Japan struggling to better environment for children

May 5, 2010

Japan struggling to better environment for children

Japan has been trying to increase the number of children to counter the aging of society, but its efforts are far from a success in improving the situation for young people. May 5 is a national holiday, the Children’s Day, in Japan. The media reported various events held for the day across the country, but there were also sad incidents.

A 33-year-old woman of Kawasaki, north of Yokohama, reportedly strangled her nine-day-old daughter to death before giving herself up to the police. The incident is the latest of a host of child abuses in Japan. The woman is reported to have told police she did not like child care. “This is just incredible,” my wife said. Raising a child is a pleasure for parents. This must be the case for any periods. But Japan may be a hard place now for children and parents to live in.

People revere and want the seven kinds of treasures, but they are of no use at all to me. Furuhi, a boy who was born between my wife and I, was as precious as a white pearl for us. After dawn with the morning star in the sky, he did not leave the bed and hoped to play with us, standing and sitting. After sunset with the evening star in the sky, when I said “Now, go to bed,” he took my hands and told us in a sweet voice, “Sleep beside me, Mom and Dad. Let’s sleep side by side.” I looked forward to seeing his life, bad or good, after he grew up. But a strong side wind occurred all of a sudden. We had no idea what to do about it. Putting white sashes on my shoulders and holding a perfectly clear mirror in my hands, I prayed to the god of the heaven and prostrated myself before the god of the earth. Whether we get sick or not is determined by the gods’ ideas. While so thinking, I screamed and offered a prayer, but he never recovered. His face gradually became pale, and he stopped talking and died. I jumped and stamped my foot in grief. I lay with my face on my stomach. I looked up to the heaven. I grieved over his death while beating my chest, and I threw my son out of my hands. Is this what the world is all about?
(A personal translation)

This verse is a waka poem believed to have been composed by Yamanoue Okura, who lived in the eighth century. He was one of the greatest poets whose pieces were adopted for Japan’s oldest waka poem anthology Manyoshu. He served mainly as a provincial governor and a judge. Okura made many waka poems concerning children and their parents.
The number of children less than 15 years old in Japan fell to the lowest level on record of 16.94 million as of April 1, 2010, down 190,000 from a year earlier and a 29th consecutive decline, according to a government report. The percentage of children declined to 13.3 pct, almost a third of the figure for 1950.

Reform-minded Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's government has implemented a series of measures to support child-raising. Among them is a program to pay 26,000 yen in cash a month for all children 15 years old or younger. This is in line with the ruling Democratic Party of Japan’s pet phrase “Shift focus from construction-oriented public works to human beings.” But critics warn the payment will only increase economic burdens on children themselves in the future. The measure, based on a law enacted in March, is estimated to cost 2.25 trillion yen this year and 4.5 trillion yen from next year on. There lies a rough road ahead for the government to carry out people-oriented policies while rehabilitating the state finances.

Wisteria replaces cherry blossoms as month's flower on Japanese floral calendar

May 2, 2010

Wisteria replaces cherry blossoms as month's flower on Japanese floral calendar


Wisteria takes its turn on the Japanese floral calendar as the season goes on to May. A tall wisteria tree, standing at the gate of a small Buddhist temple at Kamakura, was in full bloom on a clear day in early May, charming many passers-by. With a lot of tufts of light purple flowers hanging, the tree got them to heave a sigh of surprise as it comes into their sight at a curved road. At another temple, visitors were taking a rest and having a chat in the shade under a wisteria arbor.
Wisteria is a flower that represents May on the Japanese floral calendar, following plum blossoms for January, camellia for February, peach flowers for March and cherry blossoms for April. The busy cherry blossom season is over for most regions in Japan. In turn, the season has come when people can fully appreciate the beauty of spring flowers in warm weather. Wisteria heads the list of flowers for this time of the year. Japanese love to see the delicate tufts of wisteria blossoms sway in the wind under the trellis. Despite its slender figure, wisteria and its vine are tough. Wisteria vines are used to make various kinds of furniture and items, while softened wisteria fibers used to be a material for clothes.

