Balcony Chums
Rocko, Al and Rhod chilling out on the verandah of Kiyomizu. Although
you can't see it, I am being crushed by thousands of Japanese tourists.

30 10 05 - 11:21 - kieren - kyonoki| - § ¶
Karaoke Passion
Rocko and Als first taste of karaoke. In the
smoky little room, Misako
and Eric give it everything they've got. Surprisingly, it's not the
alcohol talking. Misako squeezes her eyes
shut as the power of Enka overwhelms her. Eric......is Eric.



30 10 05 - 10:46 - kieren - kyonoki| - § ¶
Dusk

Standing on the
promitory of Kiyomizu, looking down at the dusky city. Kyoto never
looked this good.
30 10 05 - 10:43 - kieren - kyonoki| - § ¶
Sigh

Grrmph. Gnash gnash. @!*^ tourists, everywhere I "@"%$^$ look.
30 10 05 - 10:40 - kieren - kyonoki| - § ¶
"*)_!^@!""%

I do not £%"^*(" believe it! Rain! A month of drowned out weekends.
Every Saturday without fail. Yet come Monday, brilliant sunshine. £%^"
you Mother Nature.
29 10 05 - 02:58 - kieren - kyonoki| - § ¶
Revolution
Mr Suzuki was feeling confident with himself. Although he had graduated
only 6 months before, he was already a homeroom teacher to a class of
10 year olds. If he was slightly heavy handed and unsmiling, it was
only to keep a tight control on the noisome boys and chatterbox girls.
Yet he had little inkling that Bingo was about to halt his progress in
the school and cause him more than a few headaches. Any teacher worth
his salt remembers the most important rule of Bingo...it incites
revolution.
(more)
28 10 05 - 11:34 - kieren - kyonoki| - § ¶
Terrorism
Last night two massive explosions rocked the city of Hirakata. The sky
was lit up by columns of smoke, roaring flames illuminating the cloud
banks.
(more)
27 10 05 - 11:00 - kieren - kyonoki| - § ¶
The Temple Whorehouses
If you sit on the tatami of Myo-oin and pray in the dark recess of the hall, the
tarnsihed buddha grinning knowingly at you, something will catch the
corner of your eye. A flashing, garish neon sign, sputtering and out of
place amongst the regal and sober buildings. A million miles from the
peace of the temple sanctuary, the Hotel Lille advertises it's hourly
rates, an underground carpark discreetely depositing its cutomers to
the entrance. One of a dozen Love Hotels squeezed onto the secluded
hillside of the temple, each day I walk past these pastel buildings, no
longer bamboozled why religion and sex are so at home with one another
in Japan.
(more)
27 10 05 - 09:36 - kieren - kyonoki| - § ¶
Superstition
You should cover your navel
when thunder rumbles, the lightening might steal your belly button.
Parents often say it to their children when
thunder rumbles, and originally it was a warning that children (who often ran
around scantily clothed) should put on their kimonos. Traditional Japanese
belief has it that cold weather can cause problems such as diarrhea, cramps, or
stomach pains, so people wore haramaki (long pieces of cloth wrapped
around their stomach) and were very concerned about keeping their stomachs warm.
Lightning is often accompanied by a sudden drop in temperature, so they were
telling their kids to put on something warm, but since children aren’t likely to
listen to that sort of warning, they told them that lightning could steal their
belly-buttons instead.
Japanese superstition, tossed around in conversation with my coworker today, as Britain's own
season of superstition begins. Halloween, that season of deliriously
mixed up tradition and candy corporation exploitation. The Celtic End
of Year, when spirits of the dead were said to return to this world. At
first looks Halloween and Japanese O-bon seem to be almost the same,
but for the fact that the Celts were in mortal fear of the spirits and
did their best to avoid all contact. Food would be left at the door and
frigtheningly carved pumpkins placed in the windows, to appease and ward off unfriendly
spectres. At the break of morning, All Hallow's Day, the spirits would
be returned to the Netherworld and the new year hailed in.
(more)
26 10 05 - 13:03 - kieren - kyonoki| - § ¶
Farce
A luckless farce of a day. A waning afternoon spent sitting for two hours on a cold baseball pitch, forbidden
from going back inside, and in which I broke all the escalators in an
electronics store with a one yen coin.
(more)
25 10 05 - 11:08 - kieren - kyonoki| - § ¶
It Was a Cold Stormy Night

