Nippon○Rennaissance

Songs of gratitude, Soil of peace

noreply@blogger.com (Crow) — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 06:17:44 PDT

(Note: Large videos are embedded, please allow some time to load)

After arriving at the Von Sieboldhuis, we were ushered into the main exhibition hall, where Maki-san and Souken Danj-san sang a song together in praise of Von Siebold, for the advances in medicine he brought to Japan, and how this helped in saving the weakest members of Japanese society.

After the song, all gathered proceeded towards the Von Sieboldgarden in the Hortus Botanicus, to witness the planting of the Seed of Peace by the Japanese Ambassador. This story dates back to Hiroshima of 60 years ago, where a woman with the intent to commit suicide decided to live on after seeing how a tree, also a victim of the nuclear bomb, sprouted new leaves. Deciding that if the tree would live, so would she, the plans were made to spread the seeds of this tree, the "tree of peace" throughout the world.

The first of these seeds was planted in Italy, the second in France, and the third at the Hortus in Leiden, the Netherlands.

Sadly, the video is not the most clear, due to the amount of press active at such an event; I did the best I could but when you have to spend 20 minutes on the tips of your toes, arms stretched to allow the camera some view, you start to appreciate the sacrifices you have to make for your hobby. The press people truly took away the first-hand experience of 40 people in the back, in order to provide a watered-down, selected, second-hand reliving of the event for hundreds of others. For good money, of course. Sad, but it happens.

Japanese Market in Leiden

noreply@blogger.com (Crow) — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 03:11:46 PDT

For the first part of my sunday visit to Leiden, it was time to take a stroll across the Japanese Market held at the Rapenburg. In typical Dutch fashion, this consisted mainly of a long line of stands for the various teams, organizations and foundations that are concerned with Dutch-Japanese relations and hobbies. Of course, if you are interested, you probably know most of them.

I had the pleasure of a very brief conversation with Souken Danjo-san, the "smiling zen monk". He always seems to smile and enjoy himself, and after grabbing enough courage (and more than one stout) I approached him and asked him about Smiling Zen, and how to start a life that will allow you to smile forever. The answer he gave me had me thinking, but such philosophies deserve a blog on their own.

This day, I also joined the Foundation for appreciation of Japanese art, which is going to made of such win and awesome I will have to build another bookstand to accomodate it. No, seriously, if you have an interest in a wide variety of Japanese art forms (Ukiyo-e, lacquer, architecture, whatever), it may be worth your while to visit their website here.

Also, a wide array of hobbies related to Japan were on display, from a person playing the Shamisen to representatives of the Dutch Budoh organization, as well as the Shakuhachi club (including straw pot hat!).

One thing that always amuses me at the Bonsai stand is that people always ask what the price of such plants is; when the merchant's answer is evasive, this should warn most people. But there's always one or two who press on and want to know. If only my camera was fast enough to capture how quickly their faces pale when they hear the price. Bonsai trees are a great hobby, but it comes at a price!

While we were having a short lunch at the North End bar, the start of the Butoh procession through Leiden was announced. Sadly, this meant I have nothing more to show for it than a few pictures and shaky video, but with the limited time we had, we actually had to absorb like sponges. The video is raw, unedited and shaky (gomen nasai!) but I will get an edited version uploaded the moment I have the time.

And at the last our travels take us to the Von Sieboldhuis, to be present at the possibly the most momentous occasion I will visit in my life...but more about this in the next post...

Visions of war and a promise of peace

noreply@blogger.com (Crow) — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 04:24:15 PDT

The same saturday that found me at the Sake tasting was a hot and sweltering day in Leiden. Having dressed up for the occasion (a suit nonetheless) I was particularly punished by the sun's recent tendency to microwave the Netherlands. Even so, I trudged on, taking many wrong turns and asking the way many times, before ending up at the Expansionist Art Empire Gallery.

Despite the grandeur of its name, this gallery seems to be a full 25 square meters, if that. Its walls are white and its interior empty. All the better to draw the visitor's eye to the work on display here.

In this case, the exposition "No more Hiroshima, no more Nagasaki, no more War", a collection of Sumi-e and painted artworks by Seizan Azuma, and photographs made by Leiden's photographer Fred Rohde of the memorial events in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

When I entered, I was greeted by Fred himself, and it became obvious very quickly that he has great heart for his work, and that he wants to miss not a moment's time in greeting visitors and guiding them past the artworks, explaining what it all represents. While this seems in a bit of contradiction of the classical "walk past art and form an opinion" style of visiting, it seems fitting in this context; all the more because the man who made the pictures is there himself to show the way.

We talked for some time, regarding his work, the philisophy behind it, and eventually about me and my blog. I was given some very useful advice, which I intend to take to heart. The pictures in this blog are but a snippet of what was on display, and the best thing to do is go and visit the Expansionist Art Empire Gallery.

From Sake with love

noreply@blogger.com (Crow) — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 01:57:28 PDT

Last saturday I went to the sake tasting workshop, which was organized by Dutch Sake importers Yoigokochi. Although they are rather new, they already have extensive contacts, a professional way of conducting business, and a general enthusiasm coming from their love for Sake.