I left the image of wisteria blossoms
softly reflected in the pond,
because it looked so fragile
it could vanish only with a slightest touch.
Nevertheless, the waves came and destroyed the image.
(A personal translation)

This is a waka poem composed by Oshikochi Mitsune, a poet who was active early in the Heian period. Mitsune lived in the same age as Ki Tsurayuki, the chief editor of the waka poem anthology Kokinwakashu compiled in the 10th century.
Wisteria is also featured in many works of traditional art. Among them is the famous kabuki dance “Fuji Musume” (Wisteria Maiden). The performer plays as a wisteria sprite who appeared as a pretty young girl worried about her affair with a cold-hearted man.
Wisteria is known not only for its strength but also for its sustainability. Wisteria will continue to please Japanese people until hydrangea succeeds it as the flower of June with the arrival of the "tsuyu" rainy season.

Nara excited on commemorative year of Heijo-kyo Capital

April 24, 2010

Nara excited on commemorative year of Heijo-kyo Capital

Nara is one of the few lively spots in Japan, at a time when the economy remains in the doldrums. Nara, a basin hemmed by mountains and hills around, hosted Heijo-kyo capital from 710 to 794, the period when Japan tried hard to establish itself as a state by importing various cultures and items from the Tang dynasty of China. (Readers may be advised to see the post released on Jan. 31.)

Located at the center of the northernmost part of the capital, with a population of 100,000, was Heijo Palace. But the palace was deserted when the capital was moved to the place now known as Kyoto toward the end of the eighth century. The site of the palace had been left as fields until a few decades ago, but the 130-hectare area will become a "theater" this time for a series of events marking the 1,300th anniversary of the founding of Heijo-kyo from late April to November. Organizers expect the events will attract about 2.5 million visitors during the period.

Time-honored cultural assets in Nara, including many temples and shrines, were listed as a world heritage by UNESCO in 1998. Among them is Todaiji Temple, one of the biggest Buddhist temples built on an emperor's personal wishes in the Nara period. A new face which may join these landmark assets is Daigokuden, a 27-meter-high structure newly restored at the Heijo-kyo Palace site. What used to be the most important building of Heijo Palace has been built at the original place in a nine-year, 18-billion-yen national project. The building attracted hundreds of visitors on the opening day of the events on Saturday.
Facilities built for the events were shown to media and tourist industry people before the official start of the festival. Among them were a real-size replica of a ship for an envoy to the Tang dynasty and a virtual reality theater designed for viewers to feel the atmosphere of the palace and streets in the capital on a dynamic multiple screen. A performance of dancers wearing ancient costumes and the changing of guards at the front gate to the palace were also demonstrated for the preview. Events planned late April through early May include performances and exhibitions featuring China and Korea.
The excavation of the palace site started around 1960, but the area is yet to be fully investigated. Organizers have had to be careful about keeping the remains underground unhurt in their work on the commemorative events.

The restored main building of the palace and part of the facilities will be preserved as a national park after the end of the events. How to maintain the current euphoric mood in Nara and spread it to other historic and tourist spots is expected to be an important task for Japan as it wants to increase the number of inbound tourists in an effort to be a “soft power” in the world.

