Tour of Nagoya Castle

Hello again!  This update is all about a field trip the CJS (Center for Japanese Studies) group took on Wednesday.  Nagoya Castle was outstanding!  There were a lot of us and we were shown around by Japanese students that are English majors.  Our tour guide went by Sonny, and was also a little bit into history.  On the way there, he and I talked a bit about castles and U.S. Forts, since they're the closest things we have to castles in the U.S.

A little history:  Nagoya Castle was built by the Tokugawa family to protect an important stretch of road during a period of intense civil warfare in Japan.  This period spanned from the late 1460's until 1615, when one of the major factions' clans was destroyed in the Siege of Osaka.  The historical timeline that they hand out at the castle used the word "exterminated."  This was the period of history much of the western notion of romantic Bushido and the Samurai way of life is based on.

Unlike previous posts that were made up mostly of text with some pictures for examples, this one is going to be made up of mostly captioned pictures to tell the story and describe what it was like.

  

These are some of the sights as you would approach Nagoya Castle from the main gate.
The center picture is a statue of the castle's builder who's name I forgot to write down.
The picture to the left is the view of the main castle tower, and the right
is a tower on one of the main walls leading up to the castle itself.

  

These are taken in some of the sitting and sleeping rooms from the lower floor of the castle.  The middle
pic features the tour group I was with!  The others are selections from the sliding wall sections and
their art.  I have  more to say on those in a bit, but I really enjoyed this selection in particular.

 

One of the things pointed out to us was that each room's ceiling was different.  The more elaborate
and heavily decorated, the more important the room.  The room on the left was the local
government's bedroom, I believe.  The one on the right was in the Emperor's room for when
he was passing through and stayed the night.  Also interesting is that the floor (not pictured)
of the room on the right was a solid 6" or so higher than the rooms and hallways around it.
The feudal Japanese were all about class and hierarchy, and didn't want anyone to forget
just who was in charge.

  

These art selections are from the Emperor's bed/sitting room.  His wife was from Kyoto
(if I remember correctly), so he had the best artists he could find paint her the view
of her home in that city onto the walls of this room.  Romantic, right!?

  

These are a couple of scale models depicting the main castle tower's construction.
Being a model builder, I couldn't help but fall in love with the intricate detail
the builders put into these constructions.  The cutaway model shown on the left
was so detailed, you could see the foundation posts that ran all the way through
the entire structure sitting on their moorings under the raised floors.  These
aren't just detailed models, they're true scale models that used the same
materials and construction methods as the tower they depict.

  

So, anyone that knows me very well at all, or has talked to me about why I love Japanese
culture has probably heard me talk about their craftsmanship and their ancient weapons at
some point.  Well, they don't disappoint in real life.  These three pics show off some of their finest
work.  The hand guards (tsuba - つば) in the third pic are all three highly detailed originals, each bearing
heraldry and imagery all their own.  The swords themselves are shown for their engraving work.
I wish I could read kanji at all, because the story goes that the inscriptions such as those in the
second pic are often more than just an artisan's mark.  They often tell the history of the blade,
or include details of the crafting and testing of the blades.

  

These three swords were nothing short of breathtaking.  The aesthetic beauty of these weapons
is hard to describe.  Each is a work of art as much as a tool of warfare.  As the cliche goes,
the soul of a samurai resided in his katana.  The first two blades are katana, the one in
the third pic is a wakizashi, the companion short sword of the katana.

   

Continuing on with me espousing the beauty of these objects, here is a set of Great Armor,
as well as a better pic of my favorite of the three tsuba.  Japanese plate armor such as this
isn't all steel the way European armor would've been.  The heat and humidity of Japanese
armors made that kind of armor very impractical.   Instead, Japanese armor is made of
steel plates that are lacquered and reinforced by bamboo strips.  The whole thing is then bound
together using silk cords between the plates and to hold the armor in place.  Traditionally,
the armor also includes the Kubuto (くぶと) helmet with a devilish face guard 
(menpo - めんぽ) to inspire fear and awe in the samurai's enemies.

  

These two kubuto belonged to members of the Tokugawa family.  You can see the family
crest on the more black one as a small flower on the bits that would sit on the temple
of the warrior wearing the helm.  In the close up pic of the darker kubuto, you can see that the
crest was damaged and repaired at some point, the upper side of the crescent moon having
been reattached.

