I'd Rather Be...In Japan

Temples and Tofu

“It’s closed!” My friends Luke, Carly, and I stood outside a vegetarian café in Kyoto. We’d spent two hours trying to find the place. Our legs were sore from walking and our bellies were empty. This is the danger of traveling with vegetarians. Finding a meal they can eat in Japan is difficult. I was about to complain when I remembered one of my favorite lines. 

“The best travel stories are when something goes wrong,” said Tim Cahill, a famous American travel writer. I always try to remember those words when I’m on the road. That way, when something goes wrong, I can keep my eyes open to the interesting things that I might otherwise miss. 

According to polls, about 6% of Americans are vegetarians. A vegetarian is someone who does not eat any animals or seafood, but will eat food that comes from animals like eggs, cheese, or milk. When vegetarians come to Japan, they are surprised by how hard it is to find a vegetarian meal.  

Even though Japanese people do not each much meat, it seems like every dish has some fish flakes, or chicken stock, or a sliver of meat hiding somewhere. Those little bits can ruin a vegetarian’s dinner. 

There are many reasons to be a vegetarian; some do it for their health. Some eat only vegetables because it’s better for the environment, and others believe that it is cruel to eat animals. 

So there we were, in Kyoto, hunting for tofu-only restaurants. The good news was that when we did finally find a place, the food was delicious. I had no idea that a five-course dinner of tofu and vegetables could be so good, but it was one of the best meals I’ve had in Japan. 

With our tanks full of tofu, we walked around the Gion district. Before us was the giant gate of a temple. We stood underneath it and felt the power of the ancient building. It reminded Luke of something he read by a famous scholar named Joseph Campbell. 

“Religious buildings are enormous to recreate the sense of awe that we get from nature,” Luke said.  Campbell wrote about many of the world’s religions. He found common themes in their stories, from the story of the Buddha, to the story of Jesus. He wrote about these stories and it is said that his theories about mythological heroes inspired George Lucas to write Star Wars. 

Luke suggested that religious architects made churches and temples big to make ordinary people feel small. This is where he and I disagreed. “I don’t think they wanted to make us feel small, I think we need to be reminded that we are small,” I said. Luke shook his head. “It is about power,” he said. “It’s about humility,” I countered.  

We walked the grounds of the temple debating the meaning of it all until we both stopped and took in the view before us. In our silence, we found something we could agree on. The temple was beautiful, and the gate was awesome.

From Japan 2009

The stairway to heaven in the Gion district.

From Japan 2009

Luke slurping kitsune udon.

Dishonor Before Death

A couple of years ago, I wrote a short story for Luke Crane's Burning Wheel supplement called "Blossoms Are falling," about a boy in Heian Japan. The story opens with a man about to play the first note of the day on a shakuhachi, or bamboo flute...and is interrupted by a messenger announcing that the Emperor of Japan is going to visit.

The story is set in the rural town of Magome, along the Nakasendo Highway. The Nakasendo was a 300 mile footpath from Edo to Kyoto. The governor is from Kyoto, and hopes to impress the Emperor during his visit enough to be sent back to Kyoto and the civilization he's missed since his posting.

His son, Kazuo, has other ideas. He barely remembers what Kyoto was like, and has grown to love the country life, the paper lanterns, the summer dances, and his best friend, the son of the local warlord.

The town is as serene as the surface of a koi pond, but just under that smooth surface is a place teeming with life, intrigue, and dishonor. It was a pleasure to write the story, and I think it's one of my best.

In an amazing example of life imitating art, it is two years since I wrote the piece, and I find myself living in Gifu prefecture, not far from the actual town of Magome. Not only that, but I have been taking shakuhachi lessons, and I practice every day. When I wrote the story, I had no idea that I would be moving to Japan, let alone so close to Magome. I had found the town in wikipedia almost at random. I also never thought I'd be learning to play the shakuhachi.

I hope those are the only things in the story that come true, because the rest has more to do with the title and less to do with bamboo and lanterns.

The good news is, now you can read Dishonor Before Death on your iphone, or your kindle. You can buy it from Amazon for $.99, or you can paypal me a buck and download it by clicking here. Or read it, and if it's worth a buck, then paypal me. Satisfaction Guaranteed!:

 Download Dishonor 

Thanks, and 

Kids Take On Dragons

All across Japan there are Spring festivals called Matsuri. Each town has their festival in their own way. They usually involve carrying floats, called 'mikoshi' through the streets. Some towns, like Takayama, have gorgeous floats that are hundreds of years old.

Other town make new floats for each matsuri. Here in Hachiman, each neighborhood works on a float. Ours have modern themes, and a few of them were little statues of cartoon characters from Japanese animation. They even had lights that shone through the night.

What made this matsuri different from a few others I've been to, is that there were also dances with live music performed by little kids in elaborate costumes. The kids practiced a few hours a night for weeks. We didn't let Kazu practice because he was too tired and just getting used to first grade. Next year, for sure, he's going to play a drum.

The kids were great. They really danced. They faced down a dancing dragon, and they played drums. A line of men played flutes for music. There were also two characters that performed, a randy old farmer with a hunched back and a woman who dodged his gropes and waved her fan.

From Japan 2009

From Japan 2009

From Japan 2009

They wore masks, and looked great.

All day on Saturday and Sunday, when they weren't dancing, the children followed the mikoshi all around town and chanted, along with grown ups. There was a little wagon for the tiny kids. We met at a friend's house and ate great food in the evening and watched the performances, while a Tengu visited the houses with the priests from the local shrines. Good times!

I'll post video of the dancing later.

From Japan 2009

From Japan 2009

From Japan 2009

From Japan 2009

The Tengu.

From Japan 2009

From Japan 2009

From Japan 2009

From Japan 2009

From Japan 2009

Cherry Blossoms, Sakura and so on

It's Spring in Gujo Hachiman, after a cold winter. The cherry blossoms have come and gone. 

From Japan 2009

Here's a view from the window of the teacher's room at the school where I work.

From Japan 2009

The blossoms blow off the trees in the Spring breeze. One afternoon I was sitting in the teacher's room and a breeze blew through the window, filling the room with pink petals. It was like a scene in a Miyazaki movie.

The streets become filled with falling blossoms...

From Japan 2009

This Spring is special for the Sakamotos because Kazu started first grade.

In Japan, first grade is a really big deal. The kids walk to school, so Kazu has to get up at 6am to be ready to leave by 7. He and some other kids walk 45 minutes and almost two miles to school. Being from New York City, I was a bit freaked out about Kazu walking so far with no adult supervision. There are houses along the way where kids can stop to use the bathroom, or ask for help if they need it, but it's intense.

Of course, when I was a kid in Kalamazoo, I did a lot of roaming around on my own. I think everyone did a lot more of that 30 years ago than they do now. In Japan, you can see ten year olds commuting alone on the subway to and from school. In New York a parent would get locked up and have their kid taken away for something like that.

The beginning of school is marked by an opening ceremony. Noriko went in a Kimono and Kazu had to wear a little suit. Also, the kids all have those special Japanese backpacks. They can cost up to a six hundred bucks. We spent far less on Kazu's.

From Japan 2009

Kazu and Noriko at the opening ceremony.

From Japan 2009

Kazu ready to go...