kyonoki

The pre-pre-prep for Sports Day




There is something quite stirring about Sports Day, something that makes me want to start nationalistic flag waving and marching along with the tunes that seem as outdated as those war-time movies that used to play on Sunday afternoons on the TV. If you wish to see the Japanese 'hive mind' in action, then Sports Day would be the perfect place to start. Students are given the once over to make sure their uniforms are, well, uniform, that their hair is black (Lord help the students who dare to use dye and so face having temporary paint sprayed onto their heads to turn it back to natural hues... I kid you not) and that they are all indistinguisable from one another at a distance. When they are all lined up on the playing field, practising the correct way to bow for thirty minutes or so, you might yet believe that the world has not moved on from the rigid rules of war-time. Do British schools lack such discipline, respect or such dedication to performance in the races? Yes, and no. At school I loved sports day, I loved sprinting and challenging the other classes for the tiny battered prize cup. I loved the boring speeches and the sense of chaotic unpreparedness. In Japan nothing is left to chance. Students abandon classes for two or three weeks prior to the big day (which is still a week away). They practise marching, practise speeches, practise interval routines, practise the races themselves. Nothing, but nothing is left to chance. But what of the students who win in practise, but fail on the big day? Wouldn't it be more than trifling to lose when it counts, having already raced and already run in front of the school? In spite of this, or maybe because of the infectious air of celebration, I look forward to Sports Day. I mingle with the kids outside of class, I get to photograph them and see them loosen up. The parents are there, the dignitaries are there, and it genuinely is the biggest event in the school calender. The students hate all the preparation and traditions that keep them busy well after the last bell has sounded, but forgive it for a chance to give it their all when the day comes. I don't agree with the pressures heaped upon the losers, nor the tears and emotional wreckage that comes at the end of the day (it is Junior High School for Christ's sake)... but it is one of the best experiences to have as a teacher in Japan. In the obsessive drilling and pre-pre-prep you get to see a Japan that is still more conservative than ever, a part of life that has yet to change.

25 09 06 - 12:40 - Kieren - Photostory| one comment - § ¶

In practice for Halloween


Step One: Find a sheet and get inside...this will make an ideal ghost.	Step Two: Thrust your arms up, shake your body and make scary sounds.	Step Three: Put the sheets back before your boyfriend gets home and catches you.*

(more)

24 09 06 - 08:38 - Kieren - Photostory| one comment - § ¶

Days gone by



Is there anything in these photos that place them in a particular time? I have been looking at them for a little while, and if I had taken the shoes off Kitty and the plastic bag away from Rhod, there would be little to tie them to the here and now.	I have a book of old photos taken around Kyoto before the First World War. Most of the pictures are black and white, with strange dashes of colour added.	I will get over the colour gimmick soon enough, but until then will have a little bit of fun. I wanted to try and create those old colour processes that never quite worked.

24 09 06 - 08:15 - Kieren - Photostory| No comments - § ¶

Wii, and another Rhod Catch-Up

The journal entitled 'Rhod's Credit Card Atrocities' started a new chapter this morning (more)

21 09 06 - 12:39 - rhod - Photostory| No comments - § ¶

Monkey magic




Typhoon Shanshan left us with dazzling sunshine and clouds whipping across the sky, while down in Kyushu they battled tornadoes and severe mudslides. After feeling trapped for the last couple of days, as weather warnings told us to avoid travel, we finally got some of that fantastic fresh air that comes with the slow winding down of Summer. Typhoons are not particularly nice (inevitably ending in tragedy for some, though I still cannot understand the mentality of people fishing along the coast or scrambling onto their roofs to fix tv aerials in hundred mph gusts) but sweep away the pollution and clear up the air no end. Thus all the grime vanishes and all the colours shine through. No photographer could go wrong in this weather. A few weeks ago Erina had mentioned that she had taken Kitty to Mino to see the famous waterfall and monkeys, but that there had been not a monkey in sight. I remember the same thing had happened at Miyajima when I visited with Louisa, and again with Rhod. The little simians are elusive at the best of times. As Kitty hasn't seen a monkey before, I thought it would be fun to take her to the sanctuary on Mount Iwata, Arashiyama. We met Dale, Erina and Kitty and hiked up the ravaged paths to a hut at the top where you can safely feed the monkeys as they cling to the mesh. Think of it as caging humans. There are about 160 monkeys, in various groups, that roam through the forests about Iwatayama. A small staff keep the monkeys in check, and the sanctuary spic and span. You can see in the photos that there were quite a few babies, as well as long nippled mothers, fat from their overfeeding at the hand of tourists. This time the monkeys were everywhere, sunbathing on the paths, hanging from the trees and picking fleas from each others coats. Spats would break out between the males regularly, and it was unsettling to be standing amongst the little furry beasts in such numbers. All the while, the views of Kyoto spread out below us was stunning. There is something extremely satisfying in feeding monkeys, and something quite amusing at being the ones who are caged away from them.

