In the Pines

A recent trip to the Takigoshi 滝 越 section of the village got me to thinking about "resiliency", a concept I employ in my current research. Located about 10 kilometers to the southwest of the central part of the village near Nagano 's border with neighboring Gifu prefecture, Takigoshi is the smallest of Otaki's hamlets. One gets to Takigoshi by using a small, paved road laid out in bends and arcs in order to fit in a narrow canyon between the Otaki River and a steep embankment of vegetation and crumbling rock. When a large earthquake struck the Otaki area in 1984, an enormous section of earth broke free from Ontake-san and slid down the mountain's southeastern face taking with it a section of the road leading to Takigoshi, which it deposited in the riverbed below, forming a new lake in the process. The residents of Takigoshi, one of whom had watched his own house crumble from it's previously envied perch above the hamlet, had to be airlifted by Groun...

Chizuko started it all. Our patch of weeds out back was no match for the garden she was imagining. So, several long hours later--time spent in the sun, pulling weeds--our house now boasts a modest garden. Luckily, Chizuko also pulled me away from my transcribing (the boring part of fieldwork) for a couple of adventures. From the banks of the river that flows through the Seto and Noguchi sections of the village we pulled stones, smoothed by silted waters tumbling from the slopes of Ontake-san. Deep in cedar forests we dug past rotting leaves and other litter to pull dark soil, wet and fragrant from recent rains, that would bring nourishment to our garden. At home, Chizuko and I spent the afternoon clearing the last of the weeds that clung stubbornly to the rocky soil. We placed the river stones in line s to demarcate our new garden, and also to create a small flower bed. Plants and flowers that have been suffering in small plastic pots for some time seemed happy to finally stre...

On Friday Chizuko and I used our last day of sunshine before the rains of a typhoon expected in the Tokyo area came to go back to the Akazawa National Forest, our favorite spot we've discovered so far. This time we stopped at a place on the river called gomaishura . Shura 修羅 in Japanese means, "timber chute". This particular location was used up until the early part of the 20th century for drawing out logs that had been floated down the river from forests further upstream. The unique rock formations here apparently look similar to stacks of aligned logs that were counted using the character mai 枚; there are five ( go 五 in Japanese) rock layers, hence gomai 五枚. So, altogether the name becomes gomaishura 五枚修羅--five stack timber chute (or something like that). At gomaishura the river flows--tumbles really--down a channel at the bottom of a large outcropping of granite that comprises the river bed. On some of the rock faces, one can still see old drill marks from wher...

Today I received a bit of constructive criticism--well, not criticism really, but an honest question--from a person whose opinion I hold in very high regard. This person. . .OK, it was my mom. . .asked why I always refer to my better half as "the wife" or "the wifey" or "the missus", a term that had misogynistic undertones where she was raised. I don't know that I had ever felt these terms to be misogynistic. . .a bit old fashioned--at best, I thought I was being "folksy". However, I take the point and thank my mom for asking a good question. My reason for using the terms was, as I said, not misogyny (I'm misanthropic. . .I despise equitably), but my allegiance, I guess, to some unwritten rule I seem to have in my head about not publishing names on the internet. This is likely a Japanese unwritten rule, as privacy is highly protected here. Don't know that my reason for not using real names makes any sense, but still, not havi...

Yesterday the wife and I joined an outing organized by the village hall. Along with about 20 other villagers we hiked along a trail used in the past by pilgrims on their way to Ontake from Kiso-Fukushima, which is located about 20 kilometers to the east. We all loaded on a village bus and left the hall at about 9:00. O ur first stop was at a small stone monument that sits on the side of the road near a bridge that connects Otaki with Mitake, the next village over. T-san, who's lecture I attended last week, gave some background on the monument which dated from the Meiji-Era (late 19th century). On the other side of the road, and up a small hill stood another monument, also form this era. An nearby bridge, painted a fierce orange, spanned a section of the Otaki River where a boat used to carry pilgrims from one side to the other. This was the only spot deep enough for a boat. Later, nobles from Tokyo built a bridge as a gift to Ontake, the holy mountain. Back on the bus we turn...

