Nara Alight at Night

It’s been yet another rough week at Spring8 but it’s at least come to a happy conclusion. Sadly the protein expression I was talking about earlier didn’t pan out so well. I think time was just a little tight meaning I couldn’t be as thorough as I would have liked to. In the grand scheme of things it isn’t so important right now so I can put it to one side.

What is critical is that Josie be working…and she is. I’m feeling pretty good right now although I still have no idea whether the experiment will work but it’s always nice to have your equipment behaving. I wish I could say it was something I did but it’s thanks to the hard work of our resident electronics wizard.

So at least 80 hours spent in work but I did get a day off yesterday. I’d asked the guys if they minded me going out with some friends if we managed to get the equipment sorted. Since all was well I set off to Nara on Saturday morning though I still felt a little guilty. I’m not sure where it was coming from.

They sincerely didn’t mind and I had worked some epic hours yet somehow I still felt bad. It felt to me as though I was shirking some kind of responsibility. There was nothing I would have been able to help with and I was so fed up of being in work I feel I may have been an epic grouch.

Once I met up with my friends that quickly disappeared. It’s always good being around others your own age. The train Journey from Himeji to Nara is a long one so it gave plenty of time for conversation. That's the thing I love about travelling with groups on long journeys.. There is nothing better to do on the train and you can really learn some interesting things about the people you’re with.

I have a total personality clash with one of them I found, but not in a negative way. We are both completely different perspectives on a wide range of subjects, though our interests are quite similar. It was interesting and eye opening really. A shot down to earth for sure.

Back onto Nara anyway. We arrived in Nara central park, the hub of most of Nara’s sightseeing attractions, around 2:30pm and headed straight for Todaiji., meaning the ‘great eastern temple’. This Buddhist temple dates back to the 8^th century and was originally the head temple of all Buddhist sects within Japan. It’s power grew so great in fact that it is part of the reason Nara was denounced as Japan’s capital.

It is incredibly impressive for two reason. First the central hall is the largest wooden building in the world. It is an impressive site as you approach through the main gates and apparently it’s only 2/3rds of it’s original size. My breath was taken away on the walk up and even more as I walked up the stairs and crossed the threshold. Seeing the massive pillars and beams of wood supporting the structure internally I really got a feel for what a feat of engineering it was.

Once inside you must be prepared to be blown away once again. The interior of the temple is home to Japan’s largest ‘Daibutsu’ an immense statue of the Buddha Cast in bronze. It is absolutely huge standing at nearly 50 foot tall, well sitting actually which is probably a good thing. Sadly it has, rather appropriately, been reincarnated over the years and now nothing is left of the original, the head is in fact considerably younger than the body it sits on.

 

In the surrounding area there are many other statues of Buddha’s or guardian deities stomping Oni that whilst not as impressive are still a joy to view. It has to be said that place of worship tend to be some of the most impressive buildings anywhere in the world, both due to their exteriors and their interiors..

My favorite thing inside however was a pillar with a hole at the base that is the same size as one of the Daibutsu’s nostrils. It is aid if you can pass through then you will achieve enlightenment in your next life. Thanks to some advice from a friend I wiggled my way through, I’m now officially a bogey on the path to enlightenment. 

Once we’d had our fill of the 金堂 we moved on towards the entrance of Nigatsu-do where the main event of the night would be beginning, though not before a quick stop at Binzaru to heal what ailed us. The reason we had come to Nara was to witness the Yamayaki-matsuri. In this festival monks from the Todaiji temple quite literally set the nearby Wakakusa mountain on fire..

The precession begins by taking the ceremonial torches to be lit in the sacred fires of a nearby shrine. Blessings are then said for a successful and safe night whereupon the monks proceed to the foot of mount Wakakusa. The priest line up and ascend the mountain to were the dead winter grass lies. The procession whilst short was amazing. The bus of excitement emanating from the huge crowd of people following the monks was truly exhilarating. No one is exactly sure how the festival began. Some say it involved a border dispute between the rival temples in Nara, others say it is to fend off the wild boars or dangerous insects. I just think it’s incredible.

 

Before the main event so to speak was a firework display. which ran for about half an hour. This was also something pretty special. The fireworks themselves as objects were pretty amazing. They exploded into multiple colours and shapes. Deer, butterfly, flowers. Giant spheres with one colour on the outside and one of a different colour inside. The chemical and physical engineering that must have gone into them was very impressive. What made it even more special was the proximity. You didn’t just see these fireworks. You felt them.

 

Then it came time for the burning. Once the monks had encircled the mountain top they lay their torches on the grass and the fire began to climb upwards. Within a few short minutes the whole place was ablaze.

