Archive for the ‘Other’
Festivals on the Edge: Tsukimi-do
There’s a mysterious shop in a place called Suginuma that is run by a mysterious couple. I was drawn to them because of an improvised concert that was held on May 16, 2009 which was so beautiful, holy, and wonderful. It’s hard to express exactly what they are in just a word or two. You could call them avant garde musicians, and you could also call them shop owners. They’re clearly different from regular people, living in a way that we don’t encounter often.
Making Daydreams: Tetsuwari Albatrossket
Tetsuwari Albatrossket is a group of stage entertainers. Their performances are like a four panel comic in rock form . They don’t present any conclusions, and they don’t force anything on their audience. They seem to have a point to what they do and at the same time, no point at all. Short performances unfold on the stage one after the other in quick succession. The audience is never in agreement about where to laugh: everyone finds something different to laugh about. It’s comedy, but at the same time it’s not comic. They launched in 1997 and twelve years have passed since then and they are finally beginning to attract some attention. I spoke to Inui, the scriptwriter, Misao, director, and actor Murakami.
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.
