Machu Picchu exhibit in Tokyo

Yesterday my wife and I went to a special “Machu-Picchu” exhibit at a museum in Tokyo.

Have you heard of Machu Picchu ?

They are an ancient Inka ruins in Peru that wasn’t known to the Spanish when they invaded South America…therefore it wasn’t plundered when it was discovered by an American archaeologist in 1912.

Since this year is the one-hundred anniversary of the discovery of Machu-Picchu, the 「国立科学博物館」 (National Science Museum) has a special exhibit about the Inka people and Machu-Picchu, titled 「マチュピチュ発見100年インカ帝国展」 (“The Inka Empire, 100 Years after the Machu-Picchu Discovery”).

The flyer for the special “Machu-Picchu” exhibit.

Among the items in this collection, you can see actual mummies and a short twelve-minute 3-D movie that takes you “into” Machu-Picchu.

This exhibit can be seen at the 「国立科学博物館」 (National Science Museum), not far from 上野駅 (Ueno train station) in Tokyo until Sunday, 2012 June 24th.

100 year old Japanese trees in America

Did you know that there are 3,000 Japanese さくら (Sakura (Cherry Blossom)) trees in Washington DC, America?

Japanese Sakura in Washington, DC (photo from Yahoo! News)

Did you know that those trees were a gift of friendship to America from Japan? And that the first two trees were planted near the White House by the then American “First Lady” and wife of the Japanese Ambassador to America?

I knew all of that already and I also knew that there are Japanese-style 花見 (“Cherry Blossom Viewing” parties) in Washington DC every spring when the flowers are in bloom.

But I didn’t know that Japan gave the trees to America in March 1912. One hundred years ago this month.
And I also didn’t know that the first two trees (the ones planted by the wives of the then U.S. President and Japanese Ambassador) are still standing in the same spot the were planted in Washington DC in 1912.

So, this year’s 花見 (Cherry Blossom Viewing) in Washington DC is special because it’s the one-hundredth anniversary of the gift of the trees from Japan.

The さくら (Cherry Blossoms) are already in bloom in Washington DC because of unusually warm weather in America now.

Another event to help mark the occasion took place in New York City earlier this month.
2012 March 1-6 was called “Japan Week” in NYC.

I don’t know much about this event but from looking at their website, it appears that visitors could experience a lot of Japanese culture that week in New York.

A woman playing the "Koto" (Japanese harp-like instrument) at "Japan Week" in NYC.

Let me introduce you to…

I have written a number of posts about interesting people. Most of whose stories are related to Japan in some way.
Maybe you haven’t seen many of them…so I decided to put links to all of them on a new page that I titled “Who’s Who?“.

Please check them out and leave comments to let me know what you think.

The new page is here.

Hideyo Noguchi’s birthday

野口英世 (Hideo Noguchi) was born 135 years ago today…on 1876 November 9th.

Hideyo Noguchi, 1876 Nov 9 - 1928 May 21. RIP

He was a doctor who died in Ghana when he contracted Yellow Fever, which he was doing research on.

In 2004, the Japan government changed the design of the ¥1000 and the ¥5000 bills. For the twenty years until then, the face on the ¥1000 note was of famous author　夏目漱石 (Natsume Soseki), but ¥1000 bills issued since 2004 have the face of 野口英世 (Hideyo Noguchi).

When I first came to Japan, ¥1000 notes had the face of 夏目漱石 (Soseki Natsume) on them. (The bill in this image has 「見本」 ("sample") print across the center).

But since 2004, 「野口英世」 (Hideyo Noguchi)'s face has been on the bills.

I learned that today was the birthday of 野口英世 (Hideyo Noguchi) when I checked Google today and saw the logo:

"Google" logo for the birthday of Dr. Hideyo Noguchi.

Other facts about Hideyo Noguchi:
-He was born in Fukushima (where the nuclear plant that was hit by the 2011 March 11 tsunami is).
-There is a statue of him in 上野公園 (Ueno Park) in Tokyo.
-His lived and worked in America for many years and married an American woman.
-His grave is in America.

Claude Monet art exhibit in Tokyo

I’m not an expert on art by any means.