I think we may actually have been a bit too close and it may have been better to be further away at this point but it was still awe-inspiring. The sheer raw power of the fire as it crackled it’s way to the peak. The haze of smoke gave the entire place an ethereal feel, made even more concrete by the OST of Princess Mononoke playing in the background.

Once the flames had settled down and the grass smoldered we headed back towards Nara station, though not before grabbing a nice warming cup of Yuzu cha, a sweet drink made basically of yuzu (a Japanese citrus fruit) marmalade and hot water. On our way back we stopped at Hard rock Café in Osaka. This was about the only time I had a little stress, I could barely at anything on the menu. I guess Americans love their cheese and meat. I got something in the end though and it was pretty tasty. All in all a great day out with great people.

Ja Mata ato de.

Can't complain

Sometimes it takes an outside perspective to really get to know your true self. When someone turned around to me and said, “You complain a lot don’t you.” It made me realize, yes I really do. I brashly brushed it off by playing up the Englishman stereotype but it really struck a nerve. I do complain to much, far too much and so I think it’s time to reflect on the good instead.

Once again I’m very busy with work, I’ve spent the weekend working and it’s only going to get worse till mid February but there are a few positives to come out of it as well. List time.

1.     I’m finally getting back into the wet labs. I’ve been sent a plasmid construct from Liverpool to do some recombinant protein work. A what to do who with a whatnow? A plasmid is a small circular piece of DNA that contains a site where the DNA sequence can be readily manipulated. These plasmids are readily taken up by bacteria, which will then express whatever genes are encoded by the DNA sequence on the plasmid.

In this case we have combined a protein gene with a sequence from a virus that leads to the gene being over expressed so we get bucketloads of the stuff. The protein itself has been tweaked slightly so that specific sites can be labeled, in this case with heavy metals. My hope is that this will improve their scattering power when I run experiments with Josie.

2.     My labeling studies are also going well. I’ve found the equipment I need, gathered the components and just need to do the final few reactions. Hopefully this will produce some really exciting results in the upcoming experiments.

3.     The two guys who came out from Liverpool when I started here are back. It’s great to see them again and it’s also great to not have to wrestle with Josie by myself. Not only can I focus on other things but it's dropped my stress levels down a notch. In just one day we’ve managed to pin down a potential fault in Josie’s circuitry, one of them is an electronic engineer so what was a nightmare map of circuits to me was a doddle for him. Also they brought mushy peas and granola. I’m eternally grateful.

4.     I’ve come to appreciate that I have met some really sound people out here. Even if I can’t see them all the time I do get is fantastic so I should just enjoy it and not worry about afterwards.

5.     All that energy wasted moaning has been put to good use and I have found meaningful outlets, work arounds to blocks to my enjoyment and so on.

All in all it’s been a decent week and I’m going to try and maintain my positive attitude in the coming month. A short but indulgent post I’m sorry but I think it’s good to get these things in writing. In light of this new exploration into the self I produced a Johari and Nohari window that you can fill in if you have the time. I love learning new things and I’m a bit of a narcissist so please indulge me.

http://kevan.org/johari?view=marcusct
http://kevan.org/nohari?view=MarcusCT

Ja mata kondo ne.

Ja mata kondo ne.

Hachikita ni ita, skitte mimasu

This weekend I embarked into the northern winter wonderland of Hyogo prefecture with my colleagues from work for a short two-day ski trip. Our destination was Hachikita, one of the biggest and most popular resorts in the region. I was a little nervous since it was my first time doing any sort of winter sport, but still very eager as it was something I’d wanted to try since I was small.

A quick peruse of the resorts website the night before revealed that there were rental places with my shoe size so all systems were go. It was an early start as the drive would take us about 3 hours but I still wasn’t over jetlag at this point so rising early didn’t prove too difficult. As we got closer the temperature dropped considerably and soon we were surrounded by a wide snowscape. The northern region of Hyogo is particularly pretty at this time as it is much more rural with many snowcapped mountains and fields of white.

 

After a brief stop to put chains on the car we were up the mountain and ready to get kitted out. Snow sports are absolutely huge in Japan and now I finally understand why. It’s actually not incredibly expensive to do. Hire of all the gear, ski’s, boots and clothing, as well as a lift pass came in at under 8000 yen. This combined with the shear number of ski resorts, all those mountains are good for something ey, makes the whole thing much more accessible than in the UK.

Testament to this was the large volume of people on the slopes. Not just numbers but also a range of ages, from toddlers to pensioners. I went with Ski’s on the advice of friends, it was apparently easier to pick up, and after getting kitted out I was left to my own devices. I didn’t have a clue what I was doing but I did enroll in a ski school to get the basics. Sadly I missed the morning class so I just dosed around on the nursery slope till the afternoon.

