More Potential World Heritage Sites For Japan

To have a place designated as a World Heritage Site is not a minor thing. And before a place can have that honor, a lot of steps have to be followed. It is common knowledge that Japan already has a lot of locations which are considered as World Heritage Sites but as a testament to the richness of their culture, the government has proposed another 5 sites.

MCOT has this report:

The Japanese government has picked five more places as candidates for cultural heritage sites to be registered on the World Heritage list by UNESCO, bringing the number of such candidates to 13, the Cultural Affairs Agency said Friday.

The five candidates were picked out of the 32 places recommended by local governments across the country, agency officials said.

Can you imagine that? Thirty two more sites! It is no wonder that Japan is such a popular tourist destination.

Kazuki Nakajima

What is so special about the 28th of September this year? If you have been paying attention to Formula 1 on the news, you would know that history is being made as I write this. At this very moment, the very first F1 night street race is being held in Singapore and one of the drivers is Japanese.

Kazuki Nakajima drives for the Williams-Toyota team, together with Nico Rosberg. Nakajima was born in January 11, 1985 in Okazaki, Aichi, Japan. As a child, Nakajima was not a stranger to the world of racing. In fact, he was only 11 years old when he started Karting and a mere three years later, he was dubbed the champion of Suzuki Formula ICA karting. He was then subsequently snapped up by Toyota to join their Young Drivers’ Program.

Some say that he purposely went with Toyota despite his father’s strong ties with Honda, which is the former’s arch rival. The rationale is that he wanted to prove that his father has nothing to do with his success in his racing career. Well, he did prove that because in 2006, he started as a test driver for Williams and in October 9 of 2007, he finally got a break when he replaced Alexander Wurz as a driver for Williams. He drove in the final race in Brazil that year and finished in 10th place.

Today, Nakajima is a household name in the world of F1 racing. Though he has not made such big waves as the other drivers have, he certainly is someone to be proud of.

Visit The Asahiyama Zoo

Japan has so many things to offer her visitors and for those who are animal lovers, there is also something for you. The Asahiyama Zoo is located in Asahikawa in Hokkaido, Japan. It is also the most popular zoo in all of the country. So why are people flocking to this zoo?

The animals of course! And the zoo has taken things one step further. According to Japan Now:

In the past, Japanese zoos focused on displaying only the animal’s figure. But Asahiyama Zoo started to design its facilities so that the animal’s habits and behavior can be seen as well.

Though this concept is not all that new – there are many zoos in other countries with a similar set up. In Japan, however, the Asahiyama Zoo has done it best. I was browsing their web site and I just couldn’t help but feel a thrill of excitement as I saw the pictures and descriptions. Here is my favorite.

I want to see how a polar bear swims!

La MaMa Features “The Doll Sisters” Yet Again

For many people, Manhattan is the center of many world cultures and who am I to dispute that? Different places mean different things to different people. Anyhow, if you are interested in the Japanese culture and you are in the vicinity of Manhattan, you might want to pay the La MaMa Experimental Theater Club a visit anytime between October 23 and November 2 of this year.

They will be featuring “The Doll Sisters,” a legendary masterpiece that combines the use of puppets and a variety of Japanese performance styles. Expect to experience both ancient and contemporary performance styles as you watch the production.

Together with Atelier Asakura, La MaMa is holding the production in celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Praemium Imperiale (Takamatsu no Miya Memorial World Cultural Award). This award is meant specifically for outstanding artists and has been in existence since 1989, at the orders of the Japanese Emperor. This award is so prestigious that it has been likened to the Nobel Prize for art.

This is not the first time that the production has been held at La MaMa. In October of 1978, Setsu Asakura directed a version of “The Doll Sisters.” Though it ran for only 5 days, the production became a hit and has since then been regarded as one of the best cultural productions.

What is the production about? News Blaze reports:

In “The Doll Sisters,” two sisters are paralleled by a doll character, who are revealed finally to be the two natures of the single woman. The younger, more passionate sister is obsessed with finding a man to love her; her older, more reserved sister is obsessed with the man who abandoned her. On the modern psychological level, the play explores opposing qualities, both innate and acquired, of being female. It has strongly feminist tones.