My tastes might be considered “low brow”.
I listen to heavy metal music, my favorite TV shows aren’t really educational or anything, and I don’t see the appeal of “over-rated” movies such as “Lost In Translation“, “Forrest Gump” and “The Lord Of The Rings“…those movies were all boring to me.
The movies I like are more exciting.

And I don’t feel comfortable eating in “four star” fancy restaurants…I prefer a simple 「居酒屋」 (Japanese izakaya “blue collar” type restaurant).

Even though I may be a “simple man” I can appreciate art sometimes.
I have never attended an opera or even a musical on stage, but I have watched 歌舞伎 (Kabuki) plays and sometimes I go to art exhibits at museums.

I have seen a number of 浮世絵 (Ukiyoe Japanese woodblock prints) exhibits…and yesterday, my wife and I went to 渋谷 (Shibuya, Tokyo) to see the 「モネとジヴェルニーの画家たち」 (“Claude Monet and the Giverny Artists”) exhibit.

It’s at the “Bunkamura Museum” in Shibuya, Tokyo until 2011 February 17th.

I learned that Claude Monet moved to a tiny French village called Giverny and painted the natural views that he saw there. And his work inspired many artists from other countries, but the vast majority were Americans, to go to Giverny and set up an “artist colony” there to learn from Monet.

Also, Monet was inspired by Japanese art (other famous Western artists, including Vincent Van Gogh, were too) and he had a collection of Japanese Ukiyoe prints.

Monet's painting of his wife in Japanese kimono.

Monet's painting of his garden in Giverny, France.

Monet's painting of a hay stack.

 

Are you interested in art? Monet? Ukiyoe?
How about your taste in food, movies, music, etc?

This date went down in infamy…twice

John Lennon had a Japanese wife and they were both strongly opposed to war. So isn’t it ironic that he was killed on the thirty-ninth anniversary of the Japanese attack of Pearl Harbor?

On 1941 December 8th, the 日本海軍 (Japanese Imperial Navy) attacked the U.S. Naval base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. (It was December 8 on the Japanese calendar but since Hawaii is on the other side of the International Date Line, it was December 7th there).

It’s the 69th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Also on this date thirty-nine years later John Lennon of the English rock band, The Beatles, was assassinated in New York.

Today is the 30th anniversary of John Lennon’s death.

Click here to read a more detailed post that I wrote about these two events

Disaster Prevention in Tokyo

Today is 2010 September 1. The 87th anniversary of the 「関東大震災」 (“Great Kanto Earthquake“) that destroyed the Tokyo area on 1923 September 1.

So every year on September 1st in Japan, it’s called 「防災の日」 (“Disaster Prevention Day”).

On this day, fire departments give fire and earthquake safety tips to people, schools hold earthquake drills, and people are encouraged to check and maintain their “earthquake kits” that are recommended to be in every home.

It is said that in Japan’s history, a major earthquake has struck on average every eighty years. So it is expected that Tokyo is due for another one.
I really hope not!

No major earthquakes have struck Tokyo in a long while (“knock on wood”), but a different disaster has hit Tokyo this summer.
A heat wave.

It was reported on the news today that the temperature this summer in Tokyo has been the hottest in 113 years!
The temperature reached 35°C a number of times this summer.
Over a hundred people died from heat stroke and thousands were hospitalized.

It has been brutally hot in Tokyo this summer…and the forecast for the rest of this week says the heat and humidity will continue.

"Uchimizu" is a traditional Japanese custom of throwing water onto the streets to lower the temperature in the city a bit.

アメリカ独立記念日

Today is ７月４日 (July 4). 「アメリカ独立記念日」 (American Independence Day).

I don’t usually do anything special on this day. Although there are many 花火大会 (fireworks shows) in Japan during the summer, they don’t usually start until late July or early August.

Watching fireworks is a “Fourth Of July” tradition in America, but I don’t live in America.
(It’s possible that the U.S. military bases in Japan will have a fireworks show this evening. I’m not sure. I don’t live near any U.S. military base anyways).

But anyways, in honor of the 234th anniversary of America’s independence from England, I am writing a list of some of American inventions that have changed the world (in most cases, for the better).

