feet? Look, we monkeys have four feet, which also serve as hands. Long ago humans had bodies like ours, capable of wonderful things. Not any more.

Ishikawa Takuboku's サルと人と森 (1907)

A man walked into a forest. A monkey was sitting on a branch of a tall tree, watching the man. -- We monkeys are humanity's ancestors. I wonder why people look down us. The man replied, -- We humans are different from monkeys, we're more intelligent. If we are descended from apes, then where does our heroic nature come from? The monkey: -- If that is so, how can humans be such pitiable creatures? It seems to me that humans have already forgotten the past. How do you happen to be here in the first place if not for sharing a common ancestry with us? Those who forget the past have no future. If you really believe yourselves to be the most advanced, the most amazing creatures, you'll know no happiness in the future. Pitiful humans. Surely the time of human extinction draws nigh.

Japan's MAGA

I and foreign friends have noticed a definite uptick in sneers and looks that plainly say Go Home in recent weeks. Not Happy Days.

Japan's MAGA: Sanseito

Sanseito. Slogan: Japanese First. Vaccine conspiracy theories- ✓. Anti-foreigner-✓. Example: Party rhetoric purposely muddies the difference between the government's guest worker program (5-year visa) to combat the country's severe labor shortage, and immigration, which in Japan is unpopular and definitely not a thing anyway. Sanseito is on the rise, currently no. 2 in polling in the upcoming contest. The local candidate in the 7/20 election is Hirai Eriko. Like Hirai、I have 3 kids, though 'half', in Japanese parlance. My, children, born and raised here- does Sanseito consider them Japanese, or second class, to pure Japanese stock? Oh, Eriko-様、my eldest is a brain surgeon at a public hospital in Japan, treating Japanese with severe neurological conditions. And, he and his Japanese wife have a new baby (you know, the birth-rate thing). And my younger kids are adults, employed, paying taxes, and otherwise contributing to society. 'Half' as they are, do they fit into Sanseito's master plan, Eriko-様? Anyhow, a troubling development, particularly as other parties are rushing to board that bus.

A Monkey, a Man, a Forest

Definitely read this story; サルと人と森. It was written over 100 years ago but has a most relevant message for our times. (The author is one Ishikawa Takuboku.) In the coming weeks I will be providing serial translations of this extremely rare text.