August-time of Rememberance(O-Bon and YOKAREN)

The vegetation is closing in all around you, while the shrill droning of cicadas and other insects pounds in your head. The heat-waves radiating off the ground and buildings make it seem as if the air itself were a living, throbbing organism. August is when nature in Japan is most pulsatingly alive. It is also the time when special consideration is given to the Dead. Since ancient times (records date from the 6th century) the 13th day of the 7th lunar month (our August) has been a time to light fires(lanterns these days) for the O-Bon Festival (the origin of the expression bonfire?). These were used to guide and welcome back the spirits of departed ancestors who are believed to return to their native homes for three days. These visiting souls are consoled with sutra chanting, offered food, drink and incense, and entertained by the community with Bon-Odori dancing (which is never TOO interesting so as to make sure that no spirits would want to overstay their welcome!). On the!
evening of the 16th, a fire is lit again as a send off, often accompanied by offerings which are cast onto a river or into the sea. It is interesting that though the dates of most Japanese traditional events have been changed due to the introduction of the Western calendar (see my article: Lunar or Solar?), most Japanese outside of Tokyo still keep the O-Bon celebration in August, now the 8th month (this could possibly be because farmers would have been too busy in July).

In addition to the festival for the Returning Spirits of the Dead (O-Bon), there are three more days in August connected with remembrance, all of them related to the war that ended sixty three summers ago. Each national or cultural group with its own identity utilizes whatever tools it has at its disposal to embed its own particular view of history into its members. In Japan, the powers that be have naturally used this country's comprehensive education system, the mass media, and public holidays and monuments to effectively shape the way most people remember the war and think about themselves and others. What has become stressed in Japan is that THIS country and its citizens suffered UNIQUELY during the war. August 6th and 9th are reserved for ceremonies commemorating the horrors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki (respectively). August 15th, which by strange coincidence is also the peak day of O-Bon, is the day which marks the end of the war (anoth!
er reason to have O-Bon in August) and is most famously commemorated at Yasukuni Shrine, where throngs of visitors come to pay their respects to all soldiers who died in service of the emperor.

For at least half a century, after WWII, people who grew up in the English speaking(and many other countries of the) world would instantly think of Pearl Harbor and kamikaze pilots if JAPAN were mentioned in a word association game. That is because some countries (especially the US) use the story of their successful fight against tyranny in Japan as a way of building an effective national identity. Americans are taught of the treacherous sneak attack on sleeping Americans in Hawaii (wait, didn't George Washington use sneak tactics to defeat the British) and the fanatically determined foe who had no regard for human life (kamikaze pilots) which justified the dropping of the atomic bombs, which also saved countless US lives (wait, wouldn't that mean that Vietnam,fiercelt attacked without provocation, would have been perfectly justified in nuking the US, and anyway how can the incineration of 100,000 civilians and the fatal irradiation of that many more ever be !
JUSTIFIED).

Like many, I grew up hearing and reading about the war. For Americans, the story of the heroic struggle against dictatorship and the eventual bringing of democracy to Japan(through its total destruction) was a point of national pride and an important part of the national consciousness. For me it is not surprising that George W. Bush,whose father fought in the Pacific,would want to carry out a similar GOOD FIGHT(in his opinion) in the Middle East, as he was raised in a generation even more full of the MYTH of the BENEVOLENT, democracy bringing effects of American military force.

Growing up in the 70`s,before ever imagining that I would one day live in Japan, I learned of all the great battles major figures and intrigues of the war.

Arrived in Japan to study at university first exposed me to the fact that different countries or groups talk about the same story in very different ways. While I knew all the major battles and many details of what the Japanese often call The Pacific War, people my age seemed to know almost nothing at all. And since the topic hardly ever arose (except with my 85 year old friend Toshiko who lost her husband in the war), I too started to forget about it, or certainly not dwell on it.

For that reason it took me a few years to realize that Tsuchiura City and Ami Town near Arakawa-Oki Station played a major role in Japan's Imperial history. While what is now Tsukuba City was mostly forested and very sparsely populated (because of a lack of water resources) Tsuchiura and Ami thrived as Kasumigaura was used for training the Imperial Navy's pilots. With huge bases (which still exist in a much diminished form having been broken up for industrial use) and thousands of soldiers, sailors, pilots and technicians. Business boomed.

Admiral Yamamoto Isoroku, the reluctant planner of the Pearl Harbor attack lived in Ami at what is now part of Ibaraki University (I found out about this because I was teaching there). The pilots who participated in the monumentally successful attack trained on Lake Kasumigaura. Tsuchiura`s Sakura Machi entertainment areas' restaurants were used to celebrate. For a while,Thing were real good.

Unfortunately for the Japanese armed forces the US soldiers turned out to be the REAL fanatical fighters. Remember, Japan`s great triumph and entrance into the BIG BOYS club of Imperialism was its defeat of Imperial Russia at Port Arthur in the Russo-Japanese War of 1905. After suffering early, stinging defeats, the Czar decided that it just wasn't worth fighting anymore and to let the Japanese have what they wanted. I guess the Japanese commanders thought the same would happen with the US after heavy early losses. They could never that imagine boys from Kansas, Ohio, Vermont, etc., would leave their comfortable lives and come out to the jungles of the South Pacific and fight to the death.

By 1945, Japan was in a desperate situation. Losing battles everywhere, and more importantly, running out of equipment and resources.Japanese cities was completely exposed to American bombers who used weapons intended to cause the most possible destruction and death. In October 1945, the Special Attack Units(tokkotai) were put into action. These were the Kamikaze pilots, boys trained for a few months and then put on a plane loaded with explosives and enough gasoline to get to their targets.

These programs were first initiated in Ami on the shores of Lake Kasumigaura at a school called YOKAREN(予科練）. There is still weapons school on the site which belongs to the Japanese Self Defense Forces and on its grounds is a museum commemorating the boys who died flying missions,especially suicide attacks.

Anyone who is interested can visit the YOKAREN memorial museum. It is free of charge and open everyday until 4:30. The soldiers at the gate (women, each time I've been there), are friendly and security is easy-going. Only one person in your group has to write his or her name (no id check). The weapon school campus is sprawling and not a soul can be seen, making it a very peaceful place. You walk to the museum from the gate and pass by some old pre-war buildings and a large display of armoured vehicles which lines the path.

Inside the memorial museum are the photos, belongings and last wills and testaments of more than 1000 boys, mostly between 15 and 20 years of age, who gave their young lives trying to stop an attack on their country and protect what they were taught they had to: the Emperor.It seems most were country boys,probably from poor families,many of them local.

No matter what you think about the Special Attack Forces, you will probably have to FORCE back the tears when reading the letters these boys wrote to their parents.These show a surprising variety of content.

As there is no English here, if you cannot read Japanese well, you should bring along someone to translate.

Most Japanese people do not know about this museum, and naturally most foreign residents don't either. Most people do know that Ami is the site of Japan`s first ToysRus outlet(things do change). To get to the YOKAREN, drive past the big toy store and the army base until you get to the lake. Look for the entrance to the RIKUJO JI EITAI BUKI GAKKO（陸上自衛隊武器学校)

During this season of remembrance, if you have the time, maybe you should head to the shores of Lake Kasumigaura, think about the past, war, and WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT. There are numerous places in ibaraki which have had great national impact, but this place flight school played a role on the stage of world history and left its mark on our language and culture. it is about a 20 minute drive from Tsukuba Station.

http://www.town.ami.ibaraki.jp/kankou/yokaren/yokaren.htm

By the way, the Hotel Edo-Ya near Mt Tsukuba Shrine used to host the last parties for the Kamikaze Pilots.

They still hold an annual reunion for those who survived.

Avi Landau

Kanashibari

Kanashibari has always been one of our most popular songs, certainly of our most memorable numbers. Often, people who had caught our act just us, and years ago, still remember it.
Let me tell you a little about the songs history.

The entire piece generated out of a bass line which was a favorite of Tom Debor, Xenophonia`s bass player. Ascelin Gordon came up with the reggae guitar to go over it. It was up to me to come up with the melody and the lyrics. A few times we had worked on it in the living room at
The Ice Palace, and the melody for the A-pattern was pretty much set. The original theme, however, was about nuclear waste or pollution and I even might have improvised once about alien invasions.

While the song was in the process of being written, I had a very traumatic and exhausting Kanashibari experience. For non-japanese,this expression might need explanation, and I think
the lyrics of the song preety much explain what it is.

On a sultry summer night, as I slept, it seemed as if a face, human yet not of the flesh, zipped right up to mine,pressing right up against me. I felt as if I were paralyzed by an electric ray-gun, my whole body tingled like a foot that has fallen asleep. when I inhaled, it seemed as if a hurled
upwards and crashed into the ceiling and then crashed to the floor as I exhaled.
This probably went on for a few seconds, but it felt like the proverbial eternity. For a few days after that my whole body felt Charley Horse.

