October 2009

black島根県shimane

October 2009

CONTENTSO C T O B E R 2 0 0 9

articl

Send your photos in to be featured monthly:

shimane.blacktaxi@gmail.com

Tanoshii

despairing film review

Profile

European herb garden

Chotto…

Google‟s domination

Monthly Topic

flavors of fall

Culture

are you alive? or dead?

Travel

hiking, art, and hitching

Submit your articles, artwork, and opinions to shimane.blacktaxi@gmail.com

Disclaimer: Views and opinions are

not necessarily the ideas of the

publisher. Each are expressed by the

writer at the time of writing.

Cover Image by Betsy Pinkham

EDITORS: Regina Durr, Greg

Ferguson, Wendy Holmes, Betsy

Pinkham, Lauren Wetherington

Layout by Regina Durr and

Greg Ferguson

Black Taxi is a monthly magazine

for the JET community in Shimane

prefecture, Japan, published online

and available to print.

Letter from the Editors,We hoped you liked the last issue and areback for more!We don’t expect you to readeverything, just everything you’reinterested in. So eat your treats and comeup with new tricks because Halloween inJapan is celebrated all month long!

featured

JET artist

black TAXI島根県shimane

black TAXIshimane

Next month‟s topic:: Change. From seasons to politics, and

everything in between. Send your ideas, articles, and art in by

October 20th.

Note: The monthly topic‟s featured artwork on pages 3 and

6 is by Betsy Pinkham. Each image was hand-drawn.

Pinkham… 3

… 12

… 14

… 16

楽しい

rythin

g ente

rtainm

09 –

Greg Ferguson finds

enlightenment in

entertainment .

Make Way For TomorrowDir. Leo McCarey / USA / 1937 Reviewd by Greg Ferguson

Two certainties in life: we age, and we

die. Nothing could be more natural, yet

so many among us are afraid of both

realities. They‟re taboo subjects not just in

polite company but in personal and

intimate relationships as well. I‟ve always

found this tack an odd one. Why not fear

breathing or eating? I believe the answer is

a lazy synecdoche, associating aging with

infirmity and death with loss, and both

with suffering. That‟s the most honest and

reasonable thing to fear in my view –

suffering. I suppose you could pair this

with a fear of the unknown to complete

the picture, but where one is tangible and

concrete in its impact, the other is more

murky and irrational in its umbrage. The

two are braided by the inevitability of

suffering and the unexpected nature of its

appearances, however, making their bond a

most terrifying one, and so I can

empathize to a degree when people

profess a fear of aging and a fear of dying,

although it remains a silly disposition to

adopt when one can just as readily

embrace hope and excitement. That‟s how

I choose to live my life in any case. But

sometimes I‟m given pause for thought.

What if my life takes some particularly

misfortunate turns? What, good God, would

I do?! It‟s foolish to never entertain the

notions of aging and death – a damned

foolish and potentially fatal thing to never

entertain – and so on occasion I give

myself time to think and reflect about

what course of action I may take. Most

recently this happened after having

stumbled upon Leo McCarey‟s classic film,

MakeWay ForTomorrow.

Depression-era America, we begin innocently enough at

Christmas. Ma and Pa Cooper, an adorable couple still very

much in love during their golden years, have invited their

grown children and their spouses over for what seems to be

a rare reunion. The children suspect something‟s up, and

before everyone even gets the chance to sit down and enjoy

a peaceful meal together, the parents are exhorted to reveal

the heart of the matter: they‟ve lost their house and have a

mere few days in which to evict themselves. Everyone takes

the news hard, but curiously none of the children are keen to

take both of the parents in at once, forcing the long-married

pair to separate as each spouse boards with a different

reluctant child.

At first, everyone thinks this is all only temporary. Pa

Cooper holds out hope that he‟ll be able to find work

somewhere with years of experience under his belt, and he

assures Ma that he‟ll be back with her under the same roof

before too long. As the weeks and then months slowly

trickle by, though, this hope is steadily eroded by mitigating

factors. Nobody is stupid, and all the happy delusions in the

world can‟t sustain the fantasy that everything will work out.

Still, as evidenced in the film‟s bittersweet final act, Ma and Pa

try valiantly.

Make Way For Tomorrow will surely provoke tears, yet

there is no manipulation to be found. What we have is an

earnest glimpse at the last stage of life in which everything

we put in motion, and even that which was decided before

we even knew we‟d started, are carried out to their natural

conclusion. We‟re all but helpless, which is maybe the

scariest notion indeed. Perhaps the Coopers‟ children could

have done more, but even then they weren‟t entirely callous

in their actions. After all, they deserved to live their own

lives too. How indebted you feel to your own parents (or

parents-in-law) will depend on your unique family life, but if

you are a conscionable person, you‟ll regard Ma and Pa

Cooper with empathy because they are good people, their

fate is unfair, and it could all happen to you. So take heed.

* Make Way For Tomorrow, long unavailable on DVD to the

public, is currently only available in France. However, it may be

viewed in full on YouTube.

In many ways, this is one of the

scariest, let alone saddest, movies

ever made. It is tiresome revolutions

down a funnel leading into a dark well of

despair. Set during the throes of

ring lo

cal busin

s and p

09 –

Ko-boku no Mori Koen

is a park in Ohnan-cho consisting of several different gardens

and buildings. Visitors are “beckoned by the fragrance of

herbs,” according to the park‟s pamphlet.

