Valentines Day

The Japanese celebrate Valentines Day in the best manner possible. The girls have to give guys chocolates and the guys don't have to do a thing! Actually, they are responsible for reciprocating a month later in a Japanese holiday called White Day but I usually make the excuse that that day is not part of my culture and I therefore do not celibrate it. Ayumi made a delicous cake for all the men of the house hold. Leo was offered his first taste of chocolate but wasn't impressed at all. He prefers vegetables.

MRI

My upper back has been bothering me for over a year. I've seen massage therapists, physiotherapists and even snake oil salesmen (chiropractors). Just before I left Canada I saw a sports medecine doctor. She suggested that I get an MRI and I mentioned that I was going to Japan for six months. She responded, "Well, if I prescribe it now you should only have to wait a couple of months after you get back." That's right, a possible eight month weight for an MRI. Last Wednesday I saw a doctor here in Japan. Three days later I had my MRI. I had to pay about $70 but I would say it was worth it.

Lost in Translation

My wife was looking at my aikido membership card and pointed out that they misspelled my name. As a result of the mistake my name translates into "little toilet" or "kid's toilet". That reminds me of a story Ayumi told me when she first came to Canada. She had a chinese guy in her class at Carleton. Most Chinese students adopt a western name because their names tend to be difficult for English speakers to pronounce. Ayumi's class mate decided to do a litteral translation of the chinese characters that made up his name. I think his dad was a sailor or a fisherman or something like that. He told everyone that his name was "Sea Man".

5th Kyu

I had my 5th kyu test in aikido last week. I was pretty nervous because I was being tested by the top guy in this style of aikido. Fortunately, I passed. I hope to take one more test before I return to Canada.

Japan is full of homos!

Well, actually, it's not but any observant person visiting Japan would almost immediately notice a disproportionate number of effeminate men. They are known as
Otomen (Girly Guys) , "herbivores" or "Grass Eaters". What I found surprising was the number of news orgainizations carrying stories about them:

The Independent - Japan's Generation XX
CNN - Japan's 'herbivore men' -- less interested in sex, money
Slate - The Herbivore's Dilemma
NPR - In Japan, 'Herbivore' Boys Subvert Ideas Of Manhood
Reuter - Japan's "herbivore" men shun corporate life, sex

etc.

Not good for a country that has one of the lowest birth rates in the world and is opposed to immigration.

Anyone following this blog may remember a post I made on December 28 refering to a concert I went to called 'Explosive Carnivorous Girls End-of-Year Extermination Party' . Carnivorous girls are the Japanese equivalent to North American 'cougars'. They are just as out of sync with their traditional roles as their grass eating prey.

Demons out! Luck in!

Setsubun (節分, Bean-Throwing Festival or Bean-Throwing Ceremony) is the day before the beginning of each season in Japan. The name literally means "seasonal division", but usually the term refers to the spring Setsubun celebrated yearly on February 3 as part of the Spring Festival (春祭, haru matsuri). In its association with the Lunar New Year, Spring Setsubun can be and was previously thought of as a sort of New Year's Eve, and so was accompanied by a special ritual to cleanse away all the evil of the former year and drive away disease-bringing evil spirits for the year to come. This special ritual is called mamemaki (豆撒き, lit. bean throwing).

Roasted soybeans (called fuku mame (福豆?)) are thrown either out the door or at a member of the family wearing an Oni (demon or ogre) mask, while the throwers chant "Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi!" (鬼は外! 福は内!). The words roughly translate to "Demons out! Luck in!" The beans are thought to symbolically purify the home by driving away the evil spirits that bring misfortune and bad health with them. Then, as part of bringing luck in, it is customary to eat roasted soybeans, one for each year of one's life, and in some areas, one for each year of one's life plus one more for bringing good luck for the year to come.