I Like Pigeons Because Nobody Else Does

I read on the internet yesterday that the southern California coast was supposed to have massive waves today on the order of 15 to 20 feet high. One of my recurrent nightmare themes is big waves (the others are tornadoes and less commonly, attack by rats. But I’m not afraid in the least of rats in real life. Go figure.) and last night I had yet another dream about them. In the dream Gene and I were in a car driving along a rocky coast. An enormous wave slammed the car, and when the water receded, Gene was pinned between the car and the rock face. But I planned on seeing them despite the ridiculous dream.

Anyway, I left for La Jolla this morning at 8am thinking that I could get some dramatic shots of the huge waves crashing on the rocks and wasn’t disappointed. I joined hundreds of other people gathered to see the show. It was a spectacular natural event and I’m glad I didn’t miss it. There were lots of surfers out, but it seemed that the great majority of them just floated around in the water and didn’t do anything. Periodically one of them would get on a wave and ride and the assembled crowd would hoot and holler in approval, especially if the guy wiped out and was crushed.

I’ve never seen waves that large, so this was thrilling for me and a lot of other people, I’m sure. I saw a lot of professional photographers there which is always a good sign that your at an event of some magnitude. I met a woman there who had the mother of all Canon cameras and accompanying lenses – she had the Canon EOS 1-D Mark III and a 4oomm lens.  You don’t see that setup out and about too often. Well, in Japan you do, but not here in the States – they seem to go whole hog with their hobbies much more so than Americans. After I finished drooling and composed myself, I had a nice chat with her about what camera body I should buy next. She gave me some good advice. Now all I need to do is rob a bank. I actually saw another guy with a 600mm lens and the same camera, but he didn’t seem to interested in talking.

I didn’t see any seal-haters, thankfully, so it was a nice morning. When I left at 11am the traffic coming into LaJolla was backed up for miles…but those people missed the best part because by that time the fury had already started to subside a bit and it wasn’t as dramatic as earlier.  I took a lot of photos, but Little Buddy is due for his daily walk so here’s all I have time for right now.

The Soma Nomaoi festival started over 1000 years ago in the year 973 when the founder of the Soma family, Taira no Masakado, used wild horses in a military exercise in which he released them on the plains for his cavalry to pursue and capture. In the following years the custom was passed on to successive clan leaders as an homage to the clan and also Shinto deities.

We left Yokosuka at 3am. I looked around at the other passengers on the bus and was shocked to find myself the only one not sleeping. How on earth anyone can sleep when going to a new place is beyond me. It gets light here at 4:30am and by that time we were heading out the north end of Tokyo, leaving the concrete behind and entering into the countryside. It was so nice to get out of the city - even if only for a day – and breathe fresh air.

We arrived at 9am and I paired up with a really cool chick named Nathalie. Not wanting to be seen with a group of loud Americans, we quickly bailed out and made our way to the parade or ogyouretsu お行列. We found seats on the curb, but that didn’t suit the trio of ojiisans (grandpas) behind us who insisted we sit we sit in the shade with them as soon as they rearranged themselves and made room.  I’m always a hit with the old men here as soon as I start unleashing the Canon camera equipment.

I’m a fan of Akira Kurosawa movies and what I saw coming down the street made me feel as if I were in Ran or Seven Samurai - legions of samurai on the backs of horses of the highest athletic caliber, complete with swords at their sides were making their way down the street. Nathalie and I stood there agape for the entirety of the parade. The reason they looked real was because this was about as real as it gets without access to a time machine. I read in my festival guide that the armor, helmets, swords and horse tack are all original and not reproductions. Most of them have been passed down through the years from father to son.

The festival spans 3 days, but we were there on the second day which has the most action.  After the parade, all 600 riders filed into a racetrack area and prepared for kacchu-keiba 甲冑競馬, or race of 10 riders and horses at a time. Ten horses and riders gathered at a starting point and raced once around the track or 1000 meters.

The shinki-sodatsusen 神旗争奪戦、or flag scramble, started at 1pm with an explosion of fireworks directly above the grass field inside the racetrack. Out of the explosion fell two flags which the boiling throng of horses and men were waiting to catch. The triumphant knight who catches the flag breaks from the scrum and charges up the hill on a path winding through the spectators to claim his prize.