When I told Tom about my experience he sympathized and said that he often had had similar ATTACKS himself. Obviously, this phenomenon is not uncommon in Japan as there is a set expression for it, which is commonly known.

We decided to make this unusual reggae song into something about Kanashibari.

I remember righting the lyrics and the chorus melody as I walked all the way to Tsuchiura(over 2 hours) and I especially remember crossing over the bridge at the Sakuragawa River. Our first recording was done at The Ice Palace in my Tatami room. Ryutaro Kawakami laid down the crazed sax solo in what I remember as one take.

We later recorded the song again as The TenGooz, during the Inertia recording sessions. Tanaka changed the feeling of the song with his slide guitar.

We have been keeping the song alive in concert and most recently Michael Frei on sax and Thomas Mayers on guitar have performed it and the rapt faces in the audience as well as post gig comments show that the song is still a favorite.

www.jamendo.com/en/album/873
or
www.jamendo.com/en/album/2425

Avi Landau

Joso boys bring back SOIL OF KOSHIEN after disappointing early exit

It's a summer ritual here that I immediately took to. Watching the Koshien (甲子園) High School Baseball Tournament which takes place in Osaka. In my hometown New York, I had always closely followed The Boys of Summer, and by that I mean Major League Baseball. Since my first summer in Japan, however, more than watching the professionals, I have joined the millions of Japanese who with beer or barley tea in one hand and a hand-held fan in the other, spend the dog days of August cheering on the Bozu of Summer (bozu, 坊主, is a term used to refer to a young boy), the high school baseball players who have made it into the Koshien Finals. There are 49 teams (representing each prefecture, with 2 teams from both Tokyo and Hokkaido) in all who battle it out in single elimination. If you are not a baseball fan, now is probably the time to become one, because no matter what, if you turn on the TV during the next couple of weeks that is about all you are going to see. In fact, I have a game on in front of me right now, and it's so exciting that I can hardly type!

Koshien is a perfect way to show hometown spirit, and many of your friends who live in Tsukuba now are probably rooting for their home prefecture team. Native Ibarakians and others who have grown to love the Land of Hitachi (Hitachi no Kuni) have always had a lot to cheer about since this prefecture has often fielded very strong teams. The most famous of these is Joso High School which is located just near Tsukuba City. Once again (for the 3rd straight year) their manager Yukio Kiuchi, who is now 77 years old, has taken them to Osaka for the finals after an incredible extra-inning win in Mito on July 27th. This is a very impressive feat considering the hundreds of schools in the prefecture. Maybe attribute this success to what has been dubbed KIUCHI MAGIC.

Oh my God! This game that I'm watching! The Tokushima team has just come from behind to win! Incredible! Pandemonium! Unbridled joy! Tears (looks more like sobbing) of defeat! Slouching, bent over players. Dirty, sweaty uniforms. Wait! This is the part I love best. The winning team belting out their school song, singing with their bodies and souls making it known to the world that they are making an effort!!they go into their victory sprint. And now , the losing team is scooping up some soil from the infield, a memento of their fleeting moment on the Big Stage. Certainly the game will be replayed in their heads over and over again, probably for their whole lives, with thoughts of how it would have been if things had gone the other way.

Sorry for the digression. Let me get back to my main point. High School baseball fans in Ibaraki have been looking forward to watching Joso play and maybe even win the tournament and some people I know even went down to watch today's game. Unfortunately, things did not go as expected and our local boys were blown away in their first game, by a Tokyo team (even more frustrating). Thus, Kiuchi's bozu, as with all losing teams, could be seen after the game, scooping up the Sacred Soil of Koshien.So much for Kiuchi Magic.But... Wait till next year!

Dont be surprised if you see more than the usual depressed sulking Ibarakians this week. They were hoping to see their team do better.

And of course there are other ways of looking at this High School baseball madness. I, myself often cringe when I hear about the boys` PURE SPIRIT. Like everyone else they are in it for the glory(and the girls?).

Another aspect to think about is the PROFESSIONALIZATION of the game in a similar way to what has happened in college sports in the US. Thus many teams, including Joso recruit players using certain incentives. Thus many students DO NOT get the High School education they should be getting, and will be stuck after graduation. So the coaches, adminstration etc.. come out ahead,but what happens to the boys?

Anyway, they sure WANT to play, and they do it well! Thats what makes it so much fun to watch.

For Koshien games just turn on your TV and flick through the channels.

Thomas Mayers on Enka guitar

Summer Break for TenGooz(with recording!)

The Tengooz are still in studio, but might NOT be having any
August gig! Guitarist Thomas Mayers will be holidaying with his family
in Englands beautiful Lake District, and drummer A-Chan will be tied up with other business
for a few weeks. Sorry for that and thanks to all of you who have been giving us support.
We got alot of positive feedback from our last gig and we hope that we will be back soon with
more songs and new material. We also promise to get some changes done to the web-site which we have been neglecting.

Avi Landau
and the TenGooz

New-Fangled Watermelons

Japanese pomologists revolutionize the Watermelon!

After an amazing and exhausting museum experience, I felt like heading staight for home.
Trying to stay out of the heat, I slipped into the chic,new shopping mall called Tokyo Mid-Town.
Not interested particularly interested in designer goods,I was not even window shopping and at a brisk pace
and head lowered I was heading towards Roppongi station.My inertia was broken when I virtually bumped into a group of journalists
and photographers from the Japanese press.No, they were not out for an interview with The TenGooz, in fact Im still not sure what they were there for.
When I looked up,my eyes focused on something they had never seen before- pyramid-shaped and cube-shaped watermelons, on display at an exclusive fruit shop.
By exclusive I mean high priced. These novelty melons were selling for 200 bucks each! In Japan sending a gift of fruit
is common in mid-summer. These presents, which do not necessarilly have to be fruit(drinks, meats or salad oil are popular, among others)are called O-Chugen,
and are sent to professors, teachers,bosses, in-laws, basically anyone who is in a position to help you out.

These watermelons are not mere curiosities but reflect the hard work and ingenuity of Japanese researchers struggling to deal with watermelon industry related problems.
The two greatest ostacles these researchers have been struggling to overcome have been wasted shipping space due to the fruits round or oval shapes(up to 25 percent of a container can be wasted)
and of course, run-away(or should I say roll-away) melons which have lead to injury and even fatalities over the fruits long history.
San Fransisco is one town which will likely take a liking to these shapes, as that hilly city has been plagued by rolling melon related accidents.

Too bad there is no Nobel Prize in pomology!

Avi Landau

Fudo-Sama

Sweeping the Fudo-Hall

Face to Face with Fudo-Sama!

It was the 27th, and July is an odd numbered month (the 7th), so I knew where I could find Mrs. Okamino. I built up the determination to step out of my house and into the throbbing heat. With notebook and pen in hand and a squint on my face, I slowly walked around the corner and headed towards the Sakura City Office. About a hundred meters later, I came to an old wooden structure covered with an out-of-place red tin roof. When I saw that the doors and shutters were open and the cushions were airing out in the sun I felt reassured. And, just like clockwork, there she was, broom in hand, vigorously sweeping the grounds of this old neighborhood meeting hall where women regularly gather gather to pray for health, fertility, and easy delivery.
Tsukuba has been changing rapidly with plenty of new buildings and a large influx of out-of-towners. Stiil, with all the dramatic changes, the city can be seen as being a collection of villages which retain their own identities. The community spirit can most easily be recognized by outside observers in the village Matsuri (festivals). If you look more carefully, however, you will find other signs of what life was like before this area was turned into The Science City.
One interesting feature of the village (shuraku or buraku) is the meeting hall (shukaijo). Now many of these have been rebuilt as what look like prefabricated sheds. However, you can still find several meeting halls that are used for KO (講）which are traditional wooden structures which could be mistaken for a small shrine or temple. Ko are prayer or study meetings which became popular in this region in the Edo Period (1600-1868). There are a confusing variety of ko, and I have described the most popular one, The Ko of the 19th (ju ku ya ko,十九夜講) in an Alien Times article.
Mrs. Okamino was concentrating deeply on her sweeping and did not notice my approach. I almost felt bad that I was going to disturb her, but I was determined to talk to her about that night's Fudo-Ko and to get some pictures of the inside of the Fudo Hall, especially of the fearsome statue of Fudo-Myoo,whom the women respectfully refer to as Fudo-Sama,which I had only ever had a peek at through the grating of at the front of the hall.
For many generations, a Fudo-Ko (women's prayer meeting in front of the image of Fudo Myoo) has been held at this worship hall in Higashioka. It had always been held once a month, on the 27th, but now with it getting harder and harder to get the neighborhood women together (only eight regularly gather now), the frequency has been reduced to one meeting every other month.
The women take turns being toban, the person in charge of preparing food and tea, and they get together at about 8 pm, chanting the Dainichi Kyo Sutra which they all know by heart. This is done before an impressive wooden image of Fudo Myoo (不働明王), one of the 5 Deva Kings to have been introduced to Japan in the 9th century by the great Buddhist priest Kukai in the 9th century. For some reason, Fudo, the Unmoveable One, became the most popular of these frightening figures, and a cult of Fudo spread throughout the islands, with special success in the Kanto Area, where he was worshiped by both warriors and peasants alike.The most famous place known for its worship of Fudo is Narita-San Temple(Shinsho-Ji),one of the most visited in all of Japan This popularity is interesting because in India and China it is RARE to find an image of Fudo alone (one that is not part of the group of all five myoo). I have not yey been able to determine just why this particular figure was !
so attractive for the Japanese.
The Fudo image at the Higashioka worship hall is impressive indeed with his sword and rope and halo of flames. What a contrast to the serene Niorin Kannon image worshipped at the Ju ku ya ko(19th night Ko). This difference in countenance,however, does not indicate a difference in objective, as the Fudo Myoo uses his fiercely determined expression to bring people to an understanding of Buddhism. He is believed to bring good health and easy delivery,prevent disaster and even bring monetary success.
Certainly, sitting in the old hall, smelling of ancient tatami mats, with Fudo glaring down as the rhythmic chanting pounds in their ears, could not help but make worshipers reflect on their ways and consider taking the correct, middle path .
Of the dozen or so Ko regularly practiced in this area before WW2, only about 4 are still actively being kept alive. Just acroos the Hanamuro River in Saiki, there is another very interesting Fudo Hall which I will discuss in a future posting.
There is no listing of these events online or in any printed form. The best way to get information about a Ko near you is to speak to the older people in your neighborhood. They will be very glad to hear that you are interested.

