Getting Some Kulcha

Hi all, been a busy weekend (and week generally), getting some exciting bits and pieces done, as well as more exploring! I also went for a job interview today at an Eikaiwa (English language conversation) school, so that will hopefully be promising!

This week I've eaten some new things, including shark gristle (sliced up cartilage), kiwifruit shochu (a rather nice blend of Japanese spirit and fruit), and a nice tofu and fish egg entree. The shark gristle was bought because of what it was, purely on the novelty factor, and I cannot say I'll be rushing back into it; it was pretty unpleasant all round to be honest! The kiwifruit shochu and tofu with fish eggs were very nice though, I shall have to revisit them sometime, as well as exploring a delightful looking venue that is very nearby to us in Komaba:

Shark gristle - once was enough

Beer hall - because alcohol consumption isn't easy enough in Japan!

The three highlights of the past week have been Halloween, a Van Gogh Exhibition, and a culture festival that was held in my hall by a local group that engages with foreign students in Komaba, exposing them to traditional Japanese culture.

Halloween is, unlike in NZ, a big thing here, probably due to the American aspect of it. As such, there has been Halloween themed stuff everywhere, and a Halloween party was held at Komaba lodge. Having not really done much of Halloween before, I was to give some thought to my costume, but had no real experience to draw on. However, looking through my wardrobe, I had some inspiration...

Taking a visit to my favourite store, Donkihote, the mega emporium where you can find almost anything, I got a few bits and pieces, and, with the help of some glasses, I became everyone's favourite elusive cartoon character, Wally (or Waldo, if you are American)

This was a nice and easy, but also fun costume, that also incorporated a shirt I already had, making it the perfect get up for Halloween!

The party itself was fun, featuring all kinds of costumes; some scary, some not (myself included), plus a magic show, music, and a costume competition.

Magician wowing us all

I also could not help playing the role of Wally; that is hiding among a crowd, trying to be found:

Saturday was spent returning to Ueno Park (where the National Museum with the Unkei Buddhist sculpture exhibition is), where the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum also resides. Here there is an exhibition on Van Gogh, particularly his Japonaiserie works.

Before we got there though, in Ueno Park there was an arts festival, with lots of buskers and street performers.We watched one guy who was showing off the power of a frog mucus cream that could blunt samurai swords and heal cuts. He showed this by coating a sword in this mucus, and then trying to cut my friend's arm, which (fortunately) did not happen! He then wiped off the sword, and proceeded to cut his own arm (whether through trickery or not, there was what appeared to be blood coming from his arm). He then wiped some of this mucus cream on his arm and lo, behold, the blood and cut was gone!

Demonstrating the sharpness of the blade by cutting paper

Making it rain with 128 pieces of sliced paper

NOT cutting Julia's arm

Cutting his own arm

Other performances we saw included one guy showing off some sort of glue that help aloft a stick and stone contraption to a plate, and a curious couple of dancers in whiteface:

A dancer straight out of We Happy Few

This dancer reminded me of the Onryo from the Grudge , slightly unnerving!

Clock of a Mother and children in Ueno Park

A mirrored ball outside the Metropolitan Art Museum

With the Man himself

Unfortunately photography was forbidden in the exhibition, but thanks to google, I can show some of them regardless! These works were done by Van Gogh as a result of him seeing various Japanese prints and works while he was in France, and in them you can see a definite Japanese vibe going on, despite the fact he never visited Japan. Indeed he developed quite a following in Japan among the artist community, and represents a bridge between Japanese and European art for the time.

It was very surreal to be in Japan, a place that isn't (to my mind at least) immediately associated with the great artists (though of course Japan has it's fair share), and yet there I was looking at pieces made by Van Gogh, one of the most famous artists of all! I hadn't had such an experience since being Paris in 2008, so it was quite something. Also in the exhibition was one of the most famous Japanese prints of all time, the Great Wave off of Kanagawa - seeing this in the flesh was both a surprise (as it wasn't Van Gogh), but also because it was much smaller than I thought it would be - much like Mona Lisa really!

All in all, it was a great exhibition, and I think I am going to be back in Ueno Park this coming Friday, as it is a public holiday - Culture Day - meaning we as foreign students get heavily discounted or free entry to many museums and galleries. Hopefully the weather will be good this time so I can finally explore the park properly without being encumbered by an umbrella or jacket!

