Kiyosumi Teien

A few weeks ago, I tried to go to the Fukagawa Edo Museum, an interesting-looking facility that recreates an old Tokyo neighborhood. Unfortunately, when I got there, I found out it’s closed until the end of July 2010. I was a little disappointed, and wondering what to do, but during my time in Japan, I’ve noticed that the little things you find along the way to a more well-known destination or the places you stumble across by accident can be just as, or more interesting and memorable than the place you set out to find. I decided to have a little walk around, and came across the delightful Kiyosumi Teien.

I’ve been to most of the strolling gardens in Tokyo but Kiyosumi is definitely my favorite. It’s more open and scenic others I’ve been to, and just seems better kept up and with fewer ugly distractions like signs and fences than others I’ve been to.

There’s a great description and video of it on Mustlovejapan.com
http://www.mustlovejapan.com/subject/kiyosumi_garden/

Click here for a cool infrared photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/aeschylus18917/3625062448/

Here’s the official site: http://teien.tokyo-park.or.jp/en/kiyosumi/index.html

Location	3-3-9 Kiyosumi, Koto-ku, Tokyo 135-0024
Access	Toei O-edo Line and Tokyo Metro Hanzomon Line, Kiyosumi-shirakawa Sta. (3 minutes on foot) Toei Bus Line: JR Kameido Sta., North Exit, #7 Bus Stop (Line #33) Take the Toyoumi-suisan-futo bus; get off at “Kiyosumiteien-mae” (3 minutes on foot). *No parking available
Inquiry	Kiyosumi Garden Office Tel: 03-3641-5892

Samurai Frog

Giant Samurai Frog in Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture.

Tanuki

A tanuki is a raccoon dog, an Asian animal that, although it looks like a raccoon, is actually a member of the dog and wolf family. They’re very popular in Japanese folklore, and were once believed to be sake-drinking, mischievious, shape-shifting tricksters with a big sexual appetite. The tanuki in this photo are at the Awashima-jinja, a shrine for unwanted dolls.

Over 90 percent of the tanuki statues that you see in Japan get “castrated”, or their scrotums get turned into something that makes it look like they’re sitting on a rock, so I was surprised to come across this statue that shows the tanuki’s traditional appearance.

Everything you ever wanted to know about tanuki can be found here at  Mark Schumacher’s excellent Buddhism & Shintoism in Japan A to Z Photo Dictionary.

There’s also a very nice post on Pink Tentacle about Shigaraki, the tanuki capital of Japan, with a description of the “Tanuki’s day off” when all the tanuki are given sleeping masks or put in poses as if they’re playing games or having picnics.

If you have never seen the infamous Japanese tanuki commercial, be sure to click here to see what may well be the most bizarre advertisement ever made.

Falconry Demonstration at Hamarikyu Teien Gardens

The Hamarikyu Teien is one of Tokyo’s nicer parks, and has traditional Japanese street performers and displays of falconry every day. Every year at New Year’s, however, they have a bigger demonstration of falconry that is much bigger than the daily demonstration.

Unless I’m mistaken, this is an owl rather than a hawk.

The birds wear these hoods to keep them from getting overstimulated and getting nervous.

Traditional falconry outfit.

The members of the falconry club seemed like real bird lovers. They paid great attention to their hawks, and obviously took very good care of them. That’s why it was so surprising when, at the end of the demonstration, they released a pigeon and let a hawk take it down. The pigeon was not killed, but it did seem unnecessarily cruel. I quite enjoyed it up until this point, but I’m not sure I’d go again.

There’s more information about Takagiri, the Japanese art of falconry here.

The group that puts on the demonstrations, the Suwa Falconry Preservation Society has a homepage at: http://www.falconers-hermitage.com/index.html

The demonstration is held on the first weekend in January every year. Check the Japan Times Festival page for more information.

Thanks, Your Manner

“If you tug on your dog’s leash, he won’t pee on our wall. WE WILL SUE YOU FOR DESTRUCTION OF PROPERTY. Thanks, Your Manner.”