Archive for March, 2009
Ashes to Dishes: Ougaku Tougei
Sakurajima has a special place in the hearts of the Kagoshima people. It’s an active volcano located in Kagoshima Bay, just off the coast from Kagoshima City. The volcano has minor eruptions on a regular basis even today. Sakurajima-yaki is a local pottery made from volcanic ash and natural hot spring water. It’s completely unique to the Sakurajima area. The pieces themselves have a primal quality that speaks of the dynamic source of the materials. The makers of Sakurajima-yaki run a little kiln at the base of the volcano called Ougaku Tougei. The kiln they run isn’t a traditional one with several generations of history. It was in fact established one generation ago by a man who managed to make his passion a success within his lifetime.
Weaving Stories with Sake and People: Kameoka Sake Brewery
Whilst gathering stories at Ikazaki in Uchiko-cho, Ehime Prefecture, we happened to come across a strange rumour. “There is a mysterious man like a mountain sage here, who has a bizarre power to manipulate people without saying a single word. It’s really strange.” Now, what is this about? How could we possible resist wondering how this man can manipulate people without the sweet temptation of money, violence of an iron fist or a carrot-and-stick approach? However, the local people all nod in agreement to this story. “Yes, yes. There’s something black magic-ish about him.” Black magic!? If such a sorcerous person really exists, we’d surely want to meet him…. So we wound up meeting Mr. Toru Kameoka, the president of the Kameoka Sake Brewery (Kameoka Shuzo).
Tradition, Electrified: Shamisen Katoh
Last week we brought you the story of a pair of electric guitar makers, and we’re continuing this week with a story of another musical instrument manufacturer. We wanted to contrast a modern stringed instrument, the electric guitar, with a more traditional one, the shamisen. As a result, we wound up paying a visit to Shamisen Katoh. The shop is in an old-fashioned part of Tokyo called Arakawa-ku, where an old streetcar is still in service. The twang of a shamisen can be heard echoing through this faintly nostalgic world. But that sound is a little different than a regular shamisen. It’s got electricity running through it! An electric shamisen? Hmmm sounds kind of exotic! Not only that, but it turns out some of the biggest names in the shamisen world are patrons at this very shop.
To see the world through the eyes of insects : Episode 1
An old man A garden into which sparkling sunlight streams overflows with greenery and flowers in bloom. Butterflies and bees dance, ants and mantises parade. Among the busily moving insects, a solitary old man stoops over, motionless. His eyes, hardly even blinking, follow the shapes of the insects. Sometimes reflecting the [...]
To see the world through the eyes of insects – a boy turning one hundred
A garden into which sparkling sunlight streams overflows with greenery and flowers in bloom. Butterflies and bees dance, ants and mantises parade. Among the busily moving insects, a solitary old man stoops over, motionless. His eyes, hardly even blinking, follow the shapes of the insects. Sometimes reflecting the sun, they are as clear as an infant’s. Because of his age I guess, wrinkles run across his face but even so his skin is quite moist. He watches the insects so as to commit to memory their expressions and movements. Afterwards, in no time at all, the forms of those insects are, through his fingertips and well-loved brush, duplicated on drawing paper.
The Mountain Luthiers: Jersey Girl Handmade Guitars
Rock and jazz, soul and country. Nearly every genre of music today owes a lot to the electric guitar. From swooning stage-side groupies to little kids playing air guitar in their living rooms, it has captured generations of the public imagination. If you’re talking brands; Fender, Gibson, and Fernandez are all big names that immediately come to mind. However, there is one little guitar manufacturer hidden in the mountains of western Tokyo with a staff of just two. Rumor has it that they sell out every guitar show they attend in the States. Exactly what is it about this tiny workshop? We took a trip out to their studio, Jersey Girl Homemade Guitars for a visit.
