New Tohoku-related Kickstarter project

Hello everyone, just wanted to make a post about "3.11: Surviving Japan." This is a documentary project, currently being funded on Kickstarter.

Here is the link: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/survivingjapan/311-surviving-japan

As posted on the Kickstarter page:

A critical look at how the authorities handled the nuclear crisis and Tsunami relief by an American who volunteered in the clean-up.
Surviving Japan is a documentary by volunteer and director Chris Noland. It is in short, a documentary of the devastating events in Japan and the after-math that followed.
The documentary shows the humanitarian and aid crisis that faced the people in the wake of both natural and nuclear disaster. It features true stories from those affected by the disaster, the government and even TEPCO. It highlights the struggle in dealing with: The Tsunami clean-up, Government response to the disaster, radiation plus the future of nuclear power after the accident.

Worth a look!

On Furnaces, Bread, and Cannons: Egawa Tarozaemon (1801-1855)

Good morning, everyone! Today I would like to talk to you for a little while about an early Japanese industrialist. This goes beyond my usual Tōhoku focus, but it still involves rural Japan, history, and lesser-known figures and facts.

It's often assumed that the Meiji period (1868-1912) is when Japan made the spectacular jump from feudal backwater to industrialized, modern nation. However, what seems to be a sudden change came about, in part, because of processes that were already at work before 1868. This is where our topic for today, Egawa Hidetatsu, comes in. (at left: A self-portrait by Egawa)

Three big points I'd like you to remember about Egawa.

1. His very old family roots and classical education.
2. Despite those roots, his interest in and advocacy for technological and institutional innovation.
3. His role as teacher to some of the major innovators of the 1860s.

More on Egawa after the jump.

Foot Soldiers and Pastry

(at left: the characters for "foot soldier" [ashigaru])

Hello everyone! It's been a long time, I hope you all are well. School has taken up a lot of my time for translation this semester, so my translation schedule and personal research has had to take a back seat. I'm still translating, but slowly.

Today I would like to talk a little bit about a snack called okoshi, and its relation to the southern part of Tohoku region. All too often when I think of history, I forget about the flavors involved. But food, then as now, was important!

In Kyodoshi Sendai Mimibukuro ("A Collection of Local History from Sendai"), folk historian Mihara Ryokichi devotes a chapter (pp. 95-98) to some of the foot soldiers who served the Date clan of Sendai. Specifically, the chapter discusses three groups of these foot soldiers (called ashigaru in Japanese) who were assigned as permanent security detachments along certain key roads or bridges. At any rate, the unit that lived at Imaichi, on the road between Sendai and Shiogama, was known for making a local pastry called tsuno-okoshi. This pastry was popular, says Mihara, among people coming back from visits to Shiogama Shrine. As the foot soldiers' official income from the Date clan for security duty would've been small, they did this to supplement their incomes. All three units had different side jobs-- for example, the one at Suwa, in the Nagamachi district of modern Sendai, made brooms.

I have been unable to figure out how tsuno-okoshi is different from regular okoshi. Given the word tsuno ("horn" or "corners"), I assume the okoshi in question would either be shaped like an animal's horn, or have corners. Given what okoshi usually looks like, I think it's safe to assume it's the latter.

So! In the spirit of hands-on research, here is a link to a Hawaiian-style recipe for okoshi. The ingredients should be readily available in the US. Enjoy, and remember those foot soldiers!

Sources:

*"Puffed Rice Cookie (Okoshi), from "Cooking Hawaiian Style" food blog, accessed 20 Dec. 2012 http://cookinghawaiianstyle.com/index.php/hawaiian-recipes/recipes/detail/608/puffed-rice-cookie-okoshi
*Mihara Ryokichi, Kyodoshi Sendai Mimibukuro (Sendai: Hobundo Shuppansha, 1983).

Tohoku-related Kickstarter project

Hello, folks. It's been awhile. I just wanted to pass along a link to this Kickstarter project.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/784102139/tide-and-times-stories-from-the-tsunami-survivors

Be well.

Translation announcement

It's been awhile since we've spoken. I have a number of announcements to make, but for now, this will be my first. I'm well underway in translating Gogo no Date Kinu 五々の伊達絹, Kayaba Mokuhei's 1798 text on the history of the Date family of Sendai. Kayaba wrote Gogo no Date Kinu on the 600th anniversary of the death of Date Tomomune, the founder of the family. To my knowledge, this is a text that is rather unknown even in Japanese circles. It is a concise, relatively easy to read text, even in the original language, and I think it would make a fine addition to the body of primary works from the Edo period which have appeared in translation.

A fair amount of it is devoted to the life and work of Date Masamune, founder of Sendai-han. With Masamune's recent rise in popularity, I expect there will be a fair amount of non-academic readers interested in this book!

I hope to be done by some time in late June; I'll keep everyone posted on my progress.

Be well, everyone! けっばれけさいん  (頑張ってください)!

Renaming, resuming, and so on

So it's been months since I was last here. A lot's happened since then, for Japan and for me.

You've probably noticed I renamed this blog. I feel it's appropriate because I want to focus on things that are alive, and on things that ought to be remembered. For the longest time I wasn't able to do anything here because every time I looked at photos or a map, I would dissolve into tears. I'm continuing the tagging project, but first and foremost as a means of bringing northeastern Japan's heritage to the English-speaking world.

As for my education, I graduated college and got my M.A.; I'm working on my Ph.D. now. I've got things in mind for this blog, and for what I want to present to the internet, but they're still in development.

Thanks for reading, folks. Stay tuned.

In conclusion, here is a video of the Daikoku dance (Daikoku-mai) from Akita Prefecture. Enjoy:

Dainenji, the Date funerary temple

According to this post on the "Oshu Katakura-gumi" blog, the Date family's funerary temple of Dainenji has sustained immense damage. They included some pictures from Dainenji. It almost looks like the Roman ruins I've seen in the past. The Date family, for those unaware of the region's history, was the ruling family of the feudal domain of Sendai, which encompassed all of modern Miyagi Prefecture and parts of adjoining prefectures as well. The same blog posted a screencap of what looks like an open letter from Date Yasumune, current head of the family. Part of it is cut off, but this is my translation of the rest of it.

"....as well as visiting [shrines], from now I believe we must restore the historical heritage [sites], as well as protect them. But in the midst of such great devastation, I have no choice but to ask all of you for your help. Please take in and accept this sentiment, and provide [me/us] with the reinforcing presence of your strength. Please, I humbly beseech you. Heisei 23 4/1, Yours sincerely, Sendai Date family 18th head, Date Yasumune"

I hope that Mr. Date is able to make use of his unique position to be a powerful force for good things yet to come.

Edit: Just checked Mr. Date's website, it confirms the status of Dainenji.