Instagramed Wednesday

 

Some photos from my day.

Above- higanbana, or red spider lilies, a  sign of autumn here in Japan. The heat broke with the typhoon earlier this week, so the temperatures are in the 70s and 80s. Higanbana popped up in Ueno Park, and I saw them on my way into work. Personally, I think they are quite beautiful, but for most Japanese people they represent death- they were traditionally planted near cemeteries because they repel rodents and insects (in Ueno they are across from the cemetery), and I believe there is also a folk story relating them to tragedy. Still, striking in appearance, and pretty cool in the way that they pop up overnight.

Below- a gorgeous butterfly that kept me company as I walked from the train into work. It even landed on me at one point!

 

 

Tokyo Tower with the moon (is it full? I'm not sure...). I attended a Fulbright reception at the second-to-the-ambassador's residence this evening, and saw this on the walk from the station to the diplomatic residence. The reception was lovely, and held at the house that Walter Mondale lived in when he was the ambassador. No Caroline Kennedy, but still pretty cool!

 

National Diet Library 国立国会図書館

 

Today I spent a very long day at the National Diet Library. 

 The library is a huge complex located across the street from the Diet, which can be seen through the trees in this first picture. Using the library starts with applying for a library card, a process which took about twenty minutes. This time around I received a three year card, my last visit to the library (see here) was a one day event, but many things are the same. Once I had my card in hand, I was able to enter through the automated gates, and then the true fun began.

 

 

Another pic of the lovely shaded courtyard- no photos allowed inside.

 

 

I spent about half of my day finding and acquiring journal articles from the closed stacks of the periodicals counter, and then making photocopies of the relevant materials. Making photocopies sounds a bit deceptive- in reality one has to use a special terminal to print out a customized photocopy request form (with your library card), have a staff member of the photocopy service approve your request, and then submit materials for copying. Then wait about twenty minutes and retrieve said materials after paying (about 15 cents a page, or 14 yen). All told I spent 3,150 yen in copies and reproduction services, or about $31. The other half of the day was spent sorting through materials that are digitized. Many of the digitized materials are only available on site, but the reproduction printing service was actually quite convenient. I thought I would be annoyed with this forced on-site usage, but I think the software and system was quite efficient and seamless. And, it took less time than the photocopying of print journals. I also used microfilm for the first time (and made a PDF which I had reproduced!), making me ever so grateful for computers.

The library is set up for folks who spend entire days inside of the complex- there is a barber shop, two coffee shops, a convenience store, and a large cafeteria. I had lunch in the cafeteria, which had a great view of the city.

After about seven hours, I was mentally and physically worn out, and headed back home. Below are some Diet Building shots that I took after a long day of research.

 

 

Do my eyes look glazed over? Because they were.

 

Typhoon 台風

 

The natural disaster of this week is: Typhoon 18.

Also known as Typhoon Man-yi, the storm hit land south of here this morning, and has brought heavy rain and some very strong winds to my neighborhood.  Trains in Tokyo are delayed or have stopped service, mostly due to the winds and debris. I'm calling it a good day to work from home.

Museum of Modern Art Tokyo, Imperial Palace, Omotesando 東京国立近代美術館、皇居、表参道

Thursday was another day of Tokyo exploring with Ti. We met up at the Museum of Modern Art Tokyo (above) in the morning to view the Takeuchi Seiho exhibition. The show was fantastic- Seiho was a well-known nihonga painter of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Nihonga, generally defined as neo-traditional Japanese painting, was transformed during his era, and Seiho can be credited with many of the innovations in subject and technique that occurred during his tenure. The greatest part about this show for me was seeing many well-known works in person- nihonga is not widely exhibited in the U.S., so viewing such a high quality collection of the genre is one of the joys of living in Japan.

We also toured the permanent collection of the museum, and popped into the "Room with a View," a literally named spot with a great view of the city and the Imperial Palace grounds.

Lunch set at the Mainichi Shinbun building.

Our next stop was the Imperial Palace grounds- here we are outside the Otemon gate.

Visiting Sannomaru Shozokan, the Museum of the Imperial Collections. The current exhibition was, Childhood Clothing Worn by His Imperial Highness Prince Mikasa. The show included a variety of beautifully produced clothing from Prince Mikasa's childhood, mostly objects from the 1910s and 1920s.

 Walking through the East Gardens of the Imperial Palace.
 

Me outside of Otemon Gate again.

Next stop- Brimmer Beer Box- an interesting pop-up-craft-beer-in-a-repurposed-shipping-container place in Omotesando.

People watching from the rooftop deck with some truly great microbrew.

Last stop of the day, 246 Common, a very funky and hip outdoor area filled with food trucks and small merchants

Dinner from Curry Freak at 246 Common.

The interesting outdoor space of 246 Common.

Shop at 246 Common.

Udon うどん

 

 Earlier this week I made a big batch of curry. To mix up the leftovers (of which there were a lot), I bought a 3-pack of udon noodles. Tonight I used one of the packages to make kakiage udon with kakiage that I picked up from the supermarket on my way home. Not having a deep fryer, I can't easily make my own kakiage, but the mixture of diced veggies fried into a fritter of sorts is readily available here. I cooked the udon, added it to a simple light Kansai-style broth, and topped it with spring onions, serving with a side of tsukemono (pickles). Although I love the doughy consistency of udon, the real reason to eat this meal is as a vehicle for shichimi togarashi, a savory and slightly spicy mixture of seven spices.