The Japanese-Jewish Connection

Though I have never heard of this theory before, it has apparently been around for quite some time. I only heard of the Japanese-Jewish connection today, when I read a blog post titled “Are The Japanese Actually Jewish? Looking at the mysterious connections between Japan and Judaism.”

In this post, similarities between the two cultures are presented. The theory is that due to the never ending warfare in Israel, the tribes dispersed all over the world AND some of them found their way to Japan. So what are these connections?

For example, the Japanese Shintoist Holy day is the Yamaboko Junko, or “Going atop the Mountain to lay to rest the Shrine”. The day Noah’s Ark rested atop Mount Ararat lies on the same day. The word “Essa”, which is a carrying chant chanted by the holders of the Omikoshi, or portable shrine, is a word which really has no meaning in Japanese but means “Carry” in Hebrew.

Here is another one:

One of Japan’s largest festivals, the Gion Festival, is believed by many, including the Gion Festival officials, to be the same as Ancient Israel’s Zion Festival. The month long festival is almost identical in each event, date, etc. The artwork depicted on the portable shrines in the festival are from ancient Japan, but are renderings of landscapes in the middle east - camels walking the desert, pyramids, Baghdad Palaces, and most surprising is a grand picture of Rebecca offering water to Isaac which is confirmed to be a rendition of Genesis 24 in the Old Testament.

Japan and Judaism are the last things that I would pair up in my mind – but that only goes to show how much I have to learn. Have you heard anything about this connection?

Russian Sumo Wrestlers Arrested In Japan

Sumo wrestling is a sport that is well known in many countries around the world. Japanese in origin it may be, sumo wrestling has certainly surpassed geographic boundaries. It’s popularity is such that people from other countries actually go to Japan to learn and practice this sport.

Much like other sports, however, it seems that sumo wrestling is not exempt from scandal. Only recently, a report circulated in which Russian sumo wrestlers were arrested due to the use of marijuana. ABC News has this story:

Two Russian sumo wrestlers tested positive for marijuana use in Japan less than a month after a fellow Russian wrestler was arrested for possession of pot, the country’s association of sumo wrestlers said today.

It’s the first drug scandal in the roughly 2,000 year history of sumo wrestling and the latest in a rising number of marijuana incidents in Japan, a country with harsh penalties for drug offenders.

Considering that this is the first drug scandal within the world of sumo wrestling, you can just imagine how grave the offense is in the eyes of the authorities. After all, sumo wrestling is not merely a sport in Japan, it is considered a cultural activity. I suppose that this is the beginning of a new era in the sport, wherein they would have to consider things that they didn’t before. Even the authorities think so:

“Drugs are in the country. That is a fact. We cannot turn back the clock. Treating users as outcasts will not stop the spread of drugs. We need a systematic and comprehensive approach to work with users and to help them get rid of their habit,” Kondo said. “It is no longer a foreign thing. It really can happen to anyone.”

Japanese Designer Found A Model In Sarah Palin

Model meaning someone who shows off a product. And in this case, Vice-President hopeful Sarah Palin has become a model for Japanese designer Kazuo Kawasaki – albeit unintentionally. We have all seen Sarah Palin – she is on TV every single day – and I am sure that you have also noticed her fashion sense, including the eyeglasses that she wears constantly. If you have found yourself wondering where she got those glasses, then wonder no more. They were designed and made by Kazuo Kawasaki.

Dubbed the MP-704, these glasses are made of titanium, known to be ultra light and hypoallergenic. In fact, these kinds of rims have been in the market for many years now but ever since Sarah Palin came into the limelight, more people have become aware of them. As for Kawasaki, he is enjoying thousands of orders from all over the world because of the exposure that Palin brought to his product. If you are wondering if having Sarah Palin as a model is a good thing or not, take a look at these figures. Kawasaki says they normally make about 12,000 units of the MP-704 over an 18-month period. In the last 10 days, however, their orders have soared to 9,000 – with most of the customers coming from the United States!