So, according to the U.S. Patent Office, this is a list of some of the numerous things that have been invented in America:

• Swim Fins: (1717) Invented by Benjamin Franklin
• Franklin Stove: (1742) Also invented by Benjamin Franklin
• Refrigeration: (1805)
• Circular Saw: (1813)
• Dental Floss: (1815)
• Morse Code: (1832) Invented by Samuel Morse
• Revolver (Firearm): (1836) Invented by Samuel Colt (founder of the Colt Gun Co.)
• Vulcanized Rubber: (1844) Invented by Charles Goodyear (founder of Goodyear Tires)
• Safety Pin: (1849)
• Potato Chips: (1853)
• Rolled Toilet Paper: (1857) Surprised this one took this long. Before this invention, people were using pages from old newspapers and magazines or leaves from plants.
• Escalator: (1859)
• Roller Skates: (1863)
• Cowboy Hat: (1865)
• Paper Clip: (1867)
• Barbed Wire: (1867)
• Cash Register: (1879)
• Electric Chair: (1881)
• The “STOP” Sign: (1890)


U.S. "Stop" sign



Japanese 「止まれ」 ("Stop") sign

• Ferris Wheel: (1891)
• Zipper: (1891)
• Radio: (1893)
• Flashlight: (1898)
• “Teddy” Bear: (1902) A toy maker made a stuffed toy bear and named it “Teddy” after the U.S. President at that time, Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt, who went hunting but decided against killing a bear cub.
• Air Conditioning: (1902) Before this invention, places in the southern U.S. such as Florida (where I grew up) were unpopular to live.
• Airplane: (1903) Invented by the famous Wright brothers.
• Ice Pop: (1905) Usually called by the brand name Popsicle in the U.S. In Japan, it’s called 「アイスキャンディー」 (“Ice Candy”). It was invented by an eleven-year-old American boy.
• Automobile Self-starter: (1911) Eliminated the need to engine hand-cranks on cars.
• Fast Food Restaurant: (1912) For better or worse, these changed the industrialized world.
• Traffic Signals: (1912)
• Fortune Cookie: (1914) Although many Americans associate it with Chinese food, the “Fortune Cookie” is only found in Chinese restaurants in America. Actually, it was invented by a Japanese-American man.
• Ice Cube Tray: (1928)
• Electric Razor: (1928)
• Chocolate Chip Cookies: (1930)
• Electric Guitar: (1931)
• Stock Car Racing: (1936) Led to the formation of the National Association of Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR).



• Corn Dog: (1942) Called a 「アメリカンドッグ」 (“American Dog”) in Japan.


「アメリカンドッグ」 (Corn Dog)

• Napalm: (1943) A terrible substance used as a military weapon.
• Supersonic Aircraft: (1947)
• Windsurfing: (1948)
• Cable Television: (1948)
• Polio Vaccine: (1952)
• Barcode: (1952) Invented in America, but Japan turned them into an art form.
• Eight-track Tape: (1964) This impractical medium for playing music was actually popular for about a decade.


KISS "Alive II" on 8-track tape

• Snowboarding: (1965)
• Inline Skates: (1979)
• Space Shuttle: (1981)
• Nicotine Patch: (1988) To help people quit smoking. I wonder if it actually works.
• Global Positioning System: (1993) Commonly known by it’s initials GPS.
• Self-balancing Personal Transporter: (2001) Commonly known by the brand name “Segway“.

March 23 and 31

If the world famous Japanese movie director Akira Kurosawa were still alive, yesterday would’ve been his 100th birthday.

Akira Kurosawa (1910 March 23 - 1998 Sept 6), R.I.P.

I wrote a post last summer about Hollywood remakes of Japanese movies…and of course it includes some of Kurosawa’s classics (such as “Yojinbou” and “The Seven Samurai“).
(Click here to read that post.)

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It has been announced that all homes in Japan must have a 煙感知器 (smoke detector) in every room by 2010 March 31.

A smoke alarm needs to be in every room.

If you live in Japan, and your house doesn’t have smoke alarms, you can buy them at department stores or electronics stores for about ¥2,500 – ¥3,000 each.
(Even if you don’t live in Japan you should have smoke detectors and a 消火器 (fire extinguisher) in your house.)