American woman honored by Japanese fans in service at Yokohama cemetery

April 6, 2010

American woman honored by Japanese fans in service at Yokohama cemetery


The American journalist and travel writer rests in peace at a Yokohama graveyard along with her mother and her elder brother. A small memorial service was held in front of her grave last week by a group of her Japanese fans, who hope to disseminate her achievements for friendship between Japan and the United States.
Eliza R. Scidmore was born in Clinton, Iowa, in 1856 and died in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1928. Her ashes were transferred to Yokohama the following year as her mother and brother had died in Yokohama earlier. Scidmore joined her kin in their grave at the Yokohama General Foreign Cemetery. A small monument set up beside her tombstone reads “A woman who loved Japanese cherry blossoms rests in peace here.”
Notable among Scidmore’s achievements was her key role played for a project to transport about 3,000 young Japanese flowering cherry trees to the United States and plant them in the Potomac River area in Washington D.C. in 1912. The cherry trees became widely known there as a token of friendly relations between the two countries. The trees are in full bloom early April every year. Timed to coincide with their blooming, the “sakura” cherry blossom festival takes place there annually. A few young plants were created by grafting from one of the cherry trees in Washington and donated back to Japan in 1991. One of them is in front of the tomb of Scidmore and her mother and brother.
Her fans annually gather before her grave in the cherry blossom season to remember her achievements. This year’s service, the 24th of its kind, brought together about 40 people, who offered flowers to her grave one by one and sang the sakura (cherry blossoms) song for her.

Cherry blossoms, cherry blossoms
Cherry trees are in full bloom
across the hills out there under the March sky.
They look like mists or clouds,
and their fragrances are everywhere.
Now let’s go. Let’s go and see the cherry blossoms.
(A personal translation)

This old Japanese folk song is sung at various occasions in spring. The song, which is linked to an old etude for the “koto” Japanese harp, is so much loved by Japanese as to be called the “second national anthem.”
The young cherry tree which came from Washington “was just about a meter high when it was planted here, but it is now this high, “ extending its branches over the tombstone, Kaoru Onji, a founder of the fans' group, told participants.
Yokohama was the place where Scidmore set foot on her first visit to Japan in 1884. Her brother, George, was an American diplomat in Yokohama at that time. She visited Japan many times after that and stayed mainly in Yokohama. Scidmore published her first book about Japan in 1891, devoting the first four chapters of the 37-chapter book to discussing people’s life and exciting spots of Yokohama. The former small fishing village had been opened as a new port to foreign countries 25 years before her first visit. About 3,700 foreigners were in the port city in 1884, when she saw Japan for the first time. The cemetery where she rests in peace is in a scenic area on the Bluff which commands a nice view of Yokohama Port.
Scidmore joined the National Geographic Society of the United States in 1890 and wrote many books about Japan and other Asian countries. She was the first woman to have a seat on the Board of Managers of the society.
What Scidmore made in contribution to friendship between Japan and the United States had been little known among general people in Japan “when we started holding memorial services for her," Onji said. The Scidmore family had ceased because the brother and sister died unmarried, leaving nobody to take care of their tomb, said Onji, the widow of the first Japanese translator of Scidmore’s 1891 book “Jinrikisha Days in Japan.”
A young cherry tree was further grafted from the tree beside her grave and planted near a shopping street in Yokohama a few years ago through efforts by the group and others to let people know about her episode.
Scidmore showed keen interest, with a favorable feeling, in almost everything she saw in Japan. She was particularly curious about Japanese flowers and plants, including not only cherry blossoms but also "asagao" morning glories, and above all, the Japanese art of gardening. Her passion about Japanese flowers led her to write a long essay, titled “The Surprising Morning Glories of Japan.” The Japanese translation of the essay was contributed to a magazine published by a group of Japanese horticulturists in 1900, a researcher said at a party after the service. The essay contained many professional remarks, indicating Scidmore had tried hard to collect information about what she saw and studied hard about it. "It is just great," the researcher said.
Efforts for better relations between Japan and the United States were made by a variety of Americans, among them Scidmore, who were charmed by Japan and its culture in its early stage to get out of two and a half centuries of isolation under the Tokugawa shogun regime. This suggests relations between the two countries across the Pacific were rather closer than at present, at least in terms of culture and people’s feelings. What should have Scidmore said about the current shaky relations between Tokyo and Washington if she was alive? This is a question one should be tempted to ask.