This was definitely one of the coolest things I’ve done here and I am so glad I didn’t let the early departure dissuade me from going.  The festival has been designated as Important Cultural Property and seems to have some notoriety outside Japan. I saw a crew of western filmmakers there, but I couldn’t tell what kind of white they were. I’d love to know what they were all about but they were busy filming the action and I didn’t want to bug them. Besides, I had my own photography to take care of and wasn’t in the mood to waste time socializing. Their t-shirts said “Soma 2007 Documentary Film Crew” or something like that. So if someone sees anything about this on TV in the coming years, please let me know.

I guess the really appealing aspect of this was the history. Being American means you probably don’t have too deep of a cultural history. Half the people there don’t even know what their real family names were before they were butchered and abbreviated when coming through Ellis Island. I just can’t imagine having such a deep and old history like this. It must be so cool to be such an integral part of a country and its land.

Meet the mukade 百足, Scolopendra subspinipes, a skin-crawling fact of life here in Japan.  This is not a beloved creature and a whole array of anti-mukade products and devices are available in stores. A mukade is a very large centipede that feeds on small insects, spiders, earthworms, and other arthropods…and occasionally a child. Just kidding. It has a powerful venom that it uses to dispatch its prey but if that venom is injected into a human being who unwittingly rolls on top of one in their futon during the night, the reaction can range from slight swelling of the immediate area to massive swelling of the affected limb. This happens all the time here. I’ve seen lots of these things around, but they move pretty quickly in dark, damp areas and their speed coupled with low light makes photographing them quite difficult.

On my last insect foray, this one ran right across the road in front of me. Adults of this species have been reported to reach body lengths of 15 to 19 cm (about 6 to 7.5 inches). This particular individual was about 6.5 inches long. These creatures are most active at night but during the daytime can be found under rocks, logs and in leaf litter. When weather conditions become unsuitable for them, they will move into homes and seek shelter in shoes, under futons and in cracks and crevices. I’m glad we’re on the ninth floor for this reason alone. Clearly, I like creepy crawlies, but I draw the line at mukade.

Not long after this mukade crossed my path, I decided I had enough mosquito bites and started off for home. It has happened to me more than once that when I make up my mind to pack it in and give up for the day, I oftentimes make the greatest discoveries. That’s what happened yesterday when I saw this incredible gem in lying in the road 

And you were thinking a cool stinkbug? She truly is a geek. Well, shame on you, naysayers, look at that photo again. Is that not one of the finest stinkbugs you’ve ever seen?! This is Poecilocoris lewisi, アカスジキンカメムシ or the stunning red-lined metallic stinkbug. My prize for being such a bug-lover was this dead specimen that is now on a pin right next to my computer. I don’t kill insects, so like scavenging vermin, a dead bug in pristine condition is a great treat for me. Over the last two years I periodically ran across these nymphs 

but nobody seemed to know what they were.  I found on the Internet that these are the nymphs of this particular super-cool stinkbug. Some insects undergo a type of metamorphosis in which the juveniles are smaller forms of the adult rather than a worm, caterpillar or maggot. A smaller, juvenile form of the adult is a nymph.

Here are some other photos of insects encountered yesterday. It was a good day for getting lucky in the bug world.

I went to kimono class today but this bug porn was in the queue first, so I’ll post photos from that next time, maybe tomorrow.

Gene and I are going to Tokyo this weekend to do some sightseeing and eating. Not a whole lot going on otherwise. It’s pouring down rain right now and if it continues tomorrow it will put a serious damper on our fun.

I took the preliminary paperwork to a crabby guy at the shipping office yesterday to have our household items shipped back to the states. So now we have to go to a “PCS counseling meeting” on June 4th. What that involves, I have no idea, but it will likely be painful.

More sumo photos:

May 23, Rikishi quotes

Asashoryu to the throng of reporters surrounding him in the dressing room:

“Don’t get too close to me!”

Asashoryu on his first loss:

 ”My tachi-ai sucked. I looked past him too much, but that’s sumo for you…a trapdoor where you least expect it. I failed at the tachi-ai, I failed myself, it was all a failure. But hey, I’ll have fun chasing him down.”

I mentioned last post that I was going to sumo again. I went. Holy crap. Last night definitely ranks as one of the top experiences I’ve had here. It was an incredible cultural experience and just exciting as hell. Some people look upon this as an undesirable character trait, but I will freely admit with no reservations that I really like a good fight. No doubt the reason I enjoyed last night so much.

