A thousand paper cranes

When visiting a temple in Japan, you will often see large strings of colored paper shapes, hung up in various places.

In Osu Kannon Temple in Nagoya

In Atsuta Jingu Shrine in Nagoya

Closer inspection reveals that these paper shapes are actually cranes. One thousand of them to be exact. The origami cranes are often arranged by color, fitted one close on top of the other and held together by strings. I love the visual effect of all those colorful strings of folded paper.

Strings of origami cranes in close-up

Zooming in even further

The custom of folding a thousand origami cranes (senbazuru 千羽鶴) originates from an old Japanese legend. It is said that the person who folds a thousand paper cranes will be granted a wish. These days it is mostly used as a way to pray for good health and as a symbol of hope.

The origami cranes became famous through the story of Sadako Sasaki. She was a 12-year-old girl who developed leukemia due to exposure to the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. During her illness, she began the task of folding a thousand origami cranes. Sadly, she died before she could finish the task. Her classmates finished the cranes after her death, as a tribute to their classmate.

I like both the visual aspect of the cranes and the meaning behind the custom. Maybe I should try folding one thousand paper cranes myself. What do you think?

Manhole covers: Ise in Mie prefecture

One of the things that I love most about Japanese culture, is the sense of aesthetics. Beauty in its broadest sense is greatly appreciated in Japan. This emphasis on beauty is apparent in many aspects of daily life. While in the West, emphasis often lies on functionality only, in Japan an effort is made to combine functionality and beauty when designing mundane items of all kinds.

A perfect example of beauty in mundane items, is the design of manhole covers in Japan. Anywhere you turn in Japan, you can find gorgeous manhole covers. The variety is endless. Over time, I made a sport of photographing as many of them as I could. I hope to share some of them with you from to time.

A beautiful manhole cover in the city of Ise, Mie prefecture

Sometimes the manhole covers are even painted

For comparison purposes: below you will find a Belgian manhole cover.

A typical Belgian manhole cover, very unimaginative as you can see. Although I have heard that in Germany and Denmark, they do have nice covers.

Homecooking: miso soup

If asked what the most typical Japanese food is, I would probably say miso soup. I already imagine some of you raising your eyebrows at this point, thinking to yourselves “what about sushi?” Contrary to popular belief in the West, sushi is not a part of daily meals in Japan. Sushi is more of a restaurant food, enjoyed on special occasions or on a fun night out with the family.

Miso soup, however, is very much part of Japanese home cooking. I think it is safe to say that most Japanese people still eat miso soup (almost) every day. Rice and miso soup make up the basics of most Japanese meals. When I found myself missing Japanese food after having moved back to Belgium, the taste of miso soup was what I missed most. It is just so typical of Japan.

The recipe for miso soup is very simple. The first thing you need is of course miso paste. Miso is made by fermenting soy and/ or rice and barley. The result is a thick, salty paste. It comes in many varieties. Most common are white miso (shiromiso 白味噌), which has a mild taste and the more spicy red miso (akamiso 赤味噌), which is typical of the Nagoya region.

Japanese miso

The other basic ingredient for miso soup is fish and seaweed stock (dashi, 出汁). These days most people use dashi powder that can be added to water, rather than making their own stock from scratch. Other than miso and dashi, you can add anything you like to miso soup. Typical things to add are wakame seaweed and tofu, or daikon and fried tofu.

Ingredients for miso soup: on the left instant dashi to be solved in water and on the right miso paste

When I had just arrived in Japan, the task of making miso soup at home seemed daunting. There were so many overly complicated recipes on the internet, while in fact it is very simple to make miso soup. I will therefore describe my own, easy way of making miso soup. Of course you are more than welcome to leave suggestions or remarks in the comments section. I’m always open to learn more!

Japanese miso soup with wakame and daikon

1. Soak the dried wakame in water for about five minutes or until it has stopped swelling. Drain the water and rinse the wakame. Don’t take too much; perhaps start with a teaspoon. The quantity of dried wakame can be deceiving since it swells so much in water.

daikon and dried wakame

2. Cut off 1/3 of the daikon. Peel it, cut in half lengthwise, cut in half again and then slice it.

peel the daikon

cut lengthwise and then slice the daikon

2. Heat water and add the instant dashi according to the instructions on the package.

3. Add the swelled wakame and the daikon to the dashi and boil for a few minutes. At this stage you can replace the wakame and daikon with other ingredients of your choosing.