19 09 06 - 11:01 - Kieren - Photostory| No comments - § ¶

Three Japanese movies you must watch


Take Miyazaki Hayao out of the equation and you are left with some lacklustre movies coming out of Japan in the last few years. Because of the sheer number of films flooding the market, it is a very hit and miss affair, with Hollywood clones stuffing the schedules or cookie-cutter horror movies from 'The Ring' mould causing the audience to strike a collective yawn. However, every now and then there are films that make you sit up and take notice. Yes, Kurosawa Akira, Miyamoto Amon, Oshima Nagisa and, nowadays, Beat Takeshi are considered masters in the movie industry, but of late Japan's International impact has come through anime and not celluloid.	If there are three movies I would thrust into your hand to watch, then these would be they. For me these three represent a strangely accurate portrait of Japan. Strip away the caricatures, the surreal, and in the case of Battle Royale, the absurd horror, and you are left with pieces of film that conjure up the Japan of now. Over the 6 years I've been here, no other movies have captured the ambition, insecurities, humour, or general feel of modern Japan in the same way. Perhaps not surprisingly, all three movies are set around school children and the classroom. A bit like my six years here, too.	Both Waterboys and Swing Girls are quite similar (produced in fact by the same team), stereotyping their actors and at times stumbling into sitcom territory and slapstick. But they are adorable, warmhearted comedies, refreshing, and not cynical. Battle Royale is a harder watch. In a chaotic future, where delinquency has reached epidemic proportions, the government chooses a plan to prevent some of the weaker students from graduating into the failing society, by organising a deathmatch on a remote island. Only one can survive, and go on to be an adult. It is shocking and outrageous, but conceptually not that far outside the realms of possibility, nor pointlessly gratuitous. It is as horrific as the other movies are funny. If you have to watch three Japanese movies, these would be a good start.

17 09 06 - 10:23 - Kieren - Photostory| twelve comments - § ¶

(Bar) Shocker...the return of MarRach!

17 09 06 - 10:20 - Kieren - Photostory| No comments - § ¶

Cycling through hedges


Last night was about partying fast and partying hard (although I am not sure it started off that way). Rhod and Dale went to the gay village (Doyama) in Osaka to see what the difference in scene is and to hunt down lesbians (part of Dale's master plan...don't ask). Misako and I stayed in Kyoto and mysteriously ended up drinking far too much. I know this because when I got home I had to pee about 9 times during the night. Rhod's night was pretty camped up. I really don't like Doyama very much. When my ex used to meet his friends there, I would go and wait in his car with a book, not enamored with the overly-stereotyped atmosphere and strangers constantly trying to follow me into the bathroom.	We met Yama-chan and Ryo-chan in Bar Shocker, after they arrived back from the Madonna concert (250 pounds to get right up to the stage and see her strut her stuff, with the possibility you might get a hand grab). Seems like everyone in Kansai was there but me and Mi. Doyama must have been camper than Judy Garland wrapped in tinsel, with hundreds of gayers celebrating the queen of pop throughout the early hours. Misako and I didn't really mind missing the social event (tongue, meet cheek) of the season as we spent hours discussing whether or not the bar-tender was in fact a woman (definately not, but good job).	While Rhod was hit on by a muscle mary that used to be a woman in gay-town, in Kyoto we moved on to Bar Mushroom (fun, but a bit wacky what with the barman having a mushroom haircut too) armed with kebabs (oh my heart sinks at the thought of uni-deja vu). As Misako descended into drunken fallout (having drunk a lot at work too) I cycled her home 'safely'. It's quite difficult being tipsy and looking after a very tipsy person. Mi-chan kept saying I should go home, but ended up cycling through the hedges that line Oike Street, veering into the road as she cycle-slept. She claimed at one time to have actually fallen into a dream! Well I can confirm I saw her safely to her door and shot home for sleep.

16 09 06 - 20:29 - Kieren - Photostory| two comments - § ¶

The camera don't lie

Although Jon has been here for the last three or so days -coming to us after meeting with the guys over at Capcom so he could write an article about the new Devil May Cry game- there seems to be a serious lack of photos of him. Mostly this is because a great deal of the time with him has been spent inside Kyoto's Bathing Ape store and having him procrastinating over his work.

So with nothing much to photograph of any interest, I have been experimenting with the colours on our camera. My attempts lasted just long enough to break it. Today we had to take it back to the store and get it sent away for fixing. In a way it is nice not to do anything cultural for once. Chilling out over coffee wins my vote every time. Rhod's drink honestly was that colour...soy matcha latte, or as I like to call it 'Gremlin blood'. If I recall it correctly, when Billy's mother purees one in the kitchen, this is the exact same stuff that spurts out.

For his last night we hopped from bar to bar to bar, trying to choose classier (eh-hem) establishments than usual (not a stretch of the imagination by any means). Bars I didn't emerge from feeling as though I should be finding a shower as soon as possible. As his flight was early this morning we shunned sleep (Rhod did, I collapsed into bed before sunrise) and stayed out until it was time for his train to the airport. Farewell Jon.