Frankly, I don’t understand any of it – the rules, ranking, nothing. But after last night I do now know that there is a lot more involved that what one sees on TV. Most of the matches lasted only a few seconds, a few of them maybe 20 or 30 seconds at the most. But what was so amazing was how every single move counts. Nothing can be wasted or it will all be over in a blink of an eye. Those familiar with Japanese culture can probably see some parallels here with regard to the fleetingness of so many other facets of art and life.  The Nihon Sumo Kyokai Official Grand Sumo Home Page is a fantastic resource for anyone wishing to learn more about sumo. They have full explanations of the history, ranking procedures, fight techniques, terminology and even sumo exercises that you can go at home – which really aren’t too far removed from Yoga.

I was also amazed by their incredible power. Those buttcheeks and legs might look fat, but they’re all muscle. And the sound produced by two enormous wrestlers slamming into each other is enough to make one cringe. You don’t get the sound effects on TV which really adds to the ambience.

There are 15 days in each tournament and several tournaments a year. Last night was the 10th day of the May tournament. I’m not sure how opponents are matched, but there are rankings and you can determine what rank a fighter is by his hairstyle and mawashi (loincoth). There is a top fighter, only one at a time, called the Yokozuna. The reigning Yokozuna is this guy:

a Mongolian who has taken the Japanese name Asashoryu. His real name is Dolgorsuren Dagvadorj.  If you’re wondering why it seems as if he’s looking right at me, it’s because he was. A new friend of mine, Hiromi-san were the lucky guests of a mutual friend and were honored with the best seat in the house. All the action played out right in front of our box seat as we ate yakitori and frozen mikan sherbet. Hiromi told me that the particular seat we were occupying is always reserved for the Prime Minister on the last night of the tournament.

Asashoyru fought last, the biggest and most important night of the fight. He lost to his opponent and immediately following his downfall, the audience went wild (as wild as a crowd of Nihonjin are going to get) and starting throwing their zabutons (pillows) into the ring. Hiromi and I were being pelted with zabuton from behind and ended up with half a dozen or so in our box.

I repeatedly read how “secretive” Japanese people are and how it’s so tough to “penetrate” their society. The people making these claims must have been to this country in another space and time because I have found the exact opposite to be true. Take this “luck” of mine in getting this incredible opportunity last night. I repeatedly have opportunities like that and it’s not because I’m lucky. It’s because I take the time to express genuine and serious interest in Japanese people and culture and when people find out that you give a damn about their lives and culture, they are very willing to share. And I just don’t mean in the sense of getting to do cool things like go to fights and dress up in a kimono, but on a much more personal level too. I am a firm believer in the fact that the more you give, the more you receive.  Someone was in a position to show an interested foreigner one of the most important traditions in one of the most unique cultures in the world and I happened to be the “lucky” recipient. Enthusiasm and an adventurous spirit can get you a long way!

I keep returning to Hayama in my quest for the perfect picture of Mt Fuji. The wind today was incredibly strong and made photographing quite difficult; there was sea-spray on the lens, my eyes were watering and I could hardly stand up straight.  I have one of the heaviest tripods made, but still the wind shook it considerably and even blew it over once – it was a good thing my camera wasn’t on it at the time! 

I get really seasick and just looking at the sea today made my stomach turn.

My mom just bought a plane ticket to come and visit us next month. I can’t believe she actually did it. This is going to be interesting because she’s never been beyond the borders of the USA. Well, I think she went to Niagra Falls one time in the beginning of the last century…or maybe the century before that, I forget. Most people do a trip to Mexico or Europe as their first foray abroad, not Japan, so she’s going to be extra shell-shocked.  The problem is picking and choosing activities since there are so many things to see and experience. I just hope the jetlag doesn’t kick her ass too badly. I’m really excited and am having a hard time deciding what activities to plan.

When I woke up today it looked as if it would be good Fuji-photographing weather, but I got over to Hayama and it sucked. But I took some pictures anyway.

I spent most of the weekend reading Haruki Murakami’s Kafka on the Shore. I didn’t like it.  I think I will give up on Murakami since this is the second of his books I have not liked. They are wildly popular the world over, but the two I read failed to do much for me.

Today was Yokosuka’s annual mikoshi parade and the weather was perfect for the festivities. A mikoshi is a portable Shinto shrine that is borne through town streets on the shoulders of up to as many as a hundred people, usually during a festival.  The parade started near the train station and concluded on base.  It was a great photo opportunity to practice people shots. I am really hesitant to invade someone’s space that way, but today was an exception since everyone else was doing the same thing.