You can freely wander through the walking trails and gardens,

which include a European herb garden, vegetable patch, and a

rose house. There is a green house where you can purchase

plants for your own herb garden, usually for about ¥100 to

¥300.

In the Craft Mansion you can do crafts with and take courses

about different fragrant herbs. The costs range from ¥300 to

¥1000.

After wandering the gardens, you can head up the hill to visit

the onsen (¥600 for adults) with an outdoor bath, or you can

visit the café and get some herb tea and lavender soft cream. I

recommend getting lunch at the café (about ¥1000), then

heading across the street to the smaller ice cream shop and

getting some herb or vegetable gelato.

Insider Tip: If you go during July, you can do the “Blueberry

Picking Experience” and enjoy fresh blueberries.

Language: Basic Japanese

knowledge suggested.

Cost: Free for the gardens. Crafts,

onsen and lunch cost about ¥2600

total.

Pros: Beautiful place to relax, tasty

ice cream, and herbs not found at

Juntendo.

Cons: It‟s out of the way, and there

isn‟t as much to do from November

to March.

Address & Phone Number: 島根県邑智郡邑南町矢上7154-10,

TEL 0855-95-0209

Hours: Open 10:00-17.00 Closed

Tuesdays.

Website: www.mizuho-

style.com/ko-boku/index.html

(In Japanese, but Yahoo! Babel Fish

does a workable translation.)

A brief history of Google Books: In 2002,

Google began discussing a game plan to create the

world‟s first digital library in order to make both

out-of-print and in-print literature available to the

public in new and user-friendly ways. First, the team

had to figure out how to manageably scan billions of

pages in a timely manner without causing damage to

the literature, some of which was centuries old. In

2004, Google presented Google Print to the public

and encouraged other organizations and

international libraries to become partners in the

endeavor to create a world library.

一寸

debatab

09 –

Lauren Wetherington is not

very good at chottoing .

Google is pretty amazing. Gmail, Google Chat,

Google Maps, Google Earth, Google Image, Google

News, iGoogle with over 100 pages of gadgets… I

could go on and on. Google is actually in the

dictionary and said in daily conversation. The logo

even changes with holidays and seasons. How cute

is that? Google.org raises money for global poverty

and global public health and aids environmentally

friendly technology research. However, has Google

finally crossed the line? Chotto… Google Books

may have been the straw that broke the camel‟s

Authors and publishers filed a class action

suit to the effect that there is a clear violation

of antitrust and copyright law. Copyright law

basically states that authors and publishers have

the right to manage their works and therefore

must give permission to outside parties for the

use of their works. Copyright law issues were

raised because Google was copying and selling

bits and pieces of literary works without the

consent of the authors. Consequently, antitrust

law is designed to prevent anti-competition

tactics, price gouging, the formation of

monopolies, etc. Google‟s issues concerning

antitrust law stem from works of literature

called orphan books, or books which are under

copyright restrictions but are out-of-print and

don‟t have clear legal guardians.

Google Print was renamed Google Books in

2005. The idea seems great in theory, right?

Speaking from a researcher‟s perspective, the

more information available, the better. So

Google began uploading books from libraries

in 2005 and has since been designing the

program to make it easier to use and find

relevant literature. Today, Google Books is

made up of 28 partners and 7 international

libraries with publications from over 100

countries and available in 35 languages.

Impressive, huh? Alas, Google was served a

class action suit concerning three criteria.

Google submitted a settlement proposal and

now waits for Judge Chin and associates to

determine whether or not Google‟s lawyers

wrote a settlement proposal that actually

addresses the concerns. My guess is chotto...

Sorry, Google.

(continued on next page)

Taking Over The World?

As a result of the lawsuit, Google devised a

settlement proposal to address the problems. In

a nutshell (my very, very basic summary), Google

will create a $125 million fund to compensate

the authors and publishers in the class action

suit, create a logarithm that would calculate a

fair competitive retail price of the books

available, assume the authority to sell orphan

books, etc. John Clopper authored the

Statement of Interest of the United States in

which he, William Cavanaugh, Department of

Justice, and Peter Bharara, United States

Attorney, urged the Court to reject the current

settlement proposal on the grounds that it does

not provide just and legal solutions. They argue

that Google‟s concept of a logarithm to calculate

a retail price is illegal because of past precedent.

Additionally, Google‟s plan to reimburse the

parties of the class action suit $125 million

doesn‟t actually solve the problem because the

rights holders of the orphan books are included

in the class action suit but are not being

addressed. All parties of a class action suit must

be addressed. Basically, more investigation is

required concerning the owners of the orphan

books. Finally, according the settlement

proposal, Google would take ownership of

unclaimed orphan books, yet such ownership

could cause free-market problems and restrict

similar groups from uploading orphan books.

Clopper suggests more inquiry is required

before the Court can properly decide.

Good luck, Judge Chin. Maybe this is actually a

legislation matter??? Whoever says legislation

isn‟t created in the courtroom is insane.

