Incredible Paper Octopus

by cybersensei | March 14, 2020 | Art, Blog, Culture, Inspiration

Incredible Paper Octopus

What can you do with a single sheet of paper?

Plenty when your name is Masayo Fukuda, who, after seeing her art I now refer to her as Sensai Tensai or “delicacy genius”.

The Japanese are know to be extremely diligent and exceptionally dexterous.

Looking at Masayo Fukuda incredible art work, I would have to say the above statement to be so very true.

The art of paper cutting requires a high degree of patience and a steady hand, and the Japanese artist Masayo Fukuda has undoubtedly mastered this extraordinary skill.

In Japan it is called “kirie” or simply “cut picture” and this traditional practice involves cutting out intricate shapes from a single sheet of paper, placing it in front of a black background to highlight the drawing by contrast.

Ms. Fukuda has been practicing kirie for 25 years and recently showed what she believes to be some of her best work.

This octopus kirie is a most impressive piece of artwork.

Made from a single large sheet of paper, its details reveal the true skill of the artist, which is both astounding and breathtaking, if you even could describe this masterpiece into words.

This incredible artist has the following to say “For me, cutting pictures has become a way of dissipating all the stress of my daily life, and if you want to get started, all the basics you need are tant paper, a cutter, matte, and a good light source.

Fortunately for me, I happen to live just an hour just outside of Tokyo and was able to see the prodigious artwork of Masayo Fukuda at Mason de NEKO on February 21.

Sensai Tensai Masayo Fukuda’s art was everything and more when seen with ones own eyes. The extreme attention to detail of each piece was simply sublime!

Sensai Tensai Masayo Fukuda, was very down-to-earth and truly happy to see us at her exhibition.

Also, thank to Mr. Kentaro Kashimura who is the President of Kabushikigaisha Kazaana, for holding this event and giving Sensai Tensai Masayo Fukuda inspirational art the exposure she deserves for creating such incredible art.

I hope to have featuring Sensai Tensai Masayo Fukuda on a Hidden Gems segment as she talks about her amazing journey and her inspiration to become a master of kirie.

Heartfelt thanks to Land Of The Rising Son web developer Victoria Gazeley of Cabin Design Studio for suggesting Masayo Fukuda and this extraordinary art.

Girls Festival-Hinamatsuri

by cybersensei | March 7, 2020 | Culture, Festival, Shinto

Girls Festival-Hinamatsuri

At the beginning of every March there is the spectacular Girls Festival here in Japan.

As you can see, the ancient cultural of Japan is alive and well in modern Japan today.

The primary aspect of the Girl’s Festival is the display of seated male and female dolls. These two main dolls are know as “obina” and meibina, respectively, and you can look upon these dolls as a representation of the Emperor and Empress.

The dolls on display are modelled after Imperial Court attire based on the royal courts of the

Many of these elaborate displays include a multi-tiered doll stand representing ladies of the court, musicians, and other attendants.

The entire set of dolls and accessories is called the “hinakazari”.

The dolls are usually fairly expensive (¥200,000 to ¥500,000 for a five-tier set, depending on quality) and may be handed down from older generations as heirlooms.

In some areas of Japan, like Ibaraki prefecture, these dolls represent bragging rights and these doll sets can go up to ¥10 million and beyond.

The dolls spends most of the year in storage, and girls and their mothers begin setting up the display a few days before March 3 .

Now, the boys normally do not participate in this event, as May 5, now known as Children’s Day was historically called “Boys’ Day”. The boys get their own special item known as koinobori and Kabuto () on their day and I will be writing about this just before this festive celebration.

The dolls were supposed to be put away by the day after Hinamatsuri, with the the superstition being that leaving the dolls out any longer would result in a late marriage for the daughter.

Historically, the dolls were used as toys, but in modern times they are intended for display only.

During Hinamatsuri and the preceding days, girls hold parties with their friends.

Typical foods include hina-arare (multi-colored rice crackers), chirashizushi (raw fish and vegetables on rice in a bowl or bento box), hishi mochi (multicolored rice cakes),(sakuramochi) (pounded rice that tastes like cherries) and ushiojiru (clam soup, as clam shells represent a joined pair), and amazake (non alcohol sake).

To add further to the fun and joyfulness of this important festival, there is the Nagashi-bina (doll floating”) ceremonies which are held around the country.

The participants make dolls out of paper or straw and send them on a boat down a river, carrying one’s impurities and sin with them. Now this sounds like a little bit of Shintoism in the mix and this is not surprising as most of these auspicious occasion are related in somehow to Way of Japanese.

Have a look at some of the extraordinary doll pyramids here.

If you are in Land Of The Rising Son around the end of February until the March 3, you can find many places with these precious and unique works of art on display throughout our country.

Spirit Of The Word

by cybersensei | February 29, 2020 | Blog, Culture, Inspiration, Shinto

Spirit Of The Word

One’s wise wife often chides when the Occxie savage, who stinks of butter, has unthoughtful things to say.

Swear Words

In where she always reminds me of kotodamashi or “the spirit of the word.”

Most of us (unless you are a psychopath), know the power of language, and what it can do both in the positive, and for certain, and in a much more powerful sense, negativity.

One can commit to someone for the rest of one’s life by saying a vow to only them.

On the other hand, one can crush someone’s heart by a few flippant words, leaving emotional scars that may never heal.

