Portrait of a Ninja

A few days ago, a classmate who often sat next to me in one of my classes made an interesting comment. "You are like a ninja! You disappear from the class when the lesson ends and then reappear again just before the next one starts!?"

While I was amused to be likened to a ninja just for my ability to move around quickly between class intervals, the comments also got me curious about ninjas. Coincidentally, one of my Japanese teachers, though not a ninja, lives in Shiga Prefecture where one of the two major clans of ninjas was based in the old days. So from my Japanese teacher, I learnt a little more about ninjas.

What did ninjas do?

Ninjas first appeared in the Kamakura period (1192 - 1333) and operated until the close of the Edo period (1603 - 1868). In general terms, they were employed by feudal lords to gather intelligence about enemies, spread rumours and carry out assassinations.

Two major clans near Kyoto

Two major clans of ninjas operated during those days, namely, the Iga clan and the Koga clan. The Iga clan was known for their exceptional military art and individual assignments while the Koga clan excelled in intelligence gathering and group operations. The historical ninja bases were not far from Kyoto. The Iga clan was based in Mie Prefecture south of Kyoto, while the Koga clan was based in Shiga Prefecture east of Kyoto. 

Popular myths

When we talk about ninjas, the usual images that come to mind are agile masked Japanese men who scaled walls, flew over roofs, threw darts and disappeared in a puff of smoke.   So how accurate are these popular depictions of ninjas? An interesting article in one of my Japanese textbooks debunked some of the popular myths about ninjas.

What were the darts for?

Many of us might have strong impressions of ninjas fighting off their enemies with darts. However, rather than saying that ninjas engaged in open combat in that way, it was probably more accurate to say that the rule of thumb for ninjas was to first find a way to escape.  Darts were used more as a distraction so as to give them more time to escape the situation rather than as weapons.

Ninja skills and psywar

Ninjas were not just good at martial arts. There were also two other types of skills important to ninja training. The first type was skills related to conversations while the second type was related to causing confusion to the enemies. These skills were very much like psychological warfare, and involved influencing the emotions and manipulating the minds of people to obtain information.  They could be considered as secret agents as well as terrorists.

Ninja fashion

And finally, just a little trivia about ninja fashion.  When they had to go about their assignments, ninjas usually wore a disguise, pretending to be travellers or merchants, and even as women. Quite different from the popular image of black clothes and masks that we often see in the media.

Ninjas in Kyoto?

While ninjas are typically associated with Shiga and Mie which boast a few ninja attractions such as the ninja training village in Shiga as well as the museum and the ninja-themed trains in Mie, there is a place in Kyoto that is pretty popular with ninja fans as well as tourists. It is the ninja restaurant in Shijo.

I am sorry if you thought this post is about my encounter with a ninja. I wish I could find the time to visit all these ninja-related places. With the amount of homework to deal with daily, even the skills of a ninja wouldn't be any helpful I think.

A student's discipline

I find Japanese university students extremely disciplined when it comes to time management. In addition to school work, they also seem to spend alot of time on circle activities (basically clubs with a specific area of interest e.g. sports, dance, etc), as well as part-time jobs.  The Japanese students seem to have their time-table worked out really well. 

 

Clockwise from top: 1.Various circles putting up poster boards to recruit members.
2. A common sight at the beginning of a semester is that of students standing in groups promoting their circles/clubs
by yelling at the top of their voices to students passing by. They usually yell about upcoming activities of their circles or clubs.
3. Some circles or clubs show that action speak louder than words - dancers performing during lunch time.

I have also met some extremely proactive and diligent students at school who would look for organisations to volunteer their time and at the same time gain some insights and experience from helping out at these organisations. It is common to hear of students being volunteers or interns at some organisation outside school. They don't get paid but they are happy doing what they are doing. 

 

However, unlike the Japanese students with their colourful life,  my time is still mostly spent on school work since I do not have a part-time job. Although I volunteer at an organisation which I learnt about through the Kyoto City International Foundation's website for students, it is not too often.   

 

In fact, there is so much homework that after school, the only thing I do apart from the usual household chores and volunteer work, is my assignments. I would have loved to read some short stories, go out and find some inspiration for my blog posts or watch a movie online during my free time. But I find myself working on grammar exercises, writing essays, preparing presentation scripts or memorising vocabulary most of the time. So I guess this is what an intensive language programme is all about.

  

There is so much homework I don't know where to start most of the time.

While there were times I felt like I should not be spending so much time on school work and end up missing out on the interesting activities outside school, my rational mind always took over and reminded me that I am here to study the language afterall. So I had better be disciplined and work on those assignments. 

Speaking of which, I still have the "How to create an impression when you first introduce yourself" assignment for Speaking class, and the "How to introduce yourself and your boss in the most polite language" assignment for Business Japanese, which I have yet to do... And oh, there is also the reading comprehension questions related to the story of a woman prone to falling down staircases, and the cross-cultural communication assignments...

Hmm, exactly what did I do during the weekend?

JINS spectacles and a popular pair of eyes

I recently came to know that JINS, which specialises in spectacles, has a new TV commercial.  

 

I bought a cheap pair of spectacles from JINS a few months ago and mentioned that I wasn't sure if they sell Made in Japan spectacles. This new commercial begins with the huge colourful words, "Made in Japan", thus clarifying my doubt.

 

What also attracted my attention to the commercial was that it actually featured the eyes (!) of Sakurai Sho, a member of my favourite and very popular Jpop group, Arashi.

 

I wonder how much JINS air frames cost now that they are endorsed by Sakurai's eyes...

 

 

Introducing the Kamo nasu

Not too long after I finished my lunch in the classroom, my teacher for the afternoon class stepped in to set up the classroom for the lesson. I greeted her and then went about keeping my lunch box. She walked around the class to count the number of chairs and tables and stopped where I was seated.