Avi Landau

Dazzling Works From The Red Center

Though in Tokyo there are no museums with permanent collections ranking with those at the likes of The Louvre,The Prado,The Met,The British Musuem or Taipei`s Palace Museum, it is still one of the best, or maybe even THE best place in the world for special museum shows and exhibitions. During any given week, a glance at the museum listings will show several must-see exhibits at dozens of interesting venues, catering to almost any taste or inclination.

The recent inauguration of the new National Art Center near Roppongi, has made things even more interesting for art lovers, and being that it is located near a Hibiya Line station it is easilly accessible to Tsukubans (even for those with only a few hours to spare).

I wanted to arrive at the museum early today,to have as much time as possible taking in the works of Australian Aboriginal Artist Emily Kame Kngwarreyey, who had been a ritual body painter and sand artist until she finally put brush to canvas in her late seventies. Living in the Red Center of Australia, a couple of hundred Kilometers from Alice Springs in a community ironically called Utopia,Emily must have spent nearly all her time in the remaining decade of life painting,as she created THOUSANDS of canvasses,many of them HUGE. She usually did this by spreading a canvas out on the sand, exposed to the elements, and in some of her works careful examination reveals bits of sand,vegetation and even an occassional DOG PAW PRINT!

Emily had no formal artistic trainig and virtually no knowledge of Western or Eastern artistic traditions. And Though eventually prices for her canvases soared way over the million dollar mark, she certainly was not painting for the money. This makes her,for me at least,an exciting example of pure artistic expression and an accessible channel for gaining incites into her peoples 40,000 year old culture.

The National Art Center`s building itself is quite interesting though I only looked at its facade briefly and then hurried into the exhibition gallery. If the floors were not wooden I would think that in was an airport terminal. with a spacious lobby with many restaurants and cafes. The galleries are entered through what look not unlike airport gates, and you actually have to pay for each exhibition separately at these gates. All the restaurants were crowded,making it seem that the hall was the center of the museum and not the inconspicuous galleries.I was surprised to see that there was even food to match an exhibiton. For the European Still-Life Painting show from the Kunsthistoriches Museum in Vienna, on eof the restaurants had an Austrian chef serving special Viennese lunches!

The design of the building is not surprising when on elearns that it was the creation of architect Kisho Kurokawa who also designed(among many other notable commissions) the Kuala Lumpur Airport Terminal! Of course when that was built it was the largest terminal in the world.And what a lonely place ,too,never having been able to compete with Singapore Airport as a regional hub and seeming almost empty in its hugeness, with staff going to and fro by bicycle.

Paying my 1,300 Yen entrance fee,I took a deep breath and entered another dimension-DREAMTIME. Emily`s works are abstract,appear simple and can be divided into several distinct phases. Nearly all the works on display ,however, were alike in that they were abolutely mesmerizing. I felt like I was at a Thai Restaurant.Thai food is delicious and it also physically affects your mouth, giving it a unique sensation. For the first time in my long museum-going life I felt the same sensation-IN MY EYES. More than any Da Vincis,Rembrandts or Picassos I felt LIFE in Emily`s canvases.

Of course we can try to interpret these works.Maybe they are maps containing wisdom related to gathering foods and medicines.Maybe they are reflections of subtle observations of the desert landscape.Maybe they are inner-visions which all humans can relate to. I could go on and on, but as my friend Rick said about this show, maybe it should just be FELT and not THOUGHT ABOUT.

Several times I reached the exit of the gallery, but each time I headed back to the start , staggering about, intoxicated ,trying to absorb as much of Emily`s energy as I could.

This incredible exhibition closes Monday evening. If possible-SEE IT.

www.nact.jp/

I hope the energies I absorbed can be utilzed efficaciously in upcoming tenGooz gigs and recording sessions.

Avi Landau

Swallows(tsubame)

SWALLOWS NOT AS WELCOME AS THEY USED TO BE

In July they dart about, like little fighter planes, over the ripening paddy fields, gracefully grabbing up mosquitoes and other harmful bugs. They are working at a frenzied pace, as their young, numbering as many as seven, are getting bigger and bigger, and need more and more nourishment before they finally leave the nest and find food on their own.However, though they have a professional baseball team named after them and a shinkansen train, as well, swallows, or tsubame (燕), are not getting the respect they have grown used to.
These famed harbingers of spring arrive in the Kanto area in April, having flown great distances from southern China,and as far as Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea. In Japan, swallows have come to live closely with humans, mostly nesting in settled areas, including large cities. They make their mud and grass nests under the eaves of houses and shops and usually return to the SAME HOUSE every year, OFTEN ON THE SAME DATE! The annual return of the tsubame has been considered a happy occasion by their host families. Having your house or shop selected by the swallows for nesting has traditionally been considered highly auspicious and you can still find home-owners and shop-keepers putting out boxes or newspapers to catch the droppings and maybe even putting up a screen or wind-shield for additional protection. In older villages and towns and in the older sections of large cities, one nest or more under the eaves of an old building, with chicks poking their beaks out expectantly w!
aiting for their mothers return, as their father stands guard close by, is an endearing image of a Japan quickly disappearing.
Year by year, the swallows are finding themselves less and less welcome. The traditional belief in the luck that the swallows bring is being gradually replaced by the the modern worship of THE STERILE and clean, and by this I mean an intense dislike of bugs, large trees, animals or anything else that smacks of DIRTY.
These days, proud owners of little, plastic, half-million dollar houses, are most likely to have swallows nests quickly removed or more cruelly just closed off, separating parents from young.
Still, the old values come to the rescue sometimes. Here is a story about the swallows at Misao Ito's house in Kukizaki. Misao lives in a grand old neighborhood, just across the street from Mrs. Noguchi's (of the mask fame) thatched-roof manor house. Her family decided to knock down their old house and build a modern style home, one which did not seem appropriate for swallows nests.
When her family was looking into ways of removing the nest which had been constructed by their front door, the neighbors came to intervene. Don't destroy the nest, they warned. If you do that youre house might burn down!
They told Misao's family that having the nest would bring good fortune to the family and that if the number of chicks hatched was an odd number, they should celebrate by eating sekihan (red rice for festive occasions). The Ito`s followed their neighbors advice and in the end all parties were satisfied. The birds raised their young,the kids enjoyed watching the dramatic, private nature show on their front porch and the neighbors are at ease, because tradition was not broken. And most of all their is the anticipation of the same birds return next spring and the spring after that.
With more and more swallows returning from overseas to find themselves unwelcome, I think it's time to re-instill in everyone this old excitement which the swallow used to bring.
Besides their miraculous annual return, they are beautiful, graceful, hardworking parents, who eliminate plenty of mosquitoes (without poisons)!
Why shouldn't we welcome them!
You can find many nests with chicks in them under the walkway of the Art and Physical Education Department of Tsukuba University. Parent birds can be seen for the next few days scrambling for as many insects as they can catch. Watching them over the deep green, young rice plants is the best way to view them in Tsukuba.

Avi Landau

Hollyhock

Mito Hollyhock Incorrectly Named!