The hills around Otaki are fully green now. One can easily distinguish squared patches of planted pine trees among the more brilliant greens of the broadleaf varieties. The snows-lines on the Southern Alps and on Ontake-san creep ever higher, as if enticing me to see what lies in wait. The few paddies in Otaki are now being prepared and planted. The rich, muddy waters, having been thoroughly stirred with the stern whisks of tractor rotors, sit in contemplation, reflecting the azure of the sky and the slow crawl of the nimbus clouds. Playful shoots of rice, unsteady as fawns, wiggle in the breezes that flow down off Ontake-san's smooth slopes. Earlier in the week, I attended a lecture by an older resident who is a history buff and has, over the years, amassed a vast knowledge of Otaki's past, as well as a trove of artifacts. During the lecture I attended T-san talked about the history of Ontake-san as a religious mountain. Ontake-san was first "opened" as a relig...

Last Sunday a festival was held in Kami-jo , the section of Otaki where I live. For those involved festivities began the day before with a drinking party after we had made preparations. Many events in Otaki are followed, inevitably, by drink and food. I met with the mayor of the village when I first moved here, and he asked, "do you like alcohol?" My answer came back in the affirmative, and he remarked, "ah, then you'll be OK here." On Sunday festivities began at 11:00. Various food both lined the street in front of the Kami-jo community center. There was barbecued fish on skewers, steak, stew, fried squid, doughy balls with bits of octopus in the center, fried noodles, a ring toss for the kids, and of course beer. It was a miniaturized version of festivals that occur all over Japan. The difference being that most food stalls at bigger festivals are run by yakuza --Japanese mobsters. I like the local community version better. The wife and I both volunte...

Rain today in Otaki. . .the temperature has dropped as well. Hard to believe it's May. Returned yesterday from Kyoto and found the hills around Otaki dressed in a new robe of green. On the upper slopes there are still mountain cherry trees-- yama-zakura (山桜)--in full bloom. Today the wife and I went to the community center in our section of the village-- kami-jo (上条)-- to help with preparations for a festival that will be held tomorrow. I assisted in setting up tents, tables, barbecues, chairs, and such, while the missus worked with other women from the village to cut vegetables for making fried noodles. There were about 30 people there today to help with preparations. The villagers do everything themselves, from cooking to making price signs complete with pictures. I continue to be impressed by these cooperative efforts and with the closeness I see between the villagers. Many have been doing such things together since they were young, so the relationships feel almost fami...

Tonight is my last night in Kyoto for this go around. My time here has been pleasant, but I've been anxious to get back to my fieldwork, so I've been on edge. Perhaps it's more that I'm itching to get back to the hills. I've already begun to fall in love with Otaki. Here in Kyoto I miss the bird's songs in the mornings and the deep blue of the sky as it rides on the blue mountain ridges. This weekend there is a festival being held in our section of Otaki. There will be lots of food, followed by lots of drink--as is the way of festivals in Japan. I'm just excited to have a chance to meet more people. I need to get started on interviews. . .hard to do in Kyoto. See you soon Ontake-san!

Been back in Kyoto for the last few days--taking care of business, signing for money, and taking a break (perhaps more of the latter than anything else). Went into the city today with my wife for lunch: excellent, cheap Indian food at Kerala just north of Sanjo-dori on Kawarachi. After that we decided to visit Nazenji, the temple we were married at. Didn't go to the main temple this time however, but rather a smaller garden-villa called Tenjuan 天授庵. The grounds consist of a dry rock garden and a wonderful pond. We had visited here earlier when we first started dating and had loved it, but hadn't been back since. We were happy to have a chance to see the place again. . .beautiful garden.

I’m in Kyoto now. It’s still the “golden” week and so everyone’s out for BBQs, sightseeing, and what not. I also have to check in at the university and sign for some money. . .well stipend. . .David St. Hubbins of Spinal Tap once explained that: “a stipend is like money; only it’s such a small amount that they call it a stipend”—I concur. Anyway, don’t wanna bore with details of that sort. Rather, I wanted to write a bit about a little fieldtrip Aki and I took a few days ago. We visited the 赤沢自然休養 (aka-zawa-shizen-kyuuyou-rin) in Agematsu; one town over from Otaki. 赤沢自然休養林 is translated as “Akasawa Natural Recreational Forest” on the official pamphlet—but you also see a lot of references to fo-resuto serapi- (forest therapy). Not totally sure why one forest is more capable of therapy than another, but. . . Driving from Otaki we turned to the south from Mitake and headed along the Otaki river until we reached Agematsu. From there we turned back west towards the...