The Post-Apocalyptic Techno Poem

The days following the nomikai were to continue the fast pace that had been set by the first half of the program, and Team Ise was well up for the challenge.

We began the first day of the rest of the trip (a Thursday) with a series of morning lectures on Ise's early economic history, including the industries that sprang up around the ceremonial rebuilding of the shrines at Ise (and around the pilgrimages to Ise that eventually began to take place in the medieval period) and the agricultural industries of the region: in particular the salt, alcohol, and fishing industries—all of which remain vital sources of Ise agribusiness today.

Following our morning lectures, we headed out for an extensive walking tour of the Kawasaki (Rivershore) and Furuichi (Old City) areas of Ise. We were led by Chieda-sensei, who had taken T. and I on our weekend tour of the old Ise pilgrimage routes and sūtra burial sites. Chieda-sensei is one of Kogakkan's most personable professors (which is saying quite a lot, as Kogakkan University is blessed with many personable professors)—an educator whose knowledge of the layout of Ise City is truly remarkable. I think his knowledge of the city is honestly only exceeded by his desire to share that knowledge with others. Needless to say, I was beyond delighted to take another walking tour under his guidance.

Our ramble led us first through Kawasaki, where we had the opportunity to view several Edo (1615-1868) period buildings from the outside and in. Gracious shopkeepers allowed us to roam through backrooms, busy craftsmen made time to give us demonstrations of their work, and small local history museums provided intensive guided tours. Then we traveled to Furuichi, where more classic architecture awaited us—this time accompanied by spectacular views of the surrounding landscape. (Furuichi is located on a hill, overlooking the river valley below and providing a line of sight straight to the surrounding mountain ranges that encompass the valley.) In Furuichi we were able to tour the interior of an old Japanese house—including the kitchens and old storage areas, which were absolutely fascinating.

We finished up our tour with a visit to the Ito Shoha Museum—an museum dedicated to the art of local nihonga artist Ito Shoha (1877-1968), whose paintings were evocative of traditional Japan and its continued importance to modern art practice, and then we had a very refreshing walk home in the afternoon sun.

Friday saw us spend a relatively quiet day preparing for our weekend trip to Nara and Kyoto with extensive lectures on the cultural and political relationship between Ise and the ancient capitals of Heijō-kyō (present-day Nara) and Heian-kyō (present-day Kyoto). Our lecturers included the president of the university and a member of the university's board of directors—learned scholars with specialized knowledge of Ise during the Nara (710-794) and Heian (794-1185) periods who took time out of their extremely busy schedules to offer us their insight into Ise's history. I took copious notes and then went back to the dormitory for an early night; we had an early start planned for our weekend trip—which, with multiple stops planned in both Nara and Kyoto, was set to be an intense (though rewarding) experience.

Since Wednesday feels like two separate days—pre-nomikai Wednesday and-post nomikai Wednesday—I'm going to split them up into two separate entries.

We started Wednesday off with a morning lecture on the Toyouke Shrine—often referred to as the Outer Shrine. When thinking about the inner (naikū) and outer shrines (gekū) of Ise, it's easy to imagine that they lie close together, when the reality is that they are actually situated quite distant from one another. The Inner Shrine (also known as the Grand Shrine) is located in a part of the city known as Uji, while the Outer Shrine is in Yamada. In pre-modern times, the Ise pilgrimage involved stops at the Outer and Inner Shrine, as well as time spent in Yamada no machi and a visit to Kongōshōji. Pilgrims first visited the Outer Shrine, then visited the Inner Shrine, and then made their way to Kongōshōji before returning home. They would spend two-to-three days just in the Ise area alone to do this. (And at certain points in Ise history, the Inner and Outer shrines did not get along with each other, and they sometimes fought battles because the Outer shrine—as the first stop—had better control over transit pathways to the Inner shrine and could [and did] restrict people's access!) Anyway, today it is not uncommon for visitors on pilgrimage to Ise to recreate this pilgrimage route and spend the same amount of time on it—even though they now come by car, bus, or train.

