Japanecdotes

At about 10:30 pm a fleet of Japanese Destroyers launched a pre-emptive attack on the Russian fleet anchored at Port Arthur, Manchuria marking the beginning of the Russo-Japanese War.  The battle was inconclusive, with both sides sustaining moderate damage.

Curry brings hope to Onagawa
From The Yomiuri Shimbun

“ONAGAWA, Miyagi--Local residents from the tsunami-hit town of Onagawa have begun developing test dishes using a mixture of curry spices blended by an Indian volunteer worker. . .”

“The project began after Mehta Bharat, 27, an Indian businessman from Kamakura City, Kanagawa Prefecture, visited the town as a volunteer worker in April. Bharat imports spices for Anan Corp., an Indian food sales company operated by his father. . .

Read full story hear

What better way to mark the shortest day of the year than to take a hot yuzu bath (柚子 - C. ichangensis × C. reticulata var. austera).   Taking a hot bath prepared with fresh yuzu on the winter solstice is a Japanese tradition.  It is believed that adding yuzu to the bath wards of colds and the flu, and heals chapped skin.  Bathing in a yuzu bath on the winter solstice is also believed to bring prosperity in the new year.  Many onsen, as well as sentou public baths treat patrons by adding fresh cut yuzu  to their baths on the 21st of December.  Though fresh yuzu is hard to find in stores in New England yuzu juice can be bought at most Japanese markets in the area.  In addition to making a fragrant addition to a bath it is delicious in marinades and salad dressings.  One of my favorite uses for it as an alternative to lime juice in a Gin and Tonic.

Enjoy!

Though the contract has yet to be signed, everyone expects that Bobby Valentine will soon become the 45th manager of the Boston Red Sox.  He began his managing career in 1985 for the Texas Rangers, and has been the manager for Chiba Lotte Marines (twice), as well as the New York Mets.

In 2009 the Red Sox US-Japan Youth Baseball Exchange sent a group of young ballplayers from the Boston area to Japan to train and play alongside Japanese high school teams.   One highlight of the trip was a visit to Chiba Lotte Marines stadium to see a game.  A pregame visit to the field brought the "boys from Boston" face to face with then Lotte Marines GM Bobby Valentine.  It is generally agreed that Bobby Valentine knows baseball better than just about anybody.  What became apparent on that field that day was how generous he is in sharing his knowledge and enthusiasm for the game with some future hopeful MLB players.
Maybe they will have another chance to meet now that Valentine is coming to Boston.

---

On October 4th, 1931 Hugh Herndon and Clyde Pangborn took off from Sabishiro Beach, Japan and flew 4,860 mi landing near Wenatchee, Wash., on October 5th after 41 hours and 13 minutes in flight.

At 9:04 am on September 2, 1945, then Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu became the first representative of Japan to sign the instrument of Surrender on board the USS Missouri anchored in Tokyo Bay.  This marked the official end of World War II in the Pacific. 

Shigemitsu would later become an instrumental force in Japan's entry to the United Nations on December 18th 1956, just 11 years later.  Japan’s admission to the United Nations in 1956 is considered the beginning of Japan’s re-emergence onto the world stage following the immediate postwar period.
 
Also on the deck of the USS Missouri that day was the very same flag flown on Commodore Matthew C. Perry's flagship when he first sailed into Tokyo bay in 1853. It was flown out to the Missouri from its home at the US Naval Academy at the special request of General Douglas MacArthur, who was a distant relative of the Commodore.

The Flag, seen in the picture here, has 31 stars and is mounted backwards due to a backing sewn on to protect it during its travel.  It can been seen on display at the Naval Academy Museum in Annapolis Maryland.

Kitsune no yomeiri (狐の嫁入り) is the Japanese term for a sun shower - which we just experienced here in Boston.

The term literally translates to "fox wedding" and is derived from a Japanese folktale that describes a wedding between foxes taking place during such weather.  Kitsune no yomeiri is considered to be an auspicious omen unless one is unfortunate enough to stumble across a fox wedding uninvited, as does a young boy in the opening scene to Kurosawa's film Dreams.

The official term of office for Prime Minister of Japan (naikaku sori daijin 内閣総理大臣) is four years. There is no set limit to the length one can stay in office. Recently it doesn’t seem that term limits are needed.  Kan Naoto , the current and 94th Prime Minister, has been in office for 421 days as of this writing; both he, his opponents, and most newspapers now speak of his possible resignation not as a hypothetical, but a matter of timing.

Japan’s first Prime Minister was Ito Hirobumi. He was also the 5th, 7th, and 10th Prime Minister. Ito established a cabinet system of government in 1885, and became Japanese Prime Minister on December 22, 1885.



Though the official term is for 4 years, the average over all length in office of a Japanese Prime Minister is approximately 16 months, and Kan, who has just about reached this average, has already out lasted his four most recent predecessors all of whom served only a year or less (Hatoyama - 265 days, Aso - 357 days, Fukuda - 364 days, Abe - 365 days).