A copy of the Department of Justice’s file can be views in a

PDF at this website:

http://searchengineland.com/department-of-justice-files-

objections-to-google-book-search-settlement-26144

Google’s settlement proposal can be viewed here:

http://www.googlebooksettlement.com/agreement.html

The settlement agreement proposed to a New

York Court would give Google exclusive rights

over such orphan books, including international

orphan books, and would allow Google to

make money off of them. Therefore, Google

would essentially monopolize the orphan book

market.

Missing home-cooked meals and brands you

trust? Have no fear! Japan‟s foreign food market

is available online and can be delivered to your

door, with the Cash On Delivery payment

option! It can‟t get any simpler.

Expatriate Express

ExPatExpress.com

Foreign Buyers Club

FBCUSA.com

Kobe Grocers

KobeGrocers.com

Ambika Retail Store (Indian)

AmbikaJapan.com

The Flying Pig (Costco)

theflyingpig.com

Tengu Natural Foods (Organic/Vegetarian)

Alishan.jp/en

Indian Grocery Shop

Indojin.com

一寸

debatab

09 –

(continued from previous page)

Read all your books already? Get English books

delivered, usually with cheap shipping and Cash

on Delivery.

Amazon (Japan)

Amazon.co.jp

Infinity Books (Japan)

InfinityBooksJapan.com

Daedalus Books

daedalusbooks.com

Better World Books

BetterWorldBooks.com

Deep Discount

DeepDiscount.com

Last but not least, check your favorite magazine‟s

international subscription policy. Usually it costs

five times more, but evens out to be only the

cover price of each issue (with free shipping).

Keep Your Sanity!

09 –

Ushi-OniThe Iwami (Shimane) version, translated by Betsy Pinkham with help from her JTE.

While it may be too uncomfortable

a thought to entertain, there are no

Ghostbusters in Japan. Plenty of ghosts

and other bugaboos, mind you, but no

hired guns to keep you safe and slime-

free. So when you see something

strange in your neighbourhood, be it

police trying to meet their quota, an

unwholesome horde of heavy-breathing

frogs, Japanese mythical demons, or

whatever else it is you happen to fear,

well, fear not! Your trusty JET community

has got your back, and then some.

This month‟s Black Taxi delves deep into the heart of all things fearsome. With the helpful insight of your

friends and neighbours, you can learn all about how fear works, come to grips with your own fears, and

take the first bold steps toward overcoming them – hopefully captured on video for posterity (and

YouTube). Yes, the world can be a scary place, never knowing when that next kancho or hair-pull is going

to incapacitate you, but it‟s the only one we‟ve got. We know how you feel (well, uhhh, mostly – we think),

and we care (up to the point at which you need prescription medicines – then you‟re on your own!).

One day a fisherman on the beach is asked by a mother,

"Will you please hold my baby for a moment?"

He picks up and holds the child.

The woman then vanishes and a *Gyuu-ki appears from the ocean.

At the same time, the baby in his arms turns to stone.

The weight of the stone child is such that the fisherman cannot run away.

Now in this fisherman's house, there is a famous sword

that is a treasured heirloom passed down for generations.

That sword comes flying and pierces through the neck

of the Gyuu-ki, and the fisherman narrowly escapes death.

*Cow Ogre. I'm uncertain of this, but I think that when referring to the Iwami version.

The kanji are more commonly read as Gyuu-ki, rather than Ushi-oni.

GETTING CAUGHTA Fear That Can‟t Be Helped

By Greg Ferguson

I was once asked during a senior-year seminar icebreaker to reveal

my deepest fear. “Getting caught” was my off-the-cuff response to

the Rorschach inkblot that existed in my head. I didn‟t really put any

thought into it; I hadn‟t rehearsed some kind of coolly acceptable answer to

give were I ever to be asked. Of course, I feared many things – poverty,

loneliness, the Canadian Progressive-Conservative party – but somehow my

subconscious impulse insisted on blurting out this utterly surprising,

phoney-sounding „deep‟ response. I did think it was a pretty neat answer all the same,

even as I gauged how boggled and marginally unimpressed my professor was. Over time, however, I‟ve had

reason to reflect on how getting caught is actually something I feel uneasy about – something I can rightly

say I fear, quite possibly more profoundly than anything else.

A recent incident of mine in downtown Hamada provoked this train of thought. Without thinking much

of it, I crossed a stop line ever-so-slightly in my car while pulling to a halt. A loud TOOT-TOO-TOO-TOOT-

TOOOOOOOT! from a nearby police officer signalled that altogether most embarrassing of words:

BUSTED! I had gotten caught, and rightly so, naturally, as I had made an unlawful transgression. Arguably this

was a good thing, even though no other cars were on the road and no pedestrians put in harm‟s way. But

yet, I‟d have preferred to avoid the ¥7,000 deficit from my savings.

What was really so bad about my having gotten caught that‟s worth fearing? Repaying a debt to society is

just and I believe we should all be held accountable for our actions. But what riles me, deeply, is the

thought that I may be held accountable for actions of which I have no awareness. Ignorance, as it‟s often

said, is no excuse at all when a degree of your fate is tethered to the whims of unknown forces.

