2010 March

Spam From Japan: Tokyo International Anime Fair 2010

Just back from the Tokyo International Anime Fair 2010 (TAF2010) and can’t wait to tell you about the promo videos I saw.

The highlight of the event for me was definitely the five minute preview for GARO The Movie 3D Red Requiem [Official site]. I think I’ve seen a few posters for the TV series at previous anime trade events, but I know very little about the story. Not that I needed to. The preview moved briskly from scene to scene and was full of magical sigils in 3D and giant robots with beautifully detailed mechanics. Even the title was done using 3D kanji, with the brush strokes seeming to flare out into the audience. Looks way better than Avatar and I’d bet it cost a fraction of the price. It’ll be out in autumn 2010, so watch out for it.

I also saw two more 3D-ised anime trailers; Blassreiter and Last Exile at GONZO’s [Official site] booth. Neither of these were intended for the 3D market and it shows, although less often than you would think. During fight scenes, it looks fantastic, although 3D should make directors rethink what kind of shots and what point of view they’ll use. However, when cel-like animation is used, it tends to have black lines surrounding the characters and buildings and so looks more like a bumpy cardboard jutting out of the screen. Fix this and we’re cool, okay?

The trailer for Space Pirate Captain Harlock [Official press release] made its premiere, along with GAIKING. I must admit, I didn’t realise Harlock wasn’t played by a real actor at first. Lest you think me completely stupid, let me point out he appears mostly in shadow. The rest of his surroundings looked as real as any Hollywood movie (as in Star Trek and, again, Avatar). The coolest point was that many of the designs and costumes in Captain Harlock are ridiculous. I refer to the ship with the huge skull on it, of course, amongst many other smaller details. But in this, it breaks through the clouds in all its stupid glory and looks real. Can a flag fly atop a spaceship in a vacuum? I think not, but it does in this animation and it is cool. My only annoyance was the American voiceover. I can’t really justify this. All I can do is point out that I love a number of American cartoons, but I don’t like dubs even when they are considered the default in Japan. Or, perhaps, particularly when they are the default in Japan.

Another trailer premiere was for Togainu no Chi [Official site] anime. Nitro Plus claimed they would show a trailer for a new, top secret anime project at the Tokyo Anime Fair, but everyone figured out what it would be pretty quick and they admitted it a day later. It’s supposed to be BL (yaoi), but the trailer showed more over-the-top cool fighting than the usual BL trappings, so I’m interested in seeing how it turns out. There needs to be fewer generic BL merchandising machines and more plot-based dramas where the guys involved happen to be gay. If they can work in some explosions, spaceships shaped like skulls and 3D battles, that would be great.

The Kuroshitsuji II trailer [Official site] was another TAF2010 exclusive. First off, I love the manga and despise the anime. And now, we have a rip-off of an anime I didn’t like in the first place. Despite this… I didn’t hate it. I also couldn’t hear it well because of all the other sounds going on around the booth, so maybe I’ll start hating it properly later. Anyway, the first thing I liked about it was that there was a spider eating a butterfly, emphasising that the evil butler (Claude) will eventually eat the boy’s (Trancy’s) soul. Good. Let’s get that out there. The second point was that it was so excessively stupid that it went right round the dial to become cool again. In one iconic(?) scene, Claude throws his glasses up in the air, uses the standard cutlery-as-weapons schtick, then looks upwards so his glasses to fall back in place. In other points of note, the entire reason Claude is named Claude is so he can be called Kuro. I guess that means there’s some significance in that Trancy abbreviates to Tora, or ‘tiger’ in Japanese. Also in the trailer are three identical servants and a maid with a bandaged eye. Finally, it’s stated that it takes place in the latter half of the 19th century, but I don’t know if it puts it before or after Sebastian and Ciel.

