VS View of Enoshima

Last weekend, the view of Enoshima was beautiful.
Even though it was very cold in Japan then, I went to surf there.

Fine day. The sky was blue. Enoshima island was existing peacefully as usual, in front of horizon. We could also look at Mt. Fuji existing far away from the beach.
Far away. But, it's huge. I always misunderstand I can go there soon from there. Of course, impossible. The mountain is covered by snow now. Surfing on the sea with watching a snow mountain. It's funny.

There is an aquarium in Enoshima. It has dolphin shows everyday. I can listen to the music and announcement of the shows on the sea.
For some surf lovers, the loud sound might be noisy. Actually it erases the sound of the wave. It might be destroying the peaceful atomosphere of beach. But, for me, it's ok. For me, it's Enoshima beach.
This beach is always messy. In summer season, a lot of shops are built on the beach. Some are open almost for 24 hours. The access to the beach is very easy, so many people come there. The beach looks like a rush hour train. We can't count the number of people on the beach like the number of sand.
Not only in summer but also winter, many people come there. Some are for dating. Some for fishing. Some for just looking at sea. And, a small portion of some for surfing.
I think Enoshima souldn't be a silent beach. The unique atomosphere colors the beach.

Sometimes, fish jump up from the surface of sea into the air. When I saw it first, I thought they were playing. But, it's not true.
I knew they are fighting each other to keep their territory in the sea. And, the loser jump up into the air to escape.
Last weekend, I watched a lot of jumping fish on the sea. The battle in the sea seemed to be escalated.

I had stayed on the sea for three hours on the day. It was longer than usual. The longer I stayed on the day, the longer I wanted to stay. It might sound masohistic. But, the truth was that the water temparature was warmer than the cold air. That's why I couldn't get away from the sea. Now I realised, I should go to hot spring in this season.

VS Terrorist?

Everytime I get on a plane, I become very nervous. I always guess the possibility of the accident of the plane. How much is the probability of falling down of the airplane? How much is the percentage of my survival possibility in that case? I can't escape from calculating the risk of death before the flight everytime. Besides that, lately, to be worse, I have to think about the case of terrorist's attack of airplane.
That's why I had to be more nervous in this trip.

On my last day in Australia, after I ate dinner in the Sydney airport and drunk beer to be relaxed, I got on an airplane to come back to Japan.
In the airplane, two old male fight attendants and an old female one were working for us. Because I knew the working of old flight attendants didn't mean that the plane was old, I could rely on its safety flight. Even though I could lose the interest in the flight attendants a little, I was totally satisfied with the well-maintained airplane before its flying.
Sitting on my aisle seat, I waited for the flight without anything to do. I checked the movie schedule on the flight and the menu for night food, to kill time. But, suddenly, a young woman asked me to stand up for a few seconds in order to sit on her window seat next to me. I stood up gently soon, and she could sit down there softly. My interset moved naturally from the airplane-inside information to the outside view from the window. I wanted to memorise the beautiful scene of Australia then, even though it was completely dark outside. I could expect for the happening of drama in the flight.

Then, something happened soon.
A flight attendant suddenly started to check a Japanese passanger before flight. His board ticket and passport were checked very carefully, and he seemed to be asked for something. He looked surprised because he couldn't why he was checked.
Everybody near him were looking at him very well, including me. He looked an ordinary man. But, of course, his looking could hide his wrong political or religious thinking. It was clear that he didn't have any weapon at the moment, so if admitted, I could attack and submit him soon at that time, because now he concentlated on the flight attendant but me, so it was very easy for me to punch him from the back-side of him.
However he was seen clean.
Soon after that, another flight attendant came close to the guy next to him, and asked the guy to remove his bag under his seat to a shelf. He obeyed the attendant's suggestion soon, and put his bag up on the self.

I couldn't understand what exactly happened and was the problem then. Anyway, I started to be more nervous after that. I lost the room to glance at and check the window.
The terrorists were still sitting near us. I was not admitted to attack them. It was very natural that my feeling was very uncomfortable.
Soon after the plane taking off, I ordered a flight attendant a bottle of wine. The wine was not special, but I could be enough drunk by it, so I could be relaxed under the dangerous situation. But, of course, I didn't stop checking the suspicious Japanese men during the flight. If I was ordered, soon I could put my heel on their head from the dangerous angle of the buck-side. They would be calebrated by bloody-shower, and become in comma if I did so.
However they seemed to understand their situation. They continued to behave as normal persons till the plane reached Tokyo. That's why I lost the chance to show my diamond-heel-stamp-technique.