As if to prove the seasons turning, we came out of the cinema into icy
cold curtains of rain in the early hours last night. Wrapped up as best
we could, we rode the short
distance to home, soaked and chilled to the bone. Struggling out of our
clothes, it seems as if the indian summer has come to an abrupt and
chilly end. Pyjama bottoms on, windows closed, blankets pulled
out...the nights are drawing in. Another washed out weekend, warm and
lazy, watching TV shows and big brainless movies. Rhod is crouched,
fighting the blue screen of death on his computer, which crashed this
morning, and I am feeling lethargic making hundreds of mugs of tea. My
usual ADD is vanishing as it gets colder and colder outside, so in
spite of being still being in my PJs well into the afternoon, it is
well spent being with Rhod.
22 10 05 - 18:17 - kieren - kyonoki| - § ¶
A Murder Most Foul

A
charming, if rather slight tale of lovers parted. After an accidental
marriage whilst practising his vows, the luckless Victor finds himself
whisked to the Land of the Dead. Charmed, rather than horrified, he
must find a way to get back to his betrothed. A harmless escape from a
rainy evening, the story is a simple and beautifully created piece.
Plasticine characters storm the cinema at the end of the year!
22 10 05 - 18:06 - kieren - kyonoki| - § ¶
Mario Kidnapped

Mario
is back!...well, sort of.
After a lengthy sabbatical, the vibrant hordes of the Mushroom Kingdom have returned, minus a kidnapped Mario.
It seems like Nintendo have been scared of dropping the ball for so long,
that while Mario is flogged to death pushing mediocre sports and dance games (MarioKart
aside), fans have been somewhat disappointed as the company drags its
heels on the real deal. With a new Super Mario Bros. game coming soon, and MarioKart in December,
are we about to get a proper dose of the rotund plumber?
Enter "Super Princess Peach" for DS, with it's four 'emotion-powers' (uplifted,
crying, furious, happy) and one of the most annoying characters in the
Mario universe, it really shouldn't work. But, although made by an outside company, and while
not remarkably challenging, this game whets the appetite for the pending mario goodness. For once, Peach gets to
fight for herself; slapping old enemies and new with her handy umbrella, all the while searching for Mario and his mysterious captor.
There are things that still grate. The overly annoying voices of the
characters have me turning down the volume, and the music is not by any
means classic Mario. However, it's vivid, imaginative and packed full of value-adding mini-games to accompany the inventive levels, Princess Peach is a must have in the Mario canon.
Unable to put the DS down, it has me desperate to get my hands on
the next proper Mario game. Pick up the pace Nintendo, your fans are waiting.
21 10 05 - 09:18 - kieren - kyonoki| - § ¶
The Littlest Statue

Everyday I cut through through Myo-o
Shrine, skittering down hundreds and hundreds of steps to the houses
below a small cliff. In this way I can slip through the narrow alleys
and jumble of villas to reach the station. Lining the green slopes of
the almost-mountain are hundreds of tiny Jizo statues. As I go home, I
pat the very last one on the head -a mossy, minisule little thing,
eternally smiling thoughtfully- for good luck. Jizo statues can be
found all over Japan, but especially around graveyards because it is
believed that Jizo saves the souls of those in hell, especially
aborted, miscarried and stillborn babies.
The Japanese believe that children who
die prematurely are sent to Hell because they bring so much sadness to their
parents. In Hell, they are sent to Sai no Kawara, a dried up river, where they are
made to build monuments made of small pebbles to Buddha in order attract his compassion
and be freed from Hell. Their work is hampered however, by a terrible demon who
scatters the rocks with an iron club. When the demon comes, it is Jizo that protects
the children by hiding them in his sleeves and drives the demon away, making him one of
the most beloved of the Bosatsu.
As I leapt down the stairs, I noticed the statue was gone. Stopping, I
looked around and realised that the small figure had been smashed.
Somehow it had been knocked off its small ledge to the cars below. A
few pieces left, that was all. It made me sad. I hope that it was an
accident. There are other statues, but nothing with anything near the
expressive face of my little friend.
(more)
20 10 05 - 10:10 - kieren - kyonoki| - § ¶
Blood Ties