4. Remove the soup from the fire. Take a spoonful of miso paste and dissolve it in the soup. You can add as much as you like. It depends on everyone’s individual taste. Start with a large teaspoon and add more if you like. Never bring the soup to the boil after having added the miso.

miso paste

It is possible to dissolve the miso paste directly into the soup but I prefer to use a small strainer. It makes dissolving the miso easier and you avoid finding chunks of undissolved miso in your soup afterwards.

Miso soup finished. I used a lot of miso since I like the taste to be quite strong. If you use less miso, the soup will be a little less opaque.

Et voila! You have the basis for a simple Japanese home cooked meal. Enjoy!

Simple Japanese meal with salad, brown rice (genmai), miso soup (miso shiru) and pickles (tsukemono). The solid ingredients in the miso soup are eaten with chopsticks. The liquid is drunk directly from the bowl. The miso drops to the bottom of the bowl after sitting for a while. This is normal. You can stir it with your chopsticks before drinking.

Japanese people are human too

Recently I moved back to Belgium after having spent a year in Japan. People often ask me about my experiences in Japan. One of the questions that I get asked the most, is “Did you get to know any Japanese people?” Quoted out of context like this, the question may seem fairly innocent. Although the fact that people feel the need to ask this, knowing that I have just spent a year living there, could be the first clue that there is a little more to this question than meets the eye. The idea behind the question becomes even more apparent when considering people’s reactions to my answer. They seem surprised when I tell them that, yes, I did manage to acquaint myself with a few Japanese people. In fact, in my experience Japanese people were warm, open and sociable; some of them were even extroverted. I have made some wonderful friends while I was there. “Gasp! Horror! Shock! You mean to say Japanese people are human too?!” That’s exactly what I mean.

Belgian people (and I think Westerners in general) hold many stereotypical beliefs about Japan. One of them is that Japanese people are shy, introverted and even cold. Perhaps a little like robots. Where does this idea come from? Allow me to illustrate with a little anecdote.

I vividly remember footage from right after the Tōhoku disaster. A man is looking out over the wreckage of his town. He has just lost everything. With a flat voice he tells his story to the camera. He gazes into the distance while talking. There are no tears rolling down his cheeks. Afterwards, a Belgian talk show host comments on the footage. “How can Japanese people be so cold? Don’t they feel anything when witnessing such devastation?”

What the talk show host doesn’t realize, is that he is being confronted with a cultural difference. I think there is no culture quite as different as the Japanese culture (as I have argued before). The way people interact and express emotion is culturally defined. In Japan, it is considered childish to openly show your emotions. Self control shows strength of character. That doesn’t mean there is no emotion, or that it is not clearly visible to the trained (i.e. Japanese) eye. But to Westerners these more subdued expressions of emotion come across as cold.

Another reason for the idea of Japanese people as being cold or distant, is that some Japanese tend to freeze up when being addressed in English by foreigners. Many Japanese people feel insecure about their English skills, even when they can actually manage pretty well. Knowing the language is the key to truly unlocking a culture, especially in Japan.

If all my ranting up to this point still hasn’t convinced you that there are, in fact, outgoing and sociable people in Japan, I will make a final effort to convince you by submitting the picture below. During a trip in Kyoto, me and my two fellow gaijin companions were ‘ambushed’ by an elated Japanese family. They started talking to us and insisted that we take a picture together. They were joking, laughing and having lots of fun. It totally made my day.

A visiting friend from Belgium posing with our new Japanese friends. Can you spot the gaijin? ^_^

Japanese landscape through a cat’s eyes

I have written about my favourite internet cat, Shiro, once before (click here to read the article). Usually Shiro and his fellow feline housemates are featured sleeping, with an array of odd household items on their head.

Shiro and his feline friends

Beautiful blue skies and cats with towels on their heads

My favourite videos of Shiro however, are the ones where you can see in what kind of stunning environment Shiro and his owner live. I have the impression that they live on an old Japanese farm somewhere in the mountains. The scenery always makes me long for Japan and its beautiful landscapes.

Here is a video of Shiro walking outside in the snow:

And below is a more elaborate video where you really get a good look at the environment. Also notice the crow sounds in the background, which to me are very reminiscent of Japan.