I drunk two small bottles of wine in the airplane. So, I could sleep very well. When I got up, I had already been in Japan. The terorrists looked to have a sleep very well, too. The woman next to me also looked to have a good sleep by the help of beer.
Finally my travel finished peacefully. The plane reached Japan, and I went home by bus. Three days travel to Australia was certainly short, but it took more days to go back to my daily routine life in Japan. I might be still dreaming.

VS Cricket

One of the purpose of this trip to Sydney was to watch an international cricket game; Australia vs England.
The game was the first cricket game I watched in my life.

Cricket is one of the sport Japanese are not familier with. I didn't know the rule, the palyer's name and the interesting point of the sport, before the game. I had no idea about it at all.
I tried to know the rule at least, before going to Austlaria. But it was impossible. I went to a bookstore in Japan (it's my company.) to buy a book about Cricket, but there were no Japanese book about it. I even searched for Cricket book in the database of book market, but there were no books I could get. Japanese don't have the chance to know about the sport. It's a shame.

I would have been a strange watcher in the cricket studium.
Australia vs England. The game was the important and high-quality game. I heard that the importance of the game was as same as the one of the world cup of soccer. The level of both countries was very high.
However, I didn't know the rule of the game. Imagine that the person who don't know the soccer rule comes to the game, Brazil vs Italy. The person must be strange.
So, in the studium, I was such a person.

The game started at 1:15 pm.
But I arrived at the studium at 11:00 am. That's why, I waited for the start of the game, with beer and humberger. I was so excited when waiting.
The ground was large and the turf was meintained beautiful.
I thought it's was very comfortable to play the game in such a good field.

At 1:15 pm, the game started with singing both countries' songs. As I imagined before, Cricket was a very strange sport for me. Historically, it seems to be the origine of baseball, but now they are utterly diffrent sports.
I saw cricket the combination of handball, hockey, golf and baseball. ( This must be the incorrect and misleading explanation of the sport. But, I thought so at the time.)

During the game, I sometimes went outside to eat, drink or have a break, because the game was very long! The game started at 1:30, and finished about 10:00. ( Actually, the end of the game was not normal. The game finished for the day's bad weather. So, it could be longer.)
It was very natural that we must sometimes take a rest during watching the game.

The game was often stopped due to the rainy weather. So, I didn't stay in the studium until the end of the game, to escape from traffic jam.
The rain was bad for the game, but would be good for Australia. Because the people in Australia suffer from the lack of water now.

It is often said that cricket is a gentlemen's sport. But, I knew it was not true in the game. Many supporters said to the going-out players "Fuck off! Go home baby!"
I heared that even the players wouldn't behave as gentlemen on the ground. Bad phrases like "You are dixx-hexx!" seemed to fly there. The ground looked very nice, but it was ertainly a battle field.
The players and the supporters were very energetic. For me, it was interesting to watch them, without enough knowledge of the sport.

I bought a cricket ball for official games, and brought it to Japan. It was a good souvenier for myself. Now, my mission is to make this sport more popular in Japan. I think it is fitted to Japanese people.

VS Harbord Beach

No, no, Mike. My dreaming was reality. Surely, indeed, at last, I stood on the soil of Australia again. It was the summer I dreamed of.

I had stayed in Sydney for just three days. This time, my trip was very short, but it was still ok for me to escape from winter for a while. I enjoyed the trip very much.
Ont the first day when I arrived at Sydney airport, I and Peter went to Harbord Beach soon. The reason was, of course, because we had to surf there. As I wrote it before in this blog, the beach is a memorial place, because the first surfer in Australia did surf on the beach. As an representative amature surfer from Japan, I had to respect the beach, so I tried surfing there.

It was cloudy on the day, but the sunshine was still strong. The waves were big and powerful.
It was Saturday's daytime. Many people were there. But, compared with Enoshima beach in Japan, Harbord Beach was not crowded at all. People were enojoying swimming, surfing or banana boating.

