Ninja Train, originally uploaded by [douglas japonicus].

In case anyone still had any doubts about whether pirates or ninjas were better, the little town of Iga Ueno in Mie prefecture puts forward its argument - the Ninja Festa 2008. JapaniCan describes it thus -

Wearing loaned ninja clothes, you can have an experience of learning ninja skills at ninja schools.

And you even get free travel on the Iga Tetsudo (see picture) if you’re dressed up like a ninja. Sweet.

Beat that pirates.

The Ninja Festa 2008 started on April 1st and runs until May 6th. Break out dem shurikens.

You can also see a rather mad video by going to the Iga City website here.

(WARNING: contains mind melting images of dogs dressed as ninja.)

Konishiki. This name may mean something to some and nothing to others. Konishiki is a Hawaii-born wrestler that attained the second-highest ranko in Sumo Wrestling (”Ozeki” - the first being “Yokozuna”). His main claim to fame is that he also is the first foreign born wrestler to attain this rank. He weighed around 270kg during his fighting career and was nicknamed the “Dump truck”.
Dude is huge.

Anyway, watching a Discovery Channel docco this evening on Sumo prompted me to post this as they even ventured into Konishiki’s Hip Hop career :

Nowm you can see Konishiki on Nihongo de Asobo (にほんごであそぼ) on NHK TV - Teaching kids Japanese. Awesome.

The sushi cops have apparently been called off - if you have a good memory, you’ll remember this post from late last year, in which I detailed Japanese plans to go abroad and rate Japanese restaurants in other countries.

Something that most people felt was pretty cheeky given the penchant for mentaiko spaghetti and mayonnaise on pizza that the locals wear on their sleeves. I’ve yet to see an Italian in a Japanese version of their restaurant checking boxes on a clipboard, the whole while clicking his tongue & shaking his head.

I think he’d be more than entitled to, given the thought process behind the Japanese idea -

The plan had been championed by Agriculture Minister Toshikatsu Matsuoka, who has accused overseas restaurants of using “culinary techniques and ingredients far removed from those of authentic Japanese food”.

The Sydney Morning Herald reports that the idea is now, thankfully, dead in the water. And I say thankfully not just because of the idiocy of the plan, but also because of this little bit of trivia I hadn’t noticed previously -

The ministry had earmarked more than Y276 million ($A2.9 million) for the project.

Pensions in crisis. Rural communities disappearing. Sushi is more important?

Many thanks to JB for the previous informative Setsubun posts. Rae was fortunate enough to go to the Shizuoka Sengen Shrine, video camera in hand, and got some interesting footage. She also got hit in the head by a flying rice cake. Ladies and Gentlemen, until we get the High-Def video sorted out, please enjoy the Sushimatic Setsubun Shizuoka Sengen Shrine video. (YouTube)

So, in my previous post about setsubun (link) I explained one part of the ritual - the throwing of beans at the demon to encourage him to get out off your house. If you go to a shrine though, there’s another side of the whole thing; priests busting some moves throwing free stuff to the crowds. Who remain relatively calm given the circumstances; free snack treats winging their way into their grubby little mitts courtesy of a man in a big pointy hat. How come the Pope never goes in for this kind of thing :
Read the rest of this entry…

Tomorrow is setsubun, which is actually a term used to refer to the beginning of any season in Japan, but is generally used to describe spring setsubun - February 3rd.

This day was traditionally viewed as a kind of New Year’s Day, and features beans, in a ceremony named mamemaki.

Beans are thrown at demons while you chant, “Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi!” (Demons Out! Luck In!)
If you can’t find a demon, a member of the family wearing an appropriate mask is more than good enough. There are also ceremonies held at shrines, so if you’ve got nothing else to do tomorrow, why not go demon hunting?

I know I will.