Tsubaki

The Tsubaki (not to be confused with Tsubaki, Tsubaki or Tsubaki) is known as 'Camellia Japonica' in English. I found these seed cases on the road side on Sunday.

Statisticaly speaking

Here are some of the stats from my hit counter this month that detail how some poeple came to visit 'Japanese Light'. Sad but true, the posts that mention anything vaguely pant-like will bring the hits.

Getting visited and receiving comments gives me a warm fuzzy feeling of contentment, but porn searched visits are like the experience of having everyones attention until you realize you have a huge zit on your nose.

My fault for mentioning the P-word I suppose. Sorry, move along now, nothing to see here, move along.

cartoon porn
16
17.78%
roricon (roricon = lolicon = lolita complex)
2
2.22%
roricon pics
2
2.22%
anime girl taking off pants
1
1.11%
anime undies
1
1.11%
blogspot roricon
1
1.11%
completely free cartoon porn
1
1.11%
english cartoon porn movies
1
1.11%

A late postcard from London

A picture from London that I thought I had lost, of the houses of parliment taken just after light up on a sunny summer eve. Very postcard like.

That evening I met a Russian student who had travelled down from Scotland where he was studying to be a doctor. He already spoke perfect English and was learning Japanese to be able to visit/study/work in Japan (the Japanese evidently having a good reputation in medical circles).

More on Japanese medicine as experienced by ordinary folk in the future I think. For now, just the memory of a very rushed summer in the U.K, and a few days happy snapping.

Autumn's long night

秋の夜長　（あきのよなが ) Aki no yonaga means 'Autumn's long night'. It is a phrase commonly used to describe the longer night times in this season.

Chindon-ya

A member of the Chindon-ya performance group at the street performers festival on Saturday.

This year was the 30th anniversary of the street performers festival in Osu Kannon, Nagoya. Amongst the many and varied performances was a Chindon group from Osaka.
I saw them there last year for the first time. A real, working Chindonya!
You can find out what a Chindonya is by reading the link here, but I thought it would be more interesting to show you what they write about themselves, and have spent a couple of hours (cough... long hours) translating the first section of their promotional material from this page.
Although not a professional translation, I think it retains some of the flavour of the original that should help give you a better idea of what a Chindonya is and does. Excuse any strange wording.

“You want and exciting atmosphere for you shop opening or sale.
At the lively beat of the drum, your counter will quickly take on a festival feeling.
For a business unsure of how to liven trade, the Chindon group is the answer. People gather from far and wide to hear the sound of the Chindoya!
Similarly, by performing a circuit in local residential areas, the Chindon group can help to show the sincerity of the storekeeper, make people feel more personally attached to a local store or business and at the same time make it the word on everyone’s lips.
During such promotions we can also listen to the needs and requests of residents, and report these back to the store or business. The Chindon group is, after all, an information medium for the local area.
If you decide to favor our group with your business, you get the youngest, freshest and most content rich group in Japan! We are number 1!
Just one call and we will fly to anywhere in the country, anywhere in the world! Contact the Chindon group information center now.”

Rotography

In June I wrote a post titled OAP (for Old Age Photographers) in which I used the phrase 'Rotographers' (Rojin (= old people) + Photographer). It is a phrase and an image that I find myself looking for at every festival I attend in Japan now. The silver year snappers, the retired generation who may be one of the last generations to enjoy the retirement benefits of the governments after war promise of employment for life.

Here are a few of the snaps of these photographers that keep the mid-range digital SLR market from stagnating:

The test of a photographer

Out of interest, I dropped into the head office of the Asahi Shinbun, one of Japan’s national newspapers, to find out what would be involved in becoming a staff photographer.

The young lady sitting alone at the reception desk was very kind, and after I had explained that I wanted to ask some advice about becoming a staff photographer she immediately phoned upstairs.

“There’s a gentleman in reception who would like to know how to become a staff photographer. Yes, Yes, Oh, he’s a foreigner by the way. Yes, thank you.
(looks at me) One of our photographers in on his way down to talk to you. Please wait in here.” “This is going very well”, I thought.

I was shown into a small waiting area and after only a couple of minutes was greeted by the photographer. I explained why I had dropped in and asked if he could give me some advice. Looking a little wary, as if he had not quite decided whether my language ability was up the explanation, he began to describe the application process.

Each applicant for a position within the company is required to take a ‘Nyu-sha shiken’, an entrance examination and a health check. After the test, comes an interview, and after that for the lucky few another interview and the chance to show ones portfolio. The brick wall in the process for the non-native Japanese speaker however comes right at the beginning. The test!