When I watch the waves at first, I thought it was easy to catch it. Because basically weak waves are more difficuly to catch, and I am familier with it on Eoshima beach.
But I thought wrong. Actually it was very taugh to surf there.
For me, the pattern of size-up of waves was irregular and random. Besides that, everywhere on the sea was waving. There were no flat space and time. That's why it was difficult to keep my balance. The waves wouldn't give me the enough waiting-time, and, without enough prepareation, I had to try the waves. If I had more skill and experience against such a condition, I could control myself well. However, I didn't have them. Even for Ausiee, the beach seemed to be uneasy for surfing. So, it was understandable for me to have the difficulty of surfing there.
Although my performance was not good at the time, I could say that I enjoyed my first surfing oversea very well.

I used Peter's surfboard, which was made by Manly Long Board Co. It was a local company in Manly.
The surfboard was cool. It was 9.2 feet long. The body was thin but strong, because it was made of a hard but light materials. Its float was strong, thus it makes us stand up on it easily.
At my best ride on the day, at the moment, I felt I was flying, not surfing. The strong wave was combined with the strong floating power of the surfboard, to make the feeling.
It is the most excellent moment when we surf.
It was lucky for me to get it at this time.

I will write about my first game of cricket I watched in my life on the next post.

VS Summer Dreaming

Strong Sunshine, Birds Singing, The sound of the waves crashing on the shore, Brown Skin, Beautiful Bodies, BBQ, Beer and Wine.
Am I dreaming............

VS Madam Butterfly

I will wirte again the things related to the exhibition of antique books on the last post in this blog.

Last weekend, I could have the chance to listen to a lecture in the exhibition. The lecture was for a famous opera and novel, "Madam Butterfly".
I am a book-sales man, so, of course, I knew the title. But, all I knew before the lecture was the title only. I hadn't read it, and even the author.
But, anyway, I had to go to the lecture. It was produced by my important cliant. I was inhibited to escape from it.

"Madam Butterfly" is the story of a Japanese woman in Meiji period after 1867. Japan changed the foreign policy then, and opened herself to other countries.
The story starts with the love romance between a Japanese lady and an American navy. They see each other in Japan and fall in love soon. And the Japanese lady becomes a pregnant. But, the navy have to go back to America. He promises to see her again in three years.
The lady waits for him, and lives by herself for three years. But, when he comes to Japan again, she realises that he got married with another American woman.
She becomes shocked, and commits suicide.

This story seems to be easy but modified many times by authors.("Autohrs" means six people have the relationship with the novel and opera.)
In a version of the story, she fails to commit suicide. I another version, she gets a lot of money from the man.
I heared from a professer of the lecture that the story "Madam Butterfly" influenced on the making of the images of Japan in Western countries very much.
Most interesting thing I know in the lecture is that five in the six authors hadn't come to Japan, even though the stage of the story was in Japan. It means they could know Japan very well by varietes of media at that time.

In this exhibition, the oldest and the most important books are a Hollander author, Montanus' ones. His book "Gedenkwaerdige gesantschappen der Ooost-Indische Maestschppy in 't Vereenigde Nederland, aen de Kaisaren van Japan" was published in 1669. It is the oldest book in the exhibition ,very rare and very important for Japan study. But, Montanus hadn't come to Japan. The fact is very interesting.
Everytime I see old books, I can get new information. Tomorrow, I will go to the exhibition again. I am looking forward to my new finding.

VS Antique Books

This week, I sometimes go to Shinjyuku.
My company has a big book-store there, and there is a small garally in it. I go there.
Because, an university library (it's my cliant.) exhibits many antique books they owns in my company's garally. So, I have to check it.
The library has a great collection of antique books. Especially, the books for Japanology are great. Japanology means the study for Japan.
From the ancient days, many foreigners came to Japan, and studied and researched it. Especially for western people, Japan was a country very diffrent from their countries, so they wrote a lot of books for Japan.
From the view of book-sales, such books are very rare and valuable, and needless to say, very interesting.
In the exhibition, we can "watch" such books. ( All books are in show-cases. So, we can read just two pages, if the books are open.)
The oldest book in the exhibition was written in 17 centuries. There are some illustrations in the book. Old Japanese people and their culture are illustrated there, but they are very surprising. They doesn't look Japanese at all.
The illustrations look Chinese to some extent, Indian to some extent, or Islamic to some extent.
For old western people, the image of Japan and Japanese was the mixture of some Asian countries.
Watching this kind of books is enough interesting.

VS Frozen Surfing

I bought a new wet suit for winter surfing in Japan. It can protect me against cold air and water. I can enjoy srufing in winter season too.
But, the wet suit is not an air conditioner. Its proteciton is unfortunately not perfect. In the sea, I can find my body temparature is going down soon. Winter surfing is a very taugh work.

