I got what I think is some valuable feedback on my previous effort at using shakuhachi music in a slideshow, which was that the images needed to be slower and less attention-grabbing, as they detracted from the music. Since I have a lot more invested (literally and figuratively) in shakuhachi than photography, this was actually a welcome criticism. So, this is my second try.
This song is called Sekibetsu no Uta (惜別の歌), and it was popularized during WWII. The name translated vaguely to “Song of Parting,” and uses words from a Shimazaki Touson (島崎藤村) poem published in 1897. I’ve always thought the melody was beautiful and sad, but haven’t really been happy with my playing of it until now. The flute used is a 2.1 Rampo (蘭畝).
Some photos from my recent trip to Wakayama to visit Pierre, who was not only an expert swordsmith but a great guide.
I also have a friend who is storing some high-grade recording equipment at my house, so I used that to record myself on shakuhachi. It was fun putting this slideshow together, but even this rudimentary level of synching audio and video took a couple hours, moving things around by tenths of a second until I had it just so…
Today was parents’ day at Zoe’s daycare. We got to go and watch them do daycare stuff. Genbo got to go and play with lots of friends he hasn’t seen since starting first grade. I got to go and take lots of photos of blooming wisteria vines with my 85/1.4. Maki got to get peeved at me for spending 90% of my time taking pictures of plants, and not our kids, specifically the one we were there to pay attention to.
Wisteria 1. I don’t usually go for high-key lighting, but this just happened and it kind of works full exif
Wisteria 2. This low-key is definitely much more my style full exif
For obvious reasons I don’t appear very often on this blog. I’m the one taking the photos, for one thing, and who needs more pictures of middle-age guys with expanding guts and greying hair?
On my recent trip to see a sword-smith, however, my friend Jeffrey snapped a few photos of me, most of which were of me playing shakuhachi. Partially because I was just so honored to be shot by his new magnificent 300/2 lens, I’m including some of those photos here.
Me sending a clear signal to the cameraman I’m sure he deserved at the time full exif
Here I am borrowing the 300/2 from Jeffrey to shoot some of the beautiful scenery around the area, but taking a break to text my lovely wife (Hi Maki!)
This weekend I went with my friends Stephane and Jeffrey to visit my new friend Pierre, a fellow long-time Japan resident who has been studying katana-making for the past five years. He is preparing to become an officially-licensed katana smith in a month or so, and when he passes the test he will be only the second non-Japanese to do so (and the other guy was so long ago he’s already dead).
Pierre lives in the mountains of Wakayama in a very beautiful location; about three hours by car from Kyoto. The people in the little hamlet he lives in were friendly without exception, maybe because each and every single one of them knows Pierre and the details of his life. Such is the fate of a lone gaijin in very remote Japan.
One interesting thing Pierre said was how many crazy people approach him about the Japanese swords; especially foreigners, since he’s one of the few non-Japanese to be traditionally trained in the art. Japanese swords attract a lot of crazy people who are into the more violent aspects, he says, and it’s easy to believe. He, however, is interested in the craft and technology of their making. Apparently the best swords were forged in the 13th century or so, and even though we have a molecule-by-molecule metallurgical understanding of the process now, people still can’t make swords nearly as good as those 13th century ones. (The same is true of shakuhachi, by the way. Some modern shakuhachi are nice, but they just don’t have the character and depth of the old ones.)
He made a quick little demonstration blade for us, although when he does it for real it’s anything but quick. He performs every part of the process, from forging multiple raw lumps of ore into a single bar, to shaping the bar into a katana ready to be polished. He even cuts his own charcoal into five different sizes depending on which stage of the forging it’s used for.
I was surprised with how small the forge itself was. This is his smaller one, but he showed us the large one he uses for full-sized swords, and it wasn’t much bigger.
Zoe looking particularly young and innocent here full exif
Genbo and Anthony went off to get some shaved ice, and it was fun watching (and taking way too many photos of) them all negotiating the two servings between the three of them.
Spring has finally come, and the garden in our building is bursting thanks to the Gardening Club, whose efforts I am grateful for but have no desire to partake in. (Gardening, ugh. Don’t they want to spend that time reading or playing bamboo flutes instead? I don’t get it.)
Genbo’s been going to school for a week and a half now. He thinks it’s OK. Kinda fun sometimes, kinda boring sometimes. He recounted a disappointment in which his teacher told him they were going to go on an “adventure” (冒険) to explore the school, but it wasn’t a real adventure, because she just kept on talking the whole time. Get used to it, Genbo.
