Miura_Anjin
male, 47 |
Business Analyst
Tokyo / Japan
member since 02.01.2007
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Ghosts?
I was about 15 when my grandfather died. I wasn't particularly close to him, but he was the first of my grandparents to die, and I was very strongly shocked by his death. After the funeral, I remember waking up in the middle of the night to see my grandfather sitting on the bed beside me.
More recently my father died (about two years back). Last winter I was walking in the Roppongi district of Tokyo and I noticed a familiar figure. On a corner, just across the road was a person that looked just like my father, clapping his hands together and rubbing them for warmth just like my father did when he was waiting for someone. I tried to get accross the busy road, but by the time I had reached the spot the figure had disappeared and I never saw the person again.
Ghosts? I don't believe in them, despite having seen two with my very own eyes. Like all humans I am adept at discerning patterns (after all with pathetic teeth and claws, my ancestors needed to be able to spot predators in the shadows, or they would never have lived long enough to be my ancestors). The thing is, I know I see pattterns where there are no patterns there. I look up at the stars and see patterns that are coincidental. I go into the countryside and see trees arranged in geometric patterns entirely by chance, each relating to the other only in patterns imposed by my brain. I look up into the clouds and 'see' faces, animals, dragons, trees and all manner of strange images, all in the random arrangement of water vapour.
With a brain so adept at finding patterns, it is little wonder that I some patterns, especially those related to strong memories, where no patterns exist. So half sleeping, an unusual play of shadow resembles a figure with which I am familiar, and my brain fills in the rest. A figure in the distance seems partially familiar, and again my subconcious fills in the details I want to see.
My father always believed there was no such thing as ghosts. In a sense he was right, but I think 'ghosts' do exist - In my head, in my memories and while they live on, the ghosts will still be there.
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Its amazing how quickly a place can become home. I live in a part of Tokyo called Shinegawa - I have only lived here for a couple of years, but already I find it completely familiar and comforting. Places that a few years ago would have seemed exotic and exciting are familiar and relaxing.
Perhaps the best part of living here as opposed to London is the food - of course London isn't bad, but for variety and cheapness it doesn't come close. One of the best types of eatery for me is the Izaka-ya. Often called a Japanese 'pub' it is actually focussed on eating and drinking. It is as likely to have families looking for a comfortable meal out, as a part of drunken salarymen. And there is always a bewildering choice of dishes available, of all different types - Sashimi or grilled Sanma (a kind of fish), Yakitori or nabe, salad or pizza, rice balls or udon (thick noodles). My children love trips to the Izakaya, and even the franchise 'chains' (our nearest is called Sakura Suisan, and is one of dozens of the same chain all over Tokyo (should you find yourself in a Sakura Suisan, try the Age-Dashi Tofu - Tofu deep fried in batter, served in a soy stock with grated Daikon (giant white radish) and fresh ginger.
Ah, nothing like the contemplation of good food to take your mind off bigger troubles...
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And so things start to get back to normal - as long as your definition of normal includes regular shaking of the ground and a constant stream of news stories about moving ships that have been lodged into buildings kilometers inland (and ships means real big ships, not small boats).
I continue to be depressed at the international media's response to the crisis - Of course there is a real story about the nuclear crisis, but for me at least, thousands literally swallowed up by the sea, hundreds of thousands made homeless and the amazing response of people who are trying to rebuild deserved at least equivelent coverage... still, as there is no sign of iminent armageddon looks like the press is getting bored of Fukushima, so maybe we'll get a break frome stream of speculation and sensationalism, and have a chance to get on with life here.
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So now I have first hand experience of living through a disaster, if only from the periphery. I work on the 21st floor, and when the quake hit at first we joked, then my Japanese colleagues told us to get under the desk (the lights and suspended ceilings often collapse during earthquakes). The building was creaking and swaying (as it was designed to do - although with an 8 to 10 meter movement it was very frightening at the time) and after things settled there was an orderly evacuation.
Of course there was no public transport, so a long walk home, but compared to the North of the country things are relatively normal. Then a fraught weekend waiting for news of family in Sendai. When we finally got a phone call through on Sunday afternoon, the huge relief was tempered with images of the places we know and love flooded by that formless monster wave, and with the subsequent body count... that corner of Japan that was 'back home' for my family is washed away, and perhaps it will never return.
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Working in Tokyo - the commute on the subway is as bad as you could imagine... yet pressed up hard against the window, through the slight fog of my breath as it condenses on the window, I catch a glimpse of the distant mount Fuji and it makes my day. If I am really lucky I will see it next to Shinagawa Fuji, a mound of rocks from the Mountain built during the Edo period to provide the spiritual merit of climbing Fuji-san fo those too old or infirm to undertake the arduous journey.
Best Japanese film of the year for me was 武士 の家計簿 - it charts the rise of the power of the abbacus. Based on the household accounts of a real samurai, it is the dramatisation of a true story, and seems both touching and illuminating about a less known period of Japanese history.
Second place for me is 大奥, the dramatisation of a popular manga in which the sex roles of the harem of the Shogun is reversed with all the politics and rivalries played out amongst beautiful and cultured young men.
Some things I like -
Poetry
Dreaming
Cats (especially Tsukiko, our Devon Rex)
Music (from plainsong to the Scissor Sisters)
Finding out new stuff
Thinking
Reading
Strange Myths and stories (such as well written software!!)
Japanese Drama -
相棒
ナサケの女
Pet Hates:
Laziness
Extremes
Blinkered thinking
R.A.D.
Politicians (How can we tell if a politician is lying to us? See if their lips are moving)
Creationism
(Please note these opinions are subject to change, reversal or removal at any time with no prior notice or post notice for that matter) |
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