 

"Have you had your lunch? Oh, I see you have a lunch box! Did you prepare your own lunch?"

"Yes, I did. I had fried Kamo nasu too!"

"Kamo nasu!"

"Yes, I like nasu very much. I got it at Fresco."

"Wow! Kamo nasu is expensive!"

"It was 98 Yen only because there was a sale."

That's so cheap! Kamo nasu is usually pretty expensive, probably about 250 Yen."

"It is usually around 200 Yen at the supermarkets near my place."

"I think it is cheap because it is autumn."

"I think so too!"

 

As another teacher walked into the classroom to speak to my teacher, the conversation ended.

 

While I don't want my blog to become full of tributes to Kyoto vegetables, I really felt that the Kamo nasu deserves a spot in a blog about Kyoto. If you google it, you will find a list of tempting words associated with this famous eggplant of Kyoto.  Tight meat, highly prized, rich taste, creamier, delicate texture, beautifully round. The Representative of Kyo Yasai.

 

The official Kyoto City page has a page dedicated to the Kamo nasu while soysauce maker, Kikkoman, has a section extolling the cancer-fighting properties of Kamo nasu in its page detailing the "Virtues of Kyoto Vegetables".

 

I didn't think much about my cooking method when I fried the nasu. I recall frying it with minced meat and soy sauce but read later (a bit too late) that it is most tasty when cooked with miso. How regrettable. 

 

Here is a picture of the Kamo nasu I bought.  The taste of the vegetable is going to be something I shall miss very much when I leave Kyoto.

 



Mid-Autumn Festival on a moonless night

Typhoon No. 17 was last heard heading for Kanto. My friends had planned for a moon viewing party by a nearby river today to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival. But the rain and strong winds brought by the typhoon kept everyone indoors. 

After hearing the rain and strong winds for most of the day, the silence outside in the night seemed unnatural. When I sensed that all was quiet, I quickly dropped by at the 24-hour supermarket to do my groceries.  The streets were quite a mess with fallen leaves and tree branches here and there. Bicycles parked along the streets were knocked over by the winds.  Few people were out in the streets. Those whom I saw walked with a sense of urgency, as if the quiet might bring with it another storm.

At the supermarket, tsukimi dango was being sold at discounted prices and I bought a packet to try. I had received numerous flyers from supermarkets which featured a range of traditional foods that were being sold for moon viewing (or tsukimi in Japanese). They made me very curious.   Unlike the Chinese who eat mooncakes during the Mid-Autumn Festival, the Japanese have the custom of eating tsukimi dango during their moon viewing gathering.  Moon viewing, or tsukimi, was said to have spread from China to Japan during the Heian period.  In addition to tsukimi dango, another common traditional food in Japan on Mid-Autumn day is taro roots or satoimo. These foods along with a vase decorated with susuki grass and autumn flowers are placed on altars as offerings to the moon for abundant harvest.

 

 

 

My neighbour had also treated me to some of the mooncakes that she had made earlier that evening. They contained meat fillings. I learnt from her that there were many types of mooncakes in China and those containing meat was just one type.  It was interesting how a tradition that originated from China was celebrated with different foods in different countries. The aroma of my neighbour's moon cakes still lingered in my apartment. It tasted so good that I am going to try making them one of these days. I don't think we have meat moon cakes in Singapore, do we?

 

 

 

 

Although we had the traditional foods all ready, the moon was not in sight at all. My first Mid-Autumn Festival in Japan and it had to be a moonless night.

 

Accessing Japanese TV and radio on the internet

When I first came to Kyoto, I considered for the longest time if I should get a television so that I could watch Japanese TV shows and improve my listening skills. But I didn't want to spend money to dispose of the TV set when I leave so I didn't get one in the end (yes, you need to pay to dispose of electrical appliances such as TV, fridges etc).

 

I also tried to tune my mobile phone to receive radio signals but could only receive the signal of one boring radio station.

 

Not too long ago, my school mates shared two websites with me where I could access Japanese TV shows and Kyoto radio networks for free.  I am sharing them here, if anyone's interested.

 

• http://www.myniji.tv/
• http://radiko.jp/#
   

Lunch time musings

 

One thing I really dislike about school life here is the lunch time. Lunch time is fixed at 1210-1300h so almost everyone would try to have their meals during this time. Although we have two cafeterias and one small cafe, these are extremely crowded during lunch. There are other options such as the convenience store in school, and the food kiosks set up around school grounds to sell bento sets and convenience foods. However, long queues are a common sight too.



Students queuing to buy food from a food kiosk set up outside the cafeteria.

 





A simple lunch prepared on the late night of
27 Sep for lunch on the following day. 

I have classes before and after lunch and I really don't like to rush through my meal. From the onset, I made the decision to bring my lunch from home.  To my own surprise, I actually managed to keep that up for one whole semester. Last semester, I prepared my lunch in the morning just before going to class and it was often a mad rush. I subsequently learnt from school mates that they would prepare their lunch the night before. So for this semester, I am adopting this new practice.

 

A quiet lunch in the classroom.

The school recognises the problem of crowding in the cafeterias and classrooms are open for students to use during lunch. Hence, it is a common sight to see students bring their trays of food from the cafeterias to eat in classrooms.

 

I usually spent lunch time in the classroom as well, away from the crowds.  Last semester, I had a few classmates who would do the same and we would chat as we ate during lunch time. This semester, the new classmates seemed to prefer eating among the crowds.

 

While I still sat at my favourite corner of the classroom eating my shoddily prepared lunch, the people who used to share that time with me were not in the seats where they used to be.  I wonder if they thought of me back home just as I thought of them while I was eating my lunch.