田県神社の豊年祭,　犬山、愛知県

The 2010 Tagata Jinja Fertility Festival takes places on March 15 and is one of Japan's most celebrated "Phallic Festivals". Fifteen years ago there were a few hundred bemused spectators watching the procession and the whole event was very much a subdued local affair.





Nowadays a vast, boisterous crowd of both Japanese and foreign visitors watch the 2.5m, newly-carved 300kg wooden phallus being carried on a mikoshi (portable shrine), by teams of 12 men, the 1.5km between Kumano Shrine and Tagata Shrine near Inuyama, just outside Nagoya.

The procession reaches Tagata Shrine about 4pm for the literal climax of the day's events. A small portable shrine carries a wooden representation of Takeinadene-no-mikoto, the male deity visiting his female counterpart (and wife) Tamahime-no-mikoto, who is enshrined at Tagata Jinja. Next comes the huge phallus which is placed in the shrine for another year, the old phallus being sold off.

Access

To get to Tagata Jinja take a Meitetsu train from Nagoya Station or Kanayama Station to Inuyama. Change to a Meitetsu Komaki Line train leaving from platform 3 and go threee stops to Tagata Jinja Mae. Turn left out of the station and then left again at the main road. Tagata Jinja is about 400m on your right. To reach Kumano Shrine turn right out of Tagata Jinja, cross over the main road and Kumano Jinja is on your left as you climb the hill after crossing over the railway line.
Alternatively take the Tsurumai Subway Line to Kami Otai and change to a Meitetsu Line train to Inuyama and then the Komaki Line to Tagata Jinja Mae.

Ogata Shrine (Tel: 0568 67 1017) is a ten minute walk, turning right out of Gakuden Station on the Meitetsu Komaki Line.

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今週の日本

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Japan Statistics

Japan came home with 5 medals from the Vancouver Olympics: three silver and two bronze. This was well short of the ten medals the Japan Olympic Committee set as a goal.

In contrast, South Korea won 14 medals, including six skating gold medals.

Source: Kyodo News

Number of Wikipedia pages, by language (number):

1. English (3,178,000)
2. German (1,018,000)
3. French (907,000)
4. Polish (671,000)
5. Italian (653,000)
6. Japanese (650,000)
7. Dutch (584,000)
8. Spanish (557,000)
9. Portuguese (541,000)
10. Russian (488,000)

Source: Asahi Shinbun

Percentage of Wikipedia pages devoted to "popular culture" (comics, gossip, celebrities), by country:

Japan: 80%
USA: 40%
France: 20%

Source: Asahi Shinbun

Catch quotas of bluefin tuna, 2009:

southern bluefin tuna: 11,800 tons
Atlantic bluefin tuna: 23,900 tons
Pacific bluefin tuna: 24,900 tons

Japan imports 80% of its Atlantic bluefin tuna. However, that fish is likely to become designated an endangered species - which Japan strongly opposes - and would result in a ban on imports.

Source: Yomiuri Shinbun

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花見

Springtime, perfect for having picnics, wearing shorts and admiring the Cherry Blossom in DC. The National Cherry Blossom Festival is an two-week (per annum) event that celebrates springtime in Washington, DC as well as the 1912 gift of the cherry blossom trees and the enduring friendship between the people of the United States and Japan.



DC Attractions include multiple festivals, museums, monuments, and more. The National Cherry Blossom Festival, Inc., is a 501(c)(3) organization that coordinates, produces, and supports creative and diverse activities promoting traditional and contemporary arts and culture, natural beauty and the environment, and community spirit and youth education. It's also begins peak season for an influx of tourists to Washington, also brought in by the thousands of historical landmarks, museums, and other buildings, The National Museum of Crime & Punishment, located in Washington, D.C. is one of those such buildings, with excellent depictions of historically famous crime scenes along detailed information concerning past wars, forensics, organized crime, and more.