In the summer months, you cannot help but notice clusters of tachi-aoi (hollyhock) growing wild on the sides of country roads or beside vegetable patches. You can't miss them because of their height. As tall as sunflowers but not as heavy looking, they are graceful yet imposing and come in red, white and pink blossoms which bloom up and down their long, lean stems.

It is my interest in these very common and uncelebrated flowers that led me to the discovery of a bizarre state of affairs in the world of Japanese-English translation -- especially in regard to the names of certain plants.

Knowing the roadside flowers to be tachi-aoi (立葵) and confirming that the same flowers were called hollyhock in English, I tried to learn more about their history and cultural associations. At first I was surprised that the ancient Aoi Matsuri Festival (葵祭) was often referred to as the Hollyhock Festival in English guidebooks and other texts.

I also discovered that the J-League 2 soccer club representing the capital of Ibaraki was called The Mito Hollyhock. This name was chosen because the crest of the great Tokugawa Family which ruled the Mito Domain for centuries consisted of 3 futaba-aoi leaves. This crest has been made extremely famous by the classic TV series Mito Komon. The Wikipedia article on hollyhock also said that that flower was the symbol of the Mito Clan.

At first I was excited. These flowers that I alone seemed to be interested in appeared to have highly distinguished historical and cultural associations. I wanted to write about this. Luckily , I started to dig further.

I did this because I still had lingering doubts about the connection between aoi and tachi-aoi. I had been to the Aoi Matsuri and seen that the Aoi associated with that festival was a leaf. I had even taken one as a souvenir and kept it in my wallet. The seal of the Mito Clan also consisted of 3 leaves (representing the 3 branches of the Tokugawa Family).

The leaves on the Mito Crest and the aoi leaf in my wallet looked NOTHING like the leaves of the hollyhock (tachi-aoi).Photos in field guides also showed me that tachi-aoi was the roadside flower, but I could find no pictures of aoi in any bookstore flower guide.

To make a long story short, I became slightly obsessed with getting to the bottom of this mystery. At the library I was able to confirm that the scientific name of tachi-aoi(hollyhock) was Althaae rosea , and that the symbol of the Mito Tokugawa and of the Aoi Matsuri was a plant with NO COMMON ENGLISH NAME but known as Asarum caulescens among botanists and futaba-aoi among the Japanese (see photo. These two plants have NO CONNECTION other than being PLANTS and having the character aoi (葵)in their names.

Finally, I went to the Tsukuba Botanical Garden to consult with Dr. Tadamu Matsumoto. He was also astonished that the Mito Soccer team had been called Hollyhock, as there was no botanical connection between futaba-aoi (the highly esteemed leaves on Mito Komon's emblem) and the common roadside tachi-aoi (hollyhock).

There is obviously a big problem with translation when dealing with the names of plants which are not familiar to the translators. These types of errors occur not only in Wikipedia and blogs but also in respected journals, dictionaries and encyclopedias. I fell victim to such a mistaken translation when writing about the Boy's Day (Tango No Sekku) traditions in Japan (Tango no Sekku over the Ages).

In my article I mistakenly wrote that the Japanese put irises(the Japanese term is shobu 菖蒲） in their baths and on their rooves on that day. I had gotten this translation from very respectable source books. However, I later realized that the shobu used is NOT an iris(hana-shobu) at all but a completely unrelated plant called CALAMUS(related to taro) by botanists and which was believed by the ancient Chinese and Japanese to have the power to expel evil and bad luck.

For me hollyhocks are amazing flowers and are worthy of having a soccer team named after them. But I'm sure that the citizens of Mito will not be pleased to learn that their team is named after the TACHI-AOI and NOT the revered FUTABA-AOI.

It's like calling the Seibu Baseball club The Azarashi (sea lions) instead of The Lions. Why not? They are both mammals!

Avi Landau

Tanabata in old Edo

Make a wish upon two stars!-Tanabata

You might have noticed the colorful Tanabata (七夕) decorations, young bamboo stalks with slender branches adorned with colorful strips of paper, set up at supermarkets, community centers, city-offices, schools and kindergartens around town. If you look carefully, you will also notice a box filled with blank sheets of colored paper (tanzaku), and some pens or pencils which have been placed somewhere nearby. These are there so that anyone so inclined can write down their wish (or poem) and then tie it onto the tree. These days, it is mostly little kids who enjoy doing this, but you will still see plenty of hopeful teenagers and adults writing their prayers for family health, success in exams, protection from earthquakes, finding romance, etc. Since language is no problem in the Land of Wishes, you should pick up a colored sheet yourself and feel free to write in your native tongue.

As with most other Japanese traditions, the history of Tanabata is complex, and tracing its roots can be confusing. The way it has been celebrated has also transformed DRAMATICALLY over the centuries. Matters are made even worse when you find out that different cities celebrate the festival on different dates, a month apart.

Simply put, the 7th day of the 7th month on the lunar calendar is the day the the stars Vega and Altair are closest in the night sky, and the ancient Chinese developed a romantic story based on this celestial event. Separated for a year by the heavenly river (the Milky Way) two lovers, a cowherd and a weaver-girl get a chance to meet for only one night before being separated until the same time next year. It was on this night that the women weavers and other craftswomen of the ancient Chinese court made supplications to the two stars in the hope of improving their skills. It seems logical enough that wishing on two stars would be more efficacious than wishing on one.

In 8th century Japan, everything Chinese was the rage among the aristocracy, so naturally this star festival was adopted at the Japanese court in Nara. Members of the leisured class made offerings of colorful foods and enjoyed viewing the stars to the accompaniment of koto music. On the other hand, the reading of the characters 七夕 as tanabata, came from an indigenous story about a weaver girl Tanabatatsume (棚機津女), who sat by the riverside weaving beautiful fabrics for the gods. The Tanabata Festival today is a product of the coming together of these these two currents.

The custom of writing wishes or poems on colored paper originated in China. The paper colors used today are still those favored in ancient China: blue, yellow, white, black and red. However, the other traditional paper decoration designs on the bamboo trees aa well as the famous Tanabata decorations of Sendai are based on the story of Tanabatatsume.

Another completely different aspect of the Tanabata celebration in Japan was that it marked the beginning of preparations for the O-Bon Festival and on that day it was customary to wash hair, religious implements, animals etc. in anticipation of the return of ancestral spirits.

It also became customary in Japan for boys and girls to pray for better skill in calligraphy and poetry.Many older Tsukabans,as children,would wake up early Tanabata morn and gather the dew from the tar leaves in the garden. This water would be mixed to make ink for that days calligraghy on the tanzaku. The day after the festival, the tanzaku (strips of paper) were cast off into rivers or the sea. These customs remain almost only as fond memories in the minds of older generation.

In the Edo Period (1600-1868) Tanabata decorations experienced a GOLDEN AGE with townspeople trying to outdo each other in putting out the more outstanding decorations. This tradition lives on at the famous Tanabata festival in Sendai, where merchants line the shopping district with spectacular decorations.

A strange turning point in the history of Tanabata was surely the adoption of the western calendar by the Meiji Government after 1868. The seventh month is August according to the lunar calendar, but is July in the new calendar. These days the 7th day of the 7th month is NOT the time when Vega and Altair meet. This occurs in August. And more to this, the beginning of July is still the rainy season and stars can rarely be seen at all! Sounds ridiculous, but it is true. The festival is celebrated a month too early.

The great Sendai Festival, however sticks with the correct timing, as do the festivals in Yamaguchi City and Oita. For major NEW CALENDAR events (I mean in July) head for the Shonan Hiratsuka Tanabata Festival in Kanagawa.

There are many historical details which I have left out and you are probably glad for that. Just remember that if you spy a colorfully decorated tree, remember the story of the lovers. Maybe you will be inspired to jot down a poem, or a special wish.

Avi Landau

Moss

Enjoy the Moss, prevent the Mold in Japan`s summer

Most of the days during Japan's month long rainy season (tsuyu), are overcast and damp, even when there is no actual precipitation. When it IS raining, it is as if your town or city has been transported into the shadowy depths of a thick, wet , forest. It can stay like that for days. For this reason, Japan is a veritable paradise for MOSS (koke苔), which thrives in such conditions. Taking a June stroll, umbrella in hand, within the precincts of some old shrine or temple is like an in-depth tour of the WORLD OF GREEN, with mosses of varying degrees of verdure growing on stones, tree trunks, or the ground, forming delightful combinations.

It is clear that the darkness of the rainy season and the deep warm shades of moss have had a huge impact on Japanese aesthetics. For example, compare the Buddhist temples or clothes from the brighter lands of India or Thailand, with those of Japan. There are often bright, bold or shimmery colors and surfaces, which are needed so as not to be washed out by the brightness of the sun. In shadowy Japan, different , darker ,colors, more natural and earthy ,came to be utilized and loved. Moss and moss green have been an important part of this sensibility. This can be seen most clearly in Japanese gardening and landscaping, the cultivation of miniature trees (bonsai) and in fabric design.