The test is a mixture of language ability, historical and general knowledge, reason and mathematics. It is unrelated to the position you are applying for. It requires a level of Japanese that even the top level of the Japanese proficiency test does not prepare you for and the mathematics test is at least A-level (high school) standard. It is difficult, and it is a test based on the Japanese system of education.

I do not know what it takes to become a staff photographer in other parts of the world, but to become a company employee in almost every large Japanese company you would have to take the test. This could be the point where I start whining about the Japanese system and the way it discriminates against foreigners etc but I will not for two reasons. Firstly, the level of ‘discrimination’ that I as a westerner experience is nothing compared to the experiences of other nationalities. The second reason is even simpler. This is just one of the things that makes living in Japan so interesting! Challenges you never expected. I suspect this is the reason some people stay for a long time, because they still didn’t overcome all of them.

Some people, the photographer told me, are hired because of their track record, and sometimes freelancers are used for specific tasks, but with an unusual hint of realism in my voice, I think that a staff position with a Japanese newspaper in any role is out of my reach….
…for the moment.

Roar

A defeated samurai general roars his challenge to the conquering army during a battle re-enactment held as part of 'The Parade of the Three Heroes' for the Nagoya Festival last weekend.

A Private Population

Campaigners outside kanayama station, Nagoya, on Saturday afternoon, calling for support for the democracy movement in Myanmar (Burma). One of the Japanese volunteers spoke of the difficulty of obtaining the support of the Japanese people. While the Japanese media has been working overtime to report the death of journalist Kenji Nagai, the subsequent repatriation of his body and his very well attended funeral, the Japanese people themselves seem reluctant to show open support.

The volunteer spoke of a protest held in Nagoya two weeks ago to highlight the oppression of the people of Myanmar by the current millitary junta. A total of 70 people attended. He was dissapointed with the turnout, comparing it to rallies held in London and New York.

He reasoned that the Japanese people were disinclined to involve themselves on a personal level with a problem outside their boarders, adding that even the abductions of Japanese nationals by North Korean agents provoked little response from the people themselves. This may or may not be the case, but Nagoya is known to be one of the most conservative areas of Japan, and perhaps not the easiest place to provoke a such a public response.

The military junta of Myanmar still continues to round up opposition, and seems to be targetting people like Kenji Nagai, journalists who wish to show the world the truth.

CM主義(しゅぎ)

A quickie from the world of advertising media. The commercial below was the winner of the Cannes Lions grand prix award for film advertising this year. It is a commercial for the Unilever Dove brand and was (cleverly) released on Youtube before anything else. Youtube as marketing? You'd better believe it!

My friend is 'in advertising' in a Japanese company and attended the festival this year. He is fascinated with the 'other side of the coin' approach to advertising that can be seen in commercials such as this and many other commercials from abroad.

In Japan, the t.v commercial is very often a very direct thing, with occasional imports from abroad adding spice. This years festival has, for him at least, provided another avenue of ideas to explore. It is possible that in Japan we may see the growth of commercials that must be contemplated, that require more audience participation so to speak. I am no weather reporter, but that seems to be the way the wind is blowing.

Anyway, back to the clips in hand. Sit back and enjoy the first, and then crack up and enjoy a very very well produced parody in the second.

Nakagawa Dusk

The Real Me

Mars Base

Autumn is a time to watch the skies.
"Japan has four seasons, what about your country?" is one question that any foreigner living in Japan is likely to be asked. Certainly the transition from summer to autumn here is a very clear one. One day it is warm, the next it is cool. The autumn fruits, the falling leaves, the fantastic sunsets and the ever changing clouds.
Yes, my country has four seasons, often in one day.

Kanayama Morning

No parking signs

I don't remember ever seeing signs like this in the U.K, or anywhere else outside Japan.

このマンガぽい標識はイギリスには一回も見たことない！日本だけかな？

While you are on line....

Funny place the internet, travelling without moving. You can even be in two places at once!
While you are here then, you might also consider being here as well.

Chris Willson is an Okinawa based photographer who uses medium format (big) film to record images from all over Japan. There are some beautiful images on the Travel 67 site and Chris has just added a new festivals section to the site gallery. You may find it worth your while being in only the one place to appreciate them fully.

Happy Birthday

Happy birthday Mitsuyo! (25 again!!!)