However, even in winter, there are a lot of surfer on Enoshima beach. They get up in the early weekend morning, go to the beach and wait for good waves on the cold sea. If I don't surf, I can say they are crazy. Now, it's the time for skiing. They should go to mountains, not the sea.

I am not sure that it is related to my surfing, but I don't catch a cold in this winter. My body may become strong by surfing. Certainly, it is a good excersice to swim on the sea.

Not only in summer season but also in winter season, female surfers are more than male surfers on the sea. I don't know why? When I went to a surf shop near the beach, I watched a few girls rent surfboards. It was certain that they started to learn surfing recently, because they don't have their own surfboards. Do you want to learn surfing in winter? At least, I don't.

Next month, I will go to Australia. It's in summer there. I can escape from winter for a while. I think I will surf there. My target beach is Harbord beach. The beach is the memorial place, becuase it was used for surfing for the first time in Australia. Now, Gold Coast is more popular for surfing, but I think the memorial beach deserves my first surfing overseas.

VS Overseas Migration

Japanese Overseas Migration Museum is an unique museum. It is in Minato Mirai area in Yokohama and managed by JICA, Japan International Cooperation Agency.
I have visited the museum for business before, but not watched their exhibition yet.
That's why I went to watch it recently. I could study the history of Japanese immigrants very well.

Japanese started to go overseas for working or studying at the end of Edo period, the middle of 19 centuries. Before then, Japan was almost closed to foreign countries, and most Japanese were inhibited to go abroad by Edo government.
After they were permitted to go overseas, first, they went to Hawaii for working.
Some went there to get much money. Some tried to study more progressive knowledge in America. At that time, Hawaii was a dream land for Japanese.
Japanese government didn't seem to encourage the people to go overseas at first, because they thought Japanese people were treated like a slave by American, but soon later it tried to help people go there. They realised the experience in the developed country was useful.

Japanese made their own community in Hawaii, and some of them went to other cities in North America soon.
As we can easily guess, the rapid increasing of Japanese immigrants caused strong reaction in America at that time.
They saw Jap a dangerous-being.
In an early last century, Anti Japanese Immigrant Law was adopted in United States. Therefore, Japanese stopped going there.
But soon, they changed their dream land. The new dream land was the south American countries.
Japanese government assisted people to go there very much, and the people made a new communities there.
Of course, the reaction to Japanese immigrant had happened there too, but it was weaker than the one in U.S.
That's why Japanese communities in South America are bigger than in North America.

Most Japanese don't know or forget the existence of Japanese immigrants living overseas. We lost the relationship with them. Why?
One of my customer (He is investigating the history of Japanese immigrant) explained me that Japanese family structure is the reason.
He says that the category of "family" is very small for Japanese. So, we seem to lose social relationship with our relatives easily.
Actually, my grand father's brother or sister is a special person for me. I wouldn't lend money to them.

To study the forgotten phase of Japanese history, I can recomend you to go to the museum, which is located near Sakuragi-cho station.
After I visited it, I found a Hawaiian bar near there.
To share the dream with the ancient Japanese, I drunk an Hawaiian beer "Tsunami" there. Mmm, delicious.

VS Prince Hotel

Last weekend, I had a party with my colleague in Prince Hotel in Yokohama city. The party was for my company's new vice president. It was a kind of celebration.
I didn't know why, but I happened to be an arranger for the party. My mission was to make the party looking gorgeous, within a strictly limited small budget.
I choose a bar restaurant in Price Hotel, Top of Yokohama which is located at 42 stories in the hotel. The bar restaurant is namely on the top of the hotel. The view from it was very beautiful. I thought the view was better for dateing than for a company party. Anyway, my colleague were very excited there.

My mission again. I had to arrange the party with a very tiny money. So, I ordered the lowest rank of food menu, and the middle rank of unlimited drink plan. My tactics was to make people drunk soon by the great view and alchool, before they would realise that the food quantity was small.

I succeeded.
Hungry people can be drunk easily. My colleague were incapable of finding my trick. And, the party finished successfully before they started to complain. Some people went to Ramen shop soon after the party, but I think they couldn't understand why they wanted to eat Ramen soon.
Drunk people eat Ramen in Japan whether they are hungry or not. But I know they were hungry at the time.