 

The afternoon was much more fun however. I Joined a mother and her small child in the absolute beginners class (初めてです。) to learn the fundamentals. I quickly grasped how to stop and was told to progress to a different class as I was a little more advanced than my class mates.

The second class had me joining three kids between about 10 and 14 (I think) and was a good giggle. The instructor was really chatty and the kids kept spouting phrases at me in English followed by much laughing. It was a bit annoying but I know I do the same since I really want to practice my Japanese. After learning how to stop and turn safely I went to my first proper slope and after a few goes I could slide all the way down without falling.

 

By 4:30pm it was time to leave and after meeting up with everyone we bundled back into the car to set off for our accommodation for the night. I was pretty happy with how the day had gone, I didn’t fall over too much an even had an excellent opportunity to practice my language skills, all the classes were taught in Japanese though I guess they were fairly visual.

That night we stayed in a Ryokan, traditional Japanese guesthouse, in the wonderful Onsen (hot springs) town of Yumura. Yumura has a long history, having been established as an Onsen town over 1100 years ago. The temperature of the springs at the source is an impressive 98⁰c and many tourists buy eggs from nearby shops to cook in the springs. Alongside the river the are also many places to bathe your tired feet. The whole town has a great aesthetic feel of old time Japan and it really was very scenic.

Inside the ryokan we donned our Yukata and bathed our weary muscles in the inns hot tubs, also fed from the hot springs. Onsens are definitely one of the best things about doing any kind of sport in Japan.  I went back to the room to get changed again and on my way heard one of the older members of staff mumble something I doubt was too kind about rowdy foreigners when she thought she was alone. Classic 本音　(ones true feelings) and 建前　(ones public feelings) in action.

After that it was back up to the second floor to get our lavishly prepared traditional Japanese meal. Sadly the area is particularly famous for crab and beef, two things I couldn’t eat but was assured were delicious, however as the meal consisted of about 12 different dishes I didn’t go hungry. Well fed we went back to our room, I think our boss had hoped for a night of drinking and chatting but everyone was wiped and asleep by about ten.

The following day we were up early and after a quick soak in the tub it was time for breakfast. As with dinner it consisted of many small dishes. Most of it was fine and in fact I quite like miso in the morning but I still can’t stomach rice. Fish no problem, tofu, ok, but rice just doesn't sit right. My boss asked me what a normal English breakfast was like so I decided to try and explain egg and soldiers to his amusement.

We headed back to the slopes and they were as packed as the day before. I was now faced with a dilemma. Do I ski, which I’d picked up fairly quickly and thus could see a lot of the mountain, or do I give snowboarding a bash. My ego got the better of me. I’d really wanted to try snowboarding and I figured since I’d skateboarded for like 4 years it couldn’t be too difficult right?

Wrong. I spent the morning on my bum. I could go forward but I just couldn’t figure out how to turn the board to stop and so rather than crash into anyone I just threw myself at the floor. After a frustrating two hours I joined the guys for lunch, taking a break from the assault on wrists and rear.

Now I had a choice. I could try and get some lessons again but then I’d lose another two hours and not get to see much. I opted to figure out on my own and, rather stupidly now I look back at it, took the ski lift to the top. I strapped on my board and just went for it, worst come the worst I could just go down on my bum.

I’m not sure how but I realized that I actually found it easier to ride switch, opposite foot forward. Suddenly I had more control and could brake and turn a bit. Now that I could control my speed a bit I made my way to the bottom. I still fell over but not quite as much. Feeling a bit more confident I rode up to the top again, the height and incline not quite as daunting as before. It was a lot of fun now I could pick were I was going and how fast to go. I’m glad I kept at it in the end, though my body isn’t, boarding was a lot more fun than skiing once I could bomb it down the slope safely. I definitely want to go again though maybe once my bum has recovered a bit.

 

 Mata kondo ne.

Tanoshikatta Takarazuka

Here’s to returns. Starting the New Year has heralded my return to Japan, return to work, but also a return to great new friends I’ve made. Much though I’ve claimed not to, I have missed this place a bit. So I’m back with a couple of important resolutions. The first is to make better use of my time in general and the second is to apply myself at work a bit more.

As far as making good use of time I’m talking particularly about my free time. I complain too much about not seeing enough of Japan due to working so much. But is that really what’s been holding me back? Unlikely I just need to make better use of the time I’m given. So in response to that I headed out to a little place called Takarazuka with a friend.