New Beginnings

Bar Arco of Sakae, Nagoya will be closing at the end of this month. The closure had been predicted for early next year but the Nomura San the bar owner has decided not to wait.

When I first moved to Nagoya I asked a new friend if he knew of any good bars in the city. He took me to Arco. Arco has, for me, over the last 6 years been a place to relax, meet interesting people, dance, drink eastern european liquors, ponder life, rant and rave, learn new vocabulary, pick up useful photography tips.... the list goes on. Simply speaking it was everything a good bar should be. My father even held his 60th birthday there!

Nomura san has found a new space for a new kind of bar not far from Nagoya station near Nagoya's oldest covered shopping street (one of the only areas that survived the bombing during the war). He is planning many exciting things for this new space, and non of them to do with machines that go beep. The second floor is to be converted to provide cheap rental office space for freelancers of all sorts, and may even provide me with an inexpensive studio work space.

I shall be sad to see the end of Arco, but an ending is a time for new beginnings.

Movement

(Old snap, new crop)

Imaike Dusk

Kismetik

First in a series for a London based punk rock band Kismetic. Photographs based on songs for their CDs and 'My Space' profile. This one for the song 'Blackmail', which you can hear online if you visit their site.

Having taken this, and a horizontal version, I went back and listened to the song again. Not sure if it's.... hard enough. Still, I like the image and was happy to make use of todays rain.

Time to leave

Advice without the wind

Following a post from 'A photo a day' , I spent 5 minuted reading through handy hints and tips for photogs on the go, published on 'Pop Photo' .

Tips range from the seemingly obvious (but nobody seems to do it):
"Which memory card is full and which is empty? Mark your memory cards in numerical order. Always start a shoot with card number 1, then 2, etc. It keeps you from having to plug them into the camera to see their status."

To the stuff born of experience, trial and errror:
"For shooting on the beach, I cut an X into three tennis balls, insert each leg of my tripod into them, and duct-tape them on. This prevents the legs from sinking into the sand and stabilizes the tripod."
(I'll remember that if I ever get another holiday)

A couple of hints from my cameraman's bag of tricks:
- when exchanging a memory card for a fresh one, put the used one back in the card holder upside down.
- When taking photos in someones house, use 100yen kids socks on the legs of your tripod to prevent getting the floor dirty (not much need for this outside Japan really).

Star Man

Go Street

It's that time of year again. The 'Osu Kannon Street Performers Festival' will turn the busy covered streets of Osu into busier covered streets as performers from all over Japan mime, dance, spit fire and joke their way into your digital sensor and your wallet.

The festival will last for two days, the 20th and 21st of October. It is really well worth it!

'Garettes

Opus

Sitting in the kitchen, rainy outside, browsing through some of the fascinating blogs and sites produced by people who have a passion for the work they do and the ideas and images (and ideas through images) they share with others, listening to 'Opus' by Ryuichi Sakamoto, drinking strong dark black slightly sugared coffee. Ah but you could get drunk on this! (Well, nauseatingly sentimental at least)

Best caption please...

The winner may do whatever they like within the bounds of their own conscience.
(terms and conditions always apply. That's life. No promises.)

(edit: Here's one.... "Yellow: The long and the short of it")

Quiz time

What am I? What am I in?

Off Kilter

Start your engine

What was even more of a shock than the sudden resignation of Japan's P.M for under a year Shinzo Abe, was the realization that there are only three months left until the JLPT (Japanese Language Proficiency Test) in December.

Half truths

Photo © Japanzine / carter witt media

Re: Cover story from this months Japanzine (magazine for English speaking foreigners inJapan) entitled "Half?". Read it here. Article by Doug Breath (made up name?) discussing the use of the English word 'half' in Japanese to describe children of mixed nationality parents.

I read this article and remembered an incident from last year when Mitz and I were taking her niece Yuiko out on a day trip. Yuiko is a tall kid, almost topping 170cm at age 12. We always get stares when the three of us are out together. you can see people trying to work out if Mitz and I are the parents because she is so tall (I am 186cm), but then she looks so Japanese doesn't she?

On the train then, bound for Inuyama. Mitz and Yuiko seated, me standing, and the three of us talking about nothing in particular. Did we prompt this? Half way through the journey and one of the four 18 ~ 22 year old girls sitting next to us pipes up to her friend:

"I want to marry a foreigner"

"Why?", asks her friend in mock surprise.

"Because I want to see what a half looks like"

(..... slaps hand to forhead and gives a Simpsons like 'Doh'.)

Rainbow

I saw a rainbow for the first time in years today.


