Autumnal Equinox

Yesterday was a national holiday for the Autumnal Equinox, or changing of the seasons (technically the day the sun is directly above the earth's equator). We don’t have daylight savings time in Japan, so the difference between the long summer days and log winter nights seems extreme to me at times and the days are getting shorter, but the hot weather is subsiding with the change and I'm quite enjoying the season.

Mari's Goodbye Party
I didn’t really go anywhere, persay, during the free day off, but we did take advantage of the time. My friend Mari is moving to Canada next week, so Monday night was a large going-away party for her, hosted at another friend’s apartment. It was a fun time, basically just eating, drinking and talking with friends, and we ended the night with fireworks by the pier.

SHOGUN
Tuesday morning started off slowly, but I was out of the house by 12. I spent the day in Amagasaki, doing a SHOGUN-movie- marathon (or at least attempting to) with some friends. The original plan was to get through all 10 installments of drama series (originally broadcast in the 1970s and over 10 hours in total), but we also decided to barbeque (with burgers and real Kraft cheddar cheese from Costco – yum!), so we only got through about half of it.

I have read other works by James Clavell, but have yet to start on the over 1,000-pages that make up the novel that the movie was based on (Shogun), which was coincidentally a going-away gift from my dad. I’ve had it in my desk at work for ages, meaning to take it on the train or read during lunch, but I just haven’t gotten to it. Now that I've seen part of the film, however, I'm sort of eager to get going on it.

Some of the most striking points of the film (so far) were seeing the landscapes and culture of “traditional Japan” (still intact in many ways) as well as listening to the Japanese portions of the script. The director actually decided not to use subtitles for the Japanese used in the film so that the audience would get a feel for what it must have been like for the characters to not understand. Many aspects of everyday life in Japan were also more familiar to me than you might expect them to be, a sign of the strong respect for and ties to tradition still present in modern-day society (the tatami rooms and food, for example). Even small things like taking a bath everyday and understanding the concept of mastering the art of “hiding within yourself” (since there is not much outward privacy) and using linguistic nuances to assist with this (chotto!) made a lot of sense.
I honestly could not understand that much of was said in Japanese, much of which was in formal language, but I did understand some of the language. I also knew some of the scenery (“Osaka Castle”, for example, is actually Himeji Castle – about 15 minutes from where I work) and could catch a few cultural mistakes the director made (who used disposible chopsicks in the 1600s?!).

Back to the Grind
Today is going well, but my schedule is busy and I’m pretty tired. I’ll be better after I run, but we’re doing another small dinner for Mari tonight (she leaves Friday) and I still need to figure out what kind of tapas I am going to bring (not bad for a potluck idea!). Definitely think I’m going to pass on the alcohol for a night, too. My body needs it.

Before I go, though, two other big things worth mentioning:

1. The first is that I bought tickets to Australia and New Zealand!! I’m going to spend a few days in Sydney, exploring and visiting friends, before heading to Christchurch (southern NZ) for a little while. The trip is still three months away, but I’m extremely excited about going, happy that I won’t be in Japan for the holidays (can be boring and lonely, even when you’re with people) and it’s SUMMER in AU/NZ during that time! YAY!!!

2. The second is that it looks like Japan is about to get yet another Prime Minister, the fourth since I moved here two years ago!
I haven’t been able to follow this (developing) story as much as I would prefer to in recent weeks, but I can tell you that Prime Minister Fukada has officially resigned, leaving the position open to his successor as leader of the ruling party. Unlike the election in America, not everyone votes for the Prime Minister. Rather, the leader of the majority party steps down so now we’ve just been waiting for confirmation of who that majority-party leader will be. A record five candidates ran for the spot this time around, including a woman.
Also, just to give you a little background, the “leading party” is the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP, or “Jiyu-Minshotu”), a conservative party that has ruled for the majority of the time since it’s founding in 1955. LDP currently holds the majority in the lower House of Representatives, but lost the majority in the Upper House in 2007 (signaling growing dissatisfaction with the party). In addition, the last two PMs didn’t even last a year and Aso (the new leader-elect) is seen as somewhat of a maverick, so the upcoming elections could show a turn in political power in Parliament, with LDP losing their control.
I still consider myself an outsider to this system and admit that it comes off as sort of aristocratic (with respect to the fact that the top positions seem to stay within certain family lines), but I do find it interesting and consider it important to stay somewhat abreast of what is going on in my host country.

Anyways, off to my all-staff meeting and then home. Have a great weekend and more later.