Political beliefs not withstanding, I am tempted to find myself a pair of these glasses as well. They do look good and with the quality that they are supposed to have, it wouldn’t be such a bad buy.

Clean Diesel Engine To Be Launched By Mazda

Car lovers – this news will certainly make your day. Mazda Motor Corp., one of the biggest car manufacturers in Japan, has announced that they will be launching a new diesel engine that will be more fuel efficient. Though the engine is not set to be released till next year, and only in Europe initially at that, excitement is already running through the minds of a lot of people. AFP reports:

Japan’s fifth largest automaker plans to introduce the MZR-CD 2.2 engine worldwide but first in Europe, where diesel accounts for nearly 60 percent of vehicle sales.

The technology allows the engine to burn off soot from exhaust fumes some 60 percent faster than traditional diesel engines, the Hiroshima-based company said in a statement.

Though I am not in Europe, I know that sooner or later this engine will be released worldwide. More so, as the AFP report says, other car manufacturers are set on developing and releasing their own version of clean diesel engines. This will certainly set the trend for the global market, bringing more options to the consumers.

With the ever rising fuel prices all over the world, news like this is very much appreciated by motorists. I was just away on a short weekend trip and I was amazed at how much I had to pay for the diesel! Considering that diesel is cheaper than gas, then that says a lot. And, looking at the effects on the environment of a clean diesel engine, this development means so much more.

Michelin: Tokyo Beats Paris

If you are not convinced that Japan is one of the places that you simply have to visit, then this just might help you get off your bum and hop on a plane to Tokyo. You have probably heard of the Michelin guide, a series of books published yearly which is oldest and best known guide when it comes to hotels and restaurants. They award Michelin stars, which measures the quality of the establishments.

This year’s Michelin guide is focused on Tokyo, one of the most popular cities in the world. The research that went into the making of this guide is quite impressive. They hired Japanese experts to work with the Europeans in order to give the finished product a Japanese context. And the results?

Michelin found Tokyo to be even better than Paris, which has always been touted as the food capital of the world. The Herald Tribune reports:

It found much to like, even love, and showered the city’s restaurants with more of its coveted stars than those in New York and Paris combined. Michelin, based in France, made the splash it had hoped for and has sold more than 290,000 copies of its familiar red-colored guides since November.

Some Japanese chefs, however, do not seem to appreciate the attention lavished on them. In fact, some have been heard to say that they do not need an outsider’s approval for their work. As for me, I just want to experience the best that Tokyo can offer in terms of food, don’t you?

If you want to buy this guide, check out Amazon.

Yomiuri Features Tea Ceremony

Everyone in the world knows that the tea ceremony is something associated strongly with the Japanese culture. When we talk tea and the art the surrounds it, we automatically think of Japan. Dainty tea cups, delicate tea, and serene actions – these are some of the things that come to mind when the phrase tea ceremony is heard.

Yet not everyone knows all that much about the intricacies of the tea ceremony. Perhaps that is why The Yomiuri Shimbun, one of the leading newspapers in Japan, is sponsoring a lecture on the tea ceremony. This is going to be held on the 6th of October at the Gallery Yomiuri in Osaka. The lecture will run from 6:30 pm to 7:30 pm in the basement and will be given by Toru Ota, the head of Oimatsu, a Kyoto-based Japanese confectionary maker. Shse is also an instructor at the Kyoto Women’s Unviersity. This event coincides with the 15th anniversary of the English newspaper’s Kansai edition.

The aim of the organizers is to spread the word about the real deal when it comes to the tea ceremony. Their targets are the foreigners in the area who might want to know about the tea ceremony in a more in depth manner. The lecture is free but there are only 40 seats available and they will be giving out invitations through lottery. If you want to participate, send in a postcard with your name, age, address, and postal code to The Daily Yomiuri Japanese Culture Lecture, The Yomiuri Shimbun, Osaka, 530-855 before September 28.