There are several temples which are actually famous for their moss gardens, including Saiho-Ji and Gio-ji in Kyoto. Nearer to Tsukuba is Myoho-Ji in Kamakura. (Did you know that JR trains can be taken directly to Kamakura from Tsuchiura or Ushiku Stations during the summer?) These are nationally renowned Koke-dera (moss temples), but it is by no means necessary to leave our city to partake in the pleasures of moss viewing. As I mentioned above, the sacred grove of any shrine or the grounds of any temple will do, especially on rainy days.

Unfortunately, the same conditions which allow moss to thrive are favored by various types of mould and mildew and foreigners who come to live in Japan are driven to despair by their relentless proliferation. Walls, books, photos, are all common victims. Once I discovered that a pair of white sneakers I wanted to wear had turned black with mould! This is not just a nuisance, but a health hazard as well.

Of course, this is a problem for the Japanese, too, but since their ancestors have had to deal with the problem for millennia, there are plenty of bits of folk knowledge passed down from generation to generation which help to cope.

The most important point to remember is good ventilation. Make sure that the air in a particular room does not stagnate too long. Whenever the sun DOES shine you might want to let its rays do their work on anything you are worried might get mouldy. Remember: the light of day is the best disinfectant!

A more recently developed trick for dealing with mold was introduced to me by Harumi Takaya, who is always a great source of information about traditional life in Tsukuba. This is the use of baking soda. For example, baking soda mixed in with your laundry detergent at a ratio of 3 to 1 will prevent your laundry from getting moldy (if like most Japanese, you don't have a dryer). Putting a mixture of baking soda and water into a spray bottle and spritzing it on the walls etc... is also a good idea.

Don't let the darkness and the rain get you down! Go out and explore Japans endless SHADES OF GREEN! For the summer months THESE are the Emerald Isles!

Ancient Tree at Yahashira Shrine,Makabe

Conch Blower

Sword Drawing

Chinowa

Summer Rites at Kaba-San shrine

Historically the inhabitants of the Japanese Isles have been susceptible
to sickness and epidemic during the summer months. The rainy season of June
always brought the danger of flooding, and when the rains stop there are almost two months of relentless heat and humidity.
A perfect formula for the incubation and spread of dangerous bacteria.
In modern times the governmemt initiated programs of universal vaccination and innoculation which have made regular summer
pestilence a thing of the past.The Ministry of Construction has also been spending more than 100 years pouring concrete,
leaving almost no natural rivers,and thus greatly reducing the chance of flooding.
The ancient Japanese court had no recourse to modern medicine. It did however
concieve of a national plan to protect the nation from sickness and disaster.
This came to fruition with the implementation of 2 official
purification ceremonies or O-Harae. One in summer and one in Winter, with each
ceremony giving six months worth of protection. The ceremonies were held at shrines throught the realm and have continued for more than 1200 years.

A feature of the summer rite(nagoshi no harae)was the use of a magical ring
of woven reeds or straw. Those to be purified would pass throught the upright rings,usually 3 times.
The belief in the efficacy of these CHINOWA stemmed from a story in Japanese mythology in which the
mischivious yet heroic God Susanoo no Mikoto adviced a man who had helped him to
weave a ring of reeds in order to protect himself from an imminent epidemic.
The man survived and the powers of such rings established.You can see these rings worn by sumo wrestlers and I guess the sumo ring itself is
a CHINOWA.
Today I went to MT Kaba to observe this years CHINOWA KUGURI
ceremony. It began with conch blowing and then sword drawing.Both of which have
strong excorsistic powers in Japan. The worshippers then
passed through the ring 3 times before entering the main hall for further
purification by the priest. The ring itself was made of what looked like palm fronds, highly evocative of southern islands.

I will need all the extra power I can get as the TenGooz forge on with recording and rehearsals.
By the way,Kaba-San Shrine is said to have the skull of a Tengu as one of its relics. There were certainly plenty of Tengu masks.
I felt right at home.

Avi Landau

Hawk-watching

A Hawk(O-taka)on Avi's veranda

Fighting For Tsukuba`s Remaining Wilds

An alternative title for this entry could be 'The Taka and Takahashi-san' (Ms. Takahashi and the Hawk). That is because these are the chief protagonists in what has turned out to be a long and sometimes dirty (on the part of developers) struggle to preserve central Tsukuba's last remaining tracts of wild land, the home to numerous plants and creatures, including the majestic and protected O-Taka (オオタカ) –the hawk.
Just north of the Sakura City Office, on both sides of the narrow road which runs by it from the Hanamuro intersection, there amazingly remain large areas of almost completely unused land, with brush so thick that in summer it is all but inaccessible, save for the few barely recognizable trails created by the small mammals which find shelter there. These are weasels, tanuki, rabbit and maybe even fox. The area resounds with the calls of pheasants (kiji), bush warbler (uguisu) and at night OWLS.
In the middle of this veritable jungle is Kayoko Takahashi's tastefully designed house/aromatherapy studio. In her dining room there is always a field scope set up on a tripod. These days at almost any time during the day, if you put your eye to the eye-piece you will be in for a thrill. It is fixed on a favorite spot of the female O-Taka who you will almost surely see waiting for the return of her mate with food for their young. The actual nest sits a few trees away. This week the cry of the chicks is clearly audible.
My house is on the fringe of this same wilderness, and I can just make out Takahashi-san's roof amidst the trees, from my bedroom window. Just the other day I received a surprise visit from the male hawk. A shadow passed, and I guessed it was just another crow on my veranda. I turned for a look and my eyes almost popped out of my head when, through the curtain, I recognized the large raptor, munching on a freshly caught prey, just a few feet from my bed.
With the TX development project, this area was chosen as the location for the railroad's employee housing. It was ALL slated for clearing and development. Takahashi-san changed the course of events, however, by alertly informing officials about the annual presence of the breeding hawks and called for a re-evaluation of the project. Within a couple of days a bulldozer from the project's contractor UR 都市再生機構 (UR Toshi Saisei Kiko) arrived and started to push down all the trees which Takahashi-san had indicated!!!! Lucky for two things, though. First they missed the actual breeding nest and had knocked out only an old nest they had spotted, and second Takahashi-san witnessed and filmed the whole incident!!! An order from the prefectural government was obtained to temporarily halt construction.
What happens next is still up in the air, but as you might know, government sponsored projects are almost NEVER scrapped after being approved. It was not even possible to stop the filling in and destruction of Isahaya Bay in Nagasaki Prefecture even when eventually it was recognized by all parties that the huge project was ABSOLUTELY useless. But you never know, maybe things will work out differently in Tsukuba.
This Sunday, June 29th, there will be a meeting of scientists, scholars, activists, journalists and local residents. We will tour the area and then discuss the situation. Anyone interesting in these procedings
can contact me at avi@tora.email.ne.jp
Please come and join in the fight to keep Tsukuba GREEN and BEAUTIFUL.

TenGooz will be recording tomorrow. Hope to have something for your listening pleasure available REAL soon.

Avi Landau

Thar She Glows! Fireflies Making a Comeback?

Getting around Tsukuba on foot can sometimes pays off. Even at night when its raining! After being stood up for an appointment near the University, I headed for home in a slight drizzle which soon turned into a steady shower. I was going east, and the narrow rice-paddied valley along the banks of the Hanamuro river is almost completely shielded from any light, and it was like walking into a bygone age. I crossed the river and the croaking of the frogs turned from a hum into an almost deafening roar. I realized that the farmers must be making rice for THEIR OWN CONSUMPTION on this side of the valley and using LESS PESTICIDES. Thus the abundance of LIVING CREATURES. Turning southward along the field I was startled by a delicate streak of dancing light! I stopped in my tracks even though I was getting wetter by the minute. A spot of light and then more streaks here and there filled me with the thrill of discovering a species long thought extinct. There were wild fireflies (hot!
aru,蛍) here!

Older Japanese fondly remember the abundant fireflies, which before the widespread use of agricultural chemicals (especially those sprayed from helicopters by local governments), would delight them each rainy season. Catching fireflies in a jar was once one of the most popular and memorable childhood games of summer. Now children have to be taken to special parks or institutes which artificially breed the light-making insects. Fees are charged and large crowds make the setting highly commercialized.

There are two main types of fireflies in Japan. The larger type is the Genji-botaru and the smaller one the Heike-botaru (they are named after the two warring clans of the late Heian Period which in English we refer to as the Minamoto and the Taira).To tell the truth,Im not sure which types the ones I found are.

There are dozens of great poems inspired by the firefly with many going back to the Manyoshu, the great collection of poems compiled in the Nara and Early Heian Periods.