And I shall be visiting this building later tonight.

On the job

This is Sakashita Chiriko, a Japanese talent.

Yesterday I was assisting my cameraman at a rented studio in Nagoya where she was making a t.v commercial promoting a sports leasure chain. We were in the smaller studio taking photographs for the poster/magazine campaign.

Nothing amazing to report, but I would like to share 4 thoughts I jotted down in my notebook during the day(I don't think much). Nothing poetic.

After the initial dash to get set up there is a lot of hanging about, waiting. The space you created becomes more familiar, and changing the scenes becomes like moving your front room around to suit a picky guest.

The stereotyped Japanese image of a foreigner is blonde (Chiriko san wearing a blond wig...), and has ever changing expressions of wonder that one seldom sees in Scunthorpe.

Another assistant roped in to give a hand from the t.v set crew knows the rental studio better than I, but not the cameraman's prefered method of set-up. I get blamed. As first assistant to the cameraman, the cameraman tells me, I am the senior assistant of three. Oh god... Management!

There is a story of boredom behind the making of fast moving, exciting comercials. The clients have been sat at the table munching snacks and staring at a monitor for 8 hours now.

On the stereo all day "Return of the bastard" by Tommy Guerrero. Very good!

Apologies, can't make spaces between paragraphs. Blogger has this problem sometimes I find.

In his Sunday best

"Do you mind if I take your photo?"
"Sure" (assumes pose)

Not his first time to be asked I suppose.

At first glance...

At first glance, this looks like the outside of any sports gym, but if we look closer we can see...

...that it is a perfect example of why you should consult with a native speaker before using a foreign language in your commercial. Or maybe this is a message they want to put accross?

(Click on the photo to enlarge the blunder even more)

Shooting Mango

Back from England friday evening and straight down the bar, bags and all. Truthfully I wanted to go home but work, even low paid for the experience and folio work, is work.

I was asked to take some photos of a local bar by my friend, Atsuko, a freelance designer. Each time she goes to a new place for a drink she gets asked to re-design their name cards, their posters or their signs. Everybody wants something doing if they think about it, but most seem not to think about it unless there is a designer in front of them.

Because of the Obon holiday we weren't able to do the photos before I left for the U.K. We arranged to take them the day after I arrived back, before I started school. Friday's meeting was to arrange what and in what way the photos were to be taken. Very simply, 3 drinks and a bar shot, with an 'evening' feel. Sounds easy. Wasn't.

I asked my friend Alex to come and help. My experience in the studio gave us some advantages and Alex came with experience of his tools and a lot of reading behind it. Between us we almost did a great job. Below is the rough version of the poster from Saturday's shoot, forwarded to me by Atsuko.
The beer, which we thought would be difficult because the head settles quickly, was the easiest of the lot. Just kept topping the head until we got the creamy texture we wanted. We used Japanese barley tea as a substitute for the bourbon because it was cheaper to re-fill, but the final shot used real bourbon, which kept its colour better even when the ice melted a little. The wine, which we thought would be the easiest was the the most difficult. We had to dilute it to get the colour of wine and still keep the the glass at the correct exposure. The wine reflected everything infront of it. We wanted to keep the rosey red highlight at the bottom right of the glass but had to balance it with the reflection.

Anybody who does the same style of work might remember their first time trying to take appealing photos of drinks and food and smile. It isn't easy, but we did o.k and kept to the agreed time limit (something that my cameraman is fanatical about). I will show the photos from Saturday to my cameraman and on the basis of those, he may (or may not) feel confident in giving me more freelance work. Fingers crossed.

Back to the future(land)

Two or three years ago I met some friends of friends who had come for a whirlwind tour of Japan. Within 10 days they visited every major city, tried almost all the foods and saw almost all the major sights that each place had to offer, and nicknamed Japan 'Future land'. Robots, neon, high speed trains, high speed lives...

Today is the first day back at school after the summer hols. On my desk, a statistical sketch of Nagoya, a leaflet from the statistics division of the city of Nagoya planning department, with a reminder that October the 18th is 'Statistics Day'. It's a timely kick back into the reality of the country I live in after my 2 week (not enough time) visit to the U.K. Here are some of the salient points:

Nagoya City:

City officially established - October 1st 1889

Current population - 2,231,727 (male 1,108,515 female 1,123,212)

Birthrate 8.6 every 28 mins.
Deathrate 7.9 every 30 mins.
Marriages 6.4 every 37 mins
Divorces 2.2 every 1 hour 50 mins.

