Hagi in Yamaguchi Prefecture is well known for its fine ceramics - Hagi-ware or in Japanese hagiyaki.
Pottery production in Hagi dates back to the Heian Period but it wasn't until the late sixteenth century that the distinctive Hagi-ware of simple forms and a translucent white glaze were born.
The late sixteenth century was a period of intense interest in the tea ceremony inspired by the influence of the tea master Sen-no-rikyu (1522-1591) and his philosophy of tea known as wabi-cha. The era also saw two invasions of Korea by warlord Hideyoshi Toyotomi, whose forces abducted a number of potters from Korea. Two of these (the brothers Lee Jak Kwang and Lee Kyung) settled in the Hagi area under the patronage of the Mori clan and began making Korean-style tea bowls which are the origin of later Hagi-ware.
Hagiyaki is supposed to improve with age as the colors soften as the tannin from the green tea soaks through the porous glaze. However, the pottery is very fragile and easy to break.
Two of Hagi's great pottery families are the Miwas and the Sakas, some of whose members have been designated National Living Treasures for their art.
Hagi-ware can be seen in numerous galleries and museums throughout the town including the Hagi Museum (Tel: 0838 25 6447), the Ishii Teabowl Museum (Tel: 0838 25 1211) and the Hagi Pottery Museum (Tel: 0838 25 8981).
The first week of May is the annual Hagi-yaki Festival with works from over 50 local kilns on sale.
Today is the anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima in 1945.
Remembrance ceremonies will take place in Hiroshima's Peace Park and in other towns and cities in Japan throughout the day and night to honor the approximately 140,000 victims of the world's first atomic bomb attack. Three days later a second bomb was dropped on the historic city of Nagasaki on the western coast of Kyushu, effectively ending the Pacific War.
There is an extensive canon of literature surrounding this pivotal event in history by both Japanese and foreign writers, including such works as the comic book Barefoot Gen by Keiji Nakazawa, Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes by American novelist Eleanor Coerr, which tells the tragic story of Sadako Sasaki, who died from leukemia in 1955 brought on by radiation poisoning from the Hiroshima atomic bomb and Masuji Ibuse's harrowing Black Rain, based on actual diaries kept of the event.
Other recommended books include John Hersey's excellent Hiroshima - an account of six men and women who survived against all odds and Last Train From Hiroshima by Charles Pellegrino with eyewitness accounts of those who experienced the atomic explosions firsthand including Tsutomu Yamaguchi, who endured and survived both the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs.
If you are a weather junky like me, one of the best places to head for, especially for long-range weather forecasts, is the Japan Meteorological Society website.
Information is available in both Japanese and English including Tokyo weather forecasts, daily, weekly and seasonal forecasts for all regions of Japan, airport weather as well as news on earthquakes and tsunami warnings.
The weather maps are updated at 5am, 11am and 5pm every day.
Meteorological services in Japan began in 1875 during the Meiji Period by the Tokyo Meteorological Observatory, the forerunner of the JMS.
In our continuing series on public toilets in Japan, which includes toilets in the ancient capital, Kyoto, a super toilet in Kofu and toilets in Tokyo, we bring you yet more of the capitals, often excellent public conveniences.
Many public toilets in parks, cemeteries and temples may be rather bog standard Asian squat toilets, but a special mention must go to the excellent and immacutely clean toilet at Tennoji Temple in Yanaka.
If you have a good shot of a Japanese public toilet, we'd love to hear from you, so please contact us.
Bog Standards
World Toilet Day is on November 19th each year.
Japan also celebrates its own Toilet Day in November.
The Japanese company Toto is the world's largest producer of toilets.
Visitors beware! Blue indicates gents, pink ladies.
Sakai Festival takes place on the third Saturday and Sunday of October. Look out for a bicycle parade including some historic bikes, a large flea market in Xavier Park (Nambanichiba) and a tea ceremony in honor of favorite son, Sen-no-Rikyu, held in in Nanshuji Temple and Daisen Park.
The festival began in 1974 and also features floats and a parade of people wearing different national costumes.
The festival emphasizes the city's trading links with foreign countries - Nanban means "southern barbarian" and was the name given to the early Portuguese who first arrived in Japan in the 16th century. St. Francis Xavier is known to have visited Sakai in 1550.
Ameyayokocho is the most famous shopping street in Tokyo’s Ueno district. If you want to experience first-hand the rowdiness and crowdedness of a traditional Japanese marketplace, "Ameyoko," as it is usually abbreviated to, is the place to be.
“Ameya” means “candy shop,” and “yokocho,” “alley” – so “candy shop alley,” referring to the stores that used to dominate the street. The range of produce is now much wider, and includes fresh fish, dried foods, other cooking requisites, clothing, toys and bags.
Of the food stalls, the fish sellers are perhaps the most worth stopping at. In particular the blocks of raw fish for the preparation of sashimi or sushi are probably the best value for money you’ll find anywhere in Tokyo (except, perhaps, at the Tsukiji Fish Market).
Ameyoko stores are generally open between about 10am and 7pm, and many close on Wednesday.
Non-existent old folks
Non-existent old folks