Pinched and tickled until I can take no more,
students torture me, thinking that I am lying when I say I do not know
my blood type. To them it is impossible for me not to know, so they try
to abuse the answer out of me, cursing my pretense.
Blood type is not important to me, so much so that I
have no idea of my blood type, though I have had scores of blood tests
in the past. It has never popped into my head to ask, because unless I
was in some kind of accident, why would I need to know. The Japanese on
the other hand would never dream of not knowing. Every one of my
students knows their blood types and are appalled that I have no
interest in my own.
I always wondered about the obsession the Japanese have with blood. My
friend Misa put me right. In the 1920's and 30's, blood type became a
major
issue in Japan because Western
scientists were claiming that it proved the inferiority of the Asian
race...
(more)
20 10 05 - 09:55 - kieren - kyonoki| - § ¶
The Closed World
Quick Pop Quiz. What would the Japanese do if Godzilla really did
emerge out of Tokyo Bay? What would their reaction be as the giant
atomic rays flattened downtown Tokyo? In truth, probably nothing.
The Japanese seem to have an amazing ability to not see. It is a gift
that comes from the sheer number of people squeezed into small pockets
of flat land. Mountains prevent development across most of the
country, funnelling population into huge cities, that often merge into
one another. When rush hour is a bone-breaking crush, when there is a
constant stream of noise, of traffic, of tourists, it is little
surprising that the Japanese psyche has developed a simple way to cope
with their close proximity to the next person. Deliberate blindness.

(more)
19 10 05 - 11:08 - kieren - kyonoki| - § ¶
Sexual Politics
'Shimada is a strange boy. Lately he keeps hugging two other boys
during class, squeezing himself onto the same chair and telling them
how pretty they are'.
(more)
18 10 05 - 10:15 - kieren - kyonoki| - § ¶
The Wheels on the Bus

Rhod concentrating on his driving skills, thinking hard about a change of careers.
15 10 05 - 16:15 - kieren - kyonoki| - § ¶
Plastic Bunnies and War Drums
Dear constant viewers. Draw the curtains, lean back, rest your weary
feet, and make yourself comfortable. For I am about to tell you a tale of much woe, of sheer blind luck. Let us begin with a
man and a woman, and their little son.
A smart looking couple walked down the shrine steps, sombrely dressed
in black, each holding the hand of their small son. Praying to the gods
that he would be accepted to the priveleged nursery school they had
moments before interviewed at. Waiting for the traffic to pass, a huge
lorry swerved to avoid a careless woman skittering across the road in
high heels, screeching to a halt where the couple and their boy had
been standing. As this is not actually a story, their lives did not end at this
moment, but something much more unexpected. The material side of the
truck gave way, loosing hundreds of blow up toys across the forecourt
of the shrine. Bunnies, bears, mallets, dogs, cats,
pumpkins...unimaginable shapes and sizes, every shape and colour,
drowning the man, woman and child in an avalanche of fairground toys.
As the man screamed obscenities, flinging pink bunnies this way and
that. The driver slapped his forehead at the spilled mess. I frowned,
thought how strange it was, then shrugged...this is my workplace, and
weird things happen here a lot.
(more)
14 10 05 - 13:17 - kieren - kyonoki| - § ¶
An English Gentleman
Jonathan Coe wrote that the British character is one of complimented
contradition. While we are deeply melancholic, we are infused with a
jovial nature, able to laugh at our selves and make the best of any
situation. While gloomily expecting the worst, we are capable of so
much when we set our minds to it. We would like to think ourselves
modest, but we harbour a huge pride. Yep, I would pretty much agree
with that.
Being English is fantastic, in ways that other people could not understand. No, seriously.
13 10 05 - 10:33 - kieren - kyonoki| - § ¶
Smushed Smurfs