I also saw a preview for Rainbow [Official site] which is a drama set in a prison for juvenile boys in 1955 and stars Oguri Shun. I love hearing about anime that covers new topics. I even had a quick read of the manga that had been left out in the viewing room and it seemed a fascinating, gritty historical piece. The anime (as much as they showed us), didn’t do it justice. It was much cuter and had a voiceover plus an info dump where each boy in turn fights their cellmate ‘sempai’ and their name is read out. Still looks sufficiently interesting though.

Other trailers I saw were for Trigun Badlands Rumble [Official site]., Ibara no Ou (King of Thorn) [Official site] and Red Line [Official site].

The main reason I went on Sunday rather than Saturday was because I managed to get a ticket to a special invite-only event for Arakawa Under The Bridge [Official site]. This was a total waste of time. Described as a ‘baton touch’ event between Hanamaru Youchien (Hanamaru Kindergarten) and Arakawa Under The Bridge, but very few people had seen the previous anime as, like me, they’d applied for tickets from the Arakawa site. So when the Hanamaru panda came out and danced for us, we really didn’t care. Then they brought out a man in a kappa suit to represent Arakawa Under The Bridge. The panda and kappa had a bit of a tussle, then they showed us the video for the OP and ED themes and video messages from four of the seiyuu. I just… what the hell were they thinking? I would have been happy if this was done as a regular booth event, but with all that applying for tickets and queuing, I expected something special.

Advice for attendees
You don’t have to buy a ticket in advance, but it will cost less money. Tickets on the day cost 1000 yen.
You can start queuing to enter the Big Site without a ticket, but buy a ticket inside the building as soon as you are able.
It’s fairly cold outside, but warm inside. Dress appropriately.
There are no cosplayers (apart from booth staff) at this event.
If you have a child who is elementary school age or younger, you are entitled to use the family entrance and jump the queues. Ask a member of staff for details.
As with Comiket, plan a route that will take you past all the booths.

It was a day early in spring, with a cloudless sky. Plum trees in full bloom and graves dotted the perimeter of a car park at the base of the mountain. A crowd gathered around a fenced-in area which contained a massive pile of cedar branches, cauldrons of boiling water tended by yamabushi and a large black statue surrounded by stylised red flames.

The Fire-walking Festival (Hi-Watari Matsuri) is held once a year, on the second Sunday in March, at the base of Mt. Takao in Tokyo. Mt Takao’s principle deity, Iizuna Daigongen, is invoked to relieve the world’s suffering. He is often depicted as a tengu (see photo above) and the temple near the top of the mountain is relatively famous for its tengu statues. The yamabushi chant mantras during the cedar-burning ceremony because sacred fires purify fires caused by disasters. Prayers are offered up for world peace, good health, disaster prevention, road safety and personal safety.

One of the symbols of the yamabushi is their horagai, a conch shell wrapped in netting with a mouthpiece attached. The first time I heard one was while I was climbing Mt. Takao, and I had no idea what the sound was or where it was coming from. I found out later, when a procession of yamabushi came down the mountain. Sometimes life is like that here.

The noise the horagai makes is horrific, like a herd of something is dying. Lucky you, you can hear it in the video below.

Before the main attraction (that would be “setting everything on fire”), a lone yamabushi approached the cauldron of boiling water (remember that?) and started to beat his naked back with cedar branches. Here’s the video!

The fire was started soon afterwards by thrusting burning staffs underneath the bonfire, which soon caught on fire and spread.

I wouldn’t describe myself as a pyromaniac (although whether the local police force feel the same is another question), but it was awesome. The height the flames reached and the ash falling on my head and the monks dashing around the fire and the officials throwing things into the crowd… it was incredible. Here, have some shaky video footage which doesn’t do it justice:

When fire had died down, leaving a raised path of dying embers through the still-fierce flames, the yamabushi proceeded through it. And the people in front of me in a roped-off area followed. Other people rushed forwards and a queue formed. I knew that members of the public were able to do it because the website told me it was possible, but was registration needed? Did I need to buy a ticket?

It never occurred to me to wonder if it would hurt. I was pretty sure it wouldn’t.

