Charlie no Seikatsu

[nipponculturequest-blog]

2016 July 16 - Gion Matsuri, Kyoto

Gion Matsuri is considered to be one of the three big festivals in Japan, and runs annually through the month of July. It was originally part of a purification ritual to appease the gods and protect against fire, earthquakes, and floods.

[charlienoseikatsu]

A look at Fukui City from atop Monju-san, a 365 meter mountain on the border of Sabae and Fukui City.

“Dearly Beloved (Extan Remix,” by Extan used with permission. https://soundcloud.com/extandnb/kingdom-hearts-dearly-beloved

[charlienoseikatsu]

Lost in Johto, Part 6: A Peak in the Distance

The day passed under a golden canopy. Caden’s legs ached, both from another day of walking and from the encounter with the Mudkip. More than once, he found himself wishing he’d gone with the Eevee and its trainer; now, instead of burying himself in mud and having to soak up whatever water he could from filthy puddles, he might instead be enjoying a rejuvenating massage from the Nurse Joy at the nearest Pokémon Center. That wouldn’t bring him any closer to Ako, though.

By mid-afternoon, the hypospray potion the Eevee’s trainer had so kindly applied to his scrapes lost effect. Sweat soaked the bandages on his legs and across his belly; the effect was a constant burning in wounds that were still too fresh. Eventually, Caden came to a small unnatural clearing. The ground was charred, and a discarded Cubone skull sat half buried in a pile of ash and half-burnt petals near the center.

Caden looked around. Whatever the Cubone had come up against seemed to have gone, leaving only a slow breeze and the smell of overdone meat and razed vegetation. Caden let himself sink into the ashy earth. The great bulb on his back opened greedily to the sun, drinking in the rays that finally reached the forest floor. Caden used his vines to pull the saline infused bandages off his wounds. They seemed to glow pink from agitation, and stung as they were allowed a breath of air.

He stood again, having drunk his fill of sunlight, and pushed forward. Just above the cover of blossoms sat the tip of a great mountain to the north. From there, he thought he might finally get an idea of just where he was. The initial shock of being on his own had worn off. Following the encounter with the enslaved Mudkip, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he never should have left wherever it was he woke up, though he no longer knew how to get back.

The daylight faded, and once more night wrapped around the world like an unwanted blanket. Exhausted, Caden let his legs give out, their long shift on autopilot finished for the day. It would be another night alone. Another night spent in the dirt. Another night not knowing where he was.

He awoke the next morning with miles of stiffness in his bones. His mouth was dry, and his vision swam for a moment as he stood up.

“Bulba,” he said to no one at all. After shaking his head, once, twice, a final time, he moved again toward the mountain.

Time escaped him. He no longer knew whether he’d walked for 10 minutes or an hour. The flowers, once so high and all encompassing, began to tell the time for him. He took one step. He took two steps. He took 100 steps, and the forest became little more than scattered stands of young florets. The near side of the mountain he’d been working toward loomed over him, just one of many peaks in a sierra that seemed to grow out the horizon. 

Between Caden and the mountain was a pond, still as could be and reflecting the blues and greens of the world around it. On one side of the pond, a glaring of Furret and Sentret were alternatively drinking deeply from the pond and cleaning themselves in the shade of a small hut on the edge of the water. Caden would have greeted the group of Pokémon, but the realization of how much water-- drinkable water-- was now before him took the thought from his mind.

He dove headlong into the water. He splashed the Furret nearest him accidentally as he hit the surface. Their eyes snapped from the pond to Caden in a flash, but they only giggled happily in response. The cool of the pool enveloped Caden, soothing his wounds and refreshing him as he drank deeply while swimming.

The layers of greenery that made up his bulb relaxed, no longer dry from too long without water. His lips seemed to lose their ache, and for the first time in days, he felt happy. He let out a single, loud cry to all around.

A pair of Sentret, so young the ring of snow colored fur hadn’t yet grown into their chest hair, stopped their vigorous self-cleaning and stared at Caden for a moment. He dove under the water and popped back up again; his bulb made him a little too buoyant for an extended dive. The Sentrets black eyes went wide and narrowed as Caden rose to the surface laughing before disappearing beneath the liquid mirror for another second.

The next time Caden popped back to the surface, he found two pairs of eyes and wide smiles waiting for him. The Sentret used their large tails like rudders and spun themselves in circles around the strange Bulbasaur.

Caden wasn’t alone anymore.

Part 5

[pixalry]

Spirited Away: Golden Hour - Created by George Townley

[charlienoseikatsu]

Was inspired by YouTuber Juicy Ink to do a 10 minute writing challenge. I took a stab at it and tried to do something with “horses” as a theme. What do you think?

[charlienoseikatsu]

I had a terrible experience last night, wherein I was consuming both scotch and natto in the same bite. While I love scotch and I now love natto, they do not play well together.

Anyhow, made me think of that time when I made a video all about natto. This was only six videos in to the life of my channel, and the differences are pretty obvious.

[ghibli-collector]

Ursula’s Cabin - Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989)

“Trust in your spirit! That same spirit is what makes me paint, and makes your friend bake… But we each need to find our own inspiration.”