Of course, it is possible to see wild fireflies at a few places in Japan and even in Tsukuba City (on Mt Tsukuba for instance). It was exciting however to find that the little love sick bugs might be making a comeback with walking distance of Tsukuba Center.

If you'd like more details about where to go Hotaru viewing, contact me. I will try to get a map with details posted soon.

TenGooz fans remember a song we always used to do LIVE
called JIN JIN. In Okinawan language that means firefly and
that song always got the crowd going. we will have to revive that one for this summers gigs!

Avi Landau

Thomas lays down a solo

Make the summer solstice($B2F;j(Jgeshi) meaningful

Though the vernal and autumnal equinoxes have been designated national holidays in Japan(it is around these days that it is custumary to visit and clean the family graves),the winter and especially the summer solstices usually go by without any notice. Those with this year's Japanese calender might notice the characters 夏至(geshi,The summer solstice)on the square marking June 21st,　and that is about it.This contrasts sharply with the countries of Europe(especially the northern ones), which host a variety of festivals and ceremonies marking the day with the longest daylight hours of the year. This situation seems curious indeed for a country and a nation which pays such close attention to the flow of the seasons and the progression of natural phenomena.
One reason for this might be that the GESHI falls smack in the middle of the rainy season(梅雨,tsuyu),and is marred almost every year by gloomy ,overcast weather. In fact, though there is almost a five hour difference in the length of daytime between the GESHI and the 冬至(touji,winter solstice) in the Tsukuba area,the sun SHINES unobscured for many more hours on average on the shortest day of the year!
There is now a way,however, to make your summer solstice MEANINGFUL, and certainly more fun than it has ever been for you in Japan before. For several years a movement has been growing which promotes the turning the summer solstice into CANDLE NIGHT. As a way to promote energy conservation and environmental awareness, people around the world are asked to refrain from using electricity between 8 and 10pm.There are many ways life can be enjoyed with The Tokoyo Electic Power Company.You should try it!
For more information and plenty of ideas check out :
www.candle-night.org/english/
Of course you should conserve energy EVERY DAY ! This festive way of living without electricity for a view hours is a good place to start, especially for giving awareness to kids.
Have a happy 夏至.Enjoy the daylight! IT ONLY GETS SHORTER FROM TOMORROW!

Talking about no electricity,I remember being in one of Tsukuba University`s
buidings,six floors,with lights,refrigerators and computers usually on in every room.
That day there was an electricity check and suddenly all the
juice was turned off. The effect of all the white noise, being abruptly removed was rivetting.
it was like entering another dimension.it makes you think
about how our eardrums and bodies in general are continually subject to immersion in electrical
environments,whatever that might be.

Avi Landau

Tsukuba`s Distinctive Summer Smell

It might hit you while you are out for a stroll or riding in a car with the window rolled down. It might come upon you during the day or even more so at night. It is a thick, damp and sultry smell — for the Japanese it often suggests the erotic– it is the musky perfume of chestnut blossoms (kuri no hana), and in Tsukuba in June there is no avoiding it. This is because Ibaraki Prefecture is the number one chestnut producer in Japan.It seems as if almost every undeveloped lot, if it is not planted with turf grass, has a chestnut grove on it! One reason for this preponderance is that farmers who want to keep their land cultivated for tax purposes (agricultural land is taxed at a different rate) find that kuri batake (chestnut groves) require less maintenance than other potential crops.
The chestnut flowers themselves are just as strange as their smell. They look like feathery, white, pipe-cleaners, which will eventually turn brown and wither before the chestnuts ripen in autumn. Ibaraki's kuri (栗) are large and extremely tasty. They are eaten in many ways, but most commonly as chestnut rice (kuri gohan).
By the way, chestnut cultivation does not have a very long history in this area as it was always too cold to grow them. My neighbor, who now has a couple of hundred trees, told me that in his grandparent's day, they would go to mountainous areas in winter to gather the fallen leaves of mountain kuri (yamaguri)which were to be used as fertilizer or for heating. While doing this they would sometimes rake up a chestnut which had been buried away by crows.However, any attempt to introduce the chestnut vairieties cultivated in warmer parts of Japan ended in failure due to frost.
With plenty of perseverence farmers were able to breed the hardy mountain chestnut, which was resistant to this prefecture's colder climate, eventually making it possible for Ibaraki to become the number one producer of kuri.
Now you will know what it is when it hits your nose. It's the kuri no hana. And in the future, whenever you catch a whiff of its distinctive scent, one thought will pop into your head — SUMMER IN TSUKUBA.

The TenGooz are practicing and recording. Thomas and I will be in studio to work on CHATTER. The scent of chestnut in the air will surely give us inspiration!

Tsukuba`s Distinctive Summer smell

The TenGooz Hard at Practice

No Miss Guitars at East of Eden

Lots of MUSIC

June 7th was a great day for the TenGooz!We celebrated Michael`s birthday with a big barbcue party and then went on to do a gig at Hot Stuff in Tsukuba.All in all it was an extremely festive day.
Thomas Mayers played his first real TenGooz gig with us and he certainly passed his trial by fire with flying colors, sometimes eliciting spontanious squeals and shouts from the female members
of the audience with his CRAZED guitar playing.

Wednesday was practice.We have alot of work to do return to the level we used to be at. We have to expand our set list (I know you all rememberur 50 song no intermission marathons of the past ) and work on our dynamics (changes of volume) .

Michael, Thomas and I recieved some inspiration on Thursday night. We had been planning on recording, and I had thought everything was set for Thursday.I guess Takumi (our engineer) heard my Thursday as SAZDAY, which is easilly confused by Japanese with SADADAY or Saturday, and when we arrived we found out that we had arrived two days too early.

Everyday has its little miracles, however, and what looked like a wasted evening turned out to be an eye-opening musical encounter as we decided to head for East Of Eden, one of our old haunts. Though it was a weekday there was a gig on that night-a dou from Kyushu who call themselves No Miss Guitars. Their mastery of their instruments, interesting compostions and lyrics and passionate love for what they do simply riveted us, as well as the rest of the small audience. They really showed us that we need to get to work, especially on our dynamics.
I hope that that eye-opening show has a big impact on the next TenGooz LIVE

See you then and there

Avi Landau

A trip to Sawara, and lots of TenGooz practice

Sawara,in Chiba Prefecture is always a great place to visit, with its old shops, willow lined river, sake breweries and Katori Grand Shrine.The first week in June is always extra-special as the irises are in bloom.
We drove to the aquatic plant park, a few kilometers from the old town and were disappointed to find that only a small portion of the flowers were blossoming. We could still enjoy watching a traditional, pole-propelled boat loaded with musicians, cranking out the Sawara-Bayashi,which is the towns festival music.
We have started some serious rehearsing and were together until 11pm last night getting ready for this Saturdays Gig. Thomas Mayers will be playing with us and he has been putting in extra effort learning all our old material.

Hope to see you there this weekend

Avi Landau

Irises in Sawara

Sawara-Bayashi Musicians

The View From Behind

Putting oneself through physical and/or mental hardship as a way of achieving spiritual growth has long been associated with Buddhism in Japan.
That was why ,when I arrived at The National Museum in Ueno on a sweltering spring morning, I did not find it inappropriate to have to wait outside in the sun for 90 minutes to get in to see the current exhibition - The Treasures of Yakushi-Ji Temple.
Of course, upon first catching site of the impossibly long line, a winding python made up of thousands of senior citizens, I thought about heading for less crowded quarters.But I had had my heart strongly set on seeing this exhibition before it closed on June 8th, and anyway had certainly been made to wait even longer at this very museum many times before.It had almost always been worth it.

I imagined that most of the Buddhist art enthusiasts patiently waiting in line with me had already been to Nara and visited Yakushiji itself.I also came to the realization that if I had gotten on the shinkansen it would not take very much longer to reach the temple than it would to finally reach the entrance of the museum (though it would have been a BIT more expensive).
What the large crowds had been gathering for, every day for weeks already, was a look from behind. A look at the back sides of 3 great Buddhist images whose backs are usually covered by ornate, body length, gilded halos or auras.For this exhibition, these figures, most famously the bronze Bodhisatvas Nikko and Gakko, were separated from their back stand halos allowing their elegantly molded posteriors to be gazed upon by anyone with a ticket and tough enough to endure the lines.

In addition to this rare chance to PEEK BEHIND THE SCENES, the exhibition featured reasures which were never all displayed at once.

Each visitor seemed to be in heat enduced daze by the time they reached the over-airconditioned exhibition hall. Then things got difficult.
All the pent up energy and bridled excitement seemed to burst forth in my elderly fellow museum-goers and it took strength and cunning to jockey myself into a position in we I could see any of the works on display.