This becomes much more problematic when you are speaking a different language, especially Japanese in which the words carry so much weight.

Japan is ridged hierarchal system, and even something as seemingly innocuous as not adding a title to someones name, or misreading the social status of someone, and using the incorrect level of Japanese when addressing them is traumatic experience for all involved.

trauma

One’s wife also mentions hitokoto ooi or “saying something extra and unnecessary.”

And after reflecting on what was said, she is right, again.

The interesting thing about the Japanese is they are really prefer, in as much as possible, to communicate non-verbally, and this is written into their DNA from millenia ago when ones loose lips could get the head slices off in an instant.

Here is a post about Japanese communication called shin denshin, or, “Japanese telepathy”.

This describes how the Japanese use non-verbal communication based upon unwritten social conventions.

Telepathy

Moreover, there is a fascinating phrase kotodamashi no sakiwau kuni, or “the land where the spiritual power of language brings happiness to life.”

Remind oneself daily of the power of the word, and to use this power today while we citizens of our shared earth spread the spirit of goodwill and our common humanity inside the very important realm of kotodama.

Setsubun: Throw Some Beans

by cybersensei | February 15, 2020 | Blog, Culture, Inspiration, Shinto

Setsubun: Throw Some Beans

Setsubun is the day before the beginning of spring in Japan, and has its origins in a Chinese custom introduced to Japan in the eighth century.

The name literally translation is “seasonal division”, and usually refers to the spring Setsubun, which is celebrated yearly on February 3 as part of the Spring Festival.

Associated with the Lunar New Year, the spring Setsubun can be and was previously thought of as a sort of New Year’s Eve, and so was accompanied by a special ritual to cleanse away all the evil of the former year and drive away disease-bringing evil spirits for the year to come.

This special ritual is called mamemaki or “bean scattering”.

The custom of mamemaki first appeared in the

Roasted soybeans (called “fortune beans” (fuku mame) are thrown either out the door or at a member of the family wearing an Oni (demon or ogre) mask, while the people say “Demons out! Luck in!” Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi!) and slam the door.

Indeed, this is still common practice in households, and many people will attend a shrine or temple’s spring festival where this is done. The Narita temple near my home has a grand event every year and many famous sumo wrestlers and celebrities attend to “throw the beans”

The beans are thought to symbolically purify the home by driving away the evil spirits that bring misfortune and bad health with them. Then, as part of bringing luck in, it is customary to eat roasted soybeans, one for each year of one’s life, and in some areas, one for each year of one’s life plus one more for bringing good luck for the year to come.

Make sure to throw some beans on February 3 to drive away evil spirits and bring in the good ones, and have a banner year.

Sobataka Jinja Moustache Festival

by cybersensei | February 2, 2020 | Culture, Shinto

Sobataka Jinja Moustache Festival

Every year near our house there is a very interesting, if not somewhat bizarre festival ,which takes place at a historic shrine, .

This shrine was established in year eighteen of the Jinmu-tennō reign, which began in 660 BCE. Keep in mind Jinmu-tennō is said to be a descendent of not only our cherished Sun Goddess Amaterasu, but of the Storm God Susanoo as well.

Just to give you some perspective this is 2,532 years ago.

The name of the festival is higenadematsuri (literally stroking the whiskers festival), it takes place on the second Sunday every January.

The festival was established to honour the great Japanese Samurai of the , who happened to wear a moustache

was the founder and the first shōgun of the shogunate of Japan. He ruled from 1192 until 1199

Back to the festival.

There are two rival teams, and one of these teams puts on a fake moustache.

They then proceed to have a drinking contest.

They count how many (large) cup of sake the teams consume, and they count the number of sake cups drank by putting long bamboo sticks with pieces of fish on the end into a bamboo vessel.

Some of these guys drink 7 or 8 cups (large) until one side gives up.

These ladies gave me .

In the video below He says, “these guys are now working on cup (large) number 5.

Please come and join us here in the Land Of The Rising Son on the second Sunday of January and you can enjoy this incredible spectacle as one of your many unique experience in Japan.

Tuna Fish Insanity

by cybersensei | January 22, 2020 | Blog, Culture, Food

Tuna Fish Insanity

Personally, I don’t eat things that are becoming endangered, but that is just me.

However, the Japanese are at it again, expensive seafood, really, really expensive seafood.

A single fetched 193.2 million yen on Sunday at the 2020 New Year’s auction at Tokyo’s , the second-highest price on record.

The record holder is a now gone, but not forgotten which fetched a record 333.6 million yen in the New Year auction last year (2019) when it was held for the first time in following the market’s relocation from the historical and fabled .

The price paid for this year’s prize 276-kilogram amounts to 700,000 yen per kg.

The successful bidder was again , the Tokyo-based operator of sushi restaurant chain .

The company said the tuna will be served at the chain’s restaurant in nearby , the former location of the capital’s major fish market.

For me tuna is surely delicious, but not that wonderful I assure you.

You can find comparable immaculate flavours of sashimi or sushi, when you order fresh abalone liver or the ever so amazing sea urchin.

Further tickle your taste buds with the fatty meat of bonito, engawa of flatfish, and crab brains.

I promise, you won’t have to pay ¥10,000 a mouthful, and I also promise you will come away from dinner just as sated. Furthermore, you can have a clear conscious that you have not consumed one of the few last, near extinct remaining king of all fish; the majestic .