It was a pretty intensely rainy day, and cold with it, which limited our mobility. Our trip to Kongōshōji was misty and chill, but somehow the weather for the Outer Shrine trip was a bit more oppressive. Fortunately, however, we have a special return visit scheduled for next week, and I hope for better weather (or that I remember to wear my thick socks) then. We did spend a good amount of time in the Sengū—the museum dedicated to the shrines' history, which contained lots of valuable information about the building techniques and ritual process involved in the rebuilding of the shrines (which takes place every twenty years at both the Inner and Outer shrine complexes). T. and I latched onto Sano-sensei—an Ise shrine expert—early on in the tour and spent the time peppering him with questions, which he kindly and diligently answered.

After the tour, we had about two hours to kill until dinner at the craft brewer and Tamada-san (our program coordinator) mentioned an akafukumochi place nearby, so T., our friend M., and I—along with Kogakkan students Suzuki, Haruki, and Saki—made our way there for tea, mochi, and conversation. It was warm, and the tea and sweets were delicious and fortifying, and we had a lot of fun chatting about language, and interests, and whatnot. And, in that time-honored tradition of friendship, we made fun of each other for various and sundry things. And we laughed a lot. With the little bit of time left over before we had to meet back up again for the taxi ride, the Kogakkan students took us over to a small bookshop, where I was able to find a copy of a book on Ise that I had been coveting—a book chock-full of excellent photographs and articles that will be a material help to me in future teaching projects. There were exactly two copies of the book, which was awesome because it meant that both T. and I were able to buy one. (Bookstore win!)

Our purchases made, we powered back to the meeting point—pausing to take a few silly pictures along the way—and then it was time to say goodbye to the students, who sadly had decided not to join us for dinner, and make our way to the restaurant for delicious food, excellent beer, and more scrumptious conversation.

But that's another story, and shall be told another time. Stay tuned...

Sunday was a free day for the members of Team Ise, and so we broke into various small groups for assorted adventures in different areas. Some people went to Nagoya; some went to Nara; some stayed home; and some spent the day touring Ise. I spent the day with my friend T., who's studying Ise sankei mandara (Ise pilgrimage mandalas), Chieda-sensei, a Kogakkan professor who seems to know everything there is to know about Ise City and its history, and Kirita-kun, one of Chieda-sensei's students (who was super serious, to the point that we couldn't believe he was only nineteen; that boy will become an academic one day... mark our words).

And when I say we spent the day, I mean we spent the day. Chieda-sensei picked us up at 9am for a driving/walking/hiking tour of various spots related to Ise sankei mandara, as well as stops at a number of sūtra burial sites, the Ise City Library, the Ise Shrine museums of art, history, and agriculture, and a wonderful little used book shop. We also had lunch and dinner together, at two delightful and delicious restaurants—the first a washoku (Japanese cuisine) place in Okagemachi (the portion of the Oharaimachi area that is built to recreate the Edo period aesthetic of the city) and the second a little hole-in-the-wall Italian restaurant that was run by a friend of Chieda-sensei's. As you can imagine, we had amazing meals and fascinating conversations in both places. And we both found some awesome books in the bookstore.

Throughout the course of the day, as we rambled here and there, we discussed art and history both relevant and irrelevant to our dissertation projects. And of course we talked about our likes and dislikes, varied personal experiences, and travels, and we laughed a whole lot.

It was a thoroughly enjoyable "day off."

Friday afternoon found the members of Team Ise participating in an extensive and complex tea ceremony, but once again I'm a little ahead of myself.

The tea ceremony was preceded by a lengthy lecture on the history of tea and tea usage in Japan, and it included a ton of useful information on present-day tea terminology and practice. Additionally, the tea master had selected a number of exquisitely beautiful tea objects for us to view during the lecture break. These included a hand-painted lacquerware water box, a gold-embossed lacquer tea caddy, and several beautiful tea bowls. Most of the objects featured imagery related to the famous sights of Ise—the Grand Shrine in Uji no Machi, the Toyouke Shrine in Yamada no Machi, and the Wedded Rocks located near the Futami Okitama Shrine. In terms of their quality, these tea objects were extremely luxurious and valuable, but in terms of their appropriateness to the season and location, they were without price. It was really lovely of the tea master to share these objects with us, to allow us to photograph them and hold them in our hands.

The tea ceremony itself was, as it often is, a grueling affair. I've learned shortened versions of the tea ceremony before, but never have I learned such a complicated version. This was not a tea ceremony lecture for beginners, and I felt rather like I had graduated. The extensive practice we did before the actual ceremony extended the amount of time we spent sitting in seiza (on the soles of the feet), but I appreciated that the master did not dumb the ceremony down for us. I felt it as a mark of respect. And I somewhat enjoy sitting in seiza, even when it becomes painful. There is something profound about pushing yourself beyond the physical sensations to fully savor the totality of the experience.