  

These are some random pics from the Castle.  The far left one is a pic down the stairwell
looking at the height of the seven floors from the top.  The center one is me and my friends Sara and Anna
(left and right) sitting on a replica of one of Nagoya Castle's famous "dolphins."  The pic on
the right almost got me in trouble.  You aren't supposed to use your flash in the castle,
but the level with the replica buildings from the old castle town are so dark, I had
to use flash to get even that bad pic.  The other pics of that level didn't turn out very
well, but I just had to have at least one of the armory and the smithy's work space!

That is a decent selection of some of the best and my favorite pics of the field trip.  I have tons more, but not all of them show much that would likely be of interest to anyone else.  Nagoya Castle is most definitely worth visiting, and I'm looking forward to taking a second trip back to it.  Because I was with a tour group, I didn't get to hover over some things as long as I might have liked.  As it was, I felt like they were waiting for me by the elevator and getting annoyed with me holding them up!  I"m also looking forward to getting out and seeing some more castles, as well as some shrines and temples!

Also, for the quick and dirty classroom update, my language classes are still pretty much a review, but my culture and art class is starting to touch on my favorite periods a little bit.  We've started learning about the earliest feudal period of Japan where the sun goddess and the Imperial family were interlinked.  In my religions class, we're talking about and learning about the Shinto, which has a great deal of interest for me, so it's very exciting.  That is still my favorite class, hands down.  

Maybe next time, I'll post some of my rough art from the two artistic classes I'm taking!  But that's all for now!  Hope you enjoyed reading and looking at all of the pictures of this amazing place!

Old Meets New, Familiar Meets Exotic

Ok, time for an update!  It’s been a little bit since the last one, but most of my time has been spent in classes and around the dorm.  I’m a little broke at the moment, but expecting a scholarship pay out soon that should fix that.  In the meantime, I’m spending a little more time at the dorm and on campus trying to squeak by on the cheap.  That being said, I did go out with some friends over the weekend.  Friday night, David, Sara and I went to a few new bars.  Then on Saturday, Sara and I went and met up with David and his wife and their son at Osu Kannon.  Please note that in addition to the Hirigana and Katakana I’ve been using, I’m going to begin introducing a little Kanji as I learn and remember it.

In the classroom department, Japanese Language is still a review for me at this point, and is likely to be until the middle of the semester or so.  While that may not sound very exciting or helpful, it actually is hugely beneficial for me, since the last time I had any formal instruction was about 2 years ago.  I’m doing well on the vocabulary quizzes (たんごクイーズ), and the dialog check we’ve had so far was very easy for me.  We’ve also finally begun to learn Kanji, which is good because my last formal teacher didn’t focus on it at all and it has proven to be a rather notable weakness since I got here.

My other two lecture classes haven’t been so bad at all.  Japanese Culture and Art 1 is a little dry, but I find the material fascinating.  The lectures have been primarily about ancient history in Japan and the earliest art that developed as part of it.  The lecture yesterday began to include some of my favorite history topics; swords, weapons, and warfare.  Japanese Religion on the other hand is going to be a lot of fun.  I enjoy both the topics we’re going to learn about as well as the lecture style the professor or sensei (先生  －せんせい)  has used so far.  He is the most interactive teacher I’ve had in a while.

  

On the left, my first attempt at すみえ.  I'm afraid it's still a very western
style of art.  Hopefully I get better!  In the middle is my first work at
はんが.  It is my name spelled out in Katakana.  I decided the straight
lines would be easier than actually trying to go through the "e"s and such!
Not to mention I think it looks more interesting anyway.  And on the right is
a study sheet from my most recent たんごクイーズ.

The classical Japanese arts classes I’m taking are very intense.  I’ve actually began to do a little carving for the woodblock printing or hanga (はんが) class.  I don’t feel like I’m doing very well yet, but I think I can figure it out.  It seems to be a lot less structured than the painting class I’m in.  The painting class, which is Sumie (すみえ), is actually derived from Chinese black ink painting.  So far, the sensei has taught us how to mix our ink to water it down to different shades and then how to perform one of the basic brush strokes.  I can’t say with a straight face that I was any good at the more structured side of it, but I’m looking forward to learning and attempting more.  The painting itself was interesting, if challenging.  Both of the classes are taught entirely in Japanese, with a few English words or phrases mixed in to the best of the sensei’s abilities.  Basically, I sit in the front of the class and listen carefully while watching the example work like a hawk. 