Either way, I was certain that if I didn’t do it, I would regret it. I walked further and further back to find the end of the queue. Considering the size of it, I hoped I wouldn’t be asked for a ticket at the other end.

After about half an hour, I was back where I’d been standing earlier. I took my shoes and socks off and rolled up my trouser legs, as instructed. The ground was cold, rocky and dusty as I walked onto a pile of salt that marked the start of the fire-walk. The yamabushi tapped me fairly hard on the shoulder and I began to walk.

Did it hurt? Nah, it was about the same temperature as a pavement (sidewalk) in early summer. The smoke, however, stung my eyes a little. Nothing serious.

One the other side, I was once again standing in a pile of salt. Another yamabushi tapped me on the shoulder and I walked forward to the head monk and knelt. He gave me his blessing and I left the area.

This festival is fantastic and you should definitely go if you can. Below are some more photos plus directions and recommendations. If you want to see some decent photos though, check out Mazikeen’s account of fire-walking in snowy Tokushima prefecture.

How To Get There

The station you want is Takaosanguchi on the Keio Takao Line, which leaves from Shinjuku. There are a large number of tourists going to this festival, but others are going up the mountain instead (instead of a fire-walking festival with yamabushi, guys? REALLY?), so careful you don’t follow them. Turn right once you get out of Takaosanguchi Station, but don’t go up. Cross the river and keep in the same direction. You’ll now be walking with festival-goers and not hikers, so there should be no trouble finding your way from there.

What To Do

* Arrive fairly early to get a view that doesn’t have a pole, rope hung with shide, or large monks obstructing it. For a good view, but not up close, sitting on the grassy bank seems to work for some people.
* Do it. It doesn’t hurt at all.
* …But don’t be a douche and jump the queue.
* You don’t have to register or pay.
* It’s okay to carry your shoes across.
* Like tea ceremony, just watch the people in front of you and do what they do.
* Buy something at one the of souvenir stalls. It’s like a donation, but you get something nice for your trouble.

Mazikeen’s topic for the JSOC blog carnival was “youkai“. Let me show you my favourite haiku; I’ll tell you what makes it special and its connection with the realm of magic.

公達に　狐ばけたり　宵の春
kindachi ni kitsune baketari yoi no haru
The fox Changes himself into a young prince; The spring evening.
(Buson, translated by R.H. Blyth.)

THE HAIKU

In just a few words, this haiku describes a hazy, twilight world where fox spirits play and have adventures.

What makes a haiku special is the use of kigo, which is a word or phrase that evokes a particular season. It’s sometimes so culturally-specific as to be imperceptible to Western readers, such as the sound of a crackling fire (without direct reference to the fire itself!) to indicate winter. Other times, like in this fox haiku, Buson just comes right out and says it.

Due to the fact that Japanese doesn’t specify whether something is plural or not, we don’t know how many foxes are out there transforming into noblemen. It might be a single fox, a group of foxes or every fox ever. Folklore is clear on the matter though — it’s every fox ever.

My personal favourite translator of haiku is R. H. Blyth (1898 – 1964) and he only got away with it by translating as best he could and then writing an explanatory paragraph. In the case of that well-known haiku about the frog and the old pond, he did two translations years apart and wrote an essay about it just to make sure he got everything.

Overall, the features of Japanese and the kigo combine to give not just a sense of timelessness, but of a specific moment in the cycle of seasons. For what it’s worth, this haiku dates to 1777. You’re (probably) not thinking of the same hazy spring nights in rural Japan as Buson, but the poem taps into the same dream-like feeling.

(Also? You can forget about the whole 5-7-5 syllable thingy in English. Japanese ‘syllables’ are counted in terms of how many kana are needed, so it’s only loosely connected to the Western concept.)

THE FOX

Foxes are sneaky — we’ve always known this, regardless of nationality. In a fable attributed to Aesop, you can find a fox who tricks crows out of cheese. In Japan, they can shoot fire from their tails (yes, plural), possess women, transform into humans, become invisible at will and fly. Everything you claimed in your last job interview, in fact.

