2019/03/11 A&B @ Arita pottery

You're doing a good job, Akito.

Don't talk to me, Ben. I’m trying to concentrate. I can't think about anything else.

I just want to give you extra support.

You can support me by not talking. Oh, no.

Again? You are not very good at this.

I can't do it right because you keep talking to me.

I’m Ben. Today, we are in the twon of Arita in Saga Prefecture.  Akito told me that this twon is famous for pottery. That’s why we are taking a pottery class.

I’m going to try one more time.

Making a cup on a pottery wheel seems to be very difficult.

Akito-san, you needto relax. Try taking a deep breath. Don't think so much. Feel the clay in your hands and concentrate on your finger.

It's like talking with nature.

Ben. I told you not to talk to me.

I think you're trying to hard.

What?

Why don't we take a break and chat so you can relax?

Sounds like a good idea.

Did you know there are two types of pottery?

I didn’t know that. What's the different between the two?

Well, one is heated in an oven at a temperature of 1000 to 1300 degreees Celsius. The other is heated at a temperature of more than 1300 degrees.

How does the temperature make them different?

They look different. Also they make different sounds when you tap them.

Sounds?

The first one sounds like this.

It's a low-pitched sound.

That’s right. Now listen to the other one.

Ah, it's a high-pitched sound. It sounds like you're hitting a metal cup.

In Arita, we make the second type of pottery.

I know these cups are made of clay, but they are shiny like glass.

The clay we use is like the material used for making glass. Around 400 years ago, it was found in Arita.

Is Arita the only place you can find this clay?

You can find it in other places, too. But the quality of clay found here is very good for making this type of pottery.

Ah, I see. Do you paint it after you heat it in the oven?

Not exactly. First, we shape the clay and heat it in the oven at around 900 degrees.

Then, we draw a simple sketch on it. After that, we put a special liquid on it. When you heat the liquid, it becomes shiny like glass. Next, we heat it again at about 1300 degrees. Finally, we add the colors and heat it one more time at about 800 degrees.

Wow. That’s a lot of work.

It is a lot of work, but that’s why the finished producut is so beautiful.

You're right. These plates and bowls are amazing.

So Akito-san, are you ready to try one more time?

Sure. Done.

Wow, Akito. It didn’t fall apart this time. It looks great.

2019/03/08 I am a cat Episode one

I am a cat. And I don't have a name yet.

I have no idea where I was born. But I do remember crying in a dark, wet place. And that is where I met a human for the first time. He was the most dangerous type of human, but I didn’t learn that until later. He was a shosei student. I also learned that shosei students catch and eat us cats sometimes. But at that time, I didn’t know any of this. So I didn’t think he was so scary. All I thought was that his face was smooth like a kettle. A face should have some hair.

I rested comfortably in the shosei’s hands for a while. But soon I started to go round and round in circles very fast. I didn’t know whether it was the shosei or me that was moving. Either way, my eyes started to spin, and I felt sick. Then suddenly, there was a big noise, and fire came out from my eyes.

Then everything became black.

Later, I looked around, and the shosei was gone. My brother were gone, too. Even my dear mother. I found that I had been thrown into a place with many bamboo trees. It hurt. I was weak and hungry. So I decided to look for food. I went through a hole in a broken fence, and it  led me to someone’s house. Luck is a mysterious thing. If I had not found that hole, I might have died.

So I was at someone’s house. But I didn’t know what to do next. It was very cold, and it even started to rain. I was running out of time. So I moved to where the light was and where it looked warmer. That was when I saw other humans.

First, I saw an osan servant. She was even more dangerous than shosei. She caught me by the neck and threw me out as soon as she saw me. but I was cold and hungry. I went back into the kitchen when osan wasn’t looking. But she found me and threw me out again. This continued for a while. I went in, and she threw me out.

Finally, the master of the house came to see why there was so much noise. Osan lifted me by the neck and showed me to the Master. She said that I was a lost cat and wouldn’t stop coming into the kitchen. The master touched the black hair under his nose as he looked at me for a while. Then, he said, Let him stay, and left. Osan didn’t look happy, but she threw me down in the kitchen. So that is how I found my home.

2019/03/07 Haiti

Hi, There! I’m the Republic of Haiti, and I have two official languages, Haitian Creole and French. My neighbor country is the Dominican Republic. We share the same island, Hispaniola Island. It's a West Indies island located near Central America, and I’m on the western side of the island. Cuba and Jamaica are close by. I’m about one thirds the size of Hokkaido, and my capital city is Port-au-Prince. There are about ten million people living in my country.

Oh, by the way, people don't call me Haiti here. They call me Ayiti which means land with many mountains. So as you can guess, there are many mountains in my land.

Let me tell you a little about my history. After Columbus came to the island in 1492, my land was controlled by the Spanish and then the French. They brought people from Africa as slaves and then made them work on farms. So my country has a mixed culture of Africa and Europe.

One part of my culture is a type of religion called Vodou. It came from Africa and was mixed with the way of thinking of the native Taino people in my land and with Christianity.