Those who put stock in the concept of karma might suggest that this fine was my comeuppance for any

number of things, not necessarily having to do with the victimless crime of which I‟d been caught. I‟m not

so sure it‟s true, but I‟m unprepared to discount the notion entirely. Karma is a fine idea when your best

intentions and decisions land you in less than favourable circumstances. Universal recognition regards and

rewards each of us equally, which sounds fair and rosy. Karma becomes a scary thing, however, when you

think about the innumerable ways in which the liberties you enjoy somehow infringe upon others. You set a

bad example, you don‟t put back as much as you take, you cause suffering; any way you look at your life,

you‟re probably doing something to someone you oughtn‟t, and you‟re going to pay.

Life does have its fair share of unexpected pleasures, attributed to good karma perhaps or simple luck.

They come and go just as well as life‟s discomforts, never staying for all that long. I can‟t say that a balanced

assortment of each is dished out to us all, but every one of us is prone to getting caught. I suppose what

keeps me afloat and above this fear is an acceptance that bad things will happen. Anticipating error and

consequences helps take the edge off. And of course, trusting that good things will happen in the same way

bad things can – with persistence.

Perhaps in the end what I fear most basically is my own helplessness. To have succeeded so much for so

long without more serious repercussions for my mistakes is lucky. In a way, something like receiving a small

ticket for a mild traffic infraction instead of a more serious thing like speeding at 100km/hr is a mixed

blessing. I could even generously think of it as having won a kind of anti-lottery – randomly selected to

contribute money to the prefectural government. In any event, I have absorbed the cost and derived an

immediate lesson (be careful on the road) which may or may not hold water in the future. Coming to grips

with the stuff over which I have no control is more difficult and unsettling though, but I‟ll be damned if I let

it be debilitating. I have to live my life as we all must. I can only hope that if I‟m going to get caught by

anyone, it‟s going to be me.

09 –

Declann: Me, like so many other thrill seekers, have a healthy fear for the unknown. But like a drug this unknown

is addictive. 'Once is too many and a thousand is not enough!' so the saying goes. My fear of the unknown is

traveling. I fear for what is over the next hill, around the bend in the river or across the next boarder post. I'm

drawn to it instinctively. I get a feeling of satisfaction when I have climbed to the peak of that mountain, white water

rafted down that raging river or negotiated with the extremely unfriendly boarder guards so that you don't have to

buy a visa in a foreign language you don't understand. This is the crux! This wonderful euphoria of knowing you are

experiencing life and are – for one thing – alive.

biographies of serial killers, we love being scared silly. Why? Aren‟t we are supposed to act in such a way as to

minimize fear and maximize pleasure? Didn‟t we learn fight or flight in junior high school biology? Yet, somehow

we find ourselves seeking out fear and spending a lot of money doing so. We travel to supposedly haunted sights

and go on ghost tours; we flock to the movie theatres every time a new Saw movie is made (what number are we

on?); we wait in line for hours when the new roller coaster ride opens at an amusement park; and we hire private

airplanes to fly us up into the sky so we can hurl ourselves out of them. Yet, this kind of fear is different than

feeling a knife to one‟s throat, experiencing turbulence on an airplane, or wondering if that is your sister‟s green

Honda accord wrapped around the phone poll up ahead. So how do our brains tell the difference between the

kind of fear that feels good and the kind that actually gets us scared?

Most psychologists lean towards explaining such a love for fear with one of two arguments. The first is that

people aren‟t really experiencing fear but are instead simply excited or stimulated in such a way that feels like fear

but is actually not. The second is that people are willing to sacrifice their sense of security and happiness for a

designated period of time of legitimate fear due to the euphoric state experienced at the end of the fearful task.

Maybe it‟s both?

We apparently like being scared out of our minds but we do so in safe,

controlled environments like a movie theatre, rock climbing harness, theme park

ride, library, or one‟s living room. We want to have our cake and eat it, too. We

want the stimulation and emotional rush of fear while still feeling safe. But how

can our brain be tricked by these head games?

Different types of fear are a result of stimuli taking place in two separate parts

of the brain. The amygdala is the location of fear experienced unconsciously and

the rostral anterior cingulated cortex is the location of fear experienced

consciously. Conscious fear in the rostral anterior cingulate cortex actually slightly

inhibits the unconscious fear in the amygdala, which makes the person believe

that he or she has a degree of emotional control. Voila! We can skip forth and

enjoy our terrifying hobbies. What we wouldn‟t do for an adrenaline rush…

People Love Fearby Lauren Wetherington

There is no question about it that people love fear. Even though we develop shower

phobias when we watch Hitchcock‟s Psycho, we consider it a masterpiece and insist on

studying it in film classes. It‟s borderline insane. Whether it‟s ghost stories, haunted

houses, space documentaries on the Discovery Channel, horror films, supernatural

television shows, extreme sports, theme parks, suspense novels, or the television

09 –

Anonymous: I think that people enjoy horror films because they

know that life is an iceberg and they're curious about what might lie

underwater, underneath everyday waking experience and

consciousness. It's also an opportunity to escape briefly but

severely from the drudgery of everyday life. That being said, I can't

say that I love fear. I don't like horror films or putting myself in

danger for the sake of a thrill.

Nick: Adrenaline is a sly siren

with a barbed kiss of heady

perfume. I love to fear the Borg.

Lauren: Just point me in the

direction of a roller coaster.

Sitting down in an attempt to try my hand at writing for the Fear Issue, I

gazed upwards, mouth slightly open, to think about some scary things. What

would I say? I soon remembered an incident from my second year at university.