I note that a beautiful view is free. Maybe, party arrangement is good for my future job.

VS Iwo Jima

Today I watched the movie "Letters from Iwo Jima" directed by Clint Eastwood. This movie is based on the battle between Japan and America on Iwo Jima island in World War II.
The island was located far from Japan, but important for both countries. Because, if American army got it, they could make a base from which they can attack cities in Japan easily. That's why Japanese army must have defended the island.
But it was an impossible mission. Before the battle on the island happened, Japanese navy to protect it got a deadly damage at other battles. So, the army on the island was isolated, and they could only wait for their enemy coming.

The result of the battle was easily predicted by anyone. The military power of America was huge. On the other hand, the one of Japan was very small.
But Japanese army didn't give up. To be more correct, they were not allowed to give up. They have to fight to death.

In this movie, the letters between soliders and their family are sometimes referenced. In the crazy battle field, only the letters remind soliders of their daily normal life. But, once the battle starts, they become crazy again.

From the middle of the movie, I had the feeling of going out of a theater. One reason was because it was sad to watch a lot of crazy and miserable Japanese soliders. Another reason was because I was very hungry. This movie is long, 2 hours and 40 minutes, but I forgot to eat lunch before watching it.
I forgot that it's important to control our physical condition when watching movies.

Unfortunately this movie doesn't have English subtitles. I don't know why? I think not only Japanese but also foreigners living in Japan have the interest in the movie.
I add that a young acter Ninomiya is nice.

VS New Year

My first week of ths new year has passed very quickly. I had a lot of events just in a week; the spending all night in Shibuya on the last day of the last year, the finding out a great "standing" sushi restaurant there, the meeting many relatives in Kyoto (Last time I met them were over ten years ago.), the nice-seeing again old friends, the having many new year parties, the traveling for Hakone and so on.

I can't write everything in this blog. So, I'll write only a few things impressive for me.

On December 31th afternoon, I went to Meiji Shrine in Tokyo, with Lance, Patrick, Akira, Koji and some new foreign friends.
As you know, it is common for Japanese to visit shrines on a new year day. Many people donate money and pray there. Of course, this event has a relogious meaning, but for most people, it's not serious. For most people, the main purpose is to spend a time there with friends. We can eat foods and drink sake there. In short, they come to shrines mostly for fun.

However, we can understand the religious regulation is still left. We usually think that we should visit there, after the new year starts. Maybe because we think it is meaningless to pray for the next year. As you know, Japanese values strict time-schedule in their life. And, it is the same in religious events. We think our hope have to be renewaled at the beginning of the year.

That's why, I had a strange feeling when I went to the shrine on 31th. If we obey Japanese religious culture, my visit at that time was meaningless.
Indeed, not so many Japanese were not there on the day. But, I thought many foreigners were there. I met a mexican family there, and they ask me about the meaning of fortune items which were sold in the shrine. I didn't know these items actually work, but I could explain the meaning, so I did. This item protect your health. That is for keeping your family peaceful.
"What's that pink one?" "It is for getting boyfriends." The mother and daughter in the mexican family looked happy to know it, but the father seemed to be comfused.

This year started with many funny events for me.
I hope I can enjoy my comical life more and more in this year.

VS Crab Party

Last weekend, I was on the sea.
As I wrote here before, I tried to surf on the Christmas day.
My wet suit was not thick enough to surf for winter season. But I didn't have it, so I tried surfing, and won against the cold water. But, I had better buy a thicker suit soon next year, or I will catch a cold before catch the wave.
The wave was a little high and strong then. I could enjoy very well. I have realised my surfing skill is getting better even though the tempo is gradual.
Every time I surf, I seem to find something out. Now I can't explain what the "something" is, but it's something deep.

After surfing, I joined a party produced by the surf shop in which I keep my surf board. It was my first and good chance to know very well the people in surfer's community.
The main dish in the party was Crab. The shop staffs bought a lot of crabs (25kg!) in Hokkaido on internet. We cooked and ate them a lot. Boiled crab, Baked crab and pasta with crab. Everything was great. One of the shop staffs worked for Italian restaurant before, so the dishes were very tasty.
It is generally said that Crab mekes us silent, but we spent a good chatting time with these foods.

