中学校旅行清水寺訪問

One of the rites of passage for all Japanese is the school trip.

In elementary school, it is a supervised overnight - or several nights - to a prefectural facility where the children can learn or experience a theme they have been studying in class.

Examples include marine life, farming, the environment, etc.

Once in junior high school, the trip usually goes a bit farther afield. The most popular destinations are Kyoto, Tokyo, Hokkaido, and the southern islands of Okinawa.

Junior high students are taken to the destination - and then basically released to their own devices. They have a checklist of sites to see, tasks to complete - the most irritating task is an "interview" that their English teacher has assigned: it involves finding and interviewing a foreigner - but the chaperones are never with them. (Rumor has it the teachers sleep at the hotel while the kiddies are away, or are merely hungover.)

High school students are now just as likely to go abroad. Hawaii, Australia, South Korea, and China are popular. Still, many do the tried and true domestic routes.

On a recent visit to Kiyomizu Temple, we saw many many junior and high school students.

The primary purpose of the outing seemed to be 1) browse the junky shops on the road up to the World Heritage Site, 2) eat green tea ice cream, 3) take group photo, 4) make lots and lots of noise.

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と

Today let's look at the Japanese word "to."

"to" (pronounced like the "to" in "tock") is a particle that "reports" on how something does something, or what someone says. In English we often use the words "go" or "say," as in "Dogs go woof, cats go miaow," or "'He said 'Yes!'." In Japanese, Inu ga wanwan to hoeru, neko ga nyao to naku (literally "Dogs bark 'woof,' cats cry 'miaow',") or Kare, hai to iutta.

You can see from these examples that "to" comes after the expression that is being reported. Then, following the "to" comes the verb - in the above cases "bark" (hoeru), "cry" (naku), and "said" (iutta). In other words the "[REPORTED THING] + to" is an adverbial phrase that modifies the following verb, i.e. describes exactly how the thing done is being done.

Incidentally, the reported thing doesn't have to be a sound or words. Remember Simon and Garfunkel's Sounds of Silence? Well, Japanese actually has a
sound for silence: shin (usually elongated to shi-i-i-n), as in Kurasu ga shin to natta. "natta" means "became," although the natural word we would use in English would be "went": "The class went silent," or, better still, "The class fell silent." "Ojiisan wa yukkuri to aruku." "Grandad walks slowly."
"Taro wa gaburi to shokuji o tabeta" "Taro guzzled his food/Taro ate greedily."

This leads to the often heard question: Nan to iu ka? (polite form "Nan to iimasu ka?") "iu" (polite form: iimasu) means "to say," "nan" means "what," so, "What is [it] called?/What is [its/his/her/their] name?" - a very useful question when you're trying to learn a language, or at least pick up vocabulary.


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着物姿の京美人

On a recent trip to the Silver Pavilion (Ginkakuji), in Kyoto, we met two lovely women decked out in warm-weather kimono.

They were making their way out of the temple, and gladly posed for a photograph.

Under a fairly strong late spring sun, the woman were immaculate. Aside from the angle of their peace signs, nothing was amiss.

Their obi were tastefully chosen, the fabric of the kimono exquisite. Their hair and makeup were clearly done by someone with an experienced hand.

For an interesting contrast, click on the photo and look at the couple in the background.

They are much more representative of every day dress: jeans, sneakers, t-shirts, a semi-layered look on the woman.

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雑司ヶ谷霊園

Zoshigaya Cemetery not far from Ikebukuro contains the graves of some famous people.

Within the neat public cemetery lie such luminaries as Lafcadio Hearn, Natsume Soseki, Kyoka Izumi, Hideki Tojo, Yumeji Takehisa, and Nakahama "John" Manjiro.



Zoshigaya Cemetery dates from the late 19th century and is administered by the Tokyo Metropolitan Park Association.



Not far from the cemetery is the Zoshigaya Missionary Museum.

Zoshigaya Reien
Toshima-ku, Minami Ikebukuro 4-25-1
171-0022
Tel: 03 3971 6868



Access: Higashi Ikebukuro and Gokokuji stations on the Yurakucho Subway Line; Zoshigaya on the Fukutoshin Subway Line; Toden Zoshigaya Station on the Arakawa Line. By bus get off at Zoshigaya-reien Iriguchi stop (Bus Line #02 Otsu).

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銀閣寺

Kyoto's Silver Pavilion represents perhaps the pinnacle of Japanese wabi sabi, or understated beauty.

Located at the northern end of the Philosopher's Walk near the foot of Mt. Hiei, the main pavilion at Ginkakuji is now under construction.

The building is now totally exposed, and work will continue until March, 2010.

The temple is still well worth a visit.

Yoshimasa Ashikaga built the temple as a retirement villa and gardens around 1460. Following his death, it became a Buddhist temple.

The main structure, Kannon hall, was designed in imitation of the the main hall at Kinkakuji.

That building was built by his grandfather, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu.

The "Silver Pavilion" is not silver, but was thus named because of plans to cover it in foil. It was never decorated with silver foil, however, because of the Onin War, which halted work on the temple.

The gardens at the temple are wonderful. The piled sand - above right - at the head of the garden is said to represent Mt. Fuji.

The grounds behind the temple afford a wonderful view of the pavilion and city beyond.

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今週の日本

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Japan Statistics

Number of maiko (apprentice geisha) working in Kyoto: 85
Number of geisha working in Kyoto: 198

Source: Yomiuri Shinbun

In the current Cabinet of Prime Minister Taro Aso, 11 of 17 members are "hereditary politicians." That is, they are the progeny of politicians. The leading example is, of course, the PM himself whose mother, Kazuko Aso, was Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida's daughter.

Aso's younger sister is the wife of Prince Tomohito of Mikasa, a first cousin of the Emperor Akihito.

Source: Yomiuri Shinbun

In 2008, two thousand eighty-three college graduates had their job offers rescinded. That shatters the previous record, in 1997, of 1,077.

Source: Daily Yomiuri

The number of Japanese students studying abroad is in decline. This is in contrast to the increasing number of foreign students studying in Japan.

In 2008, 123,829 foreign students were studying in Japan. This is a 240% increase over the figure in 1998.

However, in 2007, just 34,000 Japanese students were studying in the USA, the primary destination. That compares with 46,000 in 2002.

Source: Daily Yomiuri

Support for Tokyo's bid to host the 2016 Olympics has climbed to 76%, according to a nationwide poll.

Source: Daily Yomiuri

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ラケル オムライス　西新宿



Feel like something you can really sink your teeth into, that tastes good, is served generously, and is cheap? Rakeru in West Shinjuku (Nishi Shinjuku) is an omurice (i.e. “omelette rice”) restaurant that serves what is pretty close to typical hearty American home fare: roasts, steaks, vegetables, salads, and desserts. And, of course, the ubiquitous rice-filled omelette.

As well as serving tasty food – and pretty promptly - Rakeru is Alice-in-Wonderland-themed. The crockery has (often mis-spelled) quotations from Alice in Wonderland, and the friendly waitresses (no waiters in sight) are all dressed in red check frilly pinafores.

Rakeru is only a few paces from Shinjuku Post Office.
Map to Rakeru omurice restaurant in Nishi Shinjuku

There are over 60 Rakeru restaurants throughout Japan, the majority in Tokyo, and even a few in Singapore!





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