Osu Kannon was interesting.  As the locals put it, it is the “otaku” hangout.  For those not in the know, otaku in Japan is a similar term to “nerd” in the U.S.  It basically means someone that is a devoted fan to a given subject.  In Osu Kannon, unlike the majority of Nogoya, which is very conservative, it is perfectly acceptable for these folks to go all out on their favorite things.  There were people dressed in cosplay, some were in dressed in the unique Japanese styles.  I can’t begin to name most of the styles, or the cosplay characters, but it was interesting to see.  The clothes are very colorful, to say the least.  That’s where the maid café is, as well.  I didn’t go in, but I would like to at some point.  I guess they’re a pretty interesting part of the culture.  The waitresses are dressed up in very anime styled maid uniforms and at least one I saw had cat’s ears and a tail.  

   

Osu Kannon is a perfect example of Japanese street culture.  There are vendors of all sorts
including food stalls, bars barely big enough for four people, modern shopping, and
ancient traditions all existing side by side.  The picture on the left is of a folk
musician that was interesting.  I'm looking forward to actually understanding
Japanese music lyrics someday!  The picture on the right is a street magician.
He was making balloon animals and performing for the amusement of the crowd.

One of the very interesting things about Osu Kannon (and Japan in general) is the way that such modern shopping and style exist side by side with ancient temples and shrines that have been there for centuries.  This shopping area may be new, and feature all of the latest technology and clothing, but at the heart of it exists very old traditions.  When we got off of the train, we had to walk a few blocks and passed all the modern conveniences and passed into the main temple.  People were feeding birds, and saying prayer inside the shrine itself.  Yet just passed the temple's western gate were packed side streets, crowded with shoppers from all over the world.  Seeing the distinctly Japanese way that past and present coexist and thrive side by side is almost hard to imagine.  

  

These things all exist side by side within a few blocks of each other.  The picture on the left is
the entrance to what I believe was a Shinto shrine or  jinja (じんじゃ).  The pic in the middle is of
outside of the maid cafe.  You can see one of the waitresses dressed in uniform towards the lower
right corner.  And on the right, the central Buddhist Temple or otera (おてら).

  

These pics are of some things that I'm more familiar with and wanted to share!
Japan has some of the biggest arcades ever, as seen in the middle picture
As a kid that grew up during the height of the arcade, before the predominance of
home video game consoles, this is pretty fantastic!  When I have more money,
I'll be doing a post all about them!  On the left, a picture of an American nerd
that managed to find his natural habitat a long way from home.  I found some
great stores for electronics, including computer part stores that have everything
I could ever want!  On the right is a lucky cat or meneki neko (まねき　ねこ).
It's supposed to bring good luck, and this one is a big 10 foot monster that
sits on top of an entertainment kiosk in the middle of the shopping areas.

All in all, it’s been a pretty great first few weeks.  Tonight, a typhoon is moving through.  It’s the second one of the season, but the first one missed us.  Nanzan and most of Nagoya is located fairly high up in the hills, and on the edge of a mountain, so while it’s raining and the wind is blowing some, the worst of it only effects the lower parts of the city.  

Next time I write, it will probably be about Nogoya Castle, since I'm taking a field trip there tomorrow!  I think I'll be including more observations about culture mixed in with the current topics in upcoming posts.  I've seen a few things I think are interesting and I want to share!  I will also be adding some more in depth stuff about the temples and shrines as soon as I have the chance to actually go on some more tours.

Week 1 and a Turning 35!

Sorry for the delay in posting, but it’s been a busy few days.  Last time, I promised to talk about the first week here in Nagoya and at Nanzan University.  So, here goes!

The first week here flew by.  It’s actually still flying by.  The first few days was just getting settled into the dorm since I got here a bit early.  I did a lot of exploring the local area and played a lot of Pokemon Go.  You may laugh, but I’ll say a few things about that later.  The first full week was just orientation into the school and taking care of a lot of government bureaucratic processes.  It was a very busy week, and some days felt like they would just never end.

First, there’s the area around my dorm.  Since I’m off on the edge of the world compared to Nanzan University’s actual dorms, I spent a little of the first weekend feeling isolated and bored.  Sara was getting to know her new dormmates and I hadn’t really met anyone here yet.  So I went for a lot of walks and played a lot of Pokemon go while I wasn’t doing anything else.  While some of you will think Pokemon is a joke, it really is helpful.  Walking from one stop to the next and finding new gyms to poke around at helped me learn major landmarks in my area and get to know the streets around my dorm.  I don’t take the game seriously at all, but as a foreigner that is learning to navigate in a strange land, it is proving invaluable.  It has also helped me meet new people in my dorm once more people started arriving.  I’ve made a few new friends and got to hang out and talk to them when I otherwise might not have.  All because they saw me sitting at the corner by the park that’s near the dorm trying to take the gym there.