I am still a green boy surfer. That's why, I always have to behave as a modest amateur on the wave. I don't surf in a good big wave area on the sea, which is for high level surfers. I have to obey and follow veterans.
However, in the party situation, compared with all surfers, I can say I am a real party veteran.
Once I drink, I can easily go into the deep inside of people, and can catch the wave of voltage in the party. Maybe, this skill is sophisticated in my English school, Aeon. I don't know how the school influences my English. But it actually influences my social communication skill better.
So, I could enjoy talking very much with other surfers I saw for the first time there.

Although about 25 people joined the party, we couldn't eat all crabs. The quantity was certainly too much. For a while, I will not eat crabs.

VS Adoption

In the last English class, we discussed adoption, based on the article for Madonna's adoption of an African boy in TIME.
Her adoption of the boy seems to be controvercial now in America. Some people think the boy is her accessory. They say that her aim would be to sell her name by the adoption. Madonna herself doesn't care for such an opinion, though.

In the class, everybody, including me, support adoption in general. However, we were not sure Madonna will be a good mama for the boy. Perhaps, she won't. She is very busy as a singer, so she couldn't stay in the house to bring up her new son.
But, I think we should support Madonna's case if it true.
We have to accept for the fact that kids can't choose their parents. In addition, also for new or alternative parents, I think it is true. That's why even if the parents can't spend their time with the kids, we shouldn't deny the adoption.

In Japan, adoption is not popular. Especially it is very rare for us to adopt non-Japanese. We have very limited choices to make a parents-children matching.
In the case that a Japanese couple can't have their kids for some physical reasons, adoption must be a good solution for them. But, Japanese doesn't look to prefer to it. We tend to value blood legitimacy. That's why Madonna's case looks very surprising for us.

I think we had better think things more logically.
Blood relation is not as important as we think.
Actually, a child relates to a mother in her body by blood before his/her being born. But the relation is a short period, just ten months. For a father, he can't have any blood relationship with the child. He can only find out a micro DNA level relationship in his son or daughter's blood.
For kids, the life after being born is more important than blood.
For example, if we find that we were thrown away when we were babies, and the persons we think parents found us one day, brought us to their house and had brought us up by now, and if now suddenly other persons came up to us, and told us that they were real parents, what will we think?
We can take a blood test soon. And, we realise the fact that they are auctually my real parents.
However, can we value the "my real parents"?
The answer must be "No". For us, the experience with the persons to bring me up until now must be more important.

I hope Japanese Madonna will emerge in the future even if Madonna couldn't be a good mama.
I think adopion will make Japanese society more flex.

VS Announcement

I remember a funny announcement in an airplane on my recent Nagasaki trip.

"Attention. Attention please. Thank you for using this plane for your trip. We are going to support your comfortable trip, and promise safety flight.
In this plane, two flight attendants who like to chat will help you.
Ms. Nakatani, standing on the front side in this plane, is from Nagasaki prefecture. Plesase talk to her in Nagasaki local language, if you are the local. She was a manager of a foot ball team when she was an unversity student. So, she is familier with treating sweaty guys. Please take it easy to talk with her even if you have sweaty smell.
Ms. Kumamoto, standing on the center, will also help you. Recently she broke up with her boy friend dating for a long time. That's why, now she worry about this X'mas plan. Who will she spand the time with? Please talk to her. Thank you."

I laughed very much.

VS Artist

I had the chance to drink with a film directer recently. Invited from my customer, I watched a movie, and after that, I could talk about the movie with the directer in a drinking place.
The movie was a bibliography for a Japanese artist, Isson Tanaka. He was a genious drawer after the world war II, but now he has been forgotten for a long time in Japan. Because, he didn't sell his pictures to others at all, except for only one.
If an artist wouldn't sell his works, nobody can know his existence in this modern capitalism society. That's why the existence of Isson Tanaka was forgotten in Japan. The film directer knew the artist by chance, and made the film.

Isson Tanaka was known as a talented artist when he was a student in an art school. However, he couldn't get along well with the authorities in the artists' society. He was honest to his own sense of beauty. So, he could criticise his teacher's work.
That's why, many people hated him, alas, in any competitions, he couldn't get a prize.

But, Isson was not interested in comercial success, so he threw away the connection with the community of artists, and went to Amami islamd, which was the farest western place before Okinawa came back to Japan.
On the island, he lived in an old, thrown house, and had worked as a painter in a factory for three years. After the three years, he quited the job, and started to draw pictures.
For the cost of living in the island was low, he could concentrate on his artist's work for two years.
After the two years, he restarted to work, and after next three years, his artist's work restarted. His life was like that.