Let me take you back to 2006.Lizzie Wilson prefers

ducks to frogs.

That night was so weird. Why were there so many on

my street?! I think the warm temperature and the rain

lured them out. They like moist places, so the streets they

would normally avoid became a good place to hang out. I

later saw that I lived right next to some marshy fields, the

perfect place for frogs to make a home. It was also part

of the frog's migration path in that area. It's weird though,

because I've never seen so many frogs again as I did that

dreadful night. It may have been because they were

migrating, but I never saw them come back or migrate

again the following year. I was confused and freaked out. I

didn't sleep well after the event. When I turned out the

lights I would lie awake and panic that they would hop out

from under the bed. Whenever it rained I feared going

home in case they were waiting for me. They knew where

I lived now. A group of frogs is called an army after all; it

must have been named that for a reason. Sometimes I was

able to forget about them for a while, but then I'd see a

couple during another warm and wet evening and be

freaked out all over again. I confided my fears to my

friends who live in the same area, but it was a bad idea.

They hadn't seen any. This meant the frogs were only

targeting me. Telling friends also meant I was teased about

all things amphibian for weeks. One of them anonymously

began sending photos of frogs to my mobile along

messages like "We're going to get you.“

When my second year finished I was able to move out

of that area and move on. My next year at university was

spent in a safe area of the city. I began to forget the frogs

and my fears of them. Last year I moved to Japan. Life

was going great - until one day this year I was cycling

home through the park with Bryan. He stopped me and

got me to go back down the road to have a look at

something in one of the ponds. It was dark-coloured and

lied just under the surface in the water. It was frogspawn.

It was a warm evening. The night

began well. My housemate and I went

to the pub and had a jolly good natter

over drinks. The drizzle on the way

home wasn't a problem. Our hearts

and minds had been cheered by beers

and it didn't take long for us to start

skipping around to Singin' In The Rain.

When we got off the bus we were

foolish and didn't look where we were

going. We didn't know the dangers, or

what lurked in the damp and the dark.

It was only our first week in our first

house ever. I didn't even know this kind

of thing could happen. In my home

town I never saw such monsters. I

never knew I could feel so sick or so

afraid over something so small.

As we were walking to our house

from the bus stop I saw something that

made me stop and scream. I've never

screamed at anything before. There

were frogs. Lots of frogs. Lots and lots

of frogs, all over the pavement and the

road. You could barely walk without

stepping on one. Before I knew it, I was

flapping my arms around in mass

hysteria while hopping from leg to leg. I

began making the stupidest noises. One

of these beasts jumped towards me and

I grabbed my friend's arm and squealed.

This horrific nightmare was made

worse by the fact that my housemate

could barely stand still either - not

because she was scared (annoyingly, she

wasn't bothered in the slightest), but

because she was laughing so hard at

me! We eventually began to make our

way home again, picking our way

through hundreds of frogs. I have never

felt so relieved to reach my front door.

09 –

One Froggy EveningBy Lizzie Wilson

Shirime

Rokurokubi

Zashiki Warashi

Wanyuudou

Umibozu

09 –

Betsy Pinkham has a year‟s

experience with Japanese cooking

tightening her belt.

09 –

Fall has come, and with the

change in weather, school uniforms, and

nature, there is a change in diet. It‟s out

with the vegetables of summer, and in with

the squashes, potatoes, chestnuts, and

mushrooms of autumn. Autumn vegetables

are heavier and more earthy than their

watery summer cousins, so be sure to

include a light, clean-tasting bowl of white

rice with every meal. Once you‟ve truly

embraced the Japanese way of life, you

may find you have a second stomach for

rice, and can‟t be fully satisfied with a meal

until eating some.

THE FLAVORS

OF FALLLet’s skip the tricks and go straight to the

treats with these delicious fall sweets.

I am currently buried in sweet

potatoes. I helped plant some in a friend‟s

field in spring, and two weeks ago we

harvested some. Satsumaimo (sweet

potatoes) are a staple part of the Japanese

fall diet. They are very sweet and their

complimentary purple and yellow makes a

colorful addition to your meal. Some

simple ways to serve satsumaimo are

lightly fried as tempura, boiled in sugar

water, or candied as daigakuimo.

Satsumaimo can even be served mashed,

but they are drier than regular potatoes,

so remember to add either lots of butter,

or a healthier splash of milk to moisten

Even though nasu is sometimes

named the King of Summer Vegetables, my

coworkers seem to agree that akinasu

(autumn eggplant) is the tastiest of nasu.

There is an old adage in Japan that says

not to give akinasu to a bride. There are

two reasons for this. The first is that

akinasu is supposed to have a cooling

affect, which is not good for conceiving a

child.

The beauty of nature is often reflected in

Japanese food. This is the case with the full moon, which is

supposed to be particularly lovely in fall. The atmosphere

of fall is drier than in summer, so the moon appears clear

and bright in a night sky. Japanese parents will point to the

moon and tell their children about a mochi-pounding

rabbit that lives there. At Otsukimi (moon viewing) the

beauty of the full moon can be found in each round dango

or mochi. The lunar rabbit is playfully imitated in sculpted

manju cakes. Jugoya, the official day for Otsukimi, is

October 3rd this year. If you aren‟t attending an Otsukimi

event, why not celebrate on your own by trying your hand

at either dango or manju. If you make some, please send

us a snapshot of your masterpiece.