A song for the Tohoku disaster victims, by Tsuyoshi Nagabuchi

Two years ago, on March 11 2011, a massive earthquake and ensuing tsunami destroyed the Tōhoku region in northern Japan. Although two years have passed, the tragedy is still very much alive in Japan. Rebuilding the region, and more importantly, people’s lives, will take many more years.

In memory of that fateful day, I would like to introduce you to the song ひとつ (‘hitotsu’, or in English ‘one’) by Japanese artist Tsuyoshi Nagabuchi. He wrote this song in 2011 to express his feelings about the disaster. I think many people all over the world will be able to relate to this song, since it talks about living with sadness and losing a loved one.

Tsuyoshi Nagabuchi – Stay Alive album cover

I first heard this song on the annual Japanese New Year’s Eve show ‘Kōhaku Uta Gassen’ in 2011. Tsuyoshi Nagabuchi performed the song live on location in Tōhoku, in the Kadonowaki Primary School in Miyagi prefecture. The emotions coming through in his singing made a big impression on me. Of course the dramatic location and the beautiful light-up of the scene further enhance this effect. Please have a look for yourself:

I couldn’t find an English translation of the lyrics, so I had a go at it myself. I have to warn everyone: my Japanese is not that good. I apologize in advance for any mistakes I may have made. If you find a mistake, please post it in the comments section and I will correct it.

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Hitotsu (ひとつ) by Tsuyoshi Nagabuchi (長渕 剛)
Lyrics in Japanese and in English

Hitotsu	One
Hitoribocchi ni sasete gomen ne Mou nido to Hanasani hanarenai hanashitakunai	I am so sorry for having left you alone Never again I won’t let you go, I won’t leave you, I don’t want to leave you
Kimi ni yorisoi soba ni ikiru yo Mou nido to Wasurenai wasuresasenai wasuretakunai	Being close to you, living by your side Never again I won’t forget you, don’t let me forget you, I don’t want to forget you
Kanashimi wa dokoka yatte kite Kanashimi wa doko he yukundarou Ikura kangaete mo wakaranai kara Boku wa kanashimi wo dakishimeyou to kimeta	Where does sadness come from Where does sadness go to No matter how much I think about it, I still don’t know the answer So instead I decided to embrace the sorrow
Hitotsu ni natte Zutto issho ni tomo ni ikiru Hitotsu ni natte Kimi to ikiru tomo ni ikiru	Becoming one Forever together, we live together Becoming one I live with you, we live together
Hoshi no shizuku ga namida ni yurete Umi ni hikaru Aitakute aienakute soredemo boku wa sagashita Hoshi ga furu yoru kimi wo omoi Zuutto aruita yo Ashita kitto ashita kitto shiawase ni nareru ne	My tears make the stars flicker And the sea glisten Longing for you, unable to find you, I still kept searching On a starry night, thinking of you I kept walking on and on Surely tomorrow, surely tomorrow we shall find happiness
Eien no shiawase wa dokokara yatte kite Eien no shiawase wa doko he yuku ndarou Ikura kangaete mo wakaranai kara Boku wa kanashimi wo dakishimeyou to kimeta	Where does eternal happiness come from Where does eternal happiness go to No matter how much I think about it, I still don’t know the answer So instead I decided to embrace the sorrow
Hitotsu ni natte Zutto issho ni tomo ni ikiru Hitotsu ni natte Kimi to ikiru tomo ni ikiru	Becoming one Forever together, we live together Becoming one I live with you, we live together

Blue and white Japan

When Western people think about Japanese aesthetics, they will often think either about elaborate and colourful designs like kimono fabrics, or they will think of the rustic and minimalist aesthetics of tatami mats and shōji doors. I was therefore very surprised to discover the Japanese love for blue and white fabrics and pottery. The designs often include simple geometric forms.

I love how the blue and white designs are simple yet elegant. This subtle sense of beauty, and the fact that it is present in so many aspects of daily life in Japan, is one of the things that I love so much about this country.

Blue and white Japanese fabrics. The indigo colour of these fabrics, which is sometimes referred to as ‘Japanese blue’, is called ‘ai’ in Japanese. It is produced from the plant ‘dyer’s knotweed’ and the dye has a distinctive sulfur like odor.

Gorgeous blue and white Japanese rice bowls