Smurfs happily singing and dancing in their safely tucked away village.
Moments later and an air raid has left their homes burning shells, their
families killed, their lives ripped to shreds. Not the friendly vision
of the blue loving folk, but the alternative UNICEF campaign. Hoping
to raise money for African children enslaved to the military and forced
to fight, Belgium has been looking to loose peoples purse-strings by
dipping into their childhood memories. Using shock tactics, UNICEF has
gone about creating a horrifying comparison between the Smurfs and the realities of
countries in conflict. I admit that the picture looks more bizarre than
thought provoking, but then again it is only a single frame from
commercials broadcast after the watershed in Belgium. Check out the
BBC report here.
13 10 05 - 10:08 - kieren - kyonoki| - § ¶
Equations
As students sat their
Eiken Tests this morning, I found that it was me
sitting, scratching my head, gnawing away at my pencil in sheer
puzzlement at the answers.
Eiken tests a students ability at written
English and listening, 40 minutes of question answering. Bored to be
left in the teachers room, I picked up a copy and took a seat at the
back of the class. Not really a challenge, but useful in helping me
study effective ways of teaching and noting down the students
particular weaknesses. So I was little perplexed when I was struggling,
10 minutes into the test.

(more)
11 10 05 - 11:18 - kieren - kyonoki| - § ¶
Evil Lair

James Bond
Super-villain Laboratory? Nuclear Power plant? Toyota HQ? Nope, none of
the above. Kyoto Station sits in a plain of small buildings. Often I
sit on the fence when it comes to the contentious issue of the station's striking appearance. From inside, you
feel like you are in the workings of a grand atrium, mixed up in the
mind of a mad professor, but from outside it is remarkable in its
shoulder shrugging mediocrity.
Would be cool if it were a Super Villain lair.
10 10 05 - 10:56 - kieren - kyonoki| - § ¶
The Moving Tortoise
Challenged to paint a picture of a tortoise that would move, Sesshu
decided instead to carve one in stone, along with a crane. At night the
tortoise was said to move around the gardens. In frustration, Sesshu
rammed a rock through the tortoise's back, pinning it down and stopping
it from moving. You can still see this rock, the tortoise, sitting in
the Hasso Gardens of Tofukuji.

(more)
10 10 05 - 09:33 - kieren - kyonoki| - § ¶
The Drowned God
Sweet gods, has the Autumn finally reached into Kyoto's valley? Have we
seen an end to the half-delirium that comes in the summer nights,
now come the comfortable evenings spent drifting off towards a more natural sleep.
The drone of airconditioners hushed, grasshoppers singing their
solitary songs. After many months, it seems that Fall is almost upon
us. While still in t-shirts at work, the mornings are decidedly more
chilly and it won't be long until I pull on a jacket before leaving the
house. Now comes the season of typhoons, with its lashing rain and
angry skies. The nights seem a lot darker, and home seems a lot more
enticing.
(more)
05 10 05 - 09:45 - kieren - kyonoki| - § ¶
Barefoot Gen
A few years ago, I helped my friend Yoshi clear out his parents attic
before their family moved to Aomori. While we were hunting through the dusty
boxes I came across hundreds and hundreds of
manga (graphic novels
really), so pulled them out into the garden and sat flicking through the
yellowed, old pages. Scores of books were about a boy called
Gen, who
lived with his family in Hiroshima during World War II. I couldn't
understand everything, though the pictures told the story for me.
Scores of comics formed the tale of the family as it tried to cope
with war and their fate at the time the atomic bomb was dropped. Finally today,
I sat down and read the English translation of the story. It didn't
take a great deal of time as there were no pictures.
Barefoot Gen
stunned me in ways I did not expect and while I anxiously followed the
course of his family's life, the tragedy and injustice of their tale
horrified me to the core...in ways other novels about Hiroshima have not.

(more)
04 10 05 - 09:54 - kieren - kyonoki| - § ¶
The Somersaulting Manta
Man knows more about the surface of the moon, than he does of the
depths
of the oceans. Sea life can be so alien to us that often a primative
fear takes hold. Even though water covers most of our planet, often we
have no idea what it contains nor how deep
it really goes. The British, like the Japanese, are naturally drawn to
the coast and to water - even if their birthplace were miles
inland. I can sit and watch the sea for a lifetime. I have never
lived very far from it, nor would I want to. In Kyoto, we sometimes
don't get to venture out to the sea as much as I'd like. It's partly
because of this, that our trip to Osaka Aquarium this weekend was so
amazing.
(more)
03 10 05 - 14:39 - kieren - kyonoki| - § ¶
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