Members of the Samurai Summit production team, and members of the Okazaki Samurai team gather for Kawamura San's (centre, gray shirt) 42nd!
We bought him a birthday cake,...and then the talk got around to our favourite subject, Samurai, and we forgot to eat the cake.... Maybe next year!
Nagoya City at night from the Twin Towers Marriott Hotel, where That Airways International held their farewell & welcome party for the Nagoya and Central Districts General Manager. I was the MC for the event, as well as producer for the official changeover ceremony...
The GM position changeover was based on an old Samurai tradition, so we dressed the outgoing and incoming GM's in Samurai garb, and had them flanked by 2 armored samurai each
Using 150 year old ceremonial sake dishes from my private collection, the GM's exchanged words and positions, before leading the samurai and all members of the audience in the samurai war cry to bring good fortune to Thai Airways.
The outgoing GM, my friend Mr Athivat has been posted to Melbourne, Australia. He's done well over the past 5 years in Nagoya, and I'm sure he'll do well in Oz too!
On location for the TV Aichi show Sanji No Tsubo, with partner Kaino Yuka. She's eating a melt proof ice-cream...we tested it by walking around the city for a few hours, and it DIDN'T melt!!
One temple was home to this Jizo sitting in a boat, this was supposed to bring closure to those who had died in boating and water mishaps...
At yet another temple was this listening Jizo. A small stone seat in front of this larger than usual Jizo affords people with problems a place to sit down and have a good old grizzle, and the jizo will lend an ear. Won't give much advice, but he's there to let off steam. Watch TV Aichi's Sanji No Tsubo every Tuesday from 3pm!
At Studio CUE! putting the final touches to the JC (Junior Chamber of Commerce) ads which are set to run across Central Japanese movie theaters next week for 6 to 8 months, with about 3,000 showings per month...
One of the PPF Radio School students brought some Japanese winter Mikan mandarins, the staple winter diet of grannies and traditionalists across the land! You've never really experienced Japan until you've sat in a freezing cold tatami mat covered Japanese room, with your legs under the kotatsu, a low quilt covered table with electric or coal brazier burning below, and eating mikan while watching TV, preferably a marathon or relay race!
These Mikan were winners of the 39th annual All Japan Mikan growers contest Grand Prize,.. that's what the sticker on the box says anyway!
Woke up this morning to a call from my building's superintendent, telling me my car lights were on,... Went down to the car park, sure enough, the lights were on,...but dim,...UH -OHhh,... the car wouldn't start,...the battery was flat! SHOCK!
Valentines day was freezing cold. This is a quick snap of my haul for this year,..in Japan, the gilrs give the guys choccies,... and who am I to buck Japanese tradition?
That night I went out to dinner with some friends...in the snow... Romantic in a cold white way!! Nagoya looks just like Sapporo when it snows, both cities are laid out in a grid like pattern with a tall steel tower in the centre of a long thin park running the length of the city,... and when it snows, there's no telling the difference. OK, well, maybe Sapporo has MORE snow than Nagoya...
On the way to Seto City, north of Nagoya for the TV Aichi show, Sanji No Tsubo. Today was freezing cold and snowing!
The snow was a few centimeters deep by the time filming started,...and I was wearing traditional Japanese tabi, canvas split toed sox with a thin rubber sole,...BRrrRrrrRrrrr!
In my traveling samurai gear, sword, straw kasa hat, cape and hakama pants, with a wax paper umbrella in the snow.... in front of one of Seto's many temples...
With programme partner Kaino Yuka. This episode, she was dressed in kimono too....
While much of the filming was out in the snow and cold, we did go indoors to see this huge traditional Hina Matsuri dolls festival display. Due to it's size and shape, this one is titled the not the pyra-mid, but the Hina-mid!
Always seems to be too few strawberries and therefore lots of condensed milk left over,... Well, can't let it go to waste! Bottoms up!
Filming for a commercial for the Junior Chamber of Commerce (JC's) in a local yakiniku BBQ meat restaurant
The ads are to be shown in movie theaters across Central Japan from mid February until October, on average 3,000 times a month! How I wish Japan had residual payment schemes like America!
Another ad along a similar line features a new Nagoya based Super Hero....
