tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83074227654014675012024-03-13T19:16:52.295-10:00In the PinesEnvironment, Anthropology, and Everyday LifeTaintushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12700101879034654343noreply@blogger.comBlogger123125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8307422765401467501.post-73394025044437830792021-09-24T15:00:00.002-10:002021-09-24T15:00:19.500-10:00Picking up the mic/pen/keyboardCheck, check, one-two, one-two; mic check, one-two, one-two.Time to blow the dust off and enter this space. It's been a while. In some ways I feel as though I'm in a dream. There was a man once who lived in a small mountain village in central Japan and shared his thoughts about that experience. Who is this man? Am I this man?Since finishing my dissertation and graduating from the University Taintushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12700101879034654343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8307422765401467501.post-86853468332866901262011-03-11T13:13:00.002-10:002011-03-11T13:20:38.949-10:00tsunamiA surreal night, watching the devastation in Japan while the blare of tsunami sirens bounced about the walls of Honolulu's myriad concrete buildings. Waves penetrated my sleep.Best wishes to all in Japan who are feeling as uncertain as the ocean.May calmer waters come your way.Taintushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12700101879034654343noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8307422765401467501.post-47731379339625494472011-03-10T11:05:00.007-10:002011-03-10T11:32:12.623-10:00Reading David Abrams The spell of the sensuous: Perception and language in a more-than-human world and came across this gem of a passage in which he describes the role of perception in the life of an organism.Consider a spider weaving its web, for instance, and the assumption still held by many scientists that the behavior of such a diminutive creature is thoroughly "programmed in its genes." Taintushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12700101879034654343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8307422765401467501.post-66762683584599887522011-03-09T08:38:00.002-10:002011-03-09T08:47:17.345-10:00Checking back inHello? Hello. . .? Anyone still out there?After too long of a hiatus, I've finally found my way back to the blogosphere.Not sure what the content of my posts will be from here on out.I still have plenty to say about Japanese environments, rural communities, forest governance, and the like. But, my mind is wandering to other topics as well. Will have to see what comes out.Last night found my way Taintushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12700101879034654343noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8307422765401467501.post-30109914210649229522010-07-08T16:48:00.002-10:002017-06-12T09:44:32.443-10:00
Days and days and days go by with not a word on my blog. Then, today, one of these little guys decided to come along and wake me up. This morning as I sat in my office on the University of Hawaii at Manoa campus a Japanese White Eye decided to come for a visit. The bird announced itself with a light thud on the glass (clean windows, a bird's nightmare). I stood from my chair and examined Taintushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12700101879034654343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8307422765401467501.post-5748462776047226262010-05-14T08:57:00.002-10:002010-05-14T09:16:30.504-10:00Spring Snow 春雪While most of the archipelago is enjoying spring, with summer lurking just around the bend, Ontake-san still suggests winter. Well, at least in form. I'm in Hawai`i, so I have no tactile sense of the mountain, but surely its snows are heavy with water. The sun, in its increasingly long arc across the sky working to slowly dismantle the labors of winter. Winter does not give in so easily Taintushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12700101879034654343noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8307422765401467501.post-3316018712900598672010-05-04T10:03:00.008-10:002010-05-06T09:40:55.191-10:00原谷苑の桜 Sakura at "Haradanien"A short video taken before coming to Hawai'i of sakura (cherry blossoms) falling at Hara-dani-en (原谷苑) near Kinkaku-ji (金閣寺) temple in Kyoto.Sorry, I'm not savvy enough to include some fitting music or anything. . .so it's just video as is, which my wife Aki clarifies at the end.For those who haven't been to Haradanien is worth checking out during sakura season. . .guess you have to wait a year Taintushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12700101879034654343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8307422765401467501.post-39578918719343951232010-04-30T14:30:00.002-10:002010-04-30T14:34:56.840-10:00お世話になりました。無事にハワイに着きました!王滝村の皆さん、2年間、本当にありがとうございました。 Taintushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12700101879034654343noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8307422765401467501.post-79675626715690644222010-02-07T17:08:00.008-10:002010-02-07T19:28:23.829-10:00Walking on water: frozen shintakiYesterday Aki and I visited Shintaki (新滝) waterfall with a friend. Last winter the waterfall froze for only a brief period and we didn't have a chance to see. I'm very glad we've taken the time to see it this winter.Recently, Otaki has spent more time on the negative side of the thermometer than it has on the positive side, so the ice on Shintaki has continued to grow and grow.The color of the Taintushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12700101879034654343noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8307422765401467501.post-33812251702859345202010-01-07T17:14:00.006-10:002010-01-07T19:21:50.551-10:00Winter wondersEvening walk in Kuzo hamlet. One of my favorite places in Otaki. The road we walked on, my wife and I, was covered in many spots in a good 5 centimeters of ice. From the forest above us we heard the "chi chi chi" of macaques calling to their comrades that there are bigger primates about.Only a few minutes up the road from our house a narrow valley opens enough to allow glimpses of Mt. Ontake. Taintushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12700101879034654343noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8307422765401467501.post-67017833783717582712010-01-06T19:58:00.002-10:002010-01-06T20:51:18.358-10:00新年あけましておめでとうございます本年もよろしくお願いしますToday is the first day of the new year that I've spent in Otaki; I was in Kyoto over the holidays.Throughout the day I've marveled at the winter light as it plays across the landscape. The low and flat rays of the sun slink through deep gorges of the Otaki Valley, and leap out from ridgelines in the most amusing ways. This interplay of light and earth casts deep Taintushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12700101879034654343noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8307422765401467501.post-79005272029318960982009-12-14T15:38:00.006-10:002009-12-14T19:37:12.794-10:00Monitored: a visit from Japan's Forestry AgencyImage source: Makino, H. and M. Mitsuo (1953).付知川に於ける材木伐出の沿革と檜解 (History of timber extraction in Tsukuchigawa).Tsukuchigawa, 付知川営林署 (Tsukuchigawa Forest Management Office).As I mentioned in my last post, a recent article in a Nagano newspaper, the Shinano-mainichi-shinbun 信濃毎日新聞, about my research and recent paper presentation in Philadelphia promoted the local Forestry Agency office to give me aTaintushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12700101879034654343noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8307422765401467501.post-33516613240311168312009-12-10T15:24:00.007-10:002009-12-10T15:44:47.091-10:00Post-Philadelphia: the writing lifeAs anyone who glances even intermittently at this blog will know. . .my posting prowess has all but non-existent as of late. I will blame this on "the writing life". Since mid-October perhaps (I don't remember exactly) I have been living this life. Writing. Preparing funding applications and presentations for two conferences.In November I attended and presented a paper at the Anthropology of Taintushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12700101879034654343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8307422765401467501.post-76115906932211189702009-10-18T16:44:00.006-10:002009-10-18T16:52:20.901-10:00bears and bellsIMG_6093, originally uploaded by taintus.There has been a lot of talk about bears in the village recently. I've heard that there is an overabundance of chestnuts and acorns in the Kiso area this year (though I've heard conflicting reports of low volume), which means more bears.Regardless of this particular factor, many people in Otaki suggest that bear-human encounters are increasing. There mayTaintushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12700101879034654343noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8307422765401467501.post-5241580066747195062009-10-18T00:43:00.004-10:002009-10-18T01:23:29.458-10:00first snowDuring a walk in Otaki's backcountry today I was greeted with the wonderful sight of Otake-san donning its robe of white for the first time this season. Rain yesterday in the village had translated to a light blanket of snow down to about 2,500 meters.As I gazed upon the mountain cool breezes rolled down the canyon and whispered in my ears. . ."winter is on its way". I walked back to town Taintushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12700101879034654343noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8307422765401467501.post-61267929007089766202009-10-05T14:58:00.005-10:002009-10-05T16:19:53.610-10:00RiceThe days have cooled considerably here in Otaki, and the hillsides are beginning to blush. Stalks of rice, which were planted in May, have begun to hang their heavy heads. They look tired, having spent their days stretching to grasp the sun, which sits so impossibly far away, yet always taunts with its warm embrace.Because of Otaki's elevation, the growing season for rice is quite short. As a Taintushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12700101879034654343noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8307422765401467501.post-7580272728809627062009-09-23T14:58:00.004-10:002009-09-27T17:07:26.734-10:00Ontake-san in fall 秋の御嶽山Over "silver week" (a series of holidays that lined up this week in Japan) Aki and I climbed Ontake-san with a couple of friends. This was our first time staying in one of the mountains several lodges; it was a great trip.The 20th boasted perfect weather--not a cloud in the sky--but a drinking party on the night of the 19th had dissuaded me from thinking about climbing that