While we as the audience were enjoying our first taste we were given a rundown of the history of Sake, the circumstances of its use, and how it is fabricated. Apparently, the rice that will used in Sake is actually polished in large machines; it becomes more rounded, and more white. The further down it is polished, the higher quality it is. Sake we buy in the store is generally around 10-20% polished, while the higher-quality Sake imported by Yoigokochi falls in the 50-60% average.

After this, a fungus called Koji is added, to create a mash. In three stages, water, yeast and Koji rice are added together, until it can be left to ferment. Once the master brewer determines it is done, the rice mash is squashed, and the liquid Sake drips out of the container.

Several kinds of Sake exist, depending on whether after this process they are heated (pasteurized) or not, and whether or not water has been added to dilute it.

Of the Sake I've had the pleasure to taste, the two that most struck me were Ine Mankai, the red rice Sake, brewed under the supervision of a female brewmaster. As this is the Sake my girlfriend likes best, and I have heard many women say the same, I'd say that Ine Mankai is a Sake by women, for women.

Second was the Nabeshima Chouko, a traditional, elderly Sake aged in earthenware earns. This particular one had been aged for 7 years, I have been told, and the taste is very round, its scent slightly sweet, and the aftertaste lasts rather long; as it was the last Sake I had drunk (I unfortunately had to leave early due to time constraints), I could still taste the Chouko on my tongue as I was on the train back home.

For more information on Sake, how to get your hands on premium Sake, or if you'd like to know when a Sake tasting workshop is held near where you live, check out their website at http://www.yoigokochi.eu/.

Performance at the Lakenhal: Maki Ueda

noreply@blogger.com (Crow) — Thu, 21 May 2009 00:55:22 PDT

Entering one of the small rooms of the Lakenhal exhibition, I suddenly found myself back in Japan of 400 years ago...a small room with tatami mat flooring, and a seating arrangement with a real live Geisha. The scent of incense and perfume pervades the area . The scene is so realistic, that my first instinct was to bow, excuse myself and leave.

It is then that I noticed the cabinets, designed to fit one's head, and the bottles of perfume arranged neatly by the mirror covering one side of the room. Each bottle and cabinet contains a fragrance of those times past, and in your mind you relive the old streets of Japan. It is interesting how without ever setting foot then and there, your mind still fills in the picture.

Placing my head inside one of these boxes, I smell the scent of camphor trees, and the Jinko incense of the old red light district.

Maki Ueda specializes in using natural materials to capture the scents (and with it the emotions) that people feel when they smell a certain smell. She captures local scents, of everyday things, and recreates them later to achieve a certain effect. The smells from another place, here.

If you want to learn more about Maki Ueda's work in the world of scents, you can visit her website. She also has a blog, where she records her work.

Holland Mania (Netherlands)

noreply@blogger.com (Crow) — Sun, 17 May 2009 04:57:16 PDT

Saturday, May 16th saw the opening ceremony of the Holland Mania event in Leiden. This event is part of the Japan@Leiden year, and as such saw the attention of a few notable characters from the Dutch-Japan relations scene. The 400th anniversary this year of the founding of the Hudson valley, by Dutch explorer Henry Hudson, made for a perfect timing to revisit the history our three countries have.

The opening of the event was performed by Edwin Jacobs, director of the Lakenhal museum and Scheltema, where the bulk of the exhibits are hosted. Jan-jaap de Haan, assistant-mayor of Leiden, expressed that Leiden was once again, like 400 years ago, a bridge between the east and the west. Mister Shibuya of the Japanese embassy, and Eric Niehe of the Hudson400 also made short speeches to express their gratitude and launch the festivities. They also received the first copies of the book "Holland Mania".

As a jump-start of the festivities, the children's choir "De Leidse Sleuteltjes" performed the song "I love Holland" in Dutch, English and Japanese. The Taiko Kids, Dutch youths performing on Japanese drums, provided more weight to the proceedings with pounding rhythms and coordinated, martial-arts like moves.

Finally, the group "Tafel 9" performed an American tapdance, using a Japanese Taiko rhythm, while wearing wooden shoes. This colorful parade then was guided by the Tafel 9 group to the Lakenhal, where the exhibitions were opened to the public.

The core theme of Holland Mania is to see how Holland, and the views and prejudices Japanese and American people have of the Dutch, have influenced contemporary art. Displaying these artworks allows a Dutch audience to be confronted by what other cultures think of us, and our influence in the world.

In a series of blogposts, I will give more detailed descriptions of the artists, art and exhibits that participate in Holland Mania.

Next Post! > Performance at the Lakenhal: Maki Ueda

Japan@Leiden events (Netherlands)

noreply@blogger.com (Crow) — Sun, 17 May 2009 01:31:23 PDT

Celebrating the 400th anniversary of trade relations with Japan, the Dutch city of Leiden has organized several events in the year 2009 to showcase the influence of Dutch culture on Japan (and vice versa). Collectively known as Japan@Leiden these events will occur throughout the year. More info can be found at http://www.japanleiden.nl/ (site available in Dutch, English and Japanese).

To participate in these events, Nippon○Rennaissance hopes to inform its readers of these events, as well as provide reports of the events as they happen. In the future, news items and posts of interests will be added. Doing so, I hope to transform Nippon○Rennaissance from a simple blog into a full-blown Webglossy.

On my part, I hope that the reports and information provided here will spark your interest in Japanese culture, and perhaps visit the many events held this year in Japan, the Netherlands and the United States.