  

Playing Pokemon Go is a great way to get out of your dorm room and see new things!
Using it to navigate the unfamiliar streets and finding new interesting places is
one of the better choices I've made since I've been here.  I've found a cool school,
a Buddhist cemetery, a temple, and even a Christian church.

Once orientation got started, I started meeting more people.  I’ve met a few new Japanese friends when they gave us tours of the campus.  I also got to meet a few people from various places back home, including a few students from Indiana University, which feels really close to home, all things considered.  The orientation was pretty much what you’d expect.  The folks on campus talked about the campus itself, including classes and various rules.  They also talked about some of the stuff around Nagoya and we had to jump through a bunch of bureaucratic hoops.  That being said, I now have Japanese health insurance and it is very affordable.  Includes dental too, which I didn’t expect.  Overall, it was just like most other orientations to a new place or institution; lots of paperwork, lots of downtime, and lots of new people!

  

These are some of my new friends, both fellow exchange students and native Japanese
students as well.  In the first pic is Conner and I.  The middle one was taken during our
orientation party, and is Hirona, myself, An, Sara, Chiaki, and Kanade.  Kanade was my tour
guide, and spoke better English than she let on during the tour!  At the right is Benedict and I
waiting to get our bank accounts opened for our dorm reimbursements.

During Orientation, we also picked our classes.  I’m going to be taking Japanese Reading and Writing 300, Japanese for Communication 300, Sumie (Chinese black ink painting), Japanese Culture and Art 1, Hanga (Woodblock printing), and Japanese Religions.  I haven’t sat through all of the classes even once, since my first class for Sumie will be tomorrow.  So far, my favorite class is Religions.  It’s a much more open class than the other ones I’ve sat in so far, and the instructor or sensei (せんせい) seems laid back.  He’s also the only sensei I have that isn’t Japanese.  I’m looking forward to getting into the woodblock printing more though.  So far all we’ve done is a test sketch that was just our names.  I did mine in Katakana since it seemed a lot easier (and shorter) than doing it in English and having to fight around all the curved lines in the “C”s, “S”, and “e”s.  It also has the added effect of looking more interesting to me.  Expect pictures in future updates!

Because Monday was my birthday in addition to being my first week of class, Friday night I made plans to go out with some of the new friends I've made, as well as Sara.  I want to share it because it was a great time.  Sara and I had talked about what I wanted to do and it seemed like things were kind of falling through.  I invited more people than it seemed like were going to show up, and I was missing home because I usually spend my birthdays with my family or with Mandi at a music festival.  So this year, being so far away and not having any real plans was kind of bumming me out.  A group of us went out for dinner, then to the izakaya (いざかいあ), which is kind of like a pub, but with private booths.  After that, we went on an adventure to find another bar to drink at and ended up wondering into a place that was focused around darts.  On the way, we bumped into a work friend of David's and invited him to join us.  It was a lot different from home, but was a lot of fun!  When the bartender overheard it was my birthday, he even gave me a piece of cake!  I'm thankful that I managed to find some new friends to celebrate my birthday with me and make what could've been a very lonely and depressing day into a really good time.  

  

These are from the second bar we went to.  The right side one is me, David, and Hirata.
David is British and here for work, and Hirata is a friend of his from work.
The middle pic is of me, Sara, Christy, and Conner.  They're all fellow exchange students
studying at Nanzan with me this semester! And of course, the pic on the right
is of the bartender and I after he gave me birthday cake!

That pretty well sums up the first week!  I’ve unpacked and settled in, and now that classes have started, things are getting even more interesting!  I’m signed up for a field trip to Nagoya Castle, and I hear tell that two of the most important Shinto shrines in the country are within easy travel distance, including one here in the city itself.  I’m really excited about going to explore them as soon as I get a chance!  This weekend, my new friends and I are still deciding what we’re going to do, but on the list of possibilities is a maid café, a karaoke bar, and a local even that’s dedicated to artisans!  I’m sure whatever it is, I’ll be writing about it on here!