....His costume is made from iconic Nagoyan items and images, including kishimen noodles on his back, fried prawns as shoulders, Kin Shachi dragon fish helmet, Koala face chestplate and Nagoya Dome belt....
The ads run in most movie theaters across Central Japan,...look for links on FaceBook!
Book I'm reading right now,.... "Scary Stories of the Warring States Period !"
One of the PPF Radio School students went to Tokyo and brought back a box of Seppuku Manju. Seppuku is the polite form of Hara-Kiri, or "stomach cutting", the samurai way of atoning for mistakes or failure, and taking responsibility for ones actions. These sweets are made in memory of the Loyal 47 ronin, masterless samurai who sought revenge for the death of their lord in 1703, and as a result were all forced to commit seppuku.
These sweets are made from an ice-cream cone type of outer crust, with sweet red bean paste inside, made in such a way as to suggest a split open stomach. Apparently if you make a mistake at work, buying a box of these as an apology is accepted in Tokyo. I guess it depends on the degree of the mistake mind you...
In the CBC TV film crew bus heading to the northern regions of mountainous Gifu Prefecture,.. that should read mountainous and snowy,...and cold Gifu Prefecture...
Filming for the Dai-Namo show, this time the World Heritage site, Shirakawago and the 350 year old Wada residence.
The icicles were long and cold, ideal for sticking in a drink, if you can find a glass wide enough to accommodate one of these spikes of ice...
Every week since 1969, a samurai drama titled Mito Komon has graced Japanese TV screens. The story involves the Deputy Shogun, Tokugawa Mitsukuni, also known as Mito Komon, who retires and sets off on a walk around Japan incognito with 2 bodyguards, a servant and a couple of ninja to watch over him. At every town he stops at, he rights wrong, helps the downtrodden, and exposes the greed and evil of the overlords....
At the end of every episode, there's the obligatory sword fight scene, and finally, one of Mito Komon's bodyguards will finally pull a fist sized pill box from his shirt and call all to attention to the crest of the Shogun on it, and grandly announce who the old gentleman is...much to the surprise of all!
The crest of the Tokugawa Shogun! In the old days, it would send people crashing to their knees! The character of Mito Mitsukuni really did exist, and he was known as Mito Komon!
For the sake of entertainment, this can be overlooked, however, tonight's episode was a little too mistake riddled! Tonight Mito Komon met with Oishi Kuranosuke, another historical figure, who was the leader of the Loyal 47 Ronin, (masterless Samurai) who waited 2 years to seek revenge for the death of their Lord in the Chushingura incident. The Chushingura incident happened in 1701, when Lord Asano of Ako was provoked into attacking the Master of Protocol at Edo Castle. Asano was ordered to commit seppuku (ritual suicide) his samurai were cast off, but the loyal 47 re-grouped 2 years later to seek revenge by attacking and killing the Master of Protocol. 
In Nagoya's Be-Blue Studios, not as narrator this time, but director for a world wide release Nagoya City promotional video. Artistic Nagoya is set for release in early April. More later!
I did a talk show in Toyohashi City late last year, and one of the audience came to me afterwards and told me his family had an old set of armor, and wanted to know if I'd be interested in looking at it, and telling him if it was worth anything. Last Saturday I went to his house to meet his family and see the armor. First of all, the box was rare in the fact that despite it's poor condition, it was lacquered in red...
We opened it up and took all the parts out. Most of it was in very good condition despite the quality of the box. The armour's lacquer was very clean, the material pieces very good for their age, and the metal work exceptional for it's age. I dated the pieces to about 1780~1850, late Edo Period.
As the owner, Hirao San wanted to display the armor, but didn't have a stand for it, we set about making one! His parents weren't too thrilled about having samurai armor on display in the home, thinking it frightening, until I mentioned that Samurai families always displayed their sets in the alcove, and,...(little white lie,) ...the armour would protect the family! That and the fact that the armor was clean, meaning it hadn't seen battle seemed to calm their fears.
A few pieces of wood, couple of nails, hammer and about 30 minutes later, we'd made an armor stand and started compiling the armor in the family alcove.... (cont.)
This is my mate Ewen. Saturday night Ewen, his Daddy and Mummy invited me round for dinner.