The tea, which was as excellent as expected, was served with a delicious sweet potato wagashi (Japanese-style sweet)—yet another Ise meibutsu (famous product) from the delicious food tour of Ise—that was chosen especially for us. The sweet was fashioned into a the shape of an ume (plum blossom), which is sometimes known by the more poetic name of harutsugekusa (lit. the blossom that announces the spring), another deeply appropriate choice for the season.

The tea ceremony is always a wonderful experience, and this particular tea ceremony—with its abundance of explanation and example—was no exception.

The Grand Shrine at Ise!

One of the strongest (though certainly not the only) motivating factors for me in joining this study program was the desire to learn more about the shrines that are located here in Ise—most especially the Grand Shrine (Kōtai Jingū)—which I have taught about in my Intro to Asian Art course but never before visited.

The trip (paired with morning lectures on the layout of the shrine and its proximity to other sacred spaces in and around Ise City) really brought into sharp relief how much the story of the shrine is simplified in the intro course—simplified almost to the point of nonsensicality. So now I'm totally rethinking how I may want to teach this material (in intro and other courses) going forward. The intro classes are fast-paced and somewhat akin to greatest hits albums, but there has to be a way to get more of the history of this space—its changing relationships to Buddhism, to the court government, to the Outer Shrine of Toyouke Jingū in nearby Yamada, Ise—into the lecture because it's completely fascinating.

We left the Momofune (Kogakkan's name for their International Exchange Office) about 11:40 to catch the bus down to the area of Ise known as Uji. The Grand Shrine, site of the Naikū (inner shrine) that is the dwelling place of the sun goddess Amaterasu-o-mi-kami, is located there. You approach it along a stretch of shops that are collected in an area known as Oharaimachi. Our first stop was lunch at a shop in Oharaimachi, where we had an absolutely amazing meal. Seriously, I just cannot stop talking about how delicious it was. We were served Ise Udon (thick udon noodles drizzled with a strong soy sauce and soup stock broth and mixed up with bonito flakes and green onions) and Tekone-zushi (tuna sashimi over rice, garnished with nori, shiso, and ginger). The Ise area—located on the coast of Ise Bay—is famous for its seafood, and the tuna was some of the freshest and most mouth-watering I've ever tasted.

After lunch, we made our way to the Uji Bridge, the entrance to the Grand Shrine, where we were met by a film crew from Local 7 News. Our visit to the shrine was schedule to be filmed for a short interest piece airing as part of the evening's 5:40pm News Broadcast. (More on that in a bit.) Being constantly filmed was definitely different, but I just put the cameraman out of my mind and concentrated on the experience. Fully two-thirds of the Grand Shrine is wooded, and the scenery was achingly beautiful. Even though there were many, many people present, it was possible to feel isolated and deeply grounded within the self, simply through the overwhelming presence of nature on all sides.

Entering the Inner Shrine was a particularly moving experience for me. We were especially lucky to be there in the first few months after the most recent building reconstruction and transfer of the goddess to her new dwelling space. (A number of buildings at the Grand Shrine are reconstructed every twenty years as part of an elaborate ritual process.) The buildings from the previous (1993) reconstruction were still standing, and because of a difference in the elevation between the two adjacent spaces it was possible to catch a glimpse of the previous shrine and really see the effect that twenty years of entropy had had on the earlier structures. It wasn't possible to take pictures within the Inner Shrine precincts, but I was extremely glad to have the chance to take a good long look at the two spaces together. It was completely eye-opening. As an art historian, these are the moments you live for. This is why you do it. And I was absolutely over the moon. After paying our respects to Amaterasu, we wended our way back to the entrance of the shrine, passing a number of minor shrines along the way. (The Grand Shrine is less a single entity and more a collection of smaller individual entities sharing a complex.)