I had been here before on a rather geeky pilgrimage to the Tezuka Osamu museum. I love the area it’s just got a great vibe, much more vibrant than the Concrete Jungle’s that constitute mort of Japan’s more populated areas. This time I was off to see one of Japan’s famous, though slightly less traditional, performing arts. It is called Takarazuka, named for the City of it’s origin, and it is wonderfully bizarre.

 

Established in 1914 by the director of the Hankyu railway service, Kobayashi Ichizo, it was initially intended to draw more business to Takarazuka, the terminus of the Hankyu system. His idea was to put on shows loosely based on western Broadway musicals that were becoming popular at the time. In a reaction to more traditional Kabuki Theater, which was deemed a bit old fashioned, women would play the entire cast. Women playing men are called otokoyaku and those playing women are known as musumeyaku.

Whilst this may sound empowering for women the original Takarazuka was originally a fairly sexist affair, with Kobayashi setting up the Takarazuka stage school to teach “young women to become good wives.”  This has however been turned on it’s head as many of the actresses have gone on to stay in show business for a long time taking on managerial roles that are traditionally male dominated.

It is in fact this reversal of roles, obviously all the male characters are played by females, that has lead to the wide spread population of Takarazuka amongst Japanese women. Some 90% of the audience consists of women, something I learnt very quickly when I found on the ground floor there were 5 women’s toilets and only one for men. Part of the reason maybe that it offers them a release from the traditionally patriarchal Japanese society, showing that gender roles can be cast aside. Another theory is that the otokoyaku provide an image of the ‘Ideal Japanese man’. It is not secret that the interaction between the sexes is somewhat strained in Japan and a big part of this is the women’s disinterest in the archetypal Japanese male.

Right so I’ll end the history and sociology lesson for there and get back to the actual revue. The performances are held in the Takarazuka Grand hall, a short walk away from the Hankyu station along the aptly named flower road. Admittedly it being winter it wasn’t so pretty but I have been there before in summer and it’s a very attractive area. The halls exterior isn’t anything special though it does fit in nicely with the architecture of the surrounding area. The inside however is lavish. Giant, lush read carpets, a huge entrance hall with various shops and cafes, chandeliers and even someone playing a grand piano. It definitely puts the new floral to shame.

I’ll just take a moment to mention the fans. So like absolutely anything in Japan there are some serious hardcore Takarazuka fans. Within Takarazuka there are multiple performing troupes and within these troupes there are particular stars. Fans clubs tend to form around particular troupes and their stars with the clubs going to multiple shows, dressing in costumes almost as lavish as those worn by the performers and even attending after show tea parties.

Takarazuka shows are drawn from a wide variety of influences. Some are based on famous western plays, musicals, operas and even novels. There are then those based on ore traditional Japanese dramas and legends. In addition to this there are some based on other areas of Japanese media, particularly Shojo manga (comics for girls to over simplify) and a play has even been produced based on a video game.

The show we went to see was based on the novel Resurrection, the last long novel by Tolstoy. I’m not going to lie it was a bit of a heavy subject matter to try and see in another language and I could follow maybe 30-40% of what I was hearing. Still there were many other things for e to take away. Firstly the stage was huge and the sets were incredible, large moving pieces coming from above the stage and the sides as well as a large revolving central area, I’ve never been to any big theater productions and the set logistics themselves were pretty breathtaking.

 

Then of course there were the costumes. The military outfits, noble suits and intricate ball gowns were also very impressive. Sadly I wasn’t close enough to see much more of the details, like the supposedly extensive make up used by the otokoyaku to make them look more manly, quite the contradiction I know.

The shows are also quite interesting linguistically. Japan has particular conventions regarding the way in which men and women speak and the two styles are quite different. This is a constant pitfall to people learning the language as often guys end up speaking like women due to the majority of Japanese language teachers being women. The otokoyaku speak in a very stereotypically manly way whilst the musumeyaku speak in an overtly feminine manner.

 

The play lasted for an1 hour 30 minutes and then after a short interval there was a one our review. This was a much more typical song and dance affair, entitled cannon, with wild, glittery and gaudy costumes, can-can lines and bright lights. The crowd started to really get into this as the troupe showed off their singing and dancing prowess. I wasn’t overly impressed with choreography but I just have high standards, thanks mum, the whole show was hugely entertaining none the less and the costumes in the finale where something else.

It was a rather peculiar experience but still something I enjoyed massively. I’m glad I didn’t go alone though, for one I’d of stuck out even more than usual as a lone foreign male, but also I definitely needed to talk about it and make sense of the spectacle I’d just witnessed. I think I could go again though perhaps I’d do well to see what the show was actually about beforehand.

Mata kondo.