13 09 06 - 12:51 - Kieren - Photostory| No comments - § ¶

Castaways




The photos from Amanohashidate (top to bottom): Rhod poses in his jimbei as the sun sets on Miyazu Bay, Dale and Kitty look like castaways on a desert island, and Amanohashidate shows us that it is famous for blowfish. When I was young, visiting Croatia with my family, I always wanted a stuffed blow fish (strange, I know). But now I have the cash I am just a little freaked out by the cartoon eyes stuck on to make them at least appear cute (real eyes, not so friendly). There were also crates full of dried (whole) octopus, that looked as if they had been steamrolled, and which filled the salty air with a fishy tang. Just great on a scorching hot day.	At the very tip of the spit, a sliver of water allows ships through from Miyazu Bay to the Aso Sea. Because the boats are quite large, the traditional bridge swings open every now and again. In the middle picture Rhod holds up one of the ancient pine trees that has gotten a bit tired (constantly lashed by high winds and typhoons), and we take a break at one of the picnic spots -part of me screaming out that the Japanese love for concrete should not impede upon this natural wonder- which frames an amazing view behind.	At the top I pose at a small harbour close to our hotel, fishing boats all anchored for the night. Rhod stands outside Hashidate Shrine in traditional summer clothes, and Rhod and Erina stand at the chair-lift station on Mount Seiso looking down on Amanohashidate. Hashidate-jinja is famous as the place Jutaro Iwami took his vengeance (I still can't discover who exactly he is, though he is renowned as an excellent swordsman and he was possibly wrongly imprisoned) and for the fresh water Iso Shimizu well (rated as one of the top 100 wells in Japan). Good grief...Japan and its lists! All in all the perfect couple of days.

04 09 06 - 10:58 - Kieren - Photostory| No comments - § ¶

Free Rhodrivocous


After successfully returning the beached Rhodrivocous to open water, scientists tagged him electronically to keep careful watch on this rarest of creatures' movements.	Becoming something of a media celebrity, the Rhodrivocous has not ventured far from shore in all these weeks, prompting scientists to worry for his safety as Winter fast approaches.	Most of his kind have already begun the long migration to the warmer waters of the Pacific. Over the next few days it is hoped he will be lured back to the deep. Here we see him floating close to Amanohasidate.

04 09 06 - 10:27 - Kieren - Photostory| No comments - § ¶

Going up in the world




The one biggest thing I will miss when my feet finally touch down again in Blighty, are Japan's mountains. Every day I watch the sun rise over the mountains as I cycle to the station to catch my train. I commute through them, can see them from any floor of my workplace, they're there on three sides when I am shopping, and they're often where I go to relax. Mountains are cool, especially when, as often in Japan, you don't have to hike up them. English cities should definately get some.

04 09 06 - 10:02 - Kieren - Photostory| No comments - § ¶

Amanohashidate



There are four things that I knew about Amanohashidate: it is a sand-spit that curves out across Miyazu Bay, if you stick your head through your legs and glance at it upside down it resembles the Bridge to Heaven (thus the name), it is one of the three most beautiful Japanese views ...and I cannot pronounce it no matter how hard I try. I remembered that Aubrey's boyfriend had worked very close to the town, and since she had loved it I had been thinking of coming up here for the last couple of years. So Erina booked us in to the Hashidate Bay Hotel for a few nights.	As there are only a few trains a day, most stopping for long breaks at each station, it is not as easy to get to as it looks on a map. We cut short our work week, picked up Dale, Erina and Kitty, and went up though Kyoto prefecture to the Tango Peninsula, which overlooks the Sea of Japan. From the station, the hotel shuttled us around the bay, keeping the sand-bar tantalisingly hidden from view. With little to do before morning, we spent our evening swimming in a sports centre, with the water slide all to ourselves.	Come the morning, we woke up early and taxied to Amanohashidate. The main attraction was not difficult to find; there is little of any note in this small, peaceful, everything-shuts-at-6pm town. After breakfasting we strolled on to the spit, which is a two mile bar of sand and pine trees. On one side is the calm Miyazu Bay and on the other the golden sands drop down to the Aso Sea. We swam, we ate, we strolled, and finally we took chair-lifts up Mount Seiso to put our heads through our legs to catch a glimpse of Heaven.

03 09 06 - 13:54 - Kieren - Photostory| one comment - § ¶

iRhod: resurrection

Many of you know me (it's Rhod, by the way). I'm pretty good with technology in general. I take good care of my gadgets and devices, arguably paying them more attention than they need or deserve. In repayment, I rarely have things break on me.

It's with this build up that I take you back a couple of months, to a very crunch-worn version of myself returning home after the final days of Starfox. (more)

03 09 06 - 11:19 - rhod - Photostory| four comments - § ¶

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京のキー

The pre-pre-prep for Sports Day

In practice for Halloween

Days gone by

Wii, and another Rhod Catch-Up

Monkey magic

Three Japanese movies you must watch

(Bar) Shocker...the return of MarRach!

Cycling through hedges

The camera don't lie

Castaways

Free Rhodrivocous

Going up in the world

Amanohashidate

iRhod: resurrection

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