Surprisingly none of those four are even in the bottom 20 Prime Ministers if ranked by number of days served, and that is not including acting and interim Prime Ministers, who by design serve for only short periods of time.



The shortest serving Prime Minister (excluding acting and interim Prime Ministers) was  Ishibashi Tanzan, who served from December 23, 1956, to January 31, 1957, when he suffered a stroke.  His Foreign Minister Kishi Nobusuke served as Deputy Prime Minister until he was voted into office as the 56th Prime Minister of Japan on February 25th, 1957.  He served two terms.



PM Kishi’s name at birth was Sato Nobusuke, but as a young child he was adopted into the Kishi family and took that name.  His biological brother Sato Eisaku was the 61st, 62nd, and 63rd Prime Minister of Japan.  Kishi is also the grandfather of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.



Katsura Taro (11848~1913) holds the record for most days served as PM of Japan at a total of 2883 days.  He was PM on 3 different occasions from 6/2/1901~1/7/1908, 7/14/1908 ~ 8/30/1911, and from 12/21/1912~2/20/1913.

Sato Eisaku holds the record for most consecutive days in office (2797) from 11/9/1964~ 7/7/1972.
 

Shiranu ga hotoke  - 知らぬが仏

Ignorance is bliss.

Literally “to not know is Buddha”


Comprised ofthe negative of the transitive verb Shiru(chi) to know; to understand; to be acquainted with; to feel.  Nu is the archaic form of the negative nai, and

Hotoke(Butsu) (n) Buddha, Buddhism, also used to mean France.

Hotoke is also the name of a character in the Heike monogatari, a talented young shirabyoushi （白拍子) dancer, Taira Kiyomori is smitten the first time he sees her dance.

---

Other compounds/phrases that use Shiru (chi)

• 聞き知る (ききしる)  kikishiru - to learn through hearing

• 個人的に知る（こじんてきにしる）kojintekinishiru - to have personal knowledge of

• 知人（ちじん）chijin - an aquaintance

• 不知（ふち）fuchi - ignorance

• 高知（こうち）Kochi  - the name of a city and prefecture on Shikoku)

• 知らんぷり（しらんぷり）shiranpuri or shiranfuri - pretending not to know, non-chalant, feigning ignorance.

---

Other compounds/ phrases that that use Hotoke (butsu)

• 生き仏　いきほとけ　ikihotoke - a saintly person, living Buddha

• 仏顔 (ほとけがかお)　hotokegao  - compasionate face

• 喉仏　(のどぼとけ)　nodobotoke - Adam’s apple, voice box

• 仏蘭西　(フランス)　furansu - France

• 英仏　(えいふつ)　eifustu - Britain and France / Anglo French

• 仏文　(ふつぶん)　futsubun - French Literature

Sugawara no Michizane (845-903)

Michizane was born in Kyoto on July 25th, 845 A.D* into a family of scholars and was heir to a long tradition of loyal service to the Emperor. He was a devoted scholar from his earliest years and at the age of five gazed at a plum tree in the family garden and composed this celebrated Waka:


By the age of eleven he was composing poetry in the Chinese style and using Chinese characters.

He went on to serve the Emperor as a trusted Minister of the Right, until he fell into disfavor and was exiled to Dazaifu in Fukuoka prefecture, where he was known as Dazai Gonnosochi. Two years of his exile were spent at Enokisha (Enoki Shrine) about three kilometers west of Dazaifu Tenmangu. He died in the spring of 903, aged 59. His funeral procession was a melancholy occasion, attended only by his faithful follower Yasuyuki Umasake and a few neighbors. The coffin was carried by ox cart led by Yasuyuki, according to the legend the ox suddenly came to a halt and refused to budge despite threats and entreaties. The burial therefore took place on the spot. The construction of the main shrine above his final resting place marked the beginning of Dazaifu Tenmangu shrine, built in his honor.

Following his death plague and drought spread, lightning struck the Great Audience Hall of the Imperial Palace several times, and the Emperor Daigo's sons died in succession.  These events were attributed to the angered spirit of Michizane.  The Kitano Tanmangu shrine was erected in his honor in Kyoto, and they posthumously promoted him to the rank of senior first rank and the office of dajoudaijin (prime minister).

Because of his unusual skill in writing prose and poetry he is worshipped today as Tenjin-sama, the deity of scholarship and poetry.

If you are in the vicinity of Dazaifu on or around the 25th of July be sure to visit. www.dazaifutenmangu.or.jp

Here is a message from Japan Society Member and Guji (shinto priest) of Tenmangu Shrine, Nishitakatsuji Nobuhiro:

"He was born on July 25th (June 25th by the old calendar). We celebrate his birthday on July 25th with Chi-no-wa Kuguri (going through a big circle made with thatch in order to keep good health and sprit), Kodomo Mikoshi (kids carry portable shrines around the neighborhood), Nagoshi Odori (Summer Dance) and Sen Toumyo (a thousand candle lights along the Shin Ji Pond). It is a great time to visit Dazaifu."


*August 1st is also listed by some references as his birthday.