————-

What size beer cans are commonly sold in stores in your country?
What types of places sell beer where you live?
In Japan, beer can be purchased 24 hours a day from convenience stores. It’s also sold in most restaurants (including some fast-food places), supermarkets, etc.

There are even beer vending machines in Japan.

Restaurants usually sell beer in mugs or glasses. Or else they’ll give a 瓶ビール (bottled beer), which is usually 633ml.

Canned beer is usually sold in 350ml or 500ml cans. But other sizes are available too.
Japan has very small 135 ml and 250ml cans, the “regular” 350ml can, the “tall boy” 500ml, and a very big 1,000ml can.

135ml, 250ml, 350ml and 500ml cans of Kirin Beer.

History timeline

By no ways a complete list, but here is a timeline of some highlights of world history.

Japan-related dates are written in red.

• 1281: Mongolia was conquering most of Asia. As the Mongolian Navy was heading to Japan to invade, a giant typhoon sunk their entire fleet. Thus saving Japan.
  That typhoon was called 「神風」 (“Kamikaze“), which means “Divine Wind“, in Japan.The World War 2 Kamikaze pilots were named after this typhoon.
• 1346: The Black Plague started and eventually killed nearly half of Europe’s population.
• 1492: Christopher Columbus lands in America. But he believed he was in India and called the inhabitants “Indians“.
• 1603: 「江戸時代」 (The “Edo Period“) begins in Japan.
• 1680: The 将軍 (Shougun), Tsunayoshi, loved dogs and enacted a number of laws protecting dogs and making harming them a criminal offense.He is therefore often called “The Dog Shogun”.
• 1776: America declares it’s independence from England.
• 1789: French Revolution began.
• 1804: Napoleon became the Emperor of France.
• 1854: U.S. Naval Commodore Matthew Perry forced Japan to open to trade with the West.At first Japan resisted and the island of Odaiba was built in Tokyo Bay to defend Japan from the American forces. But Perry’s fleet of black ships were too intimidating and Japan enacted law to allow trade with the West in general and America in particular.The resulting influx of American goods and culture sparked Japan’s “Westernization”.

An Ukiyoe portrait of Cmdr. Perry. His name is written as 「ぺルリ」 ("Peruri") because that's what it sounded like to the Japanese when Perry said his name with his American accent.

1859: Charles Darwin published his book “The Origin Of Species“.

1861: The U.S. Civil War began.

1868: 「明治時代」 (The “Meiji Period“) started in Japan. This was a period of modernization.

1876: Alexander Graham Bell patented the telephone.

1904: The Russia-Japan War began. Russia underestimated Japan and lost the war.

1905: Albert Einstein published his “Theory Of Relativity” (E=MC?)

1912: The “unsinkable” RMS Titanic sunk.

1914 – 1918: World War 1.

1937: The zeppelin Hindenberg exploded over the U.S. state of New Jersey.

1939 – 1945: World War 2.

1941 December 7: Japan attacked the U.S. Naval base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

1945 August 6: America dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of 広島 (Hiroshima).

1945 August 9: America dropped a second atomic bomb on Japan. This time on the city of 長崎 (Nagasaki).

1961: Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gargarin became the first man in space, starting the “Space Race” to the moon between America and Russia.

1964: Tokyo, Japan hosted the Summer Olympics. The first Olympic games hosted in an Asian city.

1969: U.S. Astronaut Neil Armstrong was the first (and so far, only) man to walk on the moon.

1972: Sapporo, Japan hosted the Winter Olympics.

1990 October 17: I (“Tokyo Five”) came to Japan.

1995 January 17: 「阪神淡路大震災」 (Hanshin-awajidai-shinsai), (“The Kobe Earthquake“) destroyed the city of 神戸 (Kobe, Japan).

A collapsed overpass after the Kobe Earthquake; 1995 January.

1998: Nagano, Japan hosted the Winter Olympics.

2001 September 11: Both of the World Trade Center in New York City, USA and The Pentagon in Washington D.C. are attacked by commercial airplanes hijacked by terrorists. Both of the towers in NYC were destroyed completely.

I know that I left out many important dates. Feel free to write any that you can think of in the comments section of this post.

And did you witness any historic events?