Putting the Scare in Scarecrow

It's just about time to start harvesting the rice in Nagoya. And the closer the harvest has come the more scarecrows have started popping up in the rice fields. Rice fields are very common, even integrated into some dense city areas. So, I have seen quite a few different types of scarecrows, known as kakashi (案山子), throughout Nagoya. Usually handmade, and thrown together with old Cd's or bright rags, you can tell they aren't put out for show. Whatever it takes to keep the pests away.

I gotta say though, this field on my way to work that absolutely takes the cake. These guys even scare me. I was half nervous just trying to snap their pictures!


That's right. The ol' mannequin head-on-a-stick trick. At least they had the decency to give this guy a helmet to protect him from the angry birds getting their revenge.

Separating Fact From Fiction

Living abroad makes it rather difficult to keep up with the pulse of America. In some ways, it has been a blessing, like during the recession. In other ways, it has been kind-of disappointing, like missing out on the election of our first African American president, or not being in Detroit for the Tigers' pennant run. Sure, we do our due diligence to keep up with the headlines, listen to day-old podcasts from NPR or the like, and watch day-old nightly newscasts or ball games, but none of them can really capture the energy or the national conversation.

What's more, it's increasingly becoming difficult due to the lack of journalistic integrity. The blog-o-sphere is fun, and political commentaries can be interesting, but they don't, nor should they, become a replacement for fundamental journalism. The scary thing about the 24-hour news cycle, radio personalities, and political blogs is that it takes away the individual's ability to decide. Naturally these outlets are opinionated, so we gravitate to what we like. Hearing, watching, or reading opinions that only reinforce our beliefs are nothing less than cowardice if it becomes our sole source of information.

People need facts to generate opinions. We don't need our opinions given to us. And it's getting worse with the ever-dwindling newspaper industry and slow demise of the 7 o'clock national news.

Recently, we heard and read a lot of crazy reporting. Like I said, it's hard to gauge a pulse or accurately read the energy at home, so it has been troubling to read that our nation is turning into a socialist, fascist, communist state ruled by a man not even born in America who wants to set up an agenda based on encouraging people to die. Or so some headlines, podcasts, or cable news clips, might have you believe. Whatever happened to reporting the facts without injecting an opinion?

I suppose it's up to the consumers to search for and demand respectable journalism.

Thankfully, the White House set up a website that we recently discovered to present some facts without the ... ahem ... BS. Here's a tantalizing example given recent 'headlines':
http://www.whitehouse.gov/realitycheck/7

Happy Teeth

Learning the Japanese Kanji characters is fun. Usually, once you learn one, you end up seeing it everywhere in signs, billboards, menus, etc. Last week I learned tooth (歯) and by extension, dentistry (歯科), cavities (虫歯), etc. So, walking around lately I have started noticing all the signs for dentist offices.

At least I thought I knew dentistry...

I thought this was an advertisement for Kubota Dentistry (窪田歯科), but the fun cartoon might suggest otherwise...

Is that a happy tooth...?

Tanuki-chan

I’m a big fan of this character. Tanuki is actually the common name for the raccoon dog found in the wild, but Tanuki also has deep roots in Japanese folklore as a mischievous character with a love for sake, uncommonly large testicles, and a welcoming personality. As a result, Tanuki statues can often be found outside of restaurants, bars, or homes beckoning guests to come in and enjoy themselves.

Because of his love for sake, Tanuki is always shown with a large sake bottle and a promissory note or empty purse. This is seen as a reminder not to be stingy and enjoy life. Also, Tanuki is always depicted with a bamboo hat to protect against trouble, a big tail, a big belly, and a friendly smile.

Lastly, I would be remiss if I didn’t explain the uncommonly large testicles that are a big part of the folklore. Also known as Kinbukuro (金袋), which means ‘money bags’ or ‘golden balls’, this feature can be found on all the statues as a symbol of financial luck. Legend also has it that Tanuki has large testicles because he is over-sexed, which is actually biologically true of the real-life raccoon dog because of fierce competition among males for female ‘companionship.’

To see Tanuki and his…ahem…testicles in action, check out this link!

Sun Protection

Every summer it’s the same thing. No matter if it was from my mother growing up, or from my wife now, it’s the never-ending reminder to put sun block on. Being a redhead, the sun has never agreed with me, but for some reason I can never escape the annual summer burn(s). This summer in Japan, of course, was no different.

The Nagoya climate is hot…a lot hotter than I’m used to, and because I have a hard time with the sun, I wondered how the Japanese would handle it. It’s very common to find women carrying sun umbrellas, wearing full-length clothes or long-sleeved gloves, and sometimes even long-range sun visors to protect themselves from the sun.

We asked a few of our women friends about this, and they simply said that even though it’s hot, they would rather protect their skin. To some, it’s even considered more attractive to have whiter skin.

What a simple answer.

Don’t get me wrong, I do think tan skin is beautiful, but at what cost? Of course I’m biased. Me + sun = red…always. I am jealous of those that have it easy and turn bronze with no trouble, but I have to side with the Japanese on this one.
Why do we worship the sun so? After all, UV is damaging regardless if it turns your skin dark brown or bright red!

The Industrial Lawn Complex

Imagine all the water you would save, chemicals you would avoid putting into the ground, and most importantly, free time you would have back if you didn’t have to worry about keeping your lawn perfectly green and manicured. Let’s face it, Americans' if nothing else have made the lawn industry quite profitable. Don't get me wrong, I love a green lawn, and the smell of freshly cut grass is hard to beat. But, we can’t overlook the fact that Americans' have over 20 million acres of private lawns to care for. Between energy, water, chemical, and manpower use, we have manufactured the industrial lawn. In the age of the green revolution, this industry surely deserves some scrutiny and its practices should be examined for sustainability.

Japan, on the other hand, finds little use for the lawn mower. Granted, we live in the city here, but most of the places we have traveled in Japan have similar landscape. For the most part, Japan chooses to live and build with nature and their native plants rather than manicure the perfect green lawn. There is one glaring difference between Japan and America – space. America has the great frontier and rolling plains – space-a-plenty. In Japan, however, that space is at a premium.

So, when you do see lawns or weeds that need maintenance here in Japan, it often looks like this:

Men or women yielding gas-powered metal weed-whippers to maintain the areas that need trimming. Personal lawns aren’t very common, but these weed-whippers are used to trim around rice fields, along roads by road maintenance, and in the case of the above picture, park maintenance.

Certainly, gas-powered weed-whippers aren’t much better than lawn mowers, but I think the key is the lack of lawns. Lawn space is more efficiently used for gardening, or native plants. A wise idea for those looking to reduce weekend chores and their carbon footprint!

The Halls of Medicine

During my recent bout with a summer cold, I reached for the Halls of medicine for temporary relief. Of course, in America Halls are marketed as cough and cold medicine. Not so in Japan. Here, they are marketed as candy, which had a few of my co-workers questioning why I was eating so much candy if I felt sick.

I then took the time to read the Japanese katakana characters on the package. Sure enough, above the HALLS it says, 'Menthol Candy.' Although, to be fair, the package also says, 'Throat and nose refresher!' which is typically why we reach for the Halls of medicine when we have a scratchy throat or stuffy nose.

Another fun fact. The Halls are also marketed based on their menthol level (note the number in the bottom right hand corner). The regular Halls (blue) has a menthol level of 2, while the strong, or Hyper-mint (red), goes up to a whopping level 5!