day. So, our friendsTaintushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12700101879034654343noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8307422765401467501.post-50745734265392135942009-09-13T21:24:00.008-10:002009-09-13T22:08:16.883-10:00a rememberanceOn the way to my job at Otaki's combined elementary/junior high school I stopped to take a shot of this buckwheat (soba) field. It was a beautiful morning.Today marks the 25th anniversary of the nagano-seibu-jishin 長野西部地震--Western Nagano Earthquake. The magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck at 8:48 AM on the morning of September 14th, 1984. The epicenter was located about 5 kilometers from the Taintushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12700101879034654343noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8307422765401467501.post-39326814590012392242009-09-10T15:27:00.006-10:002009-09-10T16:02:01.149-10:00stability and turbulenceAfter a turbulent summer of rainy weather the skies over Otaki have stabilized, bringing to the heavens blues as deep as lapis lazuli.Temperatures, on the other hand, have de-stabilized, a pattern I recognize from last year's fall and this year's spring--a battling of the seasons that we humans get caught in the middle of. Although I know the ultimate winner of the scrimmage now under way--fall Taintushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12700101879034654343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8307422765401467501.post-12200157894533336912009-08-24T19:56:00.007-10:002009-08-27T01:05:46.817-10:00back to the forest"Probably with my generation the village will go back to forest."This quote is from an August 23rd Japan Times article by independant journalist, Winifred Bird, in which she offers an account of what she dubs "Japan's creeping natural disaster"--the loss of satoyama 里山 landscape in Japan's rural areas.Find the original article here.In her article Bird points out what I would argue are the two Taintushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12700101879034654343noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8307422765401467501.post-29098865625745618742009-08-20T18:22:00.008-10:002009-08-20T19:16:26.699-10:00A map of common groundThis bill increases wildness, protects endangered species, and detoxifies — once and for all — the word “wilderness.”In an op-ed piece by Yale Environment 360, a publication of the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, writer Rick Bass offers a look at the collaborative process that has resulted in the “Forest Jobs and Recreation Act” (known as the "Tester Bill" after Senator Jon Taintushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12700101879034654343noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8307422765401467501.post-37158515217569937792009-07-21T17:07:00.011-10:002009-07-21T20:17:11.883-10:00Mountain opening ceremony 開山式On Friday July 10th I climbed Ontake-san for the first time this season. July 10th is the date of the annual "mountain opening ceremony", known as kaizan-shiki 開山式 in Japanese. This year was my second time to climb Ontake-san for this ceremony (you can read my post about last year's ceremony here).The weather was not agreeable to the ceremony this year. My friend R-san, a Belgian philosopher Taintushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12700101879034654343noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8307422765401467501.post-67435014951344667942009-07-13T19:24:00.002-10:002009-07-13T19:42:58.152-10:00Forgotten roadsThere is a landscape that lays like lattice-work across the mountains and deep valleys of Otaki. This landscape is spiritual in nature--attuned to the sacred Mount Ontake, which stands at its center. Once well trodden roads articulate with points of power or significance where statues or other markers stand. However, these markers and roads are disappearing into forests that are now rarely Taintushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12700101879034654343noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8307422765401467501.post-60431831534229407652009-07-06T18:58:00.002-10:002009-07-06T18:59:49.281-10:00The rainy seasonIt comes every year to Japan. It's both a nuisance and a pleasure. The rainy season. Any excursion includes a clunky umbrella, uncomfortable rain boots, and a jacket that is too much in the hot, muggy air. At the same time the rainy season landscape is undeniably beautiful. It's a mystical landscape where the lines between sky and earth become blurred and clouds haunt the hillsides like Taintushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12700101879034654343noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8307422765401467501.post-17333865154176714672009-07-02T16:49:00.005-10:002009-07-02T17:04:30.763-10:00The evolving debate over devolution.Today the wonderfully insightful and remarkably detailed blog, AMPONTAN, contained a post outlining the growing debate among Japanese politicians over "devolution". The term refers to the simplification of Japan's current system of governance based on provinces and municipalities, as well as a centralized government.Find the original post here.I'm not sure how I feel about the prospect of Taintushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12700101879034654343noreply@blogger.com0