This might sound like a nightmare, or a Buddhist version of hell, but it was in fact fascinating and highly rewarding in many ways. For me observing the visitors and overhearing their comments was what probably sticks in my mind most. Since this was an exhibition of Buddhist works, and not just ART,it seemed to me that most of the visitors were trying their best to have a spiritual experience.their GAZE was special, like that reserved for cherry blossom viewing or funerals. A typical exclamation that I heard was among the crowds viewing the 3 meter tall Boddhisatvas was. They really DO make me feel calm. (yappari miru to iyashi ni naru).

In terms of the works on display themselves, I was more impressed (in terms of beauty) by the three small figures(39cm) of the Hachiman Triad. I prefer them because they are carved
from wood and I have always felt that the Japanese sculptors often showed great genius when working in wood.When such skillfully carved pieces are aged more that a thousand years, the effect is mysterious and mesmerizing.
It is also of interest to note how Shinto Gods were early adopted into Buddhism, with Hachiman having early on becoming a protector of the New, imported faith.
I can go ON and ON about each piece I saw. By why should you waste your time reading when you still have a few more days to see and experience for yourself.

I left the museum and its bookstore with a heavy bag and feet and a light head and wallet. I really did feel serene reviewing what I had just seen in the excellent catalogue of the show.

Dont let the lines deter you. I guess that in the west we only have the notion of growth through hardship-you know NO PAIN, NO GAIN.

The exhibition will be on until June 8
at the National Museum in Ueno

Avi Landau

Nikko and Gakko

A View From Behind

A-Chan on Drums

Back In Business!

Im happy to anounce that The TenGooz are back in business!
Michael is back from the PI and finally, after our longest hiatus EVER we in the studio recording on Thursday night and then again, rehearsing and working on new material last night. Hase G is exploding with new ideas and I also had an idea which we played around with.
After practice Michael, Thomas and I head off for a major night cap at Findlagen,Tsukuba`s best whiskey bar. Michael and I might have overdone it, sampling the tea-ceremony-master-like
barman`s superb collection of Whiskeys, Scotches and Bourbons.
Thomas, unfortunately with car, had to suffice with Ginger Ale. The joint was jumpin' and TenGooz fans were there in abundance.

The recording of CHATTER will continue next week. As Ive said this song will be strongly political, my cry out againt the ravages of 8 years of Bush adminstration on the state of human rights,human dignity, and culture in general.

First lines

There tryin` to go through all our Chatter
NSA computers siftin` through the data
email and phone calls are all fair game
and we`ve gotta show ID just to get on the train

There trying` to go through all our CHATTER
nightime helicopters flyin` pitter-patter
the ones theyve been hunting are still at large
while thousands are held without being charged

Im no longer sold
these days when Im told
that we`re living in the land of the free.......

Avi Landau

Ibaraki's Poppies

Where Have All The Flowers Gone?!Problem POPS up at Shimotsuma Poppy festival!

Its a fun-filled and very colorful event held every year on June 1st at the Shimotsuma Flower Park, just to the North-West of Tsukuba City.The hundreds of thousands of poppies which spring up each spring along the Kokai River(小貝川,kokaigawa) are literally free for the pickin, as families, couples, and any anyone else who would like to, can help themselves to as many flowers as they care for.

If ,like me, you were planning to go this year, you are in for a big disappointment!Im sorry to have to break the news. ALL the poppies have been MOWED DOWN AND BURNED!
Apparently someone noticed a preponderance of violet colored poppies when they are usually mostly red,white and pink.Experts were consulted, specimens examined ,and to everyones surprise it was determined that the banks of the kokai river was covered with hundreds of
thousands of OPIUM POPPIES ,which as you can imagine are highly illegal. Authorities were at a loss what to do, and in the end just went ahead with the simplest solution -they destroyed
the whole lot -legal poppies and all.
As of now the police think the incident was the result of an accidental seed mix-up,but of course they are still looking into the matter. Hopefully next year we can enjoy picking the poppies(雛罌粟,hinageshi) once again.

There are several ways that poppies can be referred to in Japanese: The easiest to remember is simply popi (ポピー). The non-narcotic type of poppy which is usually enjoyed in spring is thehinageshi(雛罌粟). From chinese literature there is the term gubijinsou (虞美人草), which is also the title of a novel by the novelist Natume Soseki.

The Japanese also use two words derived from European languages to refer to poppies-
amapora(アマポーラ) from　the Spanish and kokuriko(コクリコ）from the French.

The poetess Yosano Akiko(1878-1942) has left us this poem-

ああ皐月仏蘭西の野は火の色す君もコクリコわれもコクりこ。

AA satsuki furansu no no wa hi no iro su kimi mo kokuriko ware mo kokuriko

Aah! the fields of France in May, the color of a flame!
Both you and I - poppies!

Avi Landau

Peony

Stop and Smell the Roses

Stop and Smell the Roses(and other flower royalty)

My friends and I had long been planning and looking forward to visiting the Tsukuba Botan-En(つくば牡丹園), the nationally renowned peony garden located in Kukizaki own.Unfortunately,
the weather kept putting us off. One day in early May,we actually drove out to it and walked up to the front gate, but decided that it was too cold and wet of day to spend strolling in a garden (especially with an 800 entrance fee!)

Spring had nearly passed when finally the perfect opportunity arose. A few free hours and weather that was just right. The only worry was - would there be any peonies(牡丹、botan) still in bloom?

This time when we got out of our cars at the gardens parking lot, we stretched our arms out ,taking in the warm fragrant air,then exhaled with satisfied aaahs. Conditions could not have been better. But when we checked the IN BLOSSOM BOARD posted at the front gate we were disappointed to find that only a couple of dozen botan(peonies) were in bloom, all of these being indoors in the COOL HOUSE.

There was no cause for consternation ,however, because the information board also showed that thousands of shakuyaku(芍薬), a smaller type of peony,and hundreds of roses were at their best on that day!

We drawn in by the color and fragrance we could glimpse from out side, we paid our entrance fee and picked up our maps of the grounds. My Japanese friends stamped their stamp books with commemorative seals (just as pilgrims in earlier ages in Japan would have their books
stamped,providing both a unique momento and offical proof that a temple had been visited. A precursor of the kinen shashin or commemorative snapshot).

The cool house is located about 50 meters from the front gate, and inside we were treated to a fine selection of impressive botan, the KING OF ORIENTAL FLOWERS. These large yet delicately petaled flowers were originally introduced to Japan from China in the Nara Period(710-794)as a medicinal plant.
On the continent the peony had not only been important for its pain killing and anti-convulsion powers, but also as a subject of painting and poetry and as a popular decorative motif.
It was actually adopted as national flower of Ching China. They were also very much enjoyed as a garden flower.

In Japan, the peony never achieved such high status as it did in China, but it has certainly thrived here. it was especially popular during the Edo Period(1600-1868)when many new varieties were cultivated.

We spent about 30 minutes in the dimly lit and chilled room. Numerous visitors passed through. In fact,we were interupted as a bus load of tourists from Saitama Prefecture breezed through, cell phones snapping away with their artificial click.

The grounds of the garden are extensive and lie at the foot of the ruins of the local castle.The large trees abound are now fresh with new leaves.There are also ponds, a red bridge and
a rustic deck for viewing the scenery.

The thousands of shakuyaku in bloom now are overwhelming in number and variety. These flowers were also imported from China as medicine(as was tea)and have been given the nickname Prime Minister of flowers. They are also famed for their beauty, which they have come to symbolize.

If you mention botan or shakuyaku to a Japanese, they often will repeat a popular idiom used to describe a beautiful women- Tateba botan, suwareba shakuyaku, aruku sugata wa yuri no hana (standing she is a botan,sitting a shakyaku, when she walks she is a lilly.

Keep in mind the TenGooz song- Almost Out of Time. Stop and appreciate the bounty of nature.
Savor every moment but keep GROUNDED IN GROOVE

Avi Landau

Egret Rookery Under Assault

Egret nesting area

Egret Rookery Threatened!

Whenever I head towards Tsuchiura by car or bus, I always look forward to catching a glimpse of the large flock of egrets(shirasagi,白鷺)which use the small grove of trees on the eastern bank of the Sakura River as their rookery.
Especially in the breeding season(April and May)it is thrilling to see all the frenetic activity of the colony, even if for the briefest moment, as you drive by on the Tsuchiura Gakuen Road(look to the north when you get on the bridge just past the route 6 underpass).
I always worry about this egret grove(sagi no mori) in October, as the launching point for the famous and extremly crowded and noisy Tsuchiura Fireworks Competition is just a couple of hundred meters to the south.

This year I have been concerned since spring, with this year`s breeding season being plagued by exceptionally unfavorable weather for the chicks.There have been week long strings of cold, wet and VERY WINDY days,undoubtably resulting in the death of many young egrets.

To check up on how they were making out I asked a friend to stop and put on the parking lights as I had a longer than usual look at the birds. Much to my consternation, I saw a bulldozer
and construction team working just next to the grove.

