FOR A GOOD CATCH: THE FLOATING PEACOCKS
The third of a three-part series looking at superstitions surrounding fishing in Yaizu, one of Japan’s most notorious fishing ports.
Fishing can sometimes take on mystical dimensions. In Yaizu, superstition is rife among sailors and their captains, affecting everything from the choice of bait (goldfish or plastic ocotpus?) to carrying a ‘fundama’ when you sail; a tiny box containing a lock of a woman’s hair, some dice, money and Sake- symbolic links to the fishermen’s ‘other’ lives on land. …»
FOR A GOOD CATCH:: EDIBLE MONUMENTS
The second of a three-part series looking at superstitions surrounding fishing in Yaizu, one of Japan’s most notorious fishing ports.
The main street of Yaizu is almost empty. Apart from a few old ladies flirting between shops, there are no physical traces of the street’s former life. Although back when it was a covered arcade and according to Miki Sakurai, an 80 year old Yaizu resident, “so crowded, everyday felt like a festival.” Helping that festival atmosphere, Yaizu had, up until the 1960s, more bars per capita than any other city in Japan. Exhausted fishermen returning from month-long voyages …»
FOR A GOOD CATCH: SHIRTS FOR FISHING
The first of a three-part series looking at superstitions surrounding fishing in Yaizu, one of Japan’s most notorious fishing ports.
Everything is packed away inside Enshuya, which is understandable- it’s winter. Through the sliding doors, vintage sewing machines rest on wooden tables, half hidden by the glass cabinets packed with cotton shirts. Kiyo Naito appears from a back room and darts over to greet us, sitting herself behind one of the metal sewing machines. She is now 86 years old, only four years younger than her shop, Enshuya. Naito is responsible for creating Yaizu’s most distinctive icon by hand, intricately patterned fishing shirts known as “u-o-gashi.” …»
Tree Climbing with John Gathright in Aichi
“Carry your own tree within your heart.” Ever since reading those words by the great poet Sansei Yamao I have searched for my tree. A tree rooted in the Earth, a tree that has been there for years and years. Trees are gods. If you have a problem or are troubled by something, the best thing to do is to spend time with a tree. John Gathright, an ecologist and tree climber who lives in a tree house he built for himself and his family in the mountains of Seto in Aichi prefecture, was taught this by his grandfather, and now he passes it onto the kids that come to learn tree climbing from him. …»
Bento in Berlin: Okawari by Tomoko Yamane
Tomoko Yamane thoughtfully recalls growing up cooking with her grandmother in Nagoya. Since then, Tomoko has lived with her acquired techniques of cuisine and relocated to Berlin where she has set up her own catering company. Since May of 2009, Tomoko has been supplying Berlin’s artistic and creative community with a style of contemporary Japanese cuisine that is as traditional as her grandmother’s and evolving as it hybridizes in its new European surroundings. A few weeks ago, as Tomoko prepared samples from her 2010 Spring and Summer menu, Paper Sky listened to find out how Berlin came to feel as the logical choice for her next culinary venture. …»
Matohu: How Pottery Becomes Clothes
Hiroyuki Horihata and Makiko Sekiguchi, the design duo Matohu, make some curious clothes. Their most recent collection was inspired by Oribe pottery, an eccentric style that flourished for 20 years in the 17th century and then fell out of fashion. Perhaps, it is thought, because it was a little over the top. Oribe, associated with the tea master Furuta Oribe, is characterized by bold, abstracted designs, splashes of copper-green glaze and playful shapes (resembling fans, or even people). It left an …»
Professional Free Climber Hirayama Yuji
I first tried rock climbing when I was fifteen- I was out of my element and pretty scared. Somehow, though, I made it up the first time. When I descended, I started up the wall again and realized then that each and every rock face was different. I thought “hey, this is something I can do for the rest of my life and never get tired of it.” Even a small rock like that has an enormous number of faces to encounter. If I could enjoy climbing on such a little rock, I could enjoy climbing anywhere. “Wow, what …»