Once finished at the Grand Shrine, the program coordinator took us for tea and akafukumochi (red-bean-paste smothered rice cakes) at the Akafuku Honten. I'm extremely delighted to say that this trip was added to the day's schedule because of my post to Facebook about how much I wanted to try this Ise meibutsu. Our program coordinator is really doing us proud. I don't think I've ever been so well looked after (read: spoiled) in a study program before, and that's the truth. The akafukumochi was unbelievably yummy, with the lovely lightly sweetened flavor of red bean paste and the chewy, chewy, chewiness of mochi. We all sat on tatami mat flooring, gazing out at the tea house garden, and giggling over our respective chewy faces as we pondered the day's activities. It was a lovely way to close out the afternoon.

With the day's outing officially over, we all broke into small groups, and I spent some time wandering the shopping street in Oharaimachi with T. and M.—another participant in the program. We took pictures of the architecture, bought some Ise-only beer (but of course!), and then got soft serve ice cream and tai-yaki for the trip home. At T.'s suggestion, we decided to walk back to the dormitory, which was only about a half-hour's distance on foot, rather than take a bus back. Along the way, we found a number of awesome sights that we would not have seen otherwise.

Back at the dorm, T. and I had enough time for a quick beer and discussion before the 5:40 news broadcast. Everyone piled into the common room on the second floor to watch. And before you ask, yes I was featured, and yes the broadcast was copied. Sort of. One of the girls in the program shot a clandestine video of it on her camera. I believer she's going to send us all copies of it when she has a chance to upload. When she does, I'll post it (with commentary). That's a promise.

Lots more to come, but for now, it's time to settle in for the night. I'm bushed!

So, for those not in the know, I applied (and was accepted) to participate in the first annual Ise-Japan Study Program. The three-week program, which is sponsored by the city of Ise and hosted by Kogakkan University, began today with a morning orientation, campus tour, pair of lectures on the history of the city, and a lively welcome party. But I'm getting a little ahead of myself, I think.

I came down yesterday afternoon with my friend, T., who—like me—is studying at Gakushuin with Sano-sensei, and it was a good start to the trip. It's always nice to share an experience with someone else, and the program really sent us in style. The people we encountered along the way were all extremely kind, too. One woman on the train from Nagoya to Ise even gave us one of her mikan (Japanese mandarin) to try. (It was super yummy, and it inspired T. to buy a bag at the local supermarket after we'd gotten settled.)

Things got moving at a pretty fast pace after we arrived, and they've continued to be fast paced. I mean, the above list is no exaggeration: we did all of those things—sometimes rushing from one place to another and occasionally stumbling upon something unexpected.

Our post-orientation tour was a good example of that, actually. Even before we'd gotten ten paces from the International Center Office door, we found a group of Kogakkan University students practicing a traditional/modern dance number. When they saw us watching, they treated us to a full performance—which was extremely cool. The dance style seemed to be a blend of gagaku dance and modern cheerleading, and it carried a truly unique flavor.

We split the walking tour into two sections: pre- and post-lunch. Over lunch at the cafeteria (I had a chicken rice bowl, tofu, and salad), we had a chance to start getting to know the student volunteers, many of whom are learning English and all of whom are very friendly and engaging. I bonded with a number of them over a variety of things: love of baseball, desire to become a teacher, mutual shortness, etc. Almost any point of commonality would do, it seemed.

After the walking tours, which included stops in the campus museum of Shinto art and history, the library, and a nearby shrine, we headed back to the classroom for the first of what promises to be a series of very interesting lectures. Today's topics were city history, and while I admit that I found the early history more engaging than the modern history (sorry modernist friends; I'm just an ancient history fan...) both contained a lot of really useful information that I look forward to one day putting into practice as a teacher.

When class was over, myself and a couple of others walked back to our dormitory, which is about fifteen minutes away from campus. We weren't exactly certain of the return directions, having only walked it once before that morning, but we were able to reverse engineer the trip by means of following the landmarks. I was pretty proud of us, actually, and it'll be nice to feel like I know where I'm going. One of the most important factors for me in feeling settled in somewhere is knowing how to get places by heart. As long as I can make a successful return trip to campus tomorrow morning, I'll probably start feeling pretty at home here.

There's lots more to tell—about the students, and the profs, and the staff—but I'm fairly tired after a twelve-hour day of work, so I'm going to pack it in for now. Suffice it to say, everyone has been pretty awesome. The other participants (who come from Australia, Russia, Germany, Poland, Belgium, and Portugal!) are a good bunch, the teachers and staff are enthusiastic about this program and about us as the inaugural participants, and the university students are both interesting and interested.

I think it's going to be a good three weeks.