Choosing a particular story about fox spirits is difficult, because there are a lot of general descriptions and few specifics. However, in terms of iconic value, nothing beats Lafcadio Hearn:

“The invisible fox, as already stated, attaches himself to persons. Like a Japanese servant, he belongs to the household. But if a daughter of that household marry, the fox not only goes to that new family, following the bride, but also colonises his kind in all those families related by marriage or kinship with the husband’s family. Now every fox is supposed to have a family of seventy-five—neither more, nor less than seventy-five—and all these must be fed. So that although such foxes, like ghosts, eat very little individually, it is expensive to have foxes. The fox-possessors (kitsune-mochi) must feed their foxes at regular hours; and the foxes always eat first—all the seventy-live. As soon as the family rice is cooked in the kama (a great iron cooking-pot), the kitsune-mochi taps loudly on the side of the vessel, and uncovers it. Then the foxes rise up through the floor. And although their eating is soundless to human ear and invisible to human eye, the rice slowly diminishes. Wherefore it is fearful for a poor man to have foxes.”

Frankly, I love the way Hearn describes these events in such a matter-of-fact manner. He dares you not to accept that these invisible foxes are just as real as ghosts and then goes into a lecture on the immorality of keeping fox spirits in one’s household. This is a wonderful chapter (albeit with a few problematic sentences due to its age).

Foxes are also popular characters at festivals. In the photograph at the top, you can see a fox dancer at the Kawagoe Festival. They tend to be my favourite dancers — androgynous and graceful, unlike the comedic tanuki.

THE FOX AND THE HAIKU

The legend behind the foxes in the haiku is so powerful that you can’t ignore its effect in the haiku. The haiku format works to provide a beautiful, timeless experience in a very short space of time.

What do you think of the haiku I chose? Are there other (magical or youkai-themed) ones you like better? Let me know in the comments.

Links out:

Chapter from Lafcadio Hearn’s Glimpses of Unfamiliar Japan that deals with kitsune

Wikipedia on kitsune

Foxes on a Trampoline (I mean, really, I just figured this would be your kind of thing…)

Spam From Japan: Hina Matsuri

Today is March 3rd, which is Girl’s Day in Japan, also known as Hina Matsuri. Unfortunately, unlike Boy’s Day (Kodomo no Hi), I don’t get a day off work.

In fact, my first clue that it was today was lunch when we were given the traditional ‘chirashi-zushi’. The ‘sushi’ (zushi) part means Japanese rice mixed with vinegar, not that there’s necessarily any raw fish involved. ‘Chirashi’ means ‘scattered’ and result is a lot of different ingredients mixed into that rice. Today, there were shiitake mushrooms, renkon (lotus root), nori seaweed, bamboo, kanpyou (dried gourd shavings), chicken and slivers of omlet. If there’s any Japanese food you don’t like, you’re going to be hard at work with your chopsticks picking it out. Not that you should, of course.

This website has a pretty good detailed recipe for chirashizushi. It’s not something to be attempted by those new to Japanese cooking without clear instructions.

There was pink, white and green mochi for dessert, another classic Hina Matsuri food. Oh, and the dolls get to eat them too. You can see this (and other offerings to the dolls) in the photographs.

I got permission to photograph the Hina doll stand that is a centerpiece in many homes around this time. These are stages that feature a Heian-era court, complete with Emperor and Empress dolls and are usually pretty expensive. I don’t know how many schools have them and I don’t remember seeing them in any of the previous schools I’ve worked in, but it’s difficult to prove a negative. This school has a pretty big one.

I doubt it will still be there tomorrow, since you have to take down the dolls soon after Hina Matsuri, else your daughter will never be married! Shocking.

Spam From Japan

Live from Tokyo

Spam From Japan: Tokyo International Anime Fair 2010

Spam From Japan: Fire-walking In The Mountains

The Fox and the Haiku

Spam From Japan: Hina Matsuri

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