Percentage of households possessing durable goods:
Microwave oven 98.4%
Air Conditioner 98.7%
Cell Phones 93.5% (that low?)
VCR 91.1%
P.C 83.4%

Places of amusement:
Restaurants 2,318
Mahjong Parlors 456
Pachinko Parlors 217
Bowling Alleys 12
Game Centers etc 200

Temperature:
Average 15.9
Max. 37.5
Min. -3.7

Average Humidity 65%

(Many stats date from end of 2006, some before)

Kings on holiday

A bank holiday Sunday in Cambridge. View of Kings College chapel from the river. One of three days of sunshine from the last two weeks. To learn about the rules governing English conversations about weather, read "Watching the English" by Kate Fox. Recomended reading for anybody who has spent time in England. Any good examples of 'Comments reserved for sunny days' in the comments please.

"Like a london bus innit? Wait for one for ages and then three come at once!"

Horse & Guard, London

This is not a pub.

Light Relief

In Cambridge today, and just as we were leving we 'encountered' this busker, whose songs were entertaining and whose dog sang along.

Fry-Up

The land of the all day fried breakfast, four seasons in a day summers, and fantastic charity shops where I picked up clothes that fit for a fraction of Japan-land prices. Need them here too. It's freezing!

Royally Drunk

One of the best things about the U.K, apart from bacon, is the beer. The huge range of real ales available from breweries all over the country leaves you spoiled for choice. Japan also has some fantastic local beers (Ji - beeru) but not only are they very expensive, but most can only be bought in the local area.

Yesterday I picked up two bottles of Duchy Organic at the supermarket for £1:59 a bottle.

"Duchy comes from the Duchy of Cornwall estates which are held in trust by The Prince of Wales who, as heir to the throne, also holds the title Duke of Cornwall."
(from the Duchy Originals webpage HERE)

A very light beer, probably best served chilled. I had no idea that HRH was involved in this line of work, even at a remove, and commend him for looking into alternative avenues for employment.

Was it a Hurricane?

At Beachy Head yesterday. We hadn't known that yesterday was the airshow over Eastbourne, so imagine my surprise when these flew by. But... are they Hurricanes or Spitfires?

Alfriston, and on, and on...

The village church in Alfriston, East Sussex. I had forgotten just how green England is (and how cold the summer can be). Today I am off to Beachy Head, the location for the final scene of Quadrophenia.

And a final note from the far side:
"Wild & Free: hugh Fearnly-Whittingstall's seafood foraging masterclass"
(Coast magazine September ed.)

The far side indeed!

Here we go, Here we go....

The bland elevator music that began as the train pulled into Japan's newest international air terminal "Centrair" signalled the beginning of journey time. The spirit already flown abroad, the body just travelling to catch up.

"Centair" is an attempt to create a catchy new name by mixing 'central' and 'air', Nagoya being in the central region of Japan. The result is difficult to pronounce in any langauge.

First in line at check in brings the reward of an emergency door seat, with all the leg-room I could wish for. An 11 hour flight through the night, 2 hours in Dubai airport and then an 8 hour stretch to Gatwick. I hear that there are protests planned at Heathrow tomorrow and am happy to avoid it.

One hour to kill before boarding. Ignore the T.V kindly provided by Sony and to a space near gate 19 with a pack of cards for some meditative solitaire. Dashing in and out of the smoking cage, trying to keep my cloathes fresh that little bit longer. Enjoying wearing full leangth jeans for the first time in two months. Conditioned air for the next 24 hours. Not so many kids (yet). Non crying. Unable to buy Sake to take home as Dubai airport rules prevent it. Looking forward to seeing family and friends. Out of 100 yen coins for the internet. See you on the far side.

Transformers...

( ... in de skys)

Journey To Forever

When I first moved to Japan, I was living in a bed town in Chiba. I lived in a small one room appartment with one electric ring and a 'Space Bed' (It lowered down on rails from the ceiling to save space, but I used it for storage after experiencing my first earthquake whilst in it!).
The appartment was next door to a storage space for items too big to throw away normaly. Furniture, fridges, stereos etc. All free if you asked nicely. I changed my interior weekly.

One day I met a poacher on my turf. Foreign, tall, skinny and grey haired. I had met Keith from the Journey to Forever project.

South African by birth, Keith had worked as an editor of various newspapers in South Africa during apartheid, reporting the news that really mattered. Years pass, and in 2000 he was living just round the corner from me doing the groundwork for the overland trip from East Asia to South Africa. With him, his Japanese wife, Midori, also a journalist and pictured sitting on their land rover which they run as much as possible on bio-deisel.