Mt. Fuji continues to charm Japanese with many faces

March 31, 2010

Mt. Fuji continues to charm Japanese with many faces


Mt. Fuji has continued to charm Japanese over the centuries while showing them many faces as a god-like object and a beautiful but dangerous peak for climbers. Japan’s highest mountain stands on a border that separates Shizuoka Prefecture facing the Pacific to the south and the landlocked Yamanashi Prefecture. But the 3,776-meter-high dormant volcano can be seen from various places as remote as some 300 kilometers away on Japan’s main island of Honshu on clear days, because it has no other mountain or mountain range around.
Fuji used to be an active volcano in the ancient times. The mountain was depicted in many classical literary works as a volcano that constantly emits big columns of smoke to no purpose. In later periods, Fuji became to be seen as an awe-inspiring mountain.
Following is a love poem composed by Ki Tsurayuki, one of the greatest waka poets in the Heian period from the late eighth century to the 12th century:

My unrealized ardent love will remain to be met.
A fire in my heart may climb up to the sky like a cloud.
As Mt. Fuji constantly burns itself,
I will continue to burn the fire of my love forever.
(A personal translation)

Those who start their trail from the southern bottom point can see an old big shrine that stands to guard the mountain as a god. Most of the areas above the eighth station of Fuji are believed to be part of the precincts of the shrine, Sengen Shrine. One of the buildings that belong to the shrine is on the top of the mountain.
Today, paved roads take people up as high as the half way point of the mountain, but it sometimes shows its dangerous face, exposing climbers to the risks of developing altitude sickness and being hit by strong winds or fallen rocks. In the winter season, they must also be careful about the danger of slipping down the icy slopes and freezing to death.
Accidents on the mountain claimed at least nine lives in 2009. Among the dead were two Americans. A total of nearly 1,000 people are seen to have lost their lives on the mountain since modern mountaineering was introduced into Japan in the Meiji era.
Local people and authorities have been campaigning to get Mt. Fuji on the list of world heritages of UNESCO. They first tried to have it registered as a natural world heritage, but they switched to a registration as a cultural heritage because the contaminated natural environment around the mountain must be improved.
People in the local community still admire Fuji as a god-hosting mountain. Many people in other areas also watch the mountain while seeking something that heartens or encourages them to get through the current hard time. The mountain is expected to continue to give Japanese a lot of spiritual energies to support their life.

Kamakura shrine loses symbolic tree

March 12, 2010

Kamakura shrine loses symbolic tree

A famous Shinto shrine in Kamakura, the home to Japan’s first samurai-led regime, was filled with a mixed atmosphere one day this week. Visitors were heaving a sigh of admiration at early cherry blossoms at several places in the precincts of Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine, while others were watching a fallen ginkgo tree near the main building of the shrine with worried faces. The news that the 800-year-old, 30-meter-high tree had fallen has attracted an unusually large number of visitors to the shrine. (Readers may be advised to see the post published on Jan. 7.)
Tsurugaoka Hachimangu attracts about half of some 19 million tourists to Kamakura. After the incident, shrine priests held a rite in front of the tree to calm and purify its soul. The ginkgo tree, which had shed its leaves, was uprooted by a storm before dawn on Wednesday. A watchman at the shrine heard big sounds a few times before finding the tree lying beneath the big staircase leading to the main building with its root totally exposed. The incident came as a shock to frequent visitors and worshipers to the shrine as well as citizens of Kamakura, because the tree has been admired as the symbol of the shrine.
“We will resuscitate the tree while obtaining experts’ advice,” a shrine official said. “We’ll have to do so anyway, because it has been a sacred tree for us,” he said. An expert who was called to the shrine and took a look at the situation said it will be difficult to plant the tree back at the same place.

The tree, with its trunk 6.8 meters around, is linked to a legend about the 1219 assassination of Minamoto Sanetomo, the third and last Kamakura shogun. Sanetomo, a son of the first Kamakura shogun Minamoto Yoritomo, was 26 when he was assassinated by his nephew on a snowy day at the shrine. He was also known as a waka poet. One of his works in his own waka poem anthology goes:

This world would be unchanged forever, I wish.