Ursula to Kiki

[charlienoseikatsu]

I love Kiki’s Delivery Service -- well, mostly Jiji -- so much! 

[charlienoseikatsu]

Lost in Johto, Part 5: A Helping Hand

This part was written by @nipponculturequest .

With his hunger pangs gone, and his belly full of warm, salty food, awareness of the sharp, throbbing pain in his legs bubbled to the surface of Caden’s consciousness. Looking down, he could see where the rough gravel from the road, which served as a makeshift battleground, dug into his blue skin and scales. Blood was slowly working its way from his wounds, down his short little legs to the ground below.

There would be no visit to the Pokémon Center to heal his wounds, no gentle strokes on his nose from her while Nurse Joy tended to his scrapes, cuts and bruises. This time, he had to look after himself. This time, he was on his own.

“B-b-bulba. Buulbasauuurrr,” he stuttered, choking back a sob. The anger he’d felt at the conclusion of his fight with Zee the Mudkip vanished, and his red eyes started to fill with tears. Slinking towards the side of the road, Caden slid down into the comforting green leaves of the flowering yellow plants. After the rain, the earthy smell of the soil beneath him coupled with the greenery around him was soothing. He sat down, feeling a little safer than before. The canopy of gold above shielded him from the prying eyes of passing pokémon and trainers.

The golden flowers above him smelled sweet. Their heads bobbed and swayed in the wind left blowing through the field from yesterday’s storm. Caden sank down as far into the foliage as he could. He had no idea what was next – where should he go, where could he possibly find her?

He must have fallen asleep for a few moments, as a small wet nose pushing through the leafy bases of the yellow flowering plants butted into him and gave him a fright. Opening his eyes, Caden found an Eevee staring back at him, one who was equally surprised to have found a Bulbasaur in its explorations.

“What did you find this time?” The Eevee’s trainer called from a little way off. Caden tried to scramble to his feet, but his injuries and the time spent resting had stiffened his joints, making any kind of escape impossible.

“Bu-bulba! Bulbasaur!” Caden hissed at the Eevee, begging its silence. The Eevee cocked her head for a moment, looking Caden over and noticing the wounds on his legs.

“Eevee! Eevee!” She replied loudly to her trainer.

“B-b-b-bulba …” Caden stuttered, trying to sink further into the greenery. His only thought was to try and hide, to avoid the large figure who moved from the road to the edge of the field to see what his Eevee was looking at and making such a commotion over.

“A Bulbasaur?” The trainer knelt down beside Caden and gently held out a hand. Caden had no idea what he should do. He was hurt, and there wasn’t much he could do to defend himself. If the trainer decided to make him battle with the Eevee, Caden would lose, and then how would he find Ako?

Caden looked up at the trainer’s face. It seemed kind, different to the others he’d met so far on his journey. But was it okay to trust him?

“You’re hurt?” The Trainer asked. He knelt down in the mud beside Caden and moved to check his legs.

“Bul-bulba. Bulbasaur,” Caden hissed at him.The trainer moved to help again and this time a vine whipped out and stung him gently on the hand as Caden warned him not to come any closer.

The trainer pushed back for a second and then stood thinking for a moment.

“Let’s go to the Pokémon Center outside the city, I can help you better if I take you there. We can check those wounds out and see if we can get you back on track,” he said gently.

“B-b-bulba!” Caden started, panicking. If he left now, he’d never be able to find Ako’s trail again. He’d lose her forever.

“You’re waiting for someone?”

“Bulbasaur…” Caden sank unhappily back into the mud.

“Ok, it’s alright. I thought it was strange for such a tame Bulbasaur to be out in the middle of nowhere.” The trainer dug around in the large messenger bag hanging heavily at his side and pulled out a small first-aid kit. A large gym badge, worn and faded beyond recognition, sat atop the box.

Out came bandages, and ointments and things Caden had never even seen before. The trainer seemed to settle on some of the items from the box and moved towards Caden.

“Can I check your leg? I won’t hurt you, I promise.”

Caden wasn’t sure. He looked up at the strange trainer for a moment and then, hesitantly, stood to reveal his injuries. The trainer quickly cleaned the wounds, applied some strange, sweet-smelling liquid to them, and then bandaged Caden’s legs with long, thin, white fabric strips.

“There you are,” the trainer said with a satisfied nod towards his handiwork. “You’ll be back to it in no time.”

Caden sniffed at the bandages. The Eevee came over and did the same. They bumped noses again and Caden let out an indignant “Bulba!” The kind trainer started to laugh.

“Ok, we’ll be on our way,” he said as he packed up the contents of the first aid kit and buried it back into the depths of his bag. “If you need any help, I’m the leader at the gym just outside the city. You’re always welcome to come by.”

“Bulbasaur,” Caden replied appreciatively. His injuries already felt better, and it was definitely time he was on his way again. He had to find her.

He walked with them to the end of the gravelly path, through the beautiful field of flowers until they reached two roads. One headed off into the town, a cluster of mismatched buildings barely visible beyond the fields which lay between. The other headed toward the forest, the edge of the field full of the beautiful yellow flowers bleeding into the deep rich green of the undergrowth.