Describing the project on the website, keith writes:
"The focus will be on trees, soil and water, sustainable farming, sustainable technology, and family nutrition."

For a more detailed description of the project, visit the website linked above (Japanese version HERE). It is a fantastic resource for environment related news and editorial, just as Keith was a fantastic resource and inspiration for day to day ideas to reduce waste in the home. My favourite were the worms. A special type of worm that you could keep in a bin in your kitchen and that would reduce your kitchen waste to usuable compost (Mitz refused to have them in the house).

Dorothy came and left me ....

... a way home? If I lived in Kansas I'd be tempted. It would certainly be cheaper than the return ticket I bought home. A fifty percent price increase on the same ticket not a couple of months ago, but that was before the school holidays and before the Obon holiday season. And try getting the exchange rate from 7 years ago at any bank now. Hah! And I just moved! What a time for a holiday!

Soy Sauce and Takoyaki

Today was my last location shoot before heading back to England for a couple of weeks. We left at 7:30 from the studio and headed to Kariya city, south of Nagoya, where I had worked for 5 years as an Elementary school "English Teacher" (pet). I was excited about going back there. Throughout those 5 years I toured 8 schools each month. In total I reckon to have come into regular contact with about 8000 children. I was hoping to meet some of them again.

The shoot was for a free magazine in the Nagoya/Mikawa region. Luckily it was all digital. Film photography takes a great deal more effort and concentration for the assistant and cameraman, and today was another one of those barmy humid and hot days that have you standing in shadows without realizing it. Concentration becomes an effort rather than a pleasure.

We visited 7 different locations in all, including a Soy sauce factory, an outdoor sports shop, a ramen shop, a public bath house dating back from the early showa period and a Takoyaki/Okonimiyaki izakaya. My experience in Japan finally proved useful today as I knew all the short cuts between different areas of the city. Something for the gravestone.

Five of us in two cars. The cameraman and myself, the designer, a copywriter and a location organiser. We have worked together before, and there was a casual comfort in this. Each has a job to do, and knows the other can do theirs. As a freelancer one can never be sure who you will be working with from one day to the next. Some you cherish that bit more, some you barely think about, and some you can't wait to see the back of hoping never to meet again. The people that stare at me in confusion/fear/amusement/derision etc when we are working together fall into the latter group.

The Soy Sauce factory was interesting for it's huge wooden barrels, the outdoor shop for it's gear (I worked in an outdoor shop for two years during my rock climbing maniac period), the public bath displayed a lack of care and distinct devotion to (or reliance on) local patrons, and the Takoyaki shop proved to be an education in how to eat a Takoyaki. Those batter balls with a piece of octopus in the middle are usually eaten piping hot, stuffed whole into the mouth on a cold winters day making you say "ouch, sh*t, hot.....". We ate the Takoyaki after photographing them, giving them a chance to cool down. In this way I discovered their delicious creamy taste and the simple rule that to enjoy Takoyaki you should let them cool down first.

The route home once again gave me a chance to prove my local knowledge as I took us by unmarked road under the bullet train tracks to a highway entrance in the north of the city. Having not met a single former student during the whole day, I spotted one on the main drag. Noting that she had grown in height, obtained the teenager's ignorance of her surroundings prefering the mobile mail in her hand, and seemed to be in a rush, I thought better of offering up a greeting, and instead mulled over the idea that things change, one will be forgotten by children and cats if you are not there, and the need to buy a plug adaptor before I leave on Wednesday.

Semi Awake

The Cicada is known as a Semi in Japan. So I'm told the Japanese Cicada spends up to 7 years (heresay) in a larval form underground awaiting just the right summer. They then emerge and shed their larval skins, transforming into their adult stage.

The park opposite my appartment is one of the reasons we chose this place. It is fairly big for a Japanese city park, has many trees and unusualy enough a wide expance of grass that you can sit on.

Now each tree is full of Cicada. Each morning we wake (are awoken to?) a screeching and scratching that would have 100,000 crickets packing away their violins in disgust. They have a very short lifespan in their adult form. Perhaps this is the reason for their urgency.

In the afternoon or early evening it is wise not to remark on how quiet they have become since that morning since they react by turning up the volume.

This morning, as every morning, they are so noisy that it is almost impossible to have a conversation from the veranda with someone sitting in the adjoining room.

Trepidation