The second reason is that akinasu is so tasty that

no one wants to give it away. There are many ways to

enjoy akinasu, but a particularly delicious recipe is sweet

Nasu Miso Itame. The recipe can be found on the next

While on the subject of sweets, Halloween is

coming up and you may find you‟ve been asked to do a

trick-or-treat activity. You can of course give out Japanese

candy or have candies sent from home. If you have the

time and inclination to make it yourself though, this home-

made candy corn is for you. They are very simple to make:

just melted marshmallows and powdered sugar with food

coloring. In fact, these are so simple you can actually make

them with your students, though it will be very sticky and

messy when little hands are involved. I love this recipe

because it makes a very versatile fondant that can be

shaped into anything. Last year I made a Halloween

pumpkin pie topped by fondant pumpkins with vines made

of white chocolate dyed green. This year I tried for

something a bit more complicated and was able to make a

simple pink rose. The instructions for candy corn can be

found on the next page. And if there are any recipes or

foods you would like to me to write about in next month‟s

issue, be sure to email us with your request.

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09 –

Wendy Holmes. Cultured (adj):

Produced under artificial and

controlled circumstances.

1.You find an unlabeled videotape. Do you watch it?

2.You are a grieving man and a beautiful and mysterious woman asks you to love only her. Do you agree?

3. It‟s been a long week. You are hungry and too tired to cook. Your oden and beer comes to ¥699 at the

combini. Do you buy it?

4. You are a man and you find a naked woman chained to a wall in an underground labyrinth. Do you take

her home?

5. A friend of yours committed suicide. When you go to their apartment looking for answers you find a

door covered in red tape. Do you go through it?

6.You receive a voice mail from an unknown number on your cell. Do you listen to it?

7. After investigating a mysterious leak, you learn that a girl went missing in the apartment next to yours.

Do you move out?

8.You are told of a new drug that turns pain into pleasure. Do you take it?

9. You're a brilliant biologist whose wife dies in a car accident. Do you try to revive her using her

mitochondria?

10.You‟re a yakuza assassin. Do you bury your victims in a place called The Forest of Resurrection?

You know the rules for surviving horror movies in your home country. You groan as brainless characters

on the screen break one rule after another, leading to their inevitable death. But would you know how to

survive a Japanese horror movie?

kyoufu

fear, dread, terror

住めば都sumeba miyako

Literal: If residing, capital/metropolis.

Meaning: Wherever you live, you come to love it.

nderstan

g Japan

09 –

Are you brainless

horror movie prey?

Score your answers on the next page…

1. If you answered yes, you have one week to live before dying a mysterious and terrifying death.[1]

2. If you answered yes, you are in danger of losing your left foot, if not your life.[2]

3. Numbers to avoid in Japan include 666, 699, 999 and 4444444444. That oden was your last meal if you

bought it for ¥699. You will soon die a strange and probably gory death.[3]

4. What were you doing in the labyrinth in the first place?! If you were stupid enough to take the woman

home, you deserve your death.[4]

5. Behind that door lies a ghost, but surely you knew better than to enter.[5]

6. If yes, you will at least know the exact date and time of your death. If no, you may still die, but at least

would be spared the anxiety of knowing about it beforehand.[6]

7. I never understood the fools who stay in houses that are obviously haunted. If you chose to move,

congratulations. Your common sense has saved your life.[7]

8. If you said yes, you will die a horrible death oblivious to the pain being brought on by your own

hedonism.[8]

9. This rule probably applies to horror movies in your country. Don't mess with the dead. Ever.[9]

10. Only if you want them to come back as zombies. This movie sounds awesome, by the way. Evil Dead

fans among our readers may want to check it out.[10]

[1] Ringu / リング (1998, Nakata Hideo)

[2] Audition / オーディション (1999, Miike Takashi)

[3] Cursed/ 超」怖い話Ａ闇の鴉 / Cho Kowai Hanashi A; Yami no Karasu (2004, Hoshina Yoshihiro)

[4] Marebito / 稀人 (2004, Shimizu Takashi)

[5] Pulse / 回路 / Kairo (2001, Kurosawa Kiyoshi)

[6] One Missed Call / 着信アリ / Chakushin ari (2004, Miike Takashi).

[7] Dark Water / 仄暗い水の底から / Honogurai mizu no soko kara (2002, Nakata Hideo)

[8] Naked Blood/ 女虐 (1996, Sato Hisayasu)

[9] Parasite Eve/ パラサイト・イヴ (1997, Masayuki Ochiai)

[10] Versus / ヴァーサス (2002, Kitamura Ryuhei)

October‟s Historical Highlights

October 5, 1931 First nonstop transpacific flight, from Tokyo to Wenatchee, Washington. The f

light began on October 3 and took 41.5 hours to cover 5,000 miles.

October 7, 1949 American citizen Iva Toguri D'Aquino, the so-called "Tokyo Rose," was

sentenced to ten years in prison for propaganda broadcasts made during World

War II.

October 10, 1964 The Summer Olympics opened in Tokyo (lasting until October 24).

October 12 ,1983 Former Japanese PM Tanaka Kakuei was sentenced to four years in prison and fined for

taking bribes from Lockheed. The conviction was appealed and not affirmed until 1995,

two years after Tanaka died.