National Museum of Crime & Punishment
575 7th St. NW
Washington, DC 20004
Tel: (202) 621-5561
www.crimemuseum.org

密航・密輸の発見にご協力を！

Close to the southern tip of Kyushu, not far from Sakurajima and Kagoshima - and North Korea - there was this sign planted on a bluff above a beach.

It literally reads:

Mikko Mitsuyu no Hakken ni go Kyoryoku o!

"Thanks for your help in spotting smugglers and ships that sneak into Japan!"

Below that in red on the flag:

Fushin na fune, hito, kuruma o mikaketara sugu 110 ban

"If you see a suspicious boat, person, or car call 110"

That is Japan's national emergency number.

This sign - located on a beach not far from the Korean Peninsula - is clearly referring to and aimed at thwarting the activities of Kim Jong Il's agents.

To date, 17 Japanese nationals have been recognized as having been abducted by agents from North Korea. They were bundled to the Hermit Kingdom, where they were used as language teachers for other agents.

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日本　苗字

Japan has its Suzukis, Tanakas, Katos and Watanabes just as the English speaking world has its Smiths, Taylors, Collinses and Wilsons, but there is also incredible variety in Japanese surnames, and especially first names – every bit as much, if not more than, there is with Western names. If you teach English in Japan, you'll almost invariably find that there is a student or two in a class whose surname you’ll have never come across before.

According to reliable Japanese sources, the top ten names in Japan are Sato, Tanaka, Yamamoto, Saito, Suzuki, Watanabe, Nakamura, Takahashi, Ito, Kobayashi, which cover about 10% of the population. The next 100 surnames cover 35% of the population, and the next 1,000, 74%. In total, there are estimated to be about 300,000 surnames in Japanese.

Unlike the most popular English names, the majority of which are derived from occupations, most Japanese surnames are derived from place names. Obvious ones from the top 10 are Tanaka (“in the fields”), Yamamoto (“foot of the mountain”), Nakamura (“middle village”), and Kobayashi (“small wood”).

While in formal situations, the Japanese refer to each other by their surname plus the polite “san” or the extra polite “sama,” in casual situations they still use surnames, but suffix it, in the case of men, with “kun” or the even more endearing “chan” – both which are definitely best avoided unless a Japanese person has taken the initiative of attaching it to your name. In the meantime, play safe and stick to surname + san.

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桜島噴火

On a brief trip to Kagoshima, we toured around the city ending up at an overlook above the center of downtown.

As we joined a group of Chinese tourists, we were afforded a splendid view of Sakurajima, the volcanic island just across the bay.

The day was clear and bright with only a few clouds. Sakurajima was framed by a blue sky, with only one small cloud just to the right of center.

After a few minutes though the mountain came to life.

Great plumes of white smoke puffed out of the right side of the volcano - see below left.

This elicited great squeals of delight. It lasted for roughly ten minutes - then just as suddenly stopped.

Later in the day, it started up several more times.

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水引

Mizuhiki is a traditional Japanese craft using rice paper, which is tightly binded and wound, starched and then bent into various shapes for use as decoration.



The cord can be painted or entwined with thin strips of silk to color it. Mizuhiki was used to tie the hair of samurai in the Edo Period (1600-1868). Nowadays mizuhiki items in the shape of animals or just about anything (plants, cakes, scrolls, birds, dolls, ships, battledores, family crests, keyrings etc) are given as presents for weddings and births.

Colorful small mizuhiki knots are also attached to envelopes, especially those for giving money at weddings and funerals.



Traditionally mizuhiki was made in artisans' homes over the winter after the rice harvest was gathered in. The area around Iida and Hirugami Onsen in Nagano Prefecture is famous for the art of mizuhiki. Craftspeople may give a demonstration in your ryokan in the evening or visit one of the arts and crafts museums in the area, where you can purchase pieces ranging in size from full suits of samurai armor to tiny mobile phone straps.




Furosato Mizuhiki Kogeikan (Tel: 0265 25 5222) just off National Highway 153 close to the Iida Interchange of the Chuo Expressway is recommended.
Hours: 8.30-5pm daily.

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