These are very shy and sensitive birds and usually flee when they are spotted from a hundred
yards. Unfortunately, I could not go down(I had no time) to inquire as to what is going on. If someone can fill me in please do. Anyway, I will try to find out what is going on.

Havent these beautiful creatures been hounded enough. For centuries they have inspired artists (in Japan and on the continent), painters and choreogrphers, dancers, musicians and laywrights.

With loss of habitat due to development and especially the use of agricultural chemicals, the once UBIQUITOUS sagi no mori are a mere shadow of what they used to be.

Please go check on the birds yourself. but remember they are very sensitive so try to keep your
distance.

Avi Landau

Chez Michael!

Home Cookin'

Chez Michael !

He never ceases to amaze! We have long been aware of Michael Frei`s musical and scientific talents, but last night our eyes (or more correctly, mouths) were opened to a new, hitherto unknown side of our lanky sax player-his love of cooking!
Drummer A-chan and I were treated to a traditional South German meal which Michael hipped up - completely from scratch.

The mood of the evening was prodded a little higher by liberal doses of MOONSHINE, home-made schapps, lovingly prepared by Michael`s father back on the farm in Germany.

We also got to hear Michael new alto sax which he will probably be using for this weeks recording sessions.

If you are interested in Michaels recipes-please contact us.

Grounded in GROOVE

Avi Landau

Doudou gets the crowd up!

Michael is back but misses out on Doudou !

TenGooz` popular sax player Michael Frei is back in
Tsukuba and chomping at the bit to do some recording and
gigging. He was in Okinawa and then The Philippines as part of his
continuing exploration of the world of rice and its cultivation.
Hopefully he will post some pictures of his journeys on these blog
pages along with some stories of adventure.

Michael returned a few days too late to catch Sabar and
djambe legend Doudou N`diaye and his percussion orchestra.
Since long before joining the TenGooz, our saxist has been
deeply involved with African music, having actually lived
and played in west Africa himself and then being part of the
Bang Boys of Germany whose music is highly influenced by
sub-saharan rhythm and harmonies.

It had been a long time since I had shouted out so spontaneously and
with such excitement as I did at the end of Doudou N`diaye Rose
Percussion Orchestra`s first offering last wednesday night.
If the concert had ended right there after just 15 or 20 minutes,
I would have cosidered it one of the greatest musical experiences I had ever had.
Starting out with nine drummers beating out an intro,
the number of percussionists gradually grew as they came out onto the stage
addinng new layers of rythm and exploding with the energy of life.
It just kept building and bulding going beyond 10 in terms of
intensity.

Unfortunately, it was a bit of a let down after that
with the rest of the show never living up to the first 20
minutes.One problem was that it was too loud,numbing really.
Also there was not enough variety of tone color.
Seeing this ensemble doing one or two pieces as part of a festival would be perfect
but 2 hours of them was like an overly long folk-lore show
for tourists with the volume turned up too loud.

Still the first moments were well,well worth being there for,and
I imagined they will remain seered on my soul(and my eardrums!)
for the rest of my life.

Avi Landau

Before a big scene!

On Location at Tsukuba Center

Hi,TenGooz fans!
We are almost ready to start laying down the vocals for our popular in concert, and very political funk song CHATTER. I will keep you posted on our progress. In the meantime, have a look at one of my recent postings on Tsukublog-

On days when the light is just right and there is very little chance of rain, you might get lucky and find a colorful collection of super heroes and monsters battling it out at Tsukuba Center. For many years TV production companies have been using the Lion Pit between The Okura Hotel and The Right-On Building as an unearthly-looking set (which more importantly for the producers is free of charge!) for shooting Sunday morning kids` programs. Like me, you will probably have to ask one of the moms with toddlers who are excitedly watching the proceeding to find out the name of the show they are filming.
Today I watched the cast and crew of the popular channel 10 show Go-On-Ja(ゴオンジャ) which often uses the Tsukuba Center location. It is interesting (especially if you have small kids to bring along) to watch the actors get warmed-up, rehearse and shoot the individual shots, then get half out of costume and enjoy a cigarette break. Sometimes small explosions startle the onlookers who ring the set and are treated very politely (remember, the space is being used for free!)

The professional way Japanese film crews go about their business is impressive to watch and should be eye-opening for those who can only picture the age-old racist parody of a Japanese tv director as shown in the very popular (and perpetuator of old stereotypes) Lost In Tranlation.

For me, the bold poses taken by each character when they identify themselves or challenge each other, is reminiscent of the mudra positions introduced to Japan by Buddhist monks, most otably Saicho and Kukai more than 1000 years ago. This may sound far-fetched, but please look closely at both and you might see the connection.

No-one can predict when there will be filming at The center. But as I said earlier, there is a good chance it will be happening when the weather is favorable.

Lights,Cameras,Action!

Revellers Assembling

Asakusa's Sanja Matsuri at 10am

Small Shop Selling Festival Wear

Sanja Matsuri

There is only one place to be one the 3rd weekend in May for those who love a good RAVE- Asakusa, in the heart of the shita-machi (the old Edo townsmans distict). It is there that the great Sanja Matsuri Festival is held for 3 days and the whole district seems to transform into one big Tengooz concert. The local residents spend 3 drunken, Baccanalian days, dressed in their colorful festival wear (each neighborhood has its own), shake rattle and roll with their portable shrines (omikoshi), which are extremely heavy and a very painful burden to shoulder. Getting in tune with the mesmerizing din created by their groups drummers and flute players the bearers withstand the pain by passionately chanting out Washoi,Washoi, building up a huge sweat and working the mood into a frenzied trance.
This years festivities were a little toned down as the biggest omikoshi were banned this year, apparently because some over enthusiasic Yakuza (gangsters) climbed a top of these sacred carts and showed off their fine tatood buts to the crowd.
I got up early in the morning to get there before the crowd became unmanageable. I watched the different groups gather, get ready and go into action. Things were pretty wild by 10:30 am and were quite raucus by noon.
The rythms, melodies and general spirit of passionate joy will hopefully inspire future TenGooz recordings and LIVES.

Avi landau

The Crowd Waiting For Sonny Rollins

Sonny Rollins Still Rollin` !

Though his legs are getting wobbly and his back bending with nearly 80 years under his belt, Sonny Rollins seemed to transform before our very eyes as he brought his instrument to his lips and began to blow. With his sax almost reaching to the floor, the legendary jazzman shook up the house, giving us samples of a whole range of the sax`s tonal and rythmic possibilities. The band that he has with him for this tour includes african percussion and trombone which gave the opening number a distinctly Tengooz-like sound.
It was good fortune that put me in the 7th row last night at the Tokyo International Forum, as I had been upset that Iwouldnt be able to take advantage of Sonny playing so nearby. But at about 2pm on the day of the show i found out that my meeting at the university had been cancelled. It seemed fated that I hop on TX and try to get a ticket. Amazingly I got what was nearly the best seat in the house.

I have to say that it was a bit tedious to sit through some a the other band members solos (after last night I really appreciate Kenya`s amazing trombone sound and his stage presence) but sonny really gave it his ALL and treated the huge crowd which ranged from young adults to extreme seniors to as much of his soloing as we could have imagined.

It was a truly satisfying evening of music.

Avi Landau

A boy poses on Tango no Sekku

Mio up in Arms!

Putting on YOROI at an old samurai residence

Up In Arms! Wearing Samurai Armour In Sakura,Chiba

Childrens Day(kodomo no hi) has come and gone. We celebrated the festival to the fullest, eating chimaki and kashiwamochi and displaying our go-gatsu ningyo dolls and carp streamers ( see my last entry for details).

What made our holiday extra-special, though, was a day trip to Sakura（佐倉）, a small city about 90 minutes from Tsukuba by car, in Chiba prefecture. I always like to going there for its excellent National History Museum, which I can never get enough of, and its serene, season displaying park on the site of its castle ruins.On Tango no Sekku,however, there is always a special event held which is to good to pass up.

In Sakura there are 3 excellently preserved samurai residences (buke yashiki) each of different design and dimension, to match the previous owners rank in the strict warrior hierarchy of the Edo Period.

On may fifth, there is an event in which traditional soup is served and anyone who would like to can be dressed up in traditional armour (yoroi).

It is not a very well publicized event and only about 30 lucky people showed up on that day.

The atmoshere was truly festive and the staff very kind,helpful and patient.

We also recieved free polaroid snapshots (I didnt know those were still around!) of ourselves dressed in full samurai regalia!

It was also interesting to see the old Sakura High school building, which is an amazing early showa edifice. The baseball super-legend Nagashima attended that school.

Nearby we could also stop by for some bird-watching at Lake Inba (Inba Numa).

I know you werent there this time, but you should try to make it next year!

Avi Landau

Tango no Sekku at Avi's house

Miniature koi

Iris and mugwort(菖蒲と蓬)on roof