October 17, 1968 The Nobel Prize for literature was awarded to Kawabata Yasunari (1899-1972). His

most famous works are Snow Country, A Thousand Cranes, andThe Sound of the Mountain.

October 17, 1978 14 Class A war criminals were enshrined in Yasukuni Shrine (honoring Japan's dead

soldiers), causing a diplomatic uproar in Asia.

October 18, 1941 General Tojo Hideki (1884-1945) became Japanese PM (served to 1944).

October 20, 1600 Battle of Sekigahara, which established the Tokugawa clan as rulers of Japan.

October 21, 1760 Hokusai Katsushika, Japanese artist, was born. Hokusai is best known for his series of

ukiyo-e woodblock prints, "36 Views of Mount Fuji."

nderstan

g Japan

09 –

Are you

dead yet?(Answers)

Regina Durr has

traveled to over 23

countries and is rarely

seen in the iinaka.

s and trick

s in an

f Shim

09 –

三仏寺投入堂Sanbutsu-ji Temple and Nageire-do

A challenging hike and climb over boulders gives you an

impressive view around you as you seemingly float atop the

forests from one temple to the next.

WHERETO STAY

Misasa-cho is an onsen town consisting of many ryokans near the free outdoor mixed-bath (Sekigane-onsen)

along the road. But your safest bet is staying at a cheap business hotel outside of Kurayoshi JR station.

WHATTO EAT

Wild vegetables and tofu are the local specialty, available at restaurants at the base of Mt. Mitoku.

DIRECTIONS

Public: Get off at JR Kurayoshi station, take the city bus from Platform #3 to Mount Mitoku (¥670 each

way), get off at Mitokuyama-sando-iriguchi.

Private: Take Route 9 towards Tottori-city, get off at Misasa city, follow signs after Misasa Spa to Mount

Mitoku. Parking is available near a restaurant after you wind around the mountain.

THE LEGEND

900 meters above sea level lies a temple

built directly into the side of a cliff in year

706. Nobody knows how it was built but it

is tied to the founder of the Shugen-do sect

of Buddhism. The temple is a candidate to

be a World Heritage Site.

ADDRESS

1010 Santoku, Misasa-cho, Tohaku-gun,

Tottori prefecture

Leave your bag at the pay station when you pay to climb to the temple,

and make sure your shoes have traction/grip or else you‟ll be forced to

wear straw slippers. Also, the path is closed during the winter as too

much snow disables you to climb the slippery boulders.

This is a great stop on your way to Tottori-city (¥670 by train).

ADMISSION FEE

¥400 to climb the staircase, another ¥200 to climb to the temple.

SUGGESTED TIME

1.5-2 hours

Izumo Shinji Matsue Yasugi Yonago Kurayoshi Tottori

JR West Train

The second section displays stylized

illustrations from the works of Shakespeare.

Great literary buffs and novices alike will

enjoy the depictions of love, humor, revenge,

blood-lust and insanity.

The third and final section was my

personal favorite, displaying watercolor

landscapes of the Japanese countryside. The

pictures represent a countryside as I hoped

to see it – simple, beautiful, and delicate.

There is even a picture painted in Hamada,

near where I live. Now, every time I make

my way down Route 9, I search the coastline

in hopes of finding the place where it was

painted. In Anno's paintings he erases the

ugliness of telephone lines, gray streets and

concrete buildings. Instead, the glorious red

and blue roofs of the area become a

patchwork of color against a hazy blue sea.

Finally, with your ticket purchase you

have the option to attend a 30-minute movie

in the "observation" room. Here, lying back

on reclined chairs, you look up at a dark,

domed ceiling where the night sky is

displayed with an informative slide-show,

done in true Japanese fashion. The short

movie break makes for a good battery

charge after walking about the town.

Whatever you choose to do and enjoy in

Tsuwano, I recommend that you go. As the

autumn colors will soon be coming, why not

take a day out to enjoy a walk around a

pretty town and view the foliage as well?

A r t M

Izumo Ohda Gotsu Hamada Masuda Tsuwano Yamaguchi

JR West Train

s and trick

s in an

f Shim

09 –

The dust from Sports Day had finally settled.

I decided that I would treat myself to my first

official road trip here in Shimane. As of yet I

didn't feel the need to go to a big city, and I

wanted to go somewhere more quaint than my

industrial seaside town. I decided to head inland

along Route 9, past Masuda, and down, down,

down to the town of Tsuwano.

As those of you who have traveled to

Tsuwano may know, it is an adorable town

nestled peacefully between the mountains and a

gurgling river running through its length. Rather

than taking the easy way out and demolishing

old buildings, turning them into shiny gray new

ones, the city has kept much of its heritage and

traditional architecture alive. Many of the sake

and sweet shops still look much as they did 100

years ago, though with the passage of time have

grown older, faded, and decidedly less crowded.

Tsuwano seemed a town that took pride in

itself. The three art museums, famous Inari

shrine, historic Buddhist temple, prodigious carp,

bustling town center, Mori Ogai Museum,

various mysterious – if not tragic – Christian

churches, a delicious Italian restaurant/bakery

(Pomme Souffle), and historic town hall just

scratch the surface of what this town offers.