Making his choice, Caden bid his new friends farewell and continued his search.

 Part 4                                                                                                       Part 6

[hikkipedia]

My vlog from my first day in Japan is here~

[charlienoseikatsu]

Hikkipedia’s Japan Vlog has begun. Check it out. She’s grumpy and Canadian.

[ponyo-ghibli]

[charlienoseikatsu]

Ponyo is one of my least favorite Ghibli films ::::ducks out of the way of flying stones::: but darn if it isn’t gorgeous.

[charlienoseikatsu]

Old Japan Meets Disney

John Ramirez loves Japan. He’s also a Disney storyboard artist. This is where things get interesting.

I would legit buy prints of some of these.

[charlienoseikatsu]

710CE-Heijō-kyō

The text reads:

Picture card:平城京-へいじょうきょう-Heijyoukyou- Heijō-kyō - The capital of Japan during the Nara period. (710-794CE)

Question card:

Level 1:なんと立派な平城京-なんとりっぱなへいじょうきょう-Nanto rippana Heijyoukyou. The quite splendid Heijō-kyō .

Level 2: 平城京に都を移す-へいじょうきょうにみやこをうつす-Heijyoukyou ni miyako wo utsusu. The capital moves to Heijō-kyō .

Level 3:長安(唐)にならい、平城京を作った天皇は？ちょうあん(から)にならい、へいじょうきょうをつくったてんのうは？Chouan(kara) ni narai, Heijyoukyou wo tsukutta tennou wa? Imitating Chang’an(China), which emperor built Heijō-kyō ?

Translator’s note: Having studied almost exclusively the Period of the Warring States, almost all of this was new to me. One of the things that I really love about learning history is digging up some of the archaic meanings -- or, perhaps, it’s better to say meanings which have been reduced to historical jargon -- of certain kanji. China, for instance, is 中国(chugoku) today, but in historical text, it is sometimes referred to as 唐(kara)、as is Korea. Anyhow, I hope I did an okay job translating this.

If you’re curious about the answer to the question posed in Level 3, it seems that Emperor Mommu(683-707CE) completed most of the preparations for Heijō-kyō and Heijō-kyū (Heijō Castle). Preparations weren’t completed on the capital of the southern capital until 710, however, after Mommu’s death and approximately three years after Empress Genmei took the throne.

Please, please, please let me know if I messed something up in my translation. Just trying to learn, after all :)

[charlienoseikatsu]

Prepare Ye for History!

So, at the izakaya last night, a regular drinking pal of mine and I got to talking about all the ways in which my Japanese sucks. Well, more accurately, I kept feeding him drinks until he was comfortable enough to share such precious information.

“Your grammar is fine, your vocabulary is fine,”he opined, “but you lack a deeper understanding...be an outstanding gaijin and learn our cultural history. Talk about it, reference it when you speak, and you’ll seem like less of an outsider.”

His recommendation on how to achieve this deeper understanding of Japan and her oft frustrating tongue? 100-yen store karuta! Little did he know that I have a problem spending money on shit I don’t need had magically planned ahead for just this moment, having purchased said Japanese history karuta set months ago.

So, going forward, I will periodically translate these cards, both to give myself some new vocabulary and that deeper understanding I lack, and share the (likely) shaky translations with you all. Hope you’ll be able to learn something interesting from it.

[japan-overload]

by masaaki miyara

[charlienoseikatsu]

New video is up over on The Burrow :)

[charlienoseikatsu]

Support Kumamoto Whatever Way You Can

By now, you’ll likely have heard about what is happening in Kumamoto in Japan’s Kyushu region. Homes have been damaged or completely destroyed; people have been left without shelter or food or water to hold them over through a storm that’s set to hit the region tonight; and many others have lost their lives in the onslaught of natural but unfortunate activity.

Many of you will feel the need to do something, to help people get back on their feet. For some, that will mean donating to the Japanese Red Cross. For others, simply spreading awareness via their social media accounts will be enough. Others still will ask for prayers and will themselves pray for the safety of Kumamoto and its people.

A few hours ago, I saw a fellow expat living in Japan take to Twitter to urge people not to pray or ask for the prayers of others. Your prayers will do nothing, he stated. Why bother?

The thing is that I am not a believer. I don’t think prayer will lead to fewer deaths or a sudden halt in nature’s course. I do, however, think that praying and trying to send our feelings of hope, of support, of common humanity to those in need is better than doing nothing. 

I don’t want to get too deep into this, but I just want to urge you to support Kumamoto in whatever way you feel you can. If that means giving a few bucks from your hard-earned paycheck, that’s great. If that means praying to whatever god you believe in, that’s great. Don’t let some cynical asshole who thinks his belief in nothing trumps your belief in something keep you from sending your feelings in whatever form you can. Likewise, don’t be the asshole trying to stifle someone’s support.

[hikkipedia]

宇多田ヒカルのオフィシャルサイト。

Clips for both new singles are up on Utada Hikaru’s official website (hint: neither feature her)