He and everybody else from the area meet in front of our building at the ungodly hour of 7:30 to walk to school. It’s almost a half-hour trip for them. And, on the way back all the Japanese moms (and I!) stand outside waiting for them. Eventually this will give way to them just coming all the way home on their own, but it’s nice to go and greet them while it’s still OK, savoring the last bits of innocence. Here he is coming walking with his best friend, Nao-kun.
Update: A comment reminded me to mention that, even though the area is safe anyway, there are volunteers (extremely nice elderly folks apparently without much else to do, for the most part) placed every 100-200 yards to make sure the little kiddies are safe.
Cherry blossom season is coming to an end, alas, in Kyoto, which is a good thing as far as I’m concerned, for it means an end to tourist-caused traffic jams (not as bad this year as most because of the recent spate of disasters) and the opportunity to take some photos like these.
Couldn’t decide which of the next two I liked more. The first is stopped down for more depth of field, while the second has a much narrower depth of field to give it a dreamier feeling. Hard to tell the difference in the thumbnails anyway, though. Gotta click through.
I like the way this big rock looks like it was caught in an avalanche of cherry blossoms. The last photo is a close-up of the same scene (different shot, different perspective).
Today was Genbo’s first day of school. Or, technically, his 入学式, or ceremony to start the beginning of school. First day of classes is on Monday. Everybody around him has been excited about it, but Genbo has not given any indication of caring one way or another. Unfortunately it was a gray day today, and shortly after I took these pictures it started raining.
Here he is at the school gate, wearing his uniform and a randoseru. The school technically has uniforms, but you don’t really have to wear them. Lots of kids do, but anything in relatively subdued colors is fine. Basically, anything that’s not gold lame or sequined is fine. The randoseru (taken from the Dutch, according to that Wikipedia link), is a weird Japanese phenomenon. Genbo’s cost upwards of $500, which is maybe a little pricier than average, but not by much. The cheapest they go for is about $350. It’s a highly-fetishized leather object in the culture that marks a child’s entry into school. They are used for the full six years (which is how long elementary school lasts in Japan), and they are built to last 60 if need be. Does that justify the price? Not in my opinion, but since when is that relevant?
School yard and gym, flanked by Mi’i-dera, a major temple in the area full exif
Checking out the board to see which class he’s in full exif
Notice everybody with their bright, shiny new randoseru, strictly color-coded according to gender, ’cause this is Japan full exif
Another shot of the cherries and the temple up on the hill. Not a bad view for a playground. full exif
I liked this rack of unicycles, which are popular in Japan for young children. full exif
Now we come to his classroom, 一年生2組, or the second class (out of four) of the first-graders. His yellow hat, which only first-graders wear on the way to school, and various text books await him in his assigned seat. (I recently learned that even college students have assigned seats!)
I love this next picture. He’s been in his chair less than 30 seconds and he’s ALREADY BORED! And, in grand Braverman tradition, not bothering to hide it. Notice the hook on the desk so the randoseru doesn’t get sullied by being put on the floor.
I had to leave a little early to do some work, but everyone else went to the gym for a series of long and I’m sure excruciatingly boring speeches. Here are Genbo and his new classmates filing out of their room together for the first time.
The school abuts the canal (疎水) which brings water from Lake Biwa to Kyoto and then down to Osaka. Here is a shot of a cherry-lined section of the canal right near his school.
Genbo graduated from daycare on March 19. It was a much bigger deal than I can imagine occurring in the States, with local petty politicians, representatives from local schools, etc. in attendance (and taking up the best seats).
I have gotten lots of email in the past couple days asking if we have been affected by the earthquake and tsunami (and nuclear fallout?). The answer is, blessedly, no. We live very far away. By purest coincidence I was in Tokyo for the first time in about three years just for the day of the quake, but the worst I suffered was some very heavy shaking and a few minutes of sincerely wondering if I would be seeing my family again. I was planning on going home the same day, but the trains had stopped, so I couldn’t. I was fortunate enough to have someone I know invite me to stay in their apartment. It is on the 53rd floor, and the elevators were not running, so it was a long trek up the stairs.
I took some photos of the gorgeous view of Tokyo from the 53rd floor with the intention of posting them, but given all the horrible images proliferating from the disaster, posting them as my own experience of the event seems inappropriate at best.
They grow a lot of daikon (big ol’ radishes) and hakusai (napa cabbage) near Maki’s parents’ house. These are winter veggies, and some are kept in the ground basically until spring, I think, even after they’re ready for picking. Apparently leaving them in the soil is even better than in the refrigerator, and the longer they stay in there the sweeter they get.