Tsuwano is a walkable town that can easily

be traversed in a day. For me, a particular

highlight was the Anno Art Museum (located

next to the train station in a large, white

building). The museum houses much of the

work of Anno Matsumasa, a famous illustrator

and watercolorist. Though the admission was a

little high at ¥800, both the art and building was

charming. The gallery is divided into three

sections:

Lexi Sanborn is a

marriage of style and

comfort.

The first displays

simple watercolors

and stories written in

a child's hand. The

scenes and topics are

seasonal and typically

relating to teenage

trials. They will,

undoubtedly, make

you smile.

"Cousin James trying hard to catch a ride"

So you have decided to look for a little adventure and hitchhike in Japan. Hitching in Japan is in many

ways very much the same as Arthur and Fords‟ adventures through the Universe. It is fraught with alien

things and beings but always ends in happiness and a crazy photo of you and a thousand people making

cheesy grins at the camera showing crooked peace signs.

As Arthur would wholeheartedly agree, it is good to be prepared and know what you are getting into. I do

agree, a good towel is an essential item. And peanuts. And beer. Here are a few tips, hints, do‟s and don‟ts

on hitching in this alien yet extremely friendly land of Japan. It is by no means an exhaustive list and any

alterations are encouraged to suit your mood.

Be patient.I have waited anywhere from 10 minutes to

two hours for a ride.

Have a sense of adventure

(and humour).Hitching isn‟t difficult but it ain‟t easy either.

Smile.Simple human psychology dictates you are

more likely to be picked up if you look

friendly and clean. (You can bow if you

please but there is still a debate out

whether this is totally necessary.)

By Declann Harris

s and trick

s in an

f Shim

Have a sign, in Kanji, showing your destination.I have had no difficulty being picked up showing my final destination only, but I have been prepared and

had signs to several key destinations between my starting and final destination. It has been suggested that

funny messages, like „Free English Lessons‟ will also be successful. Take spare paper and a marker if plans

change. I use a clear plastic sleeve to protect my sign from the elements.

(continued on next page)

Pack light.Although I haven‟t had difficulty hitching a ride

dragging a „luggage-on-wheels,‟ a backpack, and a

massive 6-sleeper tent, it‟s far more comfortable

for you the less you trudge around with.

Bring omiyage.It‟s a good idea to give omiyage to your ride. I give

beaded key rings with the South African flag. It‟s a

small gesture of appreciation.

Be gracious and humble.When accepting a gift or other token of goodwill.,

make sure you show your appreciation and take

nothing for granted In your entire lifetime you

will probably never meet kinder people in the

entire world. To me it seems Japanese people feel

obliged to feed a hitchhiker once they have taken

you onboard. It is courteous in any country to

show your gratitude. Offer to pay, although you

will more than likely be denied the chance.

Besides, you are getting a free ride.

Location, location, location!The on-ramp to the expressway is most likely

your best strategic pick-up point (depending on

where you are going). The ETC staff don‟t like to

see you hitching from just in front of the toll

gates. It‟s deemed dangerous for cars to suddenly

swerve to the side to pick up a

passenger. Solution – stand out of sight of the toll

s and trick

s in an

f Shim

Try to make conversation.Alternatively, most of the people that

It‟s a good chance to practice your

Japanesepick you up can speak a modicum

of English and want the chance to practice

their English.

Safety first.Although Japan is an extremely safe

country and the likelihood of an unwanted

situation is very rare, it is better to travel

with a buddy.

Use the „thumbs up‟ sign.It is well known and understood in

Japan. You‟ll get lots of smiles, laughs, and

head shakes while you wait. Don‟t get or

look despondent if the potential ride

doesn‟t stop.

Don‟t be stupid. Use logic and follow your instincts.

(continued from previous page)

何でも

ful…

09 –

市幸人戦ししんじんせいん

shishinjinsen

City Sports Tournament

校内合唱コンテスト

こうないがっしょうコンテスト

Kounai Gatshou Kontesuto

Chorus Concert in School

中間テストちゅうかんテスト

chuukan test

Mid-Term Exams

校庭こうてい

koutei

Campus

Go abroad in style. A regular scheduled flight

from downtown Tokyo to Narita airport is

available for ¥70,000 each way. The 5-seat

Hermes helicopter will drop you off near

Narita airport where a limousine car will be

waiting for you to take you to your departure

gate. It only takes 30 minutes.

Or, if you don‟t have the cash to spend, hop

abroad the new Narita Express NEX E259

which takes 1 hour. It has electric outlets and

locks for luggage.

Translate

In 1999, 15% of Japanese men

said they urinate while sitting

down. Now, nearly 50% do!

Apparently, it stems from

mothers hating to clean up

missed aims.

Hello Kitty has a cat named

Chammy Kitty given to her

by her dad, and a pet

hamster from her

boyfriend, Dear Daniel,

called Sugar.

Did you know?

If your shoulders are wound up then

just stick two pieces of adhesive tape

on your face – from the outer corner

of each eye to your temples – so

they‟re pulling lightly at the area near

your eyes.

Health Tip

Actress Noriko Sakai‟s life keeps

getting worse. After being arrested

for drug possession, she was

released on bail after 40 days. Then,

her vacation house was graffitied.

Now, it‟s in ashes after having been

set on fire.

October 2009

Documents

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reklama october 2009[1]