 

Cake ケーキ

 

 Today we had a guest lecture at the research institute- the topic being Meiji Imperial architecture. The lecture was fantastic, and there was a period of socializing/snacking/drinking afterwards, meaning I didn't get back near home until almost 8 p.m. I stopped for a quick bite to eat, and then decided to treat myself to a piece of strawberry shortcake from the bakery near Oji Station. To me, this is the most typical of Japanese cakes, super light and fluffy, mostly whipped cream. Relaxing at home with a slice of cake and the Daily Show was the greatest way to end the day.

 

Workin'

 

Sunday and Monday were pretty uneventful days here, filled with work and the routine of daily life, but in the mean time, my blog hit 15,000 views! Thanks for reading! 

Ueno Beer Garden 上野ビァガーデン

 

One of the great pleasures of summer in Tokyo (or any Japanese city), are the beer gardens that sprout up on rooftops from July through September. Many are located atop department stores, and offer nomihodai, or all-you-can drink for two hours. On Saturday evening, my friend Liz and I went to the Seiyoken Beer Garden located in Ueno Park. Seiyoken is mainly a restaurant and banquet hall, but the beer garden was fantastic- a bit classier than the department store varieties, and with a more relaxed crowd (read: not a rowdy twenty-two year old set). The view over the park was also lovely.

 

 

Rooftop drinking = classy.

 

 

The late train home.

 

Waseda Workshop 早稲田ワークショップ

 

Grabbing a quick iced coffee at the Waseda University coffee shop in between a day at the research institute and attending an evening presentation at the Waseda Modern History Workshop.

Tuna and Wasabi 鮪とわさび

 

Today while walking home from an afternoon of working at the coffee shop, I came across a new (to me) grocery store. This is the fancy kind of grocery store- the one with.... wait for it... taco shells, imported cheese, and real salad mix (as in not iceberg lettuce or cabbage slaw). Oh, the joy. I haven't been here quite long enough to be craving such import goods, but I did pick up some fresh tuna for dinner, along with fresh spinach. I stir fried the spinach with garlic, prepared some white rice with shiso furikake, and briefly cooked the tuna with a generous coating of pepper. I then made a light sauce of Japanese mayo and wasabi, with a hint of soy sauce, and grated up some daikon to place under the fish. 

Earthquake 地震

 

This morning as I was talking with the fam on Skype, an earthquake hit. I don't think I will ever get used to this. Today's was a 3 or 4 on the JMA scale, which measures the shaking at any given location, rather than the energy released at the epicenter (like the Richter scale). It was so bizarre to be talking with Joe in KC, as the lamp swayed behind me, and my entire apartment felt like it was a boat on the water. Later today at work I was speaking with a co-worker about the earthquake, and he didn't really give it much thought. He did, however mention how nerve wracking he found this week's Saitama tornado to be, as such weather events are quite rare here. To me, as a Midwesterner, a tornado isn't something to fret about too much, proving that weather events are all relative to one's experience.

Musashi Imperial Mausoleum 武蔵陵墓地

Today I took a trip out to the far western reaches of the Tokyo metro area to visit the Musashi Imperial Mausoleum- the burial site of Emperor Showa, Empress Kojun, Emperor Taisho, and Empress Teimei. My tour began at Takao Station, nestled in the mountains near the famous hiking spot, Mt. Takao. I had a lunch of homemade onigiri from a small local shop near the station, and a Takao potato sweet cake, which was pretty tasty.

The north entrance to Takao Station.

The mausoleum was about a mile walk from the station, along a tree-lined street, over a river, and past this lovely area of flowers.

The map of the mausoleum.

The grounds were incredibly beautiful, and a welcome break from the congestion and bustle of Tokyo life.

I first came to the mausoleum of Empress Kojun, wife of Emperor Hirohito. After viewing her grave for a few minutes a very official man in a full suit with a headset came up to me and informed me that Princess Akiko would be visiting soon, so could I please wait near the side of the walkway and put away my cell phone and camera.

I walked over to the designated area, and watched as another man raked the gravel near Emperor Showa's tomb, and placed a few ceremonial objects on a table beneath a small tent (below). At this point a formal navy blue car pulled up and the Princess emerged. She walked up to the tomb, bowing deeply before each  set of stairs. I couldn't see what she did up near the base of the mausoleum, but she then walked over to Empress Kojun's tomb and did a similar ritual. She then got back into the car and pulled away, never making eye contact with me and the other three regular folks who happened to be there. Two of the other people bowed very deeply as she passed, the other refrained from doing so. Even if she isn't in line for the throne, it was pretty exciting to see royalty from about twenty feet away, especially considering that her great-grandmother was Empress Teimei, the subject of my dissertation (click here for the genealogy of the Imperial Family.

Another shot of Emperor Showa's tomb.

It was about a three minute walk over to the mausoleum of Empress Teimei.

Me in front of  Teimei's tomb.

It was interesting to see the different designs and plans amongst the four tombs at the site, for example, Emperor Taisho and Empress Teimei's tombs were much more wooded and located higher on the hill than Emperor Showa and Empress Kojun. The site will likely remain the same for the foreseeable future, as Emperor Akihito has expressed his desire to be cremated.

The stone plaque marking Empress Teimei's tomb.

Emperor Taisho's tomb.

After my visit, I walked back to the station, taking in the beautiful mountain scenery along the way.

Flowers near the river.

Waiting for the train back to Tokyo at the end of the day.