On Sundaythe rain was absolutely pouring down, meaning noone really wanted to do anything outside, which was entirely fair enough. Luckily enough for us, a group called KIND (Komaba International FrieNDship) was holding a culture day for us in the Komaba Hall. This group consists of volunteers, old and young, who help engage with foreign students at Todai, showing them Japanese traditional culture. To this end, we were lucky enough to be able to take part in a number of activities, all free of charge, and good fun, not to mention an excellent thing to do on a rainy day!


First there was shodo (calligraphy)

A Japanese KIND volunteer showing me how to write the kanji for New Zealand

New Zealand's kanji means 'New Western Orchid', which makes sense when the kanji for Holland is 'Western Orchid', making New Zealand 'New Holland' in kanji

Can you guess which one was done for me, and which one I did?

A Japanese volunteer showing how to write the kanji 'bara' (rose), a notoriously difficult kanji

Having had a good go at calligraphy, I tried my hand at ikebana (flower arranging). This was run by a few lovely older ladies, who seemed quite taken with my choice of colours and arrangement, and were even more so when I asked if I could have a photo taken with them, my flower arranging teachers! After having the flowers arranged nicely in a pot, they would remove them, and then wrap them nicely in a bouquet, which is now resting on my desk.

Forget law, I should open a florist!

I had been joined by one of my floormates and friend, Victor, a Hungarian, and we spotted something that rather took our fancy - kimono wearing! I have worn a lighter version of kimono before (yukata), and samurai armour before, but this was something quite different!

With a long top that opened up like a dressing gown, two belts were wrapped around me, before  a pair of long baggy trousers that appeared slightly like a skirt were then put on top, and finally wrapped up with another belt, I thought I looked quite dashing! Finishing the look was a pair of wooden sandals called 'geta', that for both Victor and I were entirely too small, meaning our walking was very cautious and uncomfortable!

Seated warrior pose, engage!

In addition to this dress up, there was a stall for the International Federation of Battle Hashi (chopsticks), which is basically a competition were you have to transfer as many plastic peanuts from one dish to another, in 90 seconds. Victor and I had a competition, with me beating him in the right handed round, but him thoroughly trouncing me in the left handed bout, with a score of something like 50-10!

Battle chopsticks, unsurprisingly difficult!

We finished off things with sado, the traditional Japanese tea ceremony. Watching the intricacy and precision of it all, it made me think that it is definitely not the way to make tea en masse, being far too ceremonial for that, however watching it was definitely a pretty and impressive spectacle. We were given a small (think a couple of centimetres across) bun, with sweet bean paste in the centre, before receiving a bowl of freshly made matcha green tea. It is quite bitter to taste, and amazingly green, but the artistry with which it is made makes the entire experience something to behold.

There was also a small stall set up for purchasing things, and while I had no intention of buying anything, I was very pleased to come away with a nice metal teapot with some lovely carvings in it - now I can make myself more leaf tea without the need for a diffuser, perfect!

Sunday was a very good day, spent largely indoors, but due to the weather I did not have any bad feelings whatsoever about this! As I mentioned above, today was spent largely setting up for the job interview, as well as editing the photos from the weekend. I've also gotten my groceries sorted, included in which I was pleasantly surprised to add some New Zealand lamb! Might turn that into a stroganoff sort of dish later this week - it is cooling down now so hearty food is the best! Beyond that, this week I am going to try and get a debit or credit card sorted out so that I can make direct debit payments from my bank account - and speaking of which, my first scholarship stipend comes in tomorrow which is exciting! Then the rest of the week will be spent doing research, and Friday shall be this culture day. I have also agreed with one of the PhD students in my zemi that I will spend an hour a week with her helping her conversational English and going through her various PhD theses and presentations, which are to be done in English. This little bit of extra work will give me some additional pocket money, which is always helpful - and if I get this job, or something like it, I will finally have something to do with the abundance of time I currently have, as well as raking in more $$$! Japanese shops and restaurants best watch out!

Otherwise, that's about it for now, there is a new episode of the Walking Dead that Victor and I will watch tonight, and I might try looking into another midweek adventure, now that the weather seems to be stabilising somewhat!

Tata for now, be well!

Troy/トロイ