Haitian Vodou has developed in a unique way. Some people may have a dark image when they hear the word Vodou, but it is not dark, I said that it was a religion, but it doesn't have a special book like the Bible. There are no churches, and they do not try to get other people to join them. It's a religion amoung the people, and they use drums to dance and sing at special ceremonies. In their ceremonies, they sometimes kill chickens, cows and goats like you see in movies. Maybe that is why Vodou has a negative image. Or maybe it's because of tomething known as zombie powder.

The Vodou priest makes a white powder mix made from harbs and poisone. It is used as punishment for very bad crimes. When you take the zombie powder, you become almost dead. Next, you are buried and then brought back to life with another special powder and made to work as a slave. So the scary and famous zonvies from popular movies came from Vodou religion. The important thing to remember is that each ceremony has a meaning, and Vodou is part of the life here.

I am proud of my mixed culture. You can even see it in our food. It's a delicious combination of Spanish, French, native Taino and African food. I hope you have a chance to try it sometime.

2019/03/06 The navigator

I just bought a new car with a hi-tech navigation system. It can understand the driver. Hello? Can you hear me?

Where would you like to go?

Umm, to Negishi Station, please.

Negishi in Kanagawa Prefecture?

Yes.

Would you like to take the fast route on the highway?

No. I’m not in a hurry. So I'll take the normal route.

It will take about one hour and twenty minutes.

Okay. Let's go.

Huh? Oh, you don't talk much. Well, here we go.

In 400 meters, turn right.

What? No. Isn't it faster if we go straight?

Turn right.

Oh, okay, I'll turn right. If I turn right, there's construction going on, so there will be a traffic jam. Maybe the navigation system doesn't have information like that in it. Huh? There's no constraction here now. It must be finished. We’ll get throught here very quickly. Good navigation.

Turn left in 300 meters. Switch to the left lane.

Okay.

In one kilometer, there will be a traffic jam. It will continue for eight kilometers.

A traffic jam? What happened?

There was an accident.

Well then, I want to switch to the fast route.

Changing the route. In 700 meters, turn right. Continue for 400 meters, and get on the highway.

Got it. Ah, this is much better. I’m so glad I listened to you. Thank you.

This is kind of sad. It's too bad she can't say You are welcome. It's more fun to have a conversation than just to get directions. Oh well, it's a computer not a friend.

At the next highway junction, go toward Yokosuka.

Sure, sure. I will follow your directions. Huh? I've been on the highway for a while. I should be close to Negishi by now.

At the next junction, go in the direction of Namiki.

Okay. It's my first time using this highway, so I don't really know where I am. Maybe it’ll take a little longer to get there.

You are almost at Negishi Station.

What? No. I’m still on the highway. I need to get off somewhere. Do you know where I can get off?

You are at Negishi Station. Navigation ending.

Huh? Don't finish navigating. You have to help me. I can see Negishi Station under the highway, but I don't know how to get off the highway, what is going on?

Have a nice day.

Oh, don't talk. You are useless. I shouldn’t have used the navigation system. Now I’m lost.

I’m sorry.

2019/03/05 Furuya no Mori

Once upon a time, there lived an old man and his wife. They lived in a very old house. Every time it rained, the rainwater came through the roof and into the house.

One rainy night, a burglar came to the old couple’s house. I’m going to take the horse from this hosue. He climbed onto the roof.

At the same time, a wolf came there. I will eat their horse.

The burglar didn’t know the wolf was there. The wolf didn’t know the burglar was there, either. But they both heard the old man and his wife talking.

What are you most afraid of?

Let me think. I’m afraid of burglars. They take everything away from us.

The burglar smiled and was happy to hear that he made people so afraid.

In the house, down below, the old man said, I think so too. But I’m more afraid of wolves.

You're right. Wolves will even take your life.

Now the wolf smiled. He was happy to hear that he made people so afraid.

The old man then said, But I’m really, really afraid of Furuya no Mori.

That’s right. Furuya no Mori is worse than burglars or wolves. We might have to worry about Furuya no Mori tonight.

Furuya means old house, and Mori means ama-mori, which means rainwater coming in.

So the old couple was saying they were afraid of rainwater coming into their old home.

But the burglar and the wolf didn’t know what Furuya no Mori was. So they thought something really dangerous was coming to the house soon.

The burglar hurried to climb down from the roof to go home, but he fell. He fell right on the wolf’s back. Now the wolf suddenly had something on his back.

The wolf was very afraid. Oh no, it must be that Furuya no Mori.

The wolf started to run back to the forest. Luckily, the Furuya no Mori fell off his back and into a hole beside an apple tree. Of course, that was not the Furuya no Mori but the burglar. The burglar tried to climb out of the hole, but the hole was too deep. The wolf ran all the way home and then told his friends about the Furuya no Mori.

One of his friends was a monkey. He said, I want to see the Furuya no Mori. The monkey went to the hole beside the apple tree. The monkey put his long tail down the hole.

The burglar had been down in the hole for a long time. He was very happy to see something like a rope coming down. So the burglar quickly grabbed the monkey’s tail and started pulling himself up.

The monkey was surprised, so he tried to run away, but he couldn’t. Both of them pulled and pulled, and in the end, the monkey’s tail broke into two parts.

People say that is why monkeys in Japan have short tails.