日本
you're strange and you're beautifulArchive for Photography
J-Cation/Asobi Seksu/Me&Mars
It seems to be my trend to do my writeups about events well after the fact, but surely that just means they are enjoyed longer!
April 10th was the highly anticipated J-Cation hosted by the Japan Society here in NYC. I’ve noticed that Little Japan comes out in full force for the spring here, and a Japanophile like myself can fancy themselves transported overseas where the people, food, and culture are uniquely 日本.
The Japan Society had packed its beautiful space with delights. I went with my sister and while we could only make it there for the evening, we walked into a warm welcome and groovy atmosphere. Maybe no one says ‘groovy’ anymore, but I do.
Meg and I deposited our donation, rang the bell, and clapped our hands. As we walked in, the music immediately surrounded us in the beautifully lantern-lit rooms, but perfectly levelled for conversation. In one look we saw steaming food carts, cute girls in maid outfits, and…bar tokens!
I let my city girl sister (Meg) lead the way as I am a bit over my head in cool situations, and she suggested we pick up a drink and survey before deciding our next move. I ordered a Sapporo beer (I’ve seen the adverts all over the place) and Meg ordered sake. We turned around to see the DJ area with giant screen pumping out a mixture of J-Rock, Pop, and covers while the younger generations were talking and laughing. There was also a Japanese sweets stall for the even younger, who were demanding imported delicacies faster than the vendor could sell them.
Short on money, high on spring
I hate to admit it, but the enormous expense of living in the city has begun to take effect on myself and my husband. We’ve seen the uglier sides of urban crooks that lure tourists and newbies like us, experienced the nasty tension that sometimes boils over in this bizarre melting pot. (Oddly enough, the crazy homeless people are better than the ‘normals’) It all culminated in having my wallet stolen from my handbag a few days ago as I put creamer in my coffee. Nothing earth-shattering, but I certainly feel…initiated, I suppose.
But you know what? Experiencing this beautiful, blossom-laden city spring for the first time has softened every hard edge.
It seems like only yesterday that these apple, plum, and cherry trees were crooked silhouettes lining the icy streets. Now it’s as if the clouds have descended from the blue sky and cast a pink gauze over everyone’s faces. Pardon the poetic pretensions, but I defy anyone to see trees in blossom and just say “meh, s’alright”.
Japan Exhibition at NYC’s American Museum of Natural History
On one of the coldest days this winter in NYC, my husband and I crossed an icy Central Park to visit the Natural History Museum (yes, the one where Ben Stiller worked). We both share a fanaticism for museums, and ended up staying for 5 and a half hours with only a 15 minute break for lunch in the cafe. We missed some reptiles on Floor 3, but covered most of the exhibits. The walk back was bitterly cold and exhausting (we forgot about the 79th street bus and had to basically double our journey) but well worth it.
The Hall of Asian Peoples especially got my attention of course, and I snapped more pictures of the Japanese artefacts than the Japanese tourists. Well, seemed like it. Here is a little selection of my favourite pieces. The lighting in most of the museum is almost pitch black, so I had to use my digi cam on pretty grainy settings. Click them for larger sizes – apologies ahead of time for the quality, but I had to share.
Photographs of Ryuichi Sakamoto’s Euro tour
Apropos of my last post, the man himself has tweeted a series of atmospheric photos taken by Aoki Takamasa. These were shot at the Berlin concert, and show the level of precision taken in organising a performance that is disarmingly and beautifully minimal when performed.
And thanks to the interconnectedness of the internet, fans of electronic chillout tracks should check out Takamasa’s music (though such fans will probably already know him).