A fisherman is seen ahead

rowing a small boat

tied to a rope extended from the beach.

What an interesting view it is!

(A personal translation)

With its root covered by straw mats, the tree was surrounded by hundreds of people standing with a worried look behind the fences. An old man said, “I feel sad about it, because my wife and I had a wedding ceremony at this shrine 50 years ago.”
The tree has been designated as a natural monument for Kanagawa Prefecture. Kanagawa Governor Shigefumi Matsuzawa expects to establish a task force to discuss what to do about the tree. Japanese people are busy making their living amid concern about the course of the economy, but the incident suggests that people are rather having stronger interest in Japan’s culture and tradition. The year 2010 should be remembered as an important year not just for the shrine but also for those who love Kamakura and its history.

Small rural town activates itself with Hina Matsuri doll festival

Feb. 28, 2010

Small rural town activates itself with Hina Matsuri doll festival

The 300-year-old former village headman’s residence becomes the theater of a traditional “Hina Matsuri” festival from February to March with hundreds of special dolls displayed to the public. The doll festival, organized by Kaisei Town with a population of 16,000, attracts about 20,000 visitors to the dominantly farming region every year. During the three-week festival, members of the local women’s club are busy cleaning the residence and preparing special dolls and other items to be displayed before receiving visitors.
The oldest of the special dolls are those preserved by the Seto family, the former owner of the straw-roofed residence, whose origin goes back to the 17th century early in the Edo era. Other dolls, made in the Meiji era or later periods, have been contributed by other families of the town. They are displayed along with many colorful hanging decorations of lucky items, which are handmade by members of the women’s club. “We have about 20 sets of special dolls contributed and over 7,000 items of hanging decorations,” a women’s club member said. “There are also some dolls in the warehouse, because we cannot display all of them right here.”
The special dolls for the Hina Matsuri festival include a pair of dolls representing the Emperor and the Empress, which is placed atop of five- or seven-tier alters covered with red carpet. Placed beneath them are the three court ladies, the five court musicians and the ministers of the left and the right. Also on display are miniature pieces of furniture, including “bonbori” paper-covered lanterns, and fake foods like lozenge-shaped colored rice cakes.

Let’s light up the “bonbori” lanterns,
let’s offer peach flowers at the alter,
flutes and drums played by the five musicians.
Let’s have fun with the Hina Matsuri dolls today.

The Emperor and Empress dolls,
sitting side by side with straight faces,
the white faced court lady is
just like my married elder sister.

The spring breeze gently sways the flickering light
on the golden folding screen.
The Minister of the Right has a red face.
He must be drunk with rice malt sake.

Changing clothes and tying obi sashes,
today, I will also be dressed in all my finery,
for this special day of March,
for the Hina Matsuri festival, lovelier than anything else.
(A personal translation)

This is a children’s song which is frequently heard toward early March. The song, made in the 1930s, is in a minor key but it has been loved for its gentle melody not only by children but also by many women.
The Hina Matsuri festival is usually observed on the third day of March. The fest is based on a practice which dates back to the Heian period of the 10th to 12th centuries, in which people transferred their sin and misfortune to small paper dolls and floated them down the river. Combined with a doll play among girls at noble families, the practice developed into a festival in later periods to wish for young girls’ good health and happiness. The event is also called the Feast of Peach Blossoms, because it comes when peach blossoms start to bloom.
The Hina Matsuri doll display at Kaisei Town is one of many newly launched events in various parts of Japan in order to demonstrate each region’s attractive features in historical and traditional terms. The town can be reached by about an hour of train ride from Tokyo.
The doll festival at the Seto family residence began only five years ago. But enthusiasm among local people, particularly members of the women’s club, about displaying their life and culture through the event suggests that the fest will continue to attract far more people than the town's population in the years ahead. The special dolls will be displayed until March 7 this year.