Altough he was a strange man, the people in the island loved him. But, nobody watched his works. Because, he didn't show his works to others.
His aim was to have the exhibition of his works in Tokyo someday. It might have been his revenge against the authorities in artist's community. So, until the day, he would not like to show them to anyone.

For Isson, No.1 artist was Picasso. And, No.2 was himself.
I couldn't judge whether it's true or not, but the film directer told me that his works were certainly great.
However, in the end, he couldn't have his exhibition in his life. Because he was poor. It's too costly for him to have an exhibition in Tokyo.

Isson was supported by many people in the island, especially by a family managing a small souvenier shop. The shop had sold cheap plates.
One day, some tourists came to the shop, to find something interesting in the island. But they were not interseted in the plates.
When they went out from the shop, they broke a plate by their carelessness. They asked Isson (He was there by chance.) how much it was.
He told them very expensive price.
The tourists were surprised, and became angry soon.
But, Isson was more angry with them. For him, any art work is "only one". He couldn't excuse their fault.

This episode impressed the shop owner, who had thought his works were not special. He respected Isson's thought of art, and asked him to buy his work. Isson told him that the work cost a million yen. The price was very high for the shop owner. However, by using his saving, by selling his house and by borrowing money, he bought one of Isson's works.
The work bacame the only one exception to be sold in a lot of Isson's unsold works.

Isson died unknown in Amai island.
I think "only one" is his discipline of art. He valued the first meeting of art works, so didn't show his works to others. For us, his thinking might be too strict, but it could be an important idea in this eara that we can't be surprised at anything when watching it, because everything looks unspecial.

VS Nagasaki China town

I stayed in a hotel near Nagasaki China town.
In Japan, there are three China town. One is in Yokohama. It is the biggest one. Another is in Kobe. And, the last is in Nagasaki.
Nagasaki China town is small. It has just two streets. (They are crossed.) We can walk around the town within ten minutes. After the ten minutes, we would lose the things we can do.
Why did I stay near the small town? What could I do there?
My aim was the only one thing. It was to eat an unique noodle food there. The food name is Chanpon.

Chanpon. The meaning is "Mix at random."
When we drink wine, beer, wokka and any other alchool at a single night, we call it Chanpon in Japan. The noodle food is like that.
A lot of sea foods, meats and vegetables are used in the dish. So, the looking is very gorgeous, and the taste is complex and heavy.
I went to Kouzanrou, the chinese restaurant famous for Chanpon, with my friends. Before going to the restaurant, we had a research in Nagasaki. We asked some people, taxi drivers and hotel staffs, where we should go to eat Chanpon.
Some people recommend us to go to Kouzanrou.
Autually, the recommendation was good. We enjoyed great Chanpon there.
To be honest, I didn't like Chanpon before because the taste was not organized or sophisticated for me. But this time, I changed my opinion to Chanpon. It's a great food.

Walking around Nagasaki city, I found another unique food.
The name is "Turkish Rice".
Turkish Rice?
It is the dish of a humberg, a spaghetti and a curry rice on a same plate. It's Chanpon of the dishes Japanese kids love.
I don't know why the dish name is Turkish Rice. But, anyway, I understood the eating desire of Nagasaki people is tremendously strong.

VS Two Cultures

Kyusyu seems to become my hometown-like area in Japan. Last weekend, I went there again to celebrate my friend Kousei's wedding. On the day before his wedding party, I had a drink with my friends, Unchained Dogs Four, in Fukuoka. And, the next day, I went to Nagasaki, the city for the wedding party, with a dull headache.

I heard from an old song that Nagasaki is rainy everyday, but it was fine on the wedding day. I think I had visited Nagasaki in my childhood. But now I don't have any memory of the visit, so when I reached there this time, it was the same as the first visit.

Nagasaki has the sea. The view of the sea is very beautiful.
On the other hand, the view "from" sea is nice too.
The land of Nagasaki is almost a mountain. On the mountain, a lot of houses and buildings are built. So, at night time, the night view from the sea-side to the mountain-side is very beautiful.

The wedding party was a kind of mixture of two cultures.
The groom is from Aomori prefecture. It is located in the north-east of Japan. It's cold in winter. By the effect of the climate character, the people is silent and patient. The groom is not actually silent, though.
The bride is from Nagasaki prefecture in Kyusyu, which is located in the south-west. It's a warm area. The people is basically aggressive. In addition, Nagasaki has a historical character. It was only one place where Japanese people can contact with foreigners during Edo period, 150-400 years ago. So, the life style of Nagasaki people is multi-cultural.