In Japan, the coming of the new year (Shōgatsu) is far and away the most important holiday of record. (Other major holidays include Setsubun [the bean throwing festival], Tanabata [the star festival], and Obon.) In contrast to the anything-goes party aesthetic that often attends the "western" new year, Shōgatsu is a family holiday. Many people return to their hometown in order to spend the first week of the year with their parents and, rather than partying 'til dawn on the last night/first day, visit their local shrine at midnight and local temple in the next week to pray for a prosperous twelvemonth. Of course, that doesn't mean that the party 'til dawn approach to new year's isn't savored by the denizens of the city, and the beauty of living in Tokyo is that you often get the best of both worlds.

( I was fortunate this year to have the opportunity to do just that... )

All in all, this was one of the best New Year's I've ever spent, and I've spent some damn good ones over the course of my life. Here's hoping that yours was just as lovely and the coming year of the horse lovely to match...

I'm currently in the throes of house-hunting with my future roommate, K. Or, well, sort of. As it stands right now, we've hunted the house and are now waiting on documents. At least, I am. I'm pretty sure that K. has everything sewn up at this point. I've currently got two out of four required items, and I hope to have all of them by week's end. Fingers crossed for that.

Perhaps the most interesting thing to me during this process was the cultural prejudices that revealed themselves. Everybody knows that it can be hard to find a house as a foreigner. Many landlords won't even consider a foreign renter; no ifs, ands, or buts. However, what we didn't realize is that many landlords are also leery of renting to a pair of girls who are not related to one another. The reasoning being that girls fight over petty things, and two girls living together might get into a fight over something petty and suddenly not want to live together anymore. Furthermore, they're less likely to be able to manage their finances well.

The fact that K. and I have prestigious scholarships to study at Japanese universities seems to have gone a little ways towards ameliorating this fear. (And I also have the impression that the fact that we are not from the same country also helped somehow. Much was made of the fact that I'm American and K. is British. Two American girls would probably have been verboten...) Nevertheless, we were still asked to provide proof that our families would support us if we got into financial difficulties here, in addition to the standard request for a Japanese guarantor.

Now, I planned for a lot of hoop-jumping in my Japanese apartment search, but I have to admit that I never imagined I'd need to prove that my parents love me. Good thing they actually do, huh?

It's warm and sunny today, and it seems as if it will be warm and sunny again tomorrow. So that's something to be thankful for, and I am.

In other news, I completed two abstract submissions recently and now wait to hear back about them. But I'm at that stage in my professional career where I'm torn between wanting to be accepted and have the experience and wanting to be passed over since the idea of being accepted is so intimidating. At least I can fall back on that old idea of what is to be will be. I guess. Anyway, more to come...

Moving on. There are now fifteen students enrolled in my summer course on Intro to Asian Art, so there's no question that I'll be teaching in June and July. I pretty much feel the same way about teaching a stand-alone course as I do about being accepted to conferences. Go figure.

And finally, with the semester nearly over I hope to start blogging a bit more. (I know, I know... I always say that.) I'd particularly like to do a post on one of my favorite things about Chinese grammar, because I'm tired of giving the impression that I don't like the Chinese language. The truth is that I really kind of love it. I just can't stand the way it's taught at New City University. [shrug]

And now, off to deal with mundane issues.

Toodles!

Since lj has become the place where I go to bitch about things, to paraphrase a super-savvy friend of mine, here it is.

I hate taking Chinese at New City University.

And I mean, I hate every fucking minute of it. Just the prospect of having to do it depresses me--putting me instantly into a sluggish, lazy, inefficient mood that makes doing even the things I enjoy difficult.

I can't remember the last time I dealt with anything as ungraciously as I've been dealing with this, but - in my defense - I can't remember the last time I had to put up with this kind of fucked-up-donkey-show.

But there is a light on the horizon. In four weeks I'll be out, and I'll never have to take Chinese again at New City University again. I'll have a Chinese-free summer, in which I will study stuff that I actually love to study, and in the fall I'll take Classical Chinese.

Four more weeks and out.

Of course, that's also four more weeks until I have to turn in a major paper that I haven't even started to write yet (although I have pretty well planned out at this point). And four more weeks to come up with ways to spend time in Japanese class, because I've really passed the point where I need to take directed readings. I read just fine on my own now.

Four more weeks.

Lord, give me the strength.

Or, you know, whatever.