The groom and bride came into the party room with the music of Tsugaru-Shamisen, which is an old musical equipment in the north-west. The music was uncommen in a wedding party, but it was fitted to them at the time.
Wedding party always starts with a short( sometimes unfortunately long) speech by a guest, and a call of "Cheers!" by another guest.
However, this time, we started with "soup drinking".
It is Nagasaki culture to celebrate people.
Although Japan is small, I have a lot of cultures I don't know. I could enjoy new things in the party.

Once the party started, all I should do is to drink, drink, drink, sometimes pour beer for others, drink again, drink, drink and drink.
The quantity of my drink is proportional to the extent of the happiness I shared with the groom and bride.
That's why, I was heavily drunk at the night. I can't remember when I went back to my hotel?

VS Animal Rights

Even though the word still sounds too radical, the word "Animal Rights" becomes popular recently.
Literally the word means that animals has rights.
If you think so, you couldn't eat any animals. Even if you like sushi, you could be inhibited to eat it. The rights can throw us into a food crisis.
That's why, if you say "Protect animal rights!" in Japan, people might think you are strange or dangerous. But now, we can't ignore the idea at all.

Animal Rights. This idea was claimed by philosophical thinkers or social activists at first. Politicians, lawers, government officials or the people living in the realer society have no interest in it. For them, it's a crazy idea. To be honest, me too. I can't agree with it, without any conditions. But I can agree taht this idea actually gives us a new perspective to our world.

A few years ago, the court of Amami black rabbits was held in Japan.
A local government planed to make a new golf course in Amami isiland, which is located near Okinawa.
On the land, a lot of rare animals lived at that time. Amami black rabbits were one of them.
Some NGO tirying to protect nature refused the golf course making plan. But, they were not the residents on the island, so under Japanese law, they didin't have the right to rufuse the plan.
But NGO got a miracle idea soon.
They became a representive of rare animals living in the island like Amami black cat, and fought against the local government.

The representive of rare animals. It was a crazy idea at that time. So, everybody thought NGO would lose in court. And, actually, they lost. the Court refused their claim soon.
However, in the judgement, the Court accepted the significance of the right of rare animals a little, and added an opinion to the judgement.
"Law can't protect the animal's right. But, we shouldn't ignore it at all."
The court itself was unique at that time, and in addition, the opinion of the Court was unique too.
So, the court was broadcasted very much, and people started to be interested in the plan, and criticize it.
Therefore, the making of the golf course was stopped, and the nature has been kept until now. The NGO substantially won. It's an interesting example to show that a new idea, or a new word, can change the world a little.

VS Winter Surfing

If you hear that somebody says winter is a good season to surf, you must think the person is crazy. Yes. You are right on a global standard.
But, not in Japan. Real surfer should surf here in the winter sea.
The cold wind from the north is actually cold, but it becomes an off-shore wind on the beach of the Pacific Ocean side. The wind make the shape of wave better, because the wave coming from the Ocean (from the south) hit the wind from the north, and at the point, the wave grew bigger rapidly. It bocomes surfer's preference.

As usual weekends, I went to Enoshima to surf yesterday.
These days, it becomes cold gradually in Japan. So, before going to Enoshima, I didn't want to surf. I wanted to stay in my bed. But, once I reached the sea, my surfer-spirit suddenly and naturally emerged.
I rushed to go to the beach.

The water temparature was.....higher! Higher than I imaged before going into the sea. And, my full-body wet suit could protect me against the cold wind. I felt very comfortable in the sea. Great.
As winter coming closer, the air seems to be clear.
On my surf board, I could clearly see the outline of Mt.Fuji existing far away. It was very beautiful.
The water of the sea is also more beautiful now than in summer time.

Although the water temparature is still okey for me to surf now, it is also true that the chilliness make me more tired than before. That's why I should buy a thicker wet suit soon, for the coming real winter.
The staff in the surfshop I always go to said, "During winter season, the day after rain or snow is good for surfing. The wave is very good."
Surfing after snow.
For me, it still sounds like a suicide. But I have watched the picture that Santa Claus surfs. I think the picture was about the Chirsitmas day in Austlaria.
He made it